The month of April was dedicated to the goddess Venus in Ancient Rome, and their word for April, Aprilis, came from the verb aperire, “to open”. The Fasti Praenestini, the Roman calendar, described Aprilis as the time when “fruits and flowers and animals and seas and lands do open”.

When I think of the goddess Venus and her earlier Greek counterpart, Aphrodite, I can see their harmony with the “opening” of April. Venus and Aphrodite are both goddesses of love (love for yourself and others), passion, sexuality, beauty, desire, and pleasure. They are goddesses of opening their hearts to feelings and opening their bodies to sensations. Venus-Aphrodite is an embodied goddess.

Aphrodite was born a fully formed adult out of sea-foam, either the daughter of the primordial Greek sky god Uranus or a daughter of Zeus (who himself was a grandson of Uranus, and son of a Titan). Aphrodite was the lover of Ares, God of War, was married to Hephaestus, God of Blacksmithing, and she had other lovers, both immortal (Dionysus, Hermes, Poseidon) and mortal (Adonis, Anchises). Aphrodite was adapted into the goddess Venus by the Romans and, in Rome, became the consort of Mars, God of War, married to Vulcan, God of Blacksmithing, mother to Aeneas, hero of Troy, founder of Rome, and ancestor of Julius Caesar.

Venus-Aphrodite is associated with pomegranates, myrtle, apples, roses, doves, swans, sparrows, seashells, gardens, and the sea. She is watery and fertile, sea and earth. Sex and beauty, as well as fertile motherhood. Ecstasy and pleasure, as well as war and grief. She is ancient and complex, both a goddess of the common people and the personal divine patron of Caesar.

The planet Venus is the second brightest object in the sky, after the moon. Venus is most visible near the horizon and stays close to the horizon, never moving that high into the night sky.

Venus’s orbit makes it appear before sunrise in the morning, disappear for days, and then shine again on the opposite horizon after sunset in the evening. Ancient peoples thought Venus was two different celestial bodies, and called them the Morning Star and the Evening Star.

This April, look for Venus as the Morning Star. If the skies are clear, you may see Venus low in the sky about an hour or so before sunrise. It will be the brightest star you can see.

Astrologically, Venus rules in love and beauty, and, until April 20th, Venus will be in Pisces, a water sign strong in unconditional love. Romance and love abound! You have permission to indulge in the joy of love, to let love heal and raise you up.