In Roman mythology, Laverna was the goddess of thieves, cheating gamblers and the underworld, and you would gain her favour by pouring wine towards the outside with your left hand, a gesture that’s still considered offensive in some parts of Italy.
According to Horatius, a pious man would pray to Apollo and Gianus out loud, but would only whisper to Laverna, and he gives us a synthesis of how a summoning might have sounded like:
“Beautiful Laverna, let my deception succeed, let me appear just and pure, spread darkness over my sins and a cloud over my frauds.”
She’s today’s profile on my Patreon.
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