Aušrinė

Goddess of the morning-star, Venus

Aušrinė
Morning-Star
Planet	Venus
Region	Lithuania
Equivalents
Greek equivalent	Eos
Roman equivalent	Aurora
Latvian equivalent	Auseklis
Vedic equivalent	Ushas

Baltic religion
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Aušrinė ("dawning", not to be confused with Aušra, "dawn") is a feminine deity of the morning star (Venus) in the Lithuanian mythology. She is the antipode to "Vakarinė", the evening star.

Her cult possibly stems from that of the Indo-European dawn goddess Hausōs and is related to the Latvian Auseklis, Greek Eos, Roman Aurora and Vedic Ushas.^[1] Aušrinė is the goddess of beauty, love and youth, linked with health, re-birth and new beginnings. After the Christianization of Lithuania, the cult merged with Christian images and the symbolism of the Virgin Mary.^[2]

Historical attestation

Aušrinė was first mentioned by 16th-century Polish historian Jan Łasicki as Ausca. He described a "goddess of the rays of the sun that descend and rise above the horizon".^[3]

Folkloric role

According to folklore, each morning Aušrinė and her servant Tarnaitis (possibly Mercury)^[4] prepare the way for Saulė (the Sun). In the evening, Vakarinė prepares the bed for Saulė.^[2] The relationship between Saulė and Aušrinė is complex. Sometimes Saulė is described as the mother of Aušrinė, Vakarinė and other planets – Indraja (Jupiter), Sėlija (Saturn), Žiezdrė (Mars), Vaivora (Mercury) and even Žemyna (Earth).^[5]

In some stories "Karaliūnė" and "Dangaus Kariūnė" ("Queen of Heaven") are used to refer to Aušrinė.

In Latvian folk-riddles, her name is the answer to a riddle about dew. In this riddle, a girl loses her keys (or spreads her pearl necklace), the Moon sees them, but the Sun takes them.^[6]

Myth of the "celestial wedding"

A popular myth describes how Mėnulis (Moon) fell in love with beautiful Aušrinė, cheated on his wife Saulė, and received punishment from Perkūnas (thunder-god).^[3] Different myths also depict rivalry between Saulė and Aušrinė as Saulė is jealous of Aušrinė's beauty and brightness (Venus is the third-brightest object in the sky after Sun and Moon).^[3]^[5] Despite the adultery or rivalry, Aušrinė remains loyal and continues to serve Saulė in the mornings.^[5]

Other roles

Another myth, Saulė Ir Vėjų Motina ("The Sun and the Mother of Winds"),^[7] analyzed by Algirdas Julien Greimas in detail, tells a story of Joseph, who becomes fascinated with Aušrinė appearing in the sky and goes on a quest to find the "second sun".^[8] After much adventure, he learns that it was not the second sun, but a maiden who lives on an island in the sea and has the same hair as the Sun. With advice from the Northern Wind, Joseph reaches the island, avoids a guardian bull, and becomes the maiden's servant caring for her cattle.^[8] In the tale, Aušrinė appeared in three forms: as a star in the sky, as a maiden on land and as a mare in the sea. After a few years, Joseph puts a single hair of the maiden into an empty nutshell and throws it into the sea. A ray from the sea becomes reflected into the sky as the biggest star. Greimas concludes that this tale is a double origin myth: the story describes the origin of Tarnaitis and the ascent of Aušrinė herself into the sky.^[8]

In popular culture

According to Jonas Vaiškūnas, Aušrinė also gives its name to the morning star in Lithuanian folkly astronomy: Aušrinė žvaigždė, Aušros žvaigždė, Aušràžvaigždė, Aušrinukė.^[9]

References

^ Mallory, J. P.; Adams, Douglas Q. (1997). Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture. Taylor & Francis. p. 148. ISBN 1-884964-98-2 – via Google Books.
^ ^a ^b Zinkus, Jonas; et al., eds. (1985–1988). "Aušrinė". Tarybų Lietuvos enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). Vol. I. Vilnius: Vyriausioji enciklopedijų redakcija. p. 143. LCCN 86232954.
^ ^a ^b ^c Greimas, Algirdas Julien (1992). Of Gods and Men. Studies in Lithuanian Mythology. Indiana University Press. p. 77. ISBN 0-253-32652-4.
^ Vaiškūnas, Jonas. "3. Star Names in the Folklore and Ethnographic Compendiums". Lithuanian Ethnoastronomy (in Lithuanian). Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
^ ^a ^b ^c Andrews, Tamra (2004). Wonders of the Sky. Libraries Unlimited. pp. 71–73. ISBN 1-59158-104-4 – via Google Books.
^ Vaitkevičienė, Daiva (2013). "Baltic and East Slavic Charms". In Kapaló James; Pócs Éva; Ryan William (eds.). The Power of Words: Studies on Charms and Charming in Europe. Central European University Press. p. 215-216. ISBN 9786155225109. JSTOR 10.7829/j.ctt2tt29w.12. Retrieved April 27, 2021 – via JSTOR.
^ Valiukaitė, Lina (2003). "Unikalus stebuklinės pasakos užrašymas. Saulė ir vėjų motina (AT 516B)" [A unique writing of a magical tale. The sun and the mother of the winds (AT 516B)]. Tautosakos darbai (in Lithuanian). 19 (26): 66-76. ISSN 1392-2831 – via Lituanistika.
^ ^a ^b ^c Greimas, Algirdas Julien (1992). Of Gods and Men. Studies in Lithuanian Mythology. Indiana University Press. pp. 64–84. ISBN 0-253-32652-4.
^ Vaiškūnas, Jonas (2009). "Žinios apie dangaus šviesulius Griškabūdžio apylinkėse" [Information about the sky lights in the vicinity of Griškabūdis]. Liaudies kultūra (in Lithuanian) (5): 20. ISSN 0236-0551 – via Lituanistika.