A Princess and a God

Psyche was the third daughter of a King and Queen. She was beautiful. The people in her village made altars to honor her. They left flowers and trinkets on those altars. Everyone admired Psyche but she had no friends; worse than that...she had no suitors. When her less awesome sisters were all married, the royal family became worried about Psyche's future. They decided to consult the Oracle at Delphi about Psyche's fate.

The Oracle told the family to prepare Psyche for her wedding. On the morning of the Spring Equinox, she should climb the sacred mountain. At its peak, her groom would meet her. "Psyche," the Oracle said, "will be the bride of Death. Fate is fate and fate cannot be denied."

As Psyche began to climb that mountain, Venus, the Goddess of Love and Beauty, asked her son, Eros, the God of Passion, to go to that mountain. "You will find a young girl there," Venus said. "Shoot her with one of your arrows." Mortals and Gods fear and pray for Eros' arrows. The one pieced will fall in love with the one they see. Deeply in love, love beyond reason, that is what comes from Eros' arrows. Some say they are poison arrows and I am one of the some. Psyche's groom might be death, but she would go willingly into his arms.

Eros reached into his quiver to take an arrow.... Reaching in, he pricked his own finger. Eros fell in love with Psyche. Deeply in love, love beyond reason, he picked her up and took her to paradise.

Now, in those times, a mortal could not look upon the face of a God. In order to be together, Eros told Psyche she could not look at him. She was in Paradise. She could have everything she wanted, but she must never look at him. Is that too much to ask? In the day, every desire was fulfilled. At night, in her windowless bedchamber, they made love. It was wonderful, but Psyche was lonely. She invited her sisters to come and visit.

Her sisters brought doubt. Perhaps they were jealous; after all, Psyche lived in Paradise and was married to the God of love. After their visit, Psyche took the oil lamp from her bedchamber. She held the lamp high and looked at the face of her sleeping lover. A drop of hot oil fell from the lamp and landed on Eros' shoulder. He woke up. Paradise disappeared. Psyche was alone. She could go back and resume her life as a princess or she could journey to overcome challenges and become a Goddess, the equal partner of Eros. Our summer weekends will reveal her choice.

What will you choose?