Saturday, February 9, 2013

Cupid...You send me!


Good day my Valentines!  Here is Cupid at the mailbox, sending his Valentine greetings for 2013.  Wow...that time of year again, when we think about our loved ones (our ROMANTIC loved ones, that is!)  I have to confess, when I was just a girl in school, I always seemed to be minus a boyfriend when Valentine's day came around...why?  Beats me!!! If I did have a special boyfriend earlier in the year, he made sure to break up with me before Valentine's day.  Oh well, so I would go to the Valentine dance in my red dress alone, but, I still had fun!  There was always someone to dance with!

 

So, who is this sly looking chap?

Why it's the 'impish', incorrigible, Cupid!  Cupid is the most popular among the love gods...the Roman god of love, and, is said to be the son of Venus, from Mt. Olympus.  He is also known by other names, such as Eros and Amor, depending on your personal preference.  Cupid was in love with love itself, and believed he could spread this emotion on a whim!  He would use his arrows to capture the hearts of those he felt needed love, and, bring two unsuspecting candidates together.  Nah!  Actually, I think he was a predator, who just hunted around for someone to shoot at.   He used gold-tipped arrows for a positive love result, and lead-tipped arrows that would, later, cause the subject to be repulsed by his or her love.  And, sometimes, Cupid's matchmaking backfired on him!  

In fact, it has been said that Cupid's mother,Venus was behind his misbehavings and, would urge him to shoot a beautiful woman with his arrow, thus, eliminating the competition between the goddesses and the human women!  One such incident caused a major event in their lives, and, an impromptu wedding!  I had no idea Cupid was married...did you?  It seems his mother set him off to shoot his arrow into a beautiful human woman, to send her quickly into some monster's arms.  Instead, Cupid fell madly in love with her, himself!  He just couldn't stay away from her, but, the stipulations of their marriage were rather strange.  I guess, being a human, we would never be allowed to set eyes on one of the Roman gods or goddesses, so, Cupid's wife, Psyche, was not to ever gaze upon him.   Well, curiosity got the best of her, she took a look at Cupid and, he left her.  She wandered about for some time, eventually finding her way to the temple of her 'mother-in-law', Venus.  Venus, still has no love for Psyche and, in an attempt to be rid of her, gives her some tasks to perform.  One such task was to deliver a box to the underworld, and to obtain some of the beauty of Pluto's wife...and, NOT to look in the box!  Oh, WELL,  of course, Psyche could not heed the warning and looked into the box.  A deadly spell was cast over her, and she went into a deep, deadly-like sleep!  Meanwhile, poor Cupid is still madly in love with Psyche and proceeds to go looking for her.  He does find her laying under a tree in the woods (did I make that up?), 
and, in a deadly sleep (this part is true)!


Cupid finds his distraught wife, Psyche

Cupid, upon finding Psyche, captures the deadly sleep from her body, and, returns it to the box.  He forgave her for not heeding his warnings, and, Venus also forgave her-Psyche was then made a goddess.  Cupid and Psyche were allowed to spend the rest of their time together.
Happy ending after all!  
Cupid and Psyche in earlier days

This all sounds a little 'off-the-wall' and confusing doesn't it?  I mean, is this chubby, arrow-wielding, winged, naked cherub the real Cupid?  He is depicted as being a bit mischievous, but, spreads good love throughout the universe!
  Give me a break!  Here's what really happened!

Turns out that in England, the early 1800's, Valentine cards were just being designed, with the United States following later on.  Oh, the cards were lacy with flowers, and, then the cherub was added...sometimes little girl and boy angels kissing, sitting on a heart.  Eventually, the bow and arrow were added, since, Cupid was already well known to have experience in matters of the heart! HA!  And, eventually, the chubby cherub just kind of became our loving Cupid!


***
In reality, Cupid, the Roman god of love, was an adult.  Oh...I know I shouldn't pick on him!  It's not his fault, he had a jealous mother, and, had to perform many 'un-lovable' tasks on her whims!  It seems as though the Roman gods weren't interested in love for happiness, as Cupid's main duty was to make sure that the beautiful human women were not available, and be eliminated from the competition of the goddesses.  I guess I'm still stinging from the last time he shot me, lol!     

Nevertheless, heed my warning!  If you spot the 'REAL' Cupid...should he come knocking on YOUR door...'BOOK 'EM'!!!



***
HaHa...I hope you found this to be not only informative, but, a bit of fun too!  I mean, who knew that cupid was married?  They even lived in a castle, until Psyche disobeyed Cupid's wish that she not ever lay eyes upon him...well, I would have succumbed to the mystery, and, I, too, would have looked at him!  

Thank you so much for heading over this way.  February is such a busy month, what with Abe Lincoln, George Washington, and, acknowledging all of our Presidents!  We kicked off the month with Groundhog day...Shady, did you say he came out and  did NOT see his shadow...meaning, early spring?   Then, there's Chinese New Year, February 10th, year of the snake!  A religious day, Ash Wednesday takes us to Valentine's, Day.  And, then the month wraps up with the full Snow Moon on February 25, 2013.
Phew! Quite a lot on February's plate, n'est-ce pas?

My Valentine thanks to:
Google
Yahoo
Wikipedia
'Cupid', of course!
http://voices.yahoo.com
http://valentinesday.fundootimes.com
http://www.theholidayspot.com

I want to wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day...may your love wishes come true!  The KardKorner guru has made a few Valentine cards this year, I have a special one for our grandson Scootie, of course.  And, I hope to find him a fun balloon-'Sponge Bob', you say? And, I do have a card made for Karo...he always finds a wonderful card for me, and a nice dinner out. 

***
So...with that I will leave you, my gracious readers, with this:

"Cupid, draw back your bow,
And let your arrow go-
Straight to my lover's heart for me."

The above verse is taken from a popular song written and recorded by Sam Cooke in 1961.  The Song charted on US Billboard Hits 100 at #17, and, on the UK Singles chart at #7.  Sam Cooke was a popular 1950's and 1960's gospel, R&B, soul & pop singer/songwriter.  
He was known to some as 'the man who invented soul'.


~ Sam Cooke 
January 22, 1931 * December 11, 1964

see you soon!♥

8 comments:

  1. Howdy, Suzanne! First of all, my good friend Suzanne over at MTG says "hello." Secondly, you showed us pictures of yourself as a teenager doing some modeling and I find it very hard to believe that a pretty girl like you was ever dateless on V-day. Thirdly, after seeing Bar Rafaeli's Go Daddy Super Bowl commercial, I believe in the power of Cupid to make unlikely pairs of people fall in love. (Or could it have been $$$ that made it happen? LOL)

    The story of Cupid is a convoluted one, that's for sure. I think we're all better off letting love happen the natural way w/o the intervention of a chubby archer.

    Thanks for remembering the great hit song "Cupid" by Sam Cooke. Do you remember the short lived 1998 TV series of the same name that starred Paula Marshall and Jeremy Piven? I enjoyed it and hated to see it canceled.

    Yessum, the whistle pig reportedly did not see his shadow this year and predicted an early spring. Tell that to the folks in New England who are buried under three feet of snow! (LOL) Happy Valentine's day to you and Karo, my dear friend. Please take care of yourself and stay healthy and I'll be connecting with you again soon.

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  2. Hey Shady! Well, it's the truth...but, as a teen, I probably had more fun just not being attached, lol! I was surprised when I really took the dive into Cupid's story, to find that he was more complex than all appearances allowed us to know. And, you're right...we are better off without the help of the chubster!

    Oh, Sam Cooke was so smooth...I adored him! Such a loss! I do know who Jeremy Piven is, but, do not remember the TV series you mentioned. Must have been good if you enjoyed it so much.

    Thank you for coming by Shady. Happy Valentine's day to you and Mrs. Shady! Take care, my friend!♫

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  3. Hi there Suzanne. I'm glad you're getting into the spirit of romance as well!! I used to love that song by Sam Cooke! This really what a very interesting post all about Cupid and his mum. No, I certainly didn't know that Cupid was married. You did your research well on this post my friend, and I really enjoyed it. I'm so glad that Cupid returned that deadly sleep to its box, and that they all lived happily ever after. That's the sort of ending I like to see! I have always sent a valentine to my 15 year old Granddaughter, and also buy a few valentine related things, and now, of course, I have started it with Eli and Ruby!! Isn't it just the best thing ever being a grandma?! Hope you have a lovely Valentines Day with Karo. Warmest wishes from across the pond.

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    1. Hi Miss Thisisme. Oh, I love romance, just as you do! But, you pull it off better than I do, lol! I have learned from you.

      Yes, I had no idea about Cupid's life...I never even considered that he had a mum, much less a wife! It is really a fascinating story. I think it's fun to send Valentines to the family, I guess, we don't outgrow the fun of romance, do we?

      Thank you so much for coming by. I really loved all of your vintage Valentine photos-and, yes, being a grandma is the best! Happy Valentines Day to you and yours Thisisme!♥

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    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmmm...well, I thank you for stopping by, and for the nice comment. The 'don'? I don't know about that.

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  5. Hello there Suzanne. Once again your happiness and joy of life shines through. Your post has put a great big smile on my face. Thank you... and a Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours.
    You always put so much effort in gathering information - and this post is no exception. Fun too :D)
    Enjoy your Valentines celebration - and that little excerpt from Sam Cooke's beautiful song just hit the spot.
    Cheers! xx

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    Replies
    1. Good Evening to you Susan! I'm so glad you went thru this post with a smile on your face. I enjoy picking out something to write about...usually, it picks me! And, then, I learn so much while finding the information (I like the 'in-between-the-lines' stuff)! And, it has to be fun too!

      Oh, Sam Cooke was so great! And, he had such a gorgeous smile.

      Thank you so much for coming by, and, for the Valentine greetings. If you celebrate Valentine's day in Australia, please do have a wonderful day! Hope to see you soon!♥

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