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.
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]
^ abZinkus, Jonas; et al., eds. (1985–1988). "Aušrinė". Tarybų Lietuvos enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). Vol. I. Vilnius: Vyriausioji enciklopedijų redakcija. p. 143. LCCN86232954.
