The Pagan history of V-day

February is one of my favorite times of the year. Not only do the days get longer, but the air is crisp, clean, and the Earth tingles beneath my feet. It's hard to miss squirrels building nests for baby squirrels and soon several of the bushes around our home will have nests full of little baby birds. The first dandelions have appeared weeks ago and a friend of mine snapped a photo of a baby copperhead. Yes Spring is right around the corner and with it the appearance of something else: V-Day.

Every where you look there are shelves upon shelves of oversized bears, huge boxes of chocolate, wine displays, silk and real roses, and more pink than my little gothic heart could possibly stomach in one viewing. To say I dislike the holiday in general would be the under statement of the century. It seems people spend too much money to prove something they should be doing every day of the year and spend the rest of the month complaining that there is no money for anything else. I don't think I have to draw the guy buying the biggest stuffed bear he can find to a middle aged man buying a tacky sports car. You get my drift.

That aside, the modern way of celebrating love and romance is gaudy, more for merchants than sweethearts and in no way resembles the simplicity of the old way of celebrating. You see Valentine's Day is nothing new. In fact it goes back to antiquity when people revered and loved their gods and celebrated their marriages, their births, even their deaths and resurrections. Chaucer had an interesting idea that turned into a very profitable marketing scheme, but it doesn't reflect the real deal.

Valentines Day has a host of other names. In fact it has quite a varied history in Pagan cultures. It's roots are long and still celebrated today, only tackier. Valentine's Day didn't originally have anything at all to do with a martyr (actually a group of martyrs) named Valentine. According to legend, Saint Valentine was taken captive with the intent of converting him to Roman Paganism. When he refused Claudius had him executed, thus winning him martyrdom. Other legends have him (or one of his namesakes) sending love letters to imprisoned lovers. Before him, there was Lupercalia and the month of Gamelion in which Greeks celebrated the marriage, and love of Zeus and Hera.

Zeus and Hera began their marriage very much in love. In fact, they were inseparable. Most remember Zeus as being the filandering husband that had a bit more than a wondering eye. He fathered half of the demigods in Greece and surrounding islands and his children were constantly plagued by Hera's jealous rages. Initially, Hera was the beautiful goddess of marriage, fertility, and prosperity. She was also a goddess that presided over death and was often carved as a regal figure, hooded, with a pomegranate in one hand and poppies. Although her primary role is to preside over women and marriage, she was also an eternal virgin as Hebe, the goddess of youth and nymphs and possibly connected to Demeter as an aspect (although Greek and Romans didn't recognize aspects of their deities, just different deities altogether). Over all, she was one of the few goddesses to be connected directly to the Great Goddess, the initial creatrix of everything. There may be some connection with the Egyptian Hathor, as she is called the Ox-eyed Goddess, and one of her sacred animals is the cow.

The month of Gamelion was celebrated between the middle of January through the middle of February. It was a very busy month. When one begins to get the urge to start Spring cleaning, you can bet it's near February. The month began with a celebration of marriages, marriages performed, scrying for husbands, love magick, and even arranged marriages where this was practiced. During these celebrations, Vestal Virgins (priestesses of Vesta/Hestia that guarded the home fires of the hearth) made special cakes out of salted dough. Every inch of one's home was scoured. Sweets were offered and wine flowed like water. Sweets in those days were more like candied fruit or candied flowers. A good time was had by all. Despite the good time, the end of the month was a point of purification. It was a time for cleaning the body, mind, and soul as well as the home. Cleansing baths and detoxins were used.

Although this is Hera and Zeus's big day, other Greek deities also shared this month with them. The legendary love of Cupid and Psyche is also celebrated but on a much softer level. This is the love of the spirit rather than the love of passion, as Hera and Zeus's marriage was definitely full of. Spiritual love is the greatest gift the gods could give humanity and the union and deification of Psyche with the god of love Eros (Cupid) is one of the strongest examples of what one will go through to prove their love for another. And yet another deity of Roman descent arises bringing another view of the month of February.

Lupercalia, or the celebration of Lupa, a wolf goddess that nursed the twin sons Romulus and Remus who had been abandoned. These two were the abandoned sons of Vestal Virgin Rhea and Ares (Mars) who demanded she leave her sons alongside a river bank to die. Lupa found the twin newborns and nursed them herself and in turn they grew to be strong, healthy, and founders of the great city of Rome. Here is yet another aspect of the holiday. This is probably the most profound. While the other two celebrate love in the most recognizeable form, this story brings another form of love into light. The love of a mother, even an adopted mother, for her children and the love that comes with sharing compassion.

Valentine's Day is about a lot more than fluff and flowers, although I do love flowers. It's about celebrating love all the time in all of its many aspects. Love of husbands and wives, even though many don't get along well, spiritual love, and compassionate love that loves without question or hesitation. There is a lot we as mere mortals can learn about love and it doesn't come from shiny things, trinkets, and cheesy romances. It comes from the soul. That should happen every day of the year with everyone.