Lupercalia - Pagan Valentines Day Origins?

[Týsköll]

"The festival was to enable or facilitate fertility,” says Kresimir Vukovic, a postdoctoral fellow at the Catholic University of Croatia who has studied Lupercalia. “If you were struck by a Lupercus, one of the priests, it was considered that you would give birth to more children,” he explains. “I don’t think it was a sadistic beating, it was a symbolic beating.”

The most plausible theory for the whipping was that it served as an initiation, he says, as ritualized “sexual play”

https://time.com/5527259/valentines-day-lupercalia/

The name Lupercalia was believed in antiquity to evince some connection with the Ancient Greek festival of the Arcadian Lykaia, a wolf festival (Greek: λύκος, lýkos; Latin: lupus), and the worship of Lycaean Pan, assumed to be a Greek equivalent to Faunus, as instituted by Evander.[5] Justin describes a cult image of "the Lycaean god, whom the Greeks call Pan and the Romans Lupercus", as nude, save for a goatskin girdle.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupercalia

[Caylus Ark]

now this is what you call an orgy

[Týsköll]

now this is what you call an orgy

"Just whippin' with fresh warm bloody skin"





Symbolic penetration of the flesh by breaking the skin in the whipping, seems to potentially relate to being shot by cupid. She didn't make that connection, actually didn't make many but did explain the banning and replacement.

Anyway good times.

[Caylus Ark]

actually, learning about this has single-handedly given me a relationship to the event known as valentines day

[Týsköll]

actually, learning about this has single-handedly given me a relationship to the event known as valentines day

Quite amazing isn't it, that when we can get to the roots and origins of something - past the veil that has been cast across ancient culture by the church - suddenly it seems to make a lot more sense and we "fit" a lot better.

Happy Lupercalia, Caylus and all Suneaters! <3

Now c'mere so I can whip y'all

[Týsköll]