THE BATHS OF ADONIS

Every spot that we visited in Cyprus had its own special feeling. The Baths of Adonis was no different. I was excited to see what they would feel like. As soon as we came off the main highway and started along the road to our destination, I began to get a sense there would be more to this visit than I thought. The road was rough and uneven, and we were jostled and bounced around as we proceeded. I knew this was important and wondered if this was in preparation for our visit. If so, why?

As I thought about it, I got a bit of an idea. Here we were, going to the sacred place of Aphrodite and Adonis, where they spent precious intimate time together and wanting to experience or feel the love they had for each other. How could I or anyone else possibly feel that energy if I had old emotional patterns embodied in my psyche? I understood that being receptive was not enough. I had to let go of any old negative blockages that I had acquired in the past, ones that interfered with the free flow of that energy through me. So, I focused on that as we made our way down into the valley. We passed wild brushes and sometimes had to travel upward before we could continue downward as we made our way to our destination. I thought to myself, I am in for a heck of a ride.

Eventually, we arrived at the car park and as we headed out on foot, we came across a pathway that was lined on the left-hand side by Greek statues, all larger than life. There was one of Adonis, a few of Aphrodite, including one over 10 feet tall. There was another of the two of them together. There were some of other Greek gods, including Athena, Zeus and, Dionysius and also, other unexpected ones, like the one of Alexander the Great and a few of symbols of fertility.

It was an interesting line up. As I walked past them, I greeted them and wondered about their role in this journey. I knew they were new arrivals to this site, probably placed there 50 years ago or so and thought that was interesting too. I didn’t think it was by accident that they were placed there at that time.

At the end of this pathway, I entered a small museum. This was also a part of the journey to the underworld. It held exhibits that honor the history of the local area and also of the owner’s family. The past is displayed and treasured here. Are we being reminded to honor our own past, and to give gratitude for all of the experiences in our lives that have brought us here in this moment of time? Love and gratitude walk hand in hand.

As we leave the museum we walk further down, on stone steps to the baths themselves. It is like stepping into another realm. On one hand, there were men and women jumping into the pond, going under the falls, laughing and filled with the sun and the water around them. On another level, as the water from the fall's cascades over the rocks, it continuously imbues the waters with the love that has permeated those same rocks since the days of Aphrodite and Adonis.

Theirs is a timeless tale and women and men both travel to the Baths looking for their own forever love story. A few of the women go there with the hope of becoming pregnant and a few men go there to strengthen their virility. All are there for some aspect of love and intimacy.

Several of the travellers’ edge themselves along a thick, strong, branch the size of a man’s thighs, that stretches out horizontally above the pool, the pool that is fed by the falls. From there, they jump with anticipation and laughter into the baths. They are young and hopeful and in those moments in love with life itself. Yet they are there because of their longing for such a love as Aphrodite experienced. What they don’t know, is that Aphrodite herself, has invited them there.

Not everyone is given the opportunity. She sees into the hearts of those craving love. To those that she deems ready and of the right disposition, she issues the call.

She also sends out a summons to the women who had come to her for love years before and received it. These women respond gladly, happy to be able to pay homage to Aphrodite, to thank her for her gifts to them.

They know they are being asked to hold the energy when the new ones make the jump. They are there to infuse the baths and the falls with the love they received, sharing it, giving it and sending it out to those in need, right there, right then.

As Aphrodite answered their requests years before, she will now answer the pleas of these new ones and give them that opportunity for love, but, like her own experience, they will have to work through challenges in order to receive it fully. Aphrodite’s love stories are not for the faint of heart.

Nor was her relationship with Adonis. Nothing about it fit the norm. First of all, she was a goddess and he was a mortal. Second, his birth was most unusual. It began with Aphrodite being jealous of his mother’s beauty. Through trickery she has Myrrha, his mother, bed her own father and when he realizes what happened, he sets out to kill Myrrha, who is pregnant.

Aphrodite feels remorse and so she turns Myrrha into a myrrh tree. Her father shoots an arrow into the tree and Adonis is then born. Wanting to protect him, Aphrodite entrusts him to Persephone of the underworld to raise, until he is of age. But by then, Persephone is in love with him. Both goddesses fight over him and finally Zeus is asked to intervene. He decrees that Adonis would spend four months with

Persephone and four months with Aphrodite. The other four months he can do as he wishes. He chooses to spend them with Aphrodite. Remember, goddesses are not under the rules of time and space as humans are. They don’t age and Aphrodite was just as beautiful as the day he was born.

As you can see, theirs is a love story but it is not the usual type. He has to spend four months of the year with Persephone and Aphrodite accepts that. After all, she is a goddess and Adonis is not her only love. She also has a long-standing intense affair with Ares, the god of war and passion. As a god, there were things he could offer her that a mortal could not. Yet her love for Ares does not take away from her love for Adonis and vice versa. Each played a different role in her life and she loved them both. She loved Adonis more gently and profoundly while her time with Ares was powerful and fiery.

 It becomes clear that asking Aphrodite for love at the Baths of Adonis is opening yourself up to the unexpected. She will bring you exactly what your soul needs, which will very likely end up being unconventional. She is certainly that. It could mean that the relationship you have with the person you love, may not fit the norm, though it could. But it could also be the family roles are reversed, and the father is a stay-at-home dad, or you and your spouse may live in two different cities. It could be being together for forty years and never marrying. It could mean being in love with someone who is unavailable for a number of reasons and still loving them and being loved by them in return for a lifetime. It could be one person is much older or younger than the other.

It matters not to her. Whatever she brings you, is exactly what your soul needs. It could be that he dies young, as in the tale of Artemis and Adonis, where after three attempts she succeeds in killing him.

Aphrodite was well aware of Artemis’s plans and protected him as well as she could, but she knew she could lose him at any moment. Still, she never wavered, and she loved him with total abandonment. When Artemis finally succeeded, Aphrodite held him in her arms as her tears mixed with his blood and it is said that that is how red roses were born out.

This is the kind of love she offers, no holds barred. When someone appeals to her for love, she asks the questions “What are you willing to do for love? “Will you jump into it with both feet even though you know it might not end the way you wish?” How deeply can you give of

yourself even in the midst of uncertainty? If your answers are yes and you will give every part of your being, then know, that THAT is the love that Aphrodite will bring to you in equal measure.

Never doubt it. That is why she has those women who have gone before stand guard as the current women are preparing to take the plunge. It is like they are saying, “You can do this!

Trust us! We know! We have done it and would do it again!” They stand there and say: “Risk it all! Be courageous! If you want your forever story, give it EVERYTHING! Enjoy every second of it, whether it be a week, a year, a lifetime! Be grateful and give it everything.” Those are the same words that other women throughout history have been offered, by alumni, right there in those baths and other places dedicated to Aphrodite. She will reward all those who are jumping in with both feet. If you have been called to the Baths of Adonis, be prepared. The love Aphrodite offers is that of ALL or Nothing. That is who she is.

As we left the Baths, once more we walked through the museum, and I could feel the warmth and the love imbued in every object there and felt I was caressed by the energy as I left it. I was deep in thought as I passed the Greek statues and all of a sudden felt a slight breeze on my face. I looked up and as I passed Athena, I felt her whisper that her wisdom would be there when I needed it. Zeus smiled and promised strength whenever I would ask for it. Alexander the Great, avowed he would bring vision and, clear insight, when I needed it. Aphrodite and Adonis smiled and blessed me.

I left the Baths feeling renewed and lighter, as if my heart was just a bit more open and receptive and braver. I will be forever grateful for the experience and to you Finbarr for bringing me there.

Linda CA

Journey To The Mystical Gem Of The Mediterranean-CYPRUS!