Here we go again -- once upon a time ....
Aristotle wrote: "Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies."
Dr. Seuss wrote: "We're all a little weird, and life's a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love."
I am not certain, but I think those two are saying the same thing in their own ways. In any event, Valentine's Day is upon us again and, with that, I bid you Happy Valentine's Day and convey wishes your love life may be smoother than, but as thrilling as, that of Eros and Psyche.
Eros (Cupid / Astrilde) was the son of Aphrodite (Venus / Freyja) and the personification of intense love. Eros is the guy running around shooting arrows of love into humankind causing them to fall in love, hence the image of Cupid. Psyche was the youngest of three daughters of a king and renowned for her beauty. She was so beautiful, in fact, that Aphrodite became jealous and ordered Eros to make her fall in love with a monster. The dutiful son set out to do that, but fell in love with the exquisite maiden himself when he saw her .... the story goes on from there and is easy to find, should anyone be curious enough to pursue it.
In fact, C.S. Lewis, author of such classics as "The Screwtape Letters" and "The Chronicles of Narnia," wrote a retelling of the "myth" of Cupid and Psyche in the form of a novel and told the tale from the perspective of one of Psyche's sisters. "Till We Have Faces" is the novel and was the last Lewis wrote. It deeply delves into religious ideas, but in the context of a pagan setting. The book has been described as reading for mystics of any and all religions.
I hope a few of you will read it, whether or not if you think of yourself as a mystic ....
For more clarity, if you wish it:
Eros or Amor is a male from the Old Greek; Cupid is a male from the Latin/Roman; Astrilde is a female from the Old Norse and a relatively late Nordic persona for Eros or Cupid. Essentially, they are names for the same "god" in their respective cultures.
Aphrodite is from the Old Greek; Venus is from the Latin/Roman; Freyja is from the Old Norse. All are female and, essentially, the same "god" in their respective cultures.
In the spirit of Valentine's Day, here are two videos of young ladies singing their hearts out in the name of love: Giacomo Puccini's "O Mio Babbino Caro" from Gianni Schicchi sung by Valentina Naforniță and Элизиум с Таней Малой на подиуме.
I like both performances and I hope a few of you will, as well ....
