The Guardians

The Guardians of Venus are the defenders of loving, sacred space. They are the ones entrusted to maintain energetic and physical safety in the Temple of Venus. The energy of the Guardians is one of loyal protection; to hold safe space for the entire tribe.

The intentions of the Guardians of Venus are to create emotional, physical, and healthy safe space for the tribe of Venus to explore love in all of its facets. This is done through guarding privacy in rituals, this is done by smudging people, this is done through fire circle monitoring, making sure that certain aspects of ritual and safety are maintained. As sacred witnesses and protectors, it is our highest priority to maintain the freedoms to explore love openly.

The Keepers of the Guardians of Venus will seek to evaluate and find the strengths of the Guardians of Venus and employ them for Venus's higher greater good. We will establish a variety of tests of mental and physical aptitudes to determine what type of Guardians we have that Venus can rely on. Guardians can have quite a variety of strengths, and these activities are intended to include guardians of all types.

These tests will also decide this year's Champions of Venus. In 2009, there were two Champions selected: Shelly, the Champion of the Heart, and Stewie, the Champion of the Hearth. A number of exercises were done to determine their mental and physical fortitude, and they stood vigil during intense rituals in the Temple of Venus.

Will you take up the challenge to love more than yourself or family, and give of your love for the whole Tribe of Venus?

Keepers of the Guardians
For nearly two decades, Captain Gordon has been deeply involved with the body modification and tattooing industry. After much reflection, it was his spirituality that brought him to that place to learn about tribal cultures of all kinds. Over the years, he has been able to bring a wide range of skills and techniques to many different communities. As Ambassador - and former Vice President - of Sacred Mark Sanctuary, he has sought to improve the communities he works within through safety awareness, art, and sacred sexuality. Some of his interests include ritual and ceremonial facilitation, ritual tattooing, piercing, flesh hook suspension facilitation (both safety and technique), cutting and branding, body transformation weekends, healing arts, ritual art and theater, body play, BDSM, D/s and M/s relationships, fire performance, and ordeal facilitation. He also gives various educational workshops on safe blood play, piercing art, extreme vs. edge play, sensual take-down, and more.
Raven set her bare feet upon the long and winding path of her spirituality and service twenty-five years ago. Along that path, the desire to care for and protect others has been a constant companion. She has stood in the Guardian role both in her spiritual life and in her working and waking life. She has served the community for several years in roles such as Sheriff, Security staff, and Chief Safety Officer for FSG, Black Rose events, LARP events, and other festivals as well. Raven is working to become legally recognized in the mundane world in her role as Guardian of the Heart, returning to school to pursue a degree in Pastoral Counseling, with a focus on Marriage and Family Counseling. Her goal is to facilitate a Relationship Counseling practice with a focus on the unique problems and issues affecting people in "alternate" relationship configurations, such as LGBT, BDSM and D/s, and Polyamory. She is currently active with UToS, Operation Evolution, and WindRose.