Love, love, love.......

Continuing yesterday's thought about universal togetherness, I recalled writing, some time ago, about the three kinds of love, which are really the metaphorical ribbons that could bind us together universally - if we do them right. Three variations on love, linked by the heart, awareness (- and the signs of the zodiac?)


Eros = romantic and sexual love. The word "erotic" originated from this.

There was passion, there was laughter
The first morning after
I just couldn't get my feet to touch the ground
Everytime we were together
We talked about forever
I was certain it was Heaven
We had found.
-- LeeAnn Womack, "Why They Call It Falling"

Philos = friendship, affection, brotherly love, any non-sexual love. I guess that "philosophy" derives from this, and Philadelphia, known as "City of Brotherly Love".

If you only have one smile in you, give it to the people you love.
~Maya Angelou

Agape = the highest, the ultimate, unconditional love, and love encompassing all humanity and all of life.

He drew a circle that shut me out--
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But Love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle that took him in.
-Edwin Markham, Outwitted

Is it possible to relate these three concepts to the signs of the zodiac - those most compatible with them? We each have all 12 zodiac signs in our nature, and are capable of experiencing all three types of love. Most relationships evolve. An eros relationship can evolve, eventually, into a philos relationship after lust and excitement have subsided. A philos love could develop into eros - and back again. Agape, if I understand it correctly is the ultimate evolution of love, not necessarily in connection with a one-to-one relationship, but with mankind, all living things, and the world.

Aries, Taurus, Leo and Scorpio seem to mainly connect with eros love - self-oriented, sex-oriented.

Aquarius, Gemini, Libra and Cancer seem more akin to philos - brotherly, motherly, friendly all spring to mind here.

Sagittarius and Pisces have, to my mind, most in common with agape. They are somehow more evolved, outward looking, compassionate and humane. Aquarius might fit here, as an alternative - with Sagittarius moving to join either of the other two groups - ruled by expansive Jupiter, Sagittarius is probably the "all-purpose" sign when it comes to love.

Oddly, I don't see Capricorn and Virgo as clearly connected to any one of the above, but they're bound to fit somewhere, possibly everywhere, bringing some much-needed practicality into every scene.

Eros, Philos, Agape

Love and relationship matters are uncharted territory into which I seldom venture for this blog. Experience has shown me that these areas are largely a "crap shoot". With a modicum of common sense and basic knowledge of astrology, though, it's often possible to avoid too much of that other kind of crap. Without venturing far into said territory, I'll risk a mention of something I discovered recently.....living and learning !

I'd noticed the word "agape" used to close a reader's comments on various news articles. The word is, I understand, pronounced a-ga-pay, not agape, as I'd initially read it to myself, assuming that the commentor was "agape with admiration" for the article upon which they'd commented. I discovered, however, that agape (a-ga-pay) is one of a trio of Greek words used to describe types of love: Eros, Philos and Agape. I'm not certain that the three words should be capitalized, I'd say not, but most sources seem to disagree. Eros is the Greek god of love, of course, but here we're not talking about the god.

Eros = romantic and sexual love. The word "erotic" originated from this.

Philos = friendship, affection, brotherly love, any non-sexual love. I guess that "philosophy" derives from this, and Philadelphia, known as "City of Brotherly Love".

Agape = the highest, the ultimate, unconditional love, and love encompassing all humanity and all of life.

I decided to try to relate these three concepts to those I have of the 12 zodiac signs. We each have all 12 zodiac signs in our nature, and are capable of experiencing all three types of love. Most relationships evolve. An eros relationship will evolve, eventually into a philos relationship, after lust, heat and excitement have subsided. A philos love could develop into eros - and back again! Agape, if I understand it correctly is the ultimate evolution, not necessarily in connection with a one-to-one relationship, but with mankind, all living things, and the world.

Aries, Taurus, Leo and Scorpio seem, to me, to mainly connect with eros love - self-oriented, sex-oriented.

Aquarius, Gemini, Libra and Cancer seem more akin to philos - brotherly, motherly, friendly all spring to mind here.

Sagittarius and Pisces have, to my mind, most in common with agape. They are somehow more evolved, outward looking, compassionate and humane. Aquarius might fit here, as an alternative - with Sagittarius moving to join the philos bunch.

I don't see Capricorn and Virgo as clearly connected to any of the above, but they're bound to fit somewhere.

So.....shall I start using "Agape" at the end of letters and messages, instead of my usual "Love" or "Best Wishes"? It seems a tad lofty. I think I'd best stick with "Love", plain and simple.