The Myth of Psyche & Eros (The Honeymoon Phase)

This is one of the greatest love stories in ancient myth: the myth of Psyche and Eros. It explores so many rich relationship themes, including the dynamics of the honeymoon period, jealousy, betrayal, and the personal journey and transformation someone experiences when they find themselves in relationship with another.

Astrologically, this is fundamentally a Venus story. Venus herself (aka Aphrodite) is one of the main characters. Through this story, we get to explore attraction dynamics and what it means to fall in love. But we also see the darker sides of Venus through her relationship with her son Eros, Psyche's soulmate.

Because this is such a long story, there are many archetypal themes we can connect to the astrology chart. Some of the overarching ones include Venus, Mars, Neptune, and Pluto.

When we meet Psyche, she is a mortal living in a small village on the island of Crete. She is so incredibly beautiful that, as she gets older, the townspeople begin comparing her beauty to that of Venus herself.

If you know anything about Venus, this is a HUGE no-no. Comparison to the goddess herself? That's enough to evoke the wrath of Venus in all her envy and jealousy. Talk about dark Venus territory.

When Venus hears about these comparisons, she plots to put an end to them. She tasks her son Eros (aka Cupid) with shooting one of his famous magical arrows, which causes someone to fall in love with the first person or thing they see. This dynamic between Venus and Eros has been going on for a long time, and it's something we'll explore more in Eros' version of the story.

Venus also pulls a few other strings to ensure that Psyche is married off to a hideous monster. We don't know exactly how she does this, but the will of the gods is powerful and can make almost impossible things happen.

Eros is then tasked with shooting Psyche on her wedding day to this horrible monster. But when he arrives at the ceremony, even he is taken aback by her beauty. As he stumbles over his quiver of arrows, he accidentally grazes himself.

And in that moment, he falls deeply in love with Psyche.

Caught up in the moment, he whisks her away to his secret hidden palace—a place that even Venus rarely visits—and hides her there.

In this palace, Psyche has everything she could ever want. It is an enchanted place where every possible desire is provided for her: a huge warm bed, delicious food, luxurious furnishings, and anything else she could possibly need. And in this place, she is cared for by Eros.

But there is one caveat.

She is able to enjoy Eros' company only at night, and only in the dark. She is not allowed to see him.

There are a few reasons given for why Psyche cannot look upon Eros. One version I particularly enjoy comes from Luna McNamara's novel Psyche & Eros. In her retelling, Venus places a curse on them: if Psyche ever sees Eros, he will be taken from her and they will be separated.

In the ancient versions, we don't get a very satisfying explanation. Many myths suggest that if a mortal sees a god or goddess in their full luminous glory, they simply wouldn't be able to withstand it and would die. So perhaps that's part of the danger.

Other versions suggest that because the gods are all-knowing, if Psyche were to discover that her mysterious lover was actually Eros—the god of love and Venus' son—her awareness would somehow alert Venus to the fact that he had hidden her away.

Whichever version you prefer, it's really open to interpretation and retelling.

So, in this palace of gorgeous darkness, Psyche and Eros fall in love. And not just the magical-arrow kind of love, but real love. They discover that they are soulmates. They spend every night together in a blissful unknowing.

Astrologically and psychologically, this is very symbolic of the honeymoon phase of a relationship. This is the period when everything seems beautiful, but vision and awareness are limited. There is so much that can be "painted in" by the mind because the full picture isn't yet visible.

One day, after many months of these nighttime trysts, Psyche asks Eros if her sisters can come to visit.

You see, this palace can only be accessed through magic. Her sisters couldn't simply hop on a boat and arrive on their own. The visit had to be arranged.

Eros agrees, and plans are made for her sisters to stay for a few days.

When they arrive, they are shocked by Psyche's change in circumstances. You have to remember that Psyche's family comes from a small, unremarkable village on Crete. And in those times, people couldn't simply marry whoever they wanted. Marriage was often arranged for economic and social reasons.

As a result, many women found themselves married to men they didn't just dislike, but actively detested. To make matters worse, women were often treated as property, meaning there was no guarantee they would be treated with respect or kindness.

So you can imagine what it was like for Psyche's sisters to discover her living in a magical palace, surrounded by every luxury imaginable, with a beautiful and charming lover who visited her each night and left her free during the day.

They were, understandably, envious.

Whether consciously or unconsciously, they begin planting seeds in Psyche's mind. They start questioning who this mysterious man really is. Slowly, they suggest that perhaps he is the monster.

Psyche had never considered this before. Eros had always been kind to her, and by this point she genuinely loved him—or at least, as much as you can love someone you've never actually seen.

But their questions begin to work on her.

Psyche remembers the promise she made to Eros: never look at him in the light. Again, we don't know whether his reasoning is connected to the curse or something else entirely, but we have to assume he has a good reason.

Yet after her sisters leave, Psyche can't stop thinking about it.

She has to know.

She has to see him.

One night, after they are together, Eros falls asleep. Psyche sees her opportunity. She lights an oil lamp so she can finally discover whether he is truly a monster—or the man she has fallen in love with.

In the darkness, she carefully carries the lamp over to where Eros is sleeping.

And she discovers that he is no monster at all.

Instead, he is the most beautiful being she has ever seen.

She gasps, realizing that he is not merely a man, but a god.

And as she gasps, a drop of hot oil falls from the lamp onto Eros' leg.

He wakes.

It is during this scene that Psyche and Eros are separated. Again, we don't know whether it's because of Venus' curse or some other divine law, but they are abruptly torn from one another.

And after months of nighttime trysts, they really are genuinely in love.

This is the moment where the plot shifts dramatically.

The honeymoon phase ends.

And Psyche's heroine's journey begins.

How does the story of Psyche & Eros resonate with you? If you’re curious about how this story shows up in your own chart, and want to develop skills for working with it intentionally, you can book a personalized birth chart reading with me. My signature service is the Astrology Journey, which is like an extended astrology reading experience. It is by far the best way to immerse yourself in your own birth chart.

However, I also offer 1-hour birth chart readings by special request. Send me a message through my contact page for more info.