Aphrodite Shrine at Our Haven -- a history (and update)

Friends and long-time followers of this blog know that I am one of the Temple Keepers for the Aphrodite Shrine at Our Haven Nature Sanctuary in southern Indiana. I've posted plans and pictures, hopes and even heartbreaks regarding this beautiful little piece of paradise for years now.

Each year, as I, my family, and now even a loving and dedicated core of friends, come out to tend and beautify the shrine, I am awed and amazed at what a breathtakingly beautiful place it is. The entire Sanctuary is stunning, mind you. It is 175 acres of rolling woodlands in the hills of the southern part of Indiana. There are a couple of large fields that had been cleared years ago for farming by the previous owners, and they now serve as the primary camping and event fields.

Sometime between my first arrival at Our Haven in 2006 and my re-appearance in 2008 (at which point I made it my spiritual home), two women set the stones that form the altar of the shrine. These two women are incredibly dear to me -- one of them being one of my life partners, and the other being one of our closest friends -- although I hadn't met either of them on the Solstice evening when they set the shrine. They aligned Her altar to Venus (the Evening Star) as she set on the tree-line that Summer Solstice night.

Aphrodite's Shrine is within a larger circle called the Great Rite Spiral, which was established near the same time. A large stone Great Rite altar dominates the center of the circle, and spiral path made of Chinese hedgerows winds into it from the outside. The only problem is that after the hedges were planted, everyone thought they died. They got moved over, due to that belief, and then the entire area was allowed to be overgrown in weeds and tall grass. It's naturally a very wet space -- which the hedges like, but so did the marsh gasses. That was how it looked when I first saw it in 2008. Tall weeds around a massive rock. I had heard there was Aphrodite shrine in there, but I'd never seen it.

The first work weekend in March of 2010 saw about six of us pulling dried grass and dead weeds out of that space. My other life partner, Joe, wanted to start again on the hedges. But would you believe it? More than half of the originals were actually fighting for life under the nest of weeds. Their original orange flags were still marking their resolute stands, and they were determined to live. This was the day I got involved, and I've been a rather persistent advocate for that spot ever since.

April 2010 -- Before donations, and before foliage had come in.

Cleared of weed cover, the hedges grew two feet that year. I'm not exaggerating. They grow fast! I also uncovered some of the original altar decorations that the temple founders had placed there. They had gotten pounded into the ground. Seriously. But I cleaned them up and put them back on the altar. I brought out some of my own, too, including a small icon, because I had promised Aphrodite that she would have an image on the land. It wasn't made for outdoor use, and it got pretty weather-worn, but I think it added character.

Babalon Rising 2010, photo taken by Nick Vitori of Envy Graphix

Also by 2010, people had read my writing about Aphrodite, and I was in conversation with a couple of people who wanted to donate some money to the upkeep of Her shrine! Wow!! We bought a beautiful outdoor icon (Venus of Medici), a trellis arbor, and two climbing roses with donations alone. Our family contributed mulch and energy. We got everything put in by June, and it was lovely. Obviously new and young, but lovely.

Weeds literally covered the entire shrine. *sigh*

The wind knocked the trellis down, though, and we got so much rain between June and August that Indiana felt like a rain-forest. Aphrodite of the Gardens became Aphrodite of the Jungle. Our lovely shrine was overwhelmed in an ocean of weeds. I came out on retreat and battled them single-handedly for 2 and 1/2 days -- literally singing and dancing with the bees in the weeds. Pricking my fingers on datura occasionally was the worst part. Natalie was on retreat, too, and sometimes she would come sit on the Great Rite rock and drum or take pictures of the progress. By Sunday, it was all beautiful again, and I poured libations at the shrine (wearing what has become my semi-official "Aphrodite Shrine Work Dress"). I had even reset the trellis.

In the spring of 2011, we had terrible storms. The trellis came down and took out both the icon and the stone shrine. I had set it well, and it came down HARD. Trellis and icon were a shambles. We reset the stones and tidied up. Only needed to do a little weeding. We put in some more mulch. The shrine was getting easier to tend. The hedges, were getting enormous. They seem to grow a foot each time we saw them. In September, I found a replacement icon (Venus di Milo) and a marble base. We placed her at the Women's Goddess Retreat.

It's 2012, and we have worked on the shrine twice already. One was a weeding and mulching day. My partners and two friends who are Our Haven members worked on that at the first work weekend. It was a beautiful day, and a beautiful moment. We laughed and loved each other, and my heart was so full of gratitude for the many hearts and hands who have poured their love upon my Lady and upon the Land where She stands.

Last weekend, on Mother's Day, a good friend and her family planted two rosebushes at the shrine. They will be gorgeous when they grow and bloom.

Yesterday, my family and one of the same friends -- she's actually a coven sister -- filled in the entire center of the Shrine/Spiral with mulch and paved the spiralling pathway with pea gravel. The project was funded by the sweet friend, my Sister in Aphrodite, who founded the shrine with my beloved Natalie. It was another beautiful day, and the results are so startling, so stunning, so beautiful that I feel the touch of my Goddess in the work.

I am Temple Keeper, not because I have any claim or ownership, any special right or privilege over this Shrine. Indeed, I don't have those things at all. It's a public shrine within Our Haven Nature Sanctuary. I am a Temple Keeper because my heart is in that beautiful little piece of land, and I help to keep up the temple.

Aphrodite's Priestess is BACK

Technically, I haven't been GONE. Well, I took that teensy break, but that last about a minute and a half. I did change my blog name, but I realized tonight that doing THAT was just silly. Apparently the entire Aphrodisian world was linked to me as Aphrodite's Priestess. So, I reclaimed that blog name, and here I am again.

You'll be happy to know, lovers of the Golden One, that I found a most delightful statue of Our Lady lurking in a flea market today. Just what I needed for the shrine, as a matter of fact. As I am headed out there tomorrow for the retreat, it was perfect timing.

And do stay tuned for upcoming information on the Order of the Red Doves (which Elle and I have been collaborating on) and the Priest/ess Training Program (which I am still working on). I'll have updates very soon about both of those projects.

Vinalia Rustica 2011

Yesterday's shrine-tending was odd and incomplete. It was good, don't get me wrong. My partners (Glaux and Iron Dragon) and I were joined by another member of Our Haven to work on Aphrodite's shrine and maintain the Great Rite Spiral in which the shrine sits. We did as much as we could possibly do with the materials and folks who were there, but we were missing two people (one of whom had agreed to bring the statue and a weed-eater) and arbor-building materials from a third.

So, the very bright up-side is that we weeded the entire area, laid gardening fabric in the most needed areas, and placed a truckload of mulch on top of the cloth. We had to take apart the stones of the shrine to accomplish it, but all of the area surrounding Aphrodite's shrine is beautiful. The roses are doing quite well, although they are in dire need of the arbor. They are climbers, after all. We cleaned all the offerings on the alter, and I'm properly disposing of the ones that nature has worn down to decay. We mended the little fiberglass statue that a friend had given me years before. I have thought of her as Peitho since Aphrodisia 2010, but it's still right that she's holding the space until the Aphrodite icon returns.

Sadly, the broken Aphrodite icon could not be repaired. We tried. Glaux sat with her for an hour, I think, trying to mend her. Poor headless statue. We've brought her home, where I will dispose of this concrete shell with proper rites. It's very funerary and sad for me.

I have to admit to suffering some disappointment yesterday due to the my friends not being available. I understand two of them -- they were both out of the state, and simply couldn't make it. The third (with the statue and weed-trimmer), though, leaves me not knowing what to think. She's vanished from my contacts, disconnected her blog, isn't answering the phone. I don't know whether I should be worried or hurt. When I talked to her three days ago, all was well.

Ah, me. I don't know. *Laurelei repeats her mantra: "I can only control myself."*

All in all, the Vinalia Rustica work has been successful, but I am not done yet. The remainder of the shrine's spiral needs to be mulched, the stones need to be laid for the spiral, a statue now probably needs to be purchased and installed, and the arbor needs to be built. Iron Dragon and I are going back out on Saturday, August 27th to lay more gardening fabric and mulch. If we have time (and the cypress posts are available) we might also put up the arbor. The stones will have to wait for more time, and the statue will have to wait for more money. Oh, the world's precious commodities!

I want to thank everyone who has donated labor, materials and/or money to the shrine. Your names sit on Aphrodite's shrine within my home, and I pray for her to bless you with her many and abundant gifts!!

Gearing up for Vinalia Rustica 2011

In my post on July 3, I discussed the needed renovations at the Aphrodite Shrine I help maintain at Our Haven Nature Sanctuary.

Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone who has contributed donations of money and materials to the renovation efforts. I'll keep your names confidential here, but know that they sit on my personal Aphrodite shrine at home as a prayer and a thanks for your generosity, grace, and love toward Aphrodite and this land that honors Her.

Secondly, I'd like to thank the folks who live locally to me and have already come out to help care for the shrine.

Arcadia (our cabin) in April 2010)

Finally, there is a small group of us that are planning on gathering to for a "work weekend" for the weekend when I was going to celebrate the Vinalia Rustica and restore the shrine. That weekend will be Friday, August 19th through Sunday, August 21. Currently, there are four women: Glaux (my sweetie), two of our good friends (Lily Savage and Daun), and me. We're going to have a mini-retreat at the cabin, and we would LOVE for you to join us if you feel moved to do so!




Our projects are going to include:
1.  Weeding and mowing the entire Great Rite Spiral
2. Raising a solid arbor above the shrine
3. Erecting a new statue (if it is available -- which is a possibility)
4. Laying ground cover -- either mulch or something like the fabulous spiral below

Lily's Idea (which we all LOVE)

If you would like to help in anyway (money, materials, plantings for the shrine or labor), please let me know. You can make monetary donations to the cause via PayPal:

Vinalia Rustica Renovations

Poor 'Dite. Her shrine at Our Haven Nature Sanctuary has been terribly battered this past spring.

The Shrine at Beltaine, in the midst of the storms.

Indiana, here in the Midwestern portion of the United States, got abused by rains and winds starting in March that lasted until ... well, they haven't quite stopped yet, to be honest. The arbor that had once beautifully arched over the shrine was uprooted in one of the nastier storms, breaking both the arbor AND the Aphrodite icon. (Yes, her head is missing. It's shameful. I hate it.)

My plan is to rebuild the arbor from sturdier materials that are rooted deeper into the ground. The statue wouldn't have fallen if the arbor hadn't hit it. The arbor, of course, is necessary for the climbing roses that were purchased by an Aphrodite devotee last year. (The roses are doing fine, by the way. They just need something to climb on again.)

I'm not the only person who cares for the shrine, but I am among very few. Those few of us have also discussed laying gardening plastic with mulch atop it in the circle where the shrine sits. The circle is called the Great Rite Spiral, and it is too small a space to mow effectively, which is why our lovely Aphrodite Shrine is always getting overgrown. (The rain this year was a contributing factor for these pictures, as well. The circle sits in a slightly wet piece of land, which is great for the Chinese Hedgerows that will eventually form the spiral labyrinth. But it can get boggy in a lot of rain, and overgrown if the mower can't get in.)

So ... on behalf of the Aphrodite Shrine and the Great Rite Spiral at Our Haven, I am collecting donations of the following materials (or money, via PayPal):

The Shrine before the storms (last July).

Aphrodite Statue
Four 4x4x8 wooden posts
Quik-crete
Wire
Gardening Plastic
Mulch (cypress)

Monetary donations may be made to PayPal at:

Work will begin on this project at Vinalia Rustica on Thursday, the 18th of August, 2011. Donations may be made at any time, before or after.

Aphrodite at Indiana University

I will happily admit that I am a proud alumna of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana and that all of my notions about the campus and town are heavily skewed. I see the entire landscape through rosy lenses, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

It wasn't until I was showing my beloved Glaux around campus, though, that I noticed that Aphrodite had made her beautiful mark on my alma mater long before I ever arrived there. In fact, I'm persuaded now to see the campus and town as places sacred to her, honored as she is by the local residents. (Even the very name of the town -- Bloomington -- calls to mind her flowery and garden epithets.)

The first picture was taken in the hotel lobby of the Indiana Memorial Union. I was on the Board of Directors for the IMU in 1996, during my undergrad career, and I can boast for the school that ours is the world's largest student union all under one roof. This replica of the Aphrodite of Melos (Venus di Milo) is larger than life and stands in the crook of the stairs, surrounded by plants and backed by the university's beloved former chancellor, Herman B. Wells.













This next set of pictures shows the sculptural fountain at the heart of campus. Named "Showalter Fountain" in honor of the donor who funded it, this is a depiction of the Birth of Aphrodite. She is surrounded by fish, and the circle of this particular sanctuary is bounded by the Auditorium, the Lilly Library and Museum of Art.

I'm taking classes again through IU in preparation for my MA & PhD in Religious Studies. My application to the program is due by the end of this semester, and I pray almost non-stop to my beloved Kypris to see me accepted. I intend to study once more on this campus that I love, surrounded by images of her, as I research and write about the Lady of Love. What better place could I have chosen?

Sweating for Akidalia

Last Friday evening, Glaux and I headed to Our Haven for some retreat time. She had some serious inner work that she wanted to contemplate, and I had some serious physical plane work that needed tending. (Well, my inner work was going to happen while I did physical toil, so I got a double-header.) Specifically, I absolutely HAD to pull weeds from Aphrodite's shrine and re-set the arbor that we had put in place for her. (It had fallen in the wind and storms, mainly because it needed to be affixed more permanently to the land.)

Glaux and I are among a smallish group of people that I would call "stewards" of Our Haven. Our spouse, Iron Dragon, is definitely on that list, as well. In fact, there is hardly a structure, a standing stone or any major project that he wasn't involved in building/placing. Minimal though that stewardship core is, I had anticipated more help in keeping the weeds out of the Great Rite Spiral in which Aphrodite's shrine sits. But ... people are busy, and the folks who live on the land are over-extended in all their maintenance duties. So, my beloved space looked like this after just two months of my time away.

I could practically hear Aphrodite admonishing me that she is not Aphrodite of Jungle or the Lady of Weeds. Gardens are great, and some wild spaces can be nice from time to time. But this was ridiculous. At least her roses were thriving. Can you see the little pinpoints of scarlet that she seems to be gazing upon?




So I tended what was supposed to be her garden. There are Chinese hedgerows planted in a large spiral that encompass the entire space. They were overgrown to the point that nobody but someone very familiar with the space could mow it for fear of running over the smaller of those hedges. My first task, then, was to unbury the boundary hedges. Then, I focused on the shrine surrounding the Goddess. I pulled weeds for seven hours the first night, but I made progress. And Glaux took pictures when she joined me later in the evening. =)

 

Venus was riding toward the horizon and the sky was dark when I stopped for the night, but I got up early enough the next morning to see that shining morning star at its zenith, and I went back to pulling weeds, dancing in my lady's garden, and getting the arbor back in place. (The posts are in deep and surrounded in concrete this time. It isn't going anywhere.) The work was hot and long, though, and I sweated more than I ever have before. I found that I was useless at manipulating the post-hole diggers. (Too short, I am.) So I made better use of them by pairing them with my umbrella as a shady refuge while I dug the post holes by hand.

When enough of the weeds we cleared out, one of the Elders of Our Haven (Manelqua) came to my rescue -- riding his trusty lawn tractor and making quick business of the remainder of the weeds. I poured a libation of strawberry mead.

There is more work yet to be done. I'll be out to visit and do maintenance weeding about every two weeks between now and October. Then, I think Iron Dragon, Glaux and I will be putting down some ground cloth and more mulch. (Just the hedgerows have mulch right now.) I'd like to see more flowers. There are irises in the spring, planted by a sister-priestess. they bloomed for the first time this year and were stunning. But I was thinking maybe some day lilies to add bright summery color. And I *think* we have some morning glories that are weaving themselves in among the more established hedges -- particularly right behind the altar.

In any case, it is beautiful, and I thank the foam-born Kyprian who delights in her bath, for giving me the chance to get sweaty and dirty as I worked and danced in her garden.

Aphrodite Shrine Becoming a Reality

This may be one of my last "planning" posts in regards to the Aphrodite shrine that I am helping care for. I believe that I now have most (if not all) of the money together to bring all of the elements together.

We already have the beautiful rock shrine base.

 

I'd already decided on a lovely replica of the Medici Venus:

And now we've selected the actual arbor:

and the species of climbing roses (Blaze):

 

It's going to be so lovely once it's all completed. I'm so happy that I have access to land where this is possible.

All of these pieces will be in place by June 9. That is the set-up day for the Babalon Rising festival at Our Haven, and the shrine must be in order by then.

Shrine Photos

Benefactors

I had a wonderful Aphrodisian experience last night with a friend I am making online. "Chryseis" is a devotee of  golden Aphrodite, and we had a very loving and connected moment -- the first of what I am sure will be many. By many standards, the conversation could be termed "innocent." Though we discussed and even played out (online) a very titillating and taboo fantasy, the conversation never went so far as to mention body parts below the neck. (Isn't it amazing how erotic the simplest things can be, if we let them?)

The only manner in which I have received money for Aphrodisian work in the past has been through the sale of my books. However, sweet Chryseis made a very generous donation to the Goddess through me. Interestingly, I see this as a turning point for me -- the point at which the term "Sacred Prostitute" really has literal meaning for me.

Don't get me wrong. I claimed the title with pride before now, and I think deservedly so. I have worked with devotees in an erotic capacity in the past, and I have been one of the "qadishtu" presenters at the Babalon Rising festival for the last few years. I've just never sought (nor received) any direct donations to the work of Aphrodite, as I do it, from those with whom I've worked.

Chryseis' generous and loving donation is going to make possible the addition of a statue of Aphrodite at Our Haven, the sacred/festival land that I help care for. Specifically, I am going to put a replica of the Venus of Medici at the Aphrodite Shrine near the Great Rite altar.

And in posting about Chryseis' generosity to my facebook profile today, another Aphrodisian has decided to donate money for flowers to go to the site as well.

I am honored and moved right now beyond rational thought. I am so pleased to be one of the priestess of Aphrodite and to help with her work in the world. Each priestess and actively-honoring devotee that I have come to know has a beauty and grace of spirit that is stunning.

Thank you, Chryseis and Ellen!

My praise and love to Aphrodite!!