The Beatles pointed out All You Need is Love, and as the song and the film noted; Love is A Many Splendid Thing. What exactly do we even mean by ‘love’ anyway? We say we love ice cream, our family members, our closest friends and our partner, but of course we don’t mean this in the same way (although some notoriously sweet toothed Librans really do adore ice-cream). We talk about Love Horoscopes, but of course these can apply to our relationships with those dearest to us and not necessarily a romantic partner. So don’t despair if you are single and intend to stay so, a well written love horoscope like the one on the Horoscope Ace can still apply to you.
Let the Ancient Greeks explain. The Ancient Greeks had more than one word for love. There was the word ‘agape’, which we would think of as unconditional love. It is about being willing to sacrifice everything for the person you love and wanting nothing back in return – the sort of love parents feel when they hold their new baby. Agape is used by Christians to express the unconditional love of God for human beings. Then there is ‘phileo’ which is platonic love, it’s the love you feel for a friend. It is the type of love which is warm but not physical. Next comes, the rather unromantically name ‘storge’ again this can be applied to family members or friends, although it is a component of romantic love too. Storge is also unconditional and accepts the person who is loved for what they are. It is associated with commitment and sacrifice as well as making the loved and lover feel comfortable and secure. Lastly comes ‘eros’ this is romantic and exciting, it is that obsession you get early in relationships. It has a strong element of physical desire, but can burn too brightly and leave you holding a pile of ashes.
If you fancy using Horoscope Ace to help you find a soulmate, then you are also following in the footsteps of the Ancient Greeks (not that they used an app, it’s just the very idea of a ‘soul mate’ is an old one). In The Symposium, Plato explains the notion of ‘soulmates’. Plato (or rather his mouthpiece Aristophanes) says that humans originally had four arms, four legs and a single head comprised of two faces. At this time there were three genders: men, women and the ‘Androgynous’. The Three sexes had two sets of genitalia with the Androgynous being both male and female. Humans were so powerful that they were a danger to the gods. Zeus solved the problems by splitting humans in half. Each human was left with one set of genitalia and would spend their lives longing for their lost other half. Occasionally the two halves would find each other and experience a feeling of total joy and completeness.
The Ancient Egyptians were also affectionate souls and spouses often appeared side by side in tomb effigies, so it should come as no surprise that they wrote some wonderful poems on the subject of love. Here is one from around 1,500-1,000 BC;
How well she knows to cast the noose,
And yet not pay the cattle tax!
She casts the noose on me with her hair,
She captures me with her eye;
She curbs me with her necklace,
She brands me with her seal ring.
(Third Stanza, from The Nakht-Sobak Cycle of Papyrus Chester Beatty I).
The Romans, on the other hand, were a bit lackadaisical in love and basically viewed marriage as a business or political proposition, although love poems to married women have been found written by single young men. Even the Roman gods were happy to have affairs and Venus the goddess of love was far from faithful to her husband Vulcan. The story goes that Venus preferred the company of macho Mars to Vulcan. It didn’t take the God of Smiths long to realise he was being cuckolded and he made a magic invisible net which he left on his wife’s bed. Before long Venus and Mars snuck into the room for an illicit romp, no sooner had they started their shenanigans than the net engulfed them leaving them trapped. Vulcan walked in on them and called the other gods to see the trapped couple. Much merriment ensued until they were eventually released.
Today Venus and Mars could have used certain sites on the internet to arrange their extra-marital activities, although the result may have been much the same. The idea of seeking someone special or simply sultry by advertising is nothing new. The first personal advertisements appeared in newspapers in the early 18th century and matrimonial agencies printed ads on behalf of men who used them to find a wife. These ads also acted as an early form of Grinder or Gaydar for gay people who wanted to meet lovers at a time when homosexuality was illegal in the UK. Since these advertisements were often the last refuge of the desperate, they tended to have a poor reputation and their use was often a matter of shame for all involved. By the early 20th century, using these advertisements was more acceptable and they took on a Facebook like aspect, acting as a place to find potential pen pals and friends. Yet, even as late as the 1960s the public felt there was something slightly shady about a personal ad in the paper. The 1990s and the rise of the Internet made the use of dating and social sites become mainstream and now many of us know someone who has found love on line.
Just as many of us seek a mate via electronic media many of us use apps to help us organise lives. This is why Astrology Ace is perfect if you are seeking love or simply trying to work out what is going on in your admirer’s mind. You can simply click on the special love horoscope button to discover what the romantic trends are likely to be in your life. Or, if you have a specific love related question in mind, the love tarot section of the app could help you to find your heart’s desire.