Roman Pantheon

Venus Genetrix

Mother of the Line, Bringer of Victory

The Household Vow

Venus, mother of the line, garden-keeper and bringer of victory, be favourable to this house. As you turned the fortunes of a city, turn mine toward increase and good company. I promise this small flame kept, this altar kept, this word kept. Let my beauty be useful and my fortune be shared.

Speak the vow aloud and name what you will give in return; Roman devotion is contractual, so keep it exactly.

Ideas for Offering

  • •Tend a garden or a single potted plant as her standing offering
  • •Keep the first day of April as a house-cleaning and re-dedication
  • •Bathe her image in warm water and dry it with clean linen
  • •Fulfil a vow publicly — thank her by telling someone she was good to you

Accepted Offerings

  • •Myrtle wreaths and roses
  • •Wine, milk, and honeyed cakes
  • •Mint, garden herbs, and the first fruits of a harvest
  • •Mirrors, combs, pearls, and small bronze coins
  • •Incense burned on a clean flat stone

Offering Taboos

  • ✕Do not make a vow to her you cannot pay; unfulfilled vows are her one true offence
  • ✕Avoid myrtle in certain rites of Venus Verticordia; use rose instead when in doubt
  • ✕No unwashed hands, no cluttered altar, no half-burnt debris left in place
  • ✕Do not petition her for revenge; she governs concord, not spite
The Other Shrines
LadaRatiPrendeAisytCliodhnaAstghikAphroditeSjöfnFreyjaPomba GiraOxumErzulie FredaAnaisa PyeIshtar