This may take a little while to explain but I'm going to give it my best interpretation that I can. I received an email today from a friend which really got me to thinking about the corset that Prince is wearing. My friend referred to it as a cestus (an embroidered girdle) worn by the goddess Venus. So then I thought there has to be a meaning or message as to why Prince chose to wear this on the cover.

VENUS


As the goddess of love, Venus has the mystical ability to arouse love and passion in others and transform weapons into objects of peace. Her enchanted girdle, called the Cestus and made by the smith-god Hephaestus, also allows its wearer to ensorcel anyone with the power of love. Venus is a master of all the arts and sciences of physical love, and she has extensively studied the subject of emotional/sentimental love.

"Which then is the true nature of Venus - innocent sweet maiden or femme fatale? Both of course, because we are talking femininity here, which the classicists understood could never be understood, since it is complex, changing, indefinable and recognizes no boundaries. The word 'feminine' represented that which is chaotic and undefined: it is not focused, but totally 'aware' in all directions, circular not linear, rounded not sharp. Its influence cannot be restrained; it seeps through everything, connects everything and recognizes everything, often in a way that cannot be verbalized or logically expressed. Venus is about emotion, desire and attraction; but one aspect of that is love. Love itself is beyond definition in its cause and effect, and anyone who attempts to pin it down to being more than simply the most powerfully motivating force known to humankind assumes that they know more about the nature of Venus than they ever really will." If you are interested in the entire article you can read about it here: http://www.skyscript.co.uk/venus2.html

Now let's look at the goddess Venus vs planet Venus.

* Venus is the one goddess whose name was given to an important planet.
* Venus (Greek: Aphrodite; Babylonian: Ishtar) is the goddess of love and beauty.
* The planet is so named probably because it is the brightest of the planets known to the ancients.
* With a few exceptions, the surface features on Venus are named for female figures.
* This is the planet commonly called the “evening star” or the “morning star” (depending on which side of the sun it happens to be).
* It is considered the brightest and most beautiful object in the heavens next to the sun and moon, and is far brighter than any star.
* Originally the Greeks thought they were two different planets.
* The morning star was called phosphorus (light-bringer in Greek) because once it appeared in the eastern skies, the light of dawn would soon come.
* The evening star was called Hesperus (west in Greek) because it always shined in the western sky after sunset.
* Once the Greeks learned that Phosporus and Hesperus were really the same planet, they named it Aphrodite as befitted its beauty; and then the Romans changed the name to Venus which we now use.
* She is the mistress of Friday.
* Her symbol is said to represent a hand mirror.


A few scientific facts about Venus:

* Venus is the brightest object in our sky, except for the Sun and the Moon.


* They regarded Venus as Earth’s twin because its size, mass, and density are so much like Earth’s; but, there the similarities end.


Venus represents LOVE. GOD is LOVE. is GOD and therefore is LOVE.


That is why the Planet Earth cd cover has the which is shown as earth(inside the ) and surrounding planets and stars. Prince in the cestus(corset)is symbolic of Gods love and that is why he is shown looking downward at earth. This cd again similar to it's predecessor is giving us another message about God,love,peace,and how to treat one another. It's simplicity at it's best with a strong message. Again we aren't focusing on Prince, it's about God. I believe that is why cd does not have Prince's name on it.

I don't know if I've made my thoughts clear or if they only make sense to myself. Maybe I'm headed to the white room with the padded walls.

i think he just used the symbol (all those years, and still) because it looked cool

WOW Dig.....once again a very deep interpretation.....and I must say I couldn't agree with you more.....nice job at disecting this one.......I will await your next disection

DigMeNow said:

you have it backwards. is not called the love symbol simply by chance -- does refer to love, but that does not mean is God. now, if you wanted to say that is Love, and since God is Love, than is being used to represent God, you may be on to something...I guess. but that, in no way, equates to being God, those are two entirely different dynamics completely, and is a huge jump in logical inference.

dumbass said:

I respectfully disagree with you. I have already stated on another thread why I think is Gods unpronounceable name and therefore represents God. God is love,love comes from God.
[Edited 7/25/07 23:36pm]

Which was the ancient god who wore the enchanted but equally symbolic white socks and sandals?

Nice, very insightful.

Dig u know ure an awsome person right? And I wonder if anyone remembers that in UTCM Mary mentioned such a corset as worn by venus? Significant perhaps?

chillichocaholic said:

Thank U chilli. Now that you mention that I remember the chastity belt line and then Mary Sharon thinking of a retort she should have said about a corset but I don't remember her saying worn by Venus. But you know I'm putting that dvd on now!

OK, U are absolutely correct chilli I watched it and that's exactly what was said! I'm getting old and my memory is going.

update edit
[Edited 7/26/07 4:18am]

Prince as Lucifer?

this thread gave me a head ache...

langebleu said:

DigMeNow said:

I haven't read your other posts in this matter, but a symbol prince made up hardly is the universal unpronounceable name of God. if you choose to believe that, that's fine, but then it would seem you aren't truly interested in what is, just what you prefer it to be. I don't mean that in any rude manner whatsoever.

but the point is, your logical inference is the equivalent of saying that God is black, Michale Jordan is black, therefore Michael Jordan is God. it simply doesn't hold up that way.

"he's just a peasant! He doesn't even know who Venus is"

Draven0914 said:

totally unrelated, but they should sell your avatar as a magnet set at 3121.com!

His eyes and the symbol are also pointed straight to Sweden as well. Scandinavian tour perhaps? I'm ignoring the north pole in this equation.

Anxiety said:

necktie!

i think this proves my latest theory that prince is very deeply influenced by rasta music, i have started listening to reggae alot lately and was in jamaica a few yrs ago, which is a place, like no other i have been in. An amazing culture, an island, that does not know much about what is going on outside.

i still have a picture in my mind of a beach boy running thru the water with a aloe vera plant in one hand and a bottle of guinness in the other

i asked what is the guinnes thing all about naturally, being from ireland, the rasta man looks at me and grins, "good for the bamboo, mon"

langebleu said:

I can't wait for that threat. Somebody needs to dissect the
the flip-flops and white socks and give us the symbolic explanation.

GiGi319 said:

OOPS, I meant "thread" instead of "threat"