Happy Valentines Day: Psyche and Eros.

Today, I thought we would talk about Love, specifically the God of Love, Eros, better known to the Romans as Cupid. Eros is the God of Love and he's also been associated with creative energies. One of the most famous myths about Eros is the Myth of Eros and Psyche.

The story begins with the mother of Eros, Aphrodite, the gorgeous Goddess of Love... Although Aphrodite was extremely beautiful herself, she became jealous of a beautiful mortal girl, Psyche.

Aphrodite, in a fit of rage (ever notice the Gods are always in a fit of rage in these stories) ordered her son Eros to fire one of his arrows into Psyche's heart, cursing her to fall in love with the ugliest man on earth.

Eros flew down to find Psyche, fully intending to follow his mother's orders, but instead he fell in love with her. He captured Psyche and took her with him. The two enjoyed great love. However, their love only existed in the dark; Psyche was not allowed to shine light on Eros.

Psyche's sisters came to visit her and began questioning her relationship with this man whom she had truly never seen. Psyche then began to question it, and she soon became convinced that she needed to see him. One night, Psyche lit a lamp and allowed the light to shine on Eros while he slept. But Psyche accidentally spilled the lamp oil onto Eros and he awoke and in a fit of rage (again with the rage) he vanished.

Psyche was heartbroken and began roaming the earth, looking for Eros. She was given three tasks to complete in order to reunite with Eros. One of which was a trip to the underworld. Through a reconnection with nature, she completed all three tasks and was reunited with Eros.

I like to blog a myth here and there because I know that myth has a unique ability to access a deeper knowing that exists in all of us. It hits upon collective unconscious energies that have been passed down through the ages. Psyche's struggle is truly timeless; it's in our DNA.

Psyche experienced love with Eros, it was only when she began to distrust her own experience that she lost this connection. She found it again when she connected to nature. Possibly the more we can connect to nature and the natural harmony of things, the more we shall experience vitality and the life giving creative energies of Eros.