By Suzie Heumann
The celebration of St. Valentine's Day began as the Romans' festival to the Goddess of Love Fever, Juno Februata, and included a tradition of writing women's names on strips of paper. Young men would then choose the notes and erotic games would ensue.
Much later, St. Valentine (whom scholars say is mythical) became the patron of lovers. Though the Christian holidays were a much more toned-down affair, the sexual rites of early spring, even in the Middle Ages, involved secret rituals, love potions and spells. How romantic!
Today, you can use ritual to create a magically mesmerizing evening that the two of you will remember for years to come. Combine some of the ideas that follow and use your imagination to create focus and love that will impress your lover and strengthen your sensual bond.
# Make an altar with your partner. Bring together both aspects of yourself and of your union to represent the vision you hold.
# Illuminate! Bring out as many candles as you can find. Arrange them in safe places that balance the energy in the room and create a feeling of warmth and sensual excitement. Save the last one to light together.
# Throughout history, most cultures have used ritual objects for sacred ceremony.
This includes bringing in aspects of the elements -- Fire, Water, Earth and Air -- to help us remember what is important in our lives:
* For Fire, use candles.
* For Water, bathe and bring your favorite drink into the bedroom.
* The representation of Earth can be a massage with particular attention paid to
the feet -- the part of us that walks on the Earth. Also use fruit as a
reminder of the fruits of the Earth.
* Air can be represented by incense, a mirror and the visualization of what you
aspire to as a couple.
# Gift your lover with erotic-looking flowers.
# If you have a deck of Tarot cards, place it on the altar you've created, then do sacred readings for each other. Be relaxed about the interpretations. This isn't serious -- it's fun! Just use your intuition to read the cards' meanings.
# Bring an intention to your lovemaking ritual. At the beginning, face each other, place your right hand on your partner's heart and your left hand over your partner's hand. You are thus holding his or her hand to your heart, and your partner should do the same. Take turns sharing what you love about the other and what you aspire to together during the coming year. Eye gaze and breathe as one for a few minutes before you begin to make love.
# With your partner, explore two new positions from the Kama Sutra. Perhaps a book about the sacred practice would be a good St. Valentine's gift for your lover that the two of you can explore together.
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