On Fickleness (Again)

[sdi]

How is it that Venus became associated with fickleness? Venus' orbit is, by some margin, the most circular, regular, and predictable of them all, even Terra's (which is quite circular as well).

Luna's orbit, by contrast, is so complex that we couldn't accurately predict Her until a few centuries ago; to read the terms of Lunar theory, ordered by magnitude, is to read the history of mathematics and astronomy. Similarly, her speed and shape are the most variable; should we not consider Her the fickle one?

Comments

[tunesmyth]

Perhaps it’s due to the fact that she is the Evening Star— comes on bright and beautiful but then goes and disappears for the rest of the night. From what I gather, in the forms of antiquity we know about, it was not generally known that the Evening Star and the Morning Star were both Venus, thus making her look even less faithful. Every single night, she spends most of her time away! Fickle indeed. In contrast, the moon takes takes a whole month to go through her cycle, and only disappears entirely for a short time when she does.

[sdi]

Excellent point, I think there's something to this.

[sdi]

From what I can tell, you've hit the nail on the head: in ancient astrological literature, Venus has very different significations depending on whether She is the morning star or the evening star! As one example, here is an excerpt from Mesopotamian Astrology:

Venus was bisexual, changing her sex according to her position in relation to the sun, but here again we find conflicting traditions. According to one tradition she was considered male (and malefic) as an evening star and female (and benefic) as a morning star [...]; according to another she was male as a morning star and female as an evening star [...]. Venus generally brings rain and fertility—but her conjunction with the other planets portends war and bad luck for the king.

I suppose this is why Inanna, Ishtar, and Aphrodite Areia are considered goddesses of both love and war.