Astghik
Goddess of love, beauty and water, beloved of Vahagn; her feast Vardavar still drenches Armenia every July.
Little Star, Lady of the Roses
Astghik bathed each night in the Aratsani river, and the young men of Taron lit fires on the heights to see her by their light; she drew a mist over the valley to hide herself, and the district was called Mush, 'the mist', ever after.
She loved Vahagn, and their meeting-place was the temple at Ashtishat, called 'the chamber of Vahagn'. Where drops of her blood or her tears fell, roses grew — hence Vardavar, the 'rose-flaming', when roses are given and water is thrown.
Vardavar survived Christianisation intact: it was folded into the Transfiguration, and to this day strangers drench strangers in the street on that day with complete impunity.
Sacred Associations
Associations
Կապեր- Love, desire, beauty and the erotic
- Roses, gardens and sweet water
- Mist, dew and summer rain
- The morning and evening star
Realms
Տիրոյթներ- Rivers and bathing places
- Rose gardens
- The bedchamber
- The summer sky at dusk
Sacred Offerings
Ընծաներ- Roses, above all
- Water poured or thrown in play
- Rosewater, honey, sweet cakes
- Doves released or fed
Taboos
Արգելքներ- Do not invoke her to coerce another person's affection; love that is forced is not hers.
- Do not offer wilted or bought-and-forgotten flowers.
- Do not mock the play of Vardavar; her joy is not undignified.
Sacred Colours
Գոյներ- Rose pink
- Pale blue
- Silver
Sacred Numbers
Թիւեր- Five — the petals of the wild rose
- Two — the pair
Establishing a Relationship
- 1
Give beauty away. Astghik is nearest to people who make or give something lovely without being asked.
- 2
Keep water and flowers on her altar and change them before they turn.
- 3
Celebrate Vardavar wholeheartedly — throw the water, mean it. Play is her form of prayer.
Rose and Water
Dusk, waxing moon; ideally at Vardavar
- 1Set a shallow bowl of clean water where the last light reaches it. Float a rose or rose petals on the surface.
- 2Wash your face and hands, then anoint your wrists and throat with rosewater.
- 3Say: 'Astghik, little star, lady of the roses — you who hid in the mist of Mush, be gentle with this heart.'
- 4Name what you love — a person, your own body, your work — without asking for anything about it to change.
- 5Flick water from the bowl three times: once for the one you love, once for yourself, once for the world.
- 6If the rite is for a bond between two people, both drink a mouthful of the water. If it is for yourself, drink it all.
- 7Give the petals to running water, or to the garden, before morning.