(You Should Go and) Love Yourself

Ok, my bad. That song makes me laugh every time I hear it, so when I had to write a post talking about working on “Self-Love,” I couldn’t help myself. I’ll pretend to be remorseful. This post is actually an intersection of topics. It is about my spiritual journey this year, the intercession of Aphrodite and some self – growth/care/love. It is about embracing the lessons of the universe as they come to you.

I mentioned previously that I watch YouTube videos in my downtime from work, and Ivy the Occultist has one called I’m Entering A New Era: Goodbye Medusa, Hello New God. In it, she talks about her journey to working with a new deity/God/The Horned One. The part that really resonated with me very recently was she talked about prompts in her life, and how she subconsciously collected all of the items that she needed for an altar before she realized that she was making an altar or even needed to. When she was ready, she already had everything she needed. This is what I also experienced, and when it finally all comes together, it is such an “Aha” moment.

It seems almost as if each moon cycle this year has been a intensive lesson from a different God or Goddess. I still have my overall patrons, but I am being taught/reinforced some pretty tough lessons the last few months. Currently, Aphrodite is currently preparing me for her to step up to bat.

It started with a pink candle (or so I thought). I found a beautiful jar candle in pink and I wanted it, and I didn’t really know why, but what jumped into my head was ‘self love spell.’ Cool. Oh, hey, you know, I have this little bookcase/table near my bedroom door that I have slowly been organizing. It would be perfect there. I decided to clear it up recently and put some of my totems (stuffed animals and things) on it. I found and organized my make up and brushes (considering I had to find it, you can guess how much I generally use those). I made a little bowl with my hair ties, and decided it needed a little mirror.

Nothing strange going on here, just setting up a little self care space. Ooh, these bottles from the trip to the coast nine years ago, that I keep ocean water in, (oh, and I’m about to go back to the ocean) let’s put them on a little decorative shelf above here. Also, I have this bowl of sand and shells and trinkets and sea glass that I have always kept around but have been bugging me lately to do something with them. It’s no big deal; I’m just trying to get things settled and make my space work. Are there any sea/ocean goddesses that I should look into? My previous focus doesn’t seem right. I want to change things up and fix things differently.

I’ve never really considered Aphrodite as a companion. It’s not that I didn’t respect her – she knows how to command respect as her due – it’s just that I was a tomboy-ish warrior maiden who didn’t need to learn the power of her sexuality. Those were lessons I learned young. I tried not to conflate her with the ditzy-seeming blonde character from Xena: Warrior Princess, but I’ll admit, it’s probably a bit of an influence.

That may actually be part of the lesson here. After all, I’m getting older, and my sexuality isn’t the same as it was 25 years ago. Also, we all need a reminder from time to time to take care of ourselves. I actually have very little body awareness. What I do have is concentrated on the needs of my (insulin dependent diabetic) body and my desire to be presentable and professional at work. Beyond that, I don’t really take the time to even look in the mirror. I run into cabinet corners and doorways all of the time because I pretty much ignore my body. A lot of things went into making it that way, but this body is the only one we get in this life. We may not need to turn it into a hot rod, but regular oil changes, some preventive maintenance, and an occasional trip through the car wash will just make everything more pleasant all around.

I like low maintenance jewelry, and have started wearing a little bit more lately. I also like the artistic element of painting my nails, as well as keeping them well maintained. About two months ago, I restarted that routine. I’ve bought new rings and new earrings. I got a hair cut, and lightened my hair. I bought new hair ties. Huh. I just thought it was the onset of summer, and my birthday, but I think these Gods and Goddesses can be sneaky in helping you out even when you don’t realize it. It was like Aphrodite was hanging back with her arms crossed waiting for me to realize, “See. I do have a place in your life.”

When I was looking up her attributes and worship to see if this was really something that was becoming, I found this quote that I recorded, “I thought it would be about self-indulgence– baths, massages, chocolates and pink bubbly, but it turned out to be about self-care and self-love, which involves dealing with inner demons.” Yeaaaahhhh. That bubbly blonde got everyone fooled, don’t she?

So, you guys – make sure you take some time to love yourself.