The Petals of Venus: Creative Spells for the Flower Moon
May's moon is nicknamed the Flower Moon, Planting Moon, Milk Moon, Budding Moon, and Egg-Laying Moon. Dedicated to blossoming plants and the humans who care for them, May's moon is also known as the Mother Moon.
In the days between Beltane and Litha, spring is in full swing. Wildflowers soften our steps, and pollinators haunt the meadows. The earth remembers her abundance.
Inspired by our fifth full moon of the year, here at Pointy Hat Press, we’re exploring the unseen with channeled writing and floromancy, and remembering that mothering is a form of magick. Mothering is ancestral work. Mothering is tending to the earth and her creatures, nurturing flowers and cultivating gardens—both above and below.
If we look to the Above in the early morning hours, our cosmic mother Venus winks hello. Venus is the Morning Star and the Evening Star, typically the brightest light in the sky at dawn and dusk. A planet of generation and regeneration, Venus's journey through the stars (spending approximately 19 days in each Zodiac sign) traces the paths and pit stops of our desires. Her voyage illuminates beauty, the needs of the heart, and that which we value.
From our perch here on Earth, Venus draws a five-pointed star in the sky every eight years. Her star, a pentagram, is sometimes called the Rose of Venus.
She is a primordial spirit, originally feathered and bird-like, although later mythologies claim her as a child of the sea. In these stories, her parents are Gaia and Uranus (the Earth and the Sky), and when her father bleeds into the ocean's rolling tides, Venus rises from the salty foam.
Over time, Venus marries Hephaestus, a spirit of the forge and fire, but that doesn't stop her from loving Mars, a god with agricultural roots and a warrior's heart. She's also drawn to mortals, and when a boar kills her lover Adonis, his blood mixes with her tears to create a river of red roses. Venus is the mythical mother of these flowers. If we struggle to see the goddess's star in today's modern rose, remember that a wild rose has five petals bordering a golden center.
Looking for more magic? Listen to the Pointy Hat Press podcast to explore literary spellcraft, storytelling, and nostalgia through a mythopoetic lens. If you leave us a review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and send us a screenshot, we’ll email you a discount code to use at LittleWitchBooks.com.
Season 1, Chapter 13:
In this conversation, Kristin Lisenby & Caitlyn Barone interview Jennifer Green. Jennifer is an artist and spiritual practitioner who has spent over thirty years dedicated to the creative arts, healing, and her ever-evolving magical practice. Listen here!
