Celebrate All Kinds of Love

Although there are various theories and mysteries surrounding the exact history of Valentine's Day, we can all agree that as we know it today, it is a celebration of love—particularly romantic love. At Doctor Aromas, we have decided that all love is worth celebrating and sharing. This goes for every day of every month, of course, but on Valentine’s Day specifically, too.

Have you ever wondered what kinds of love exist? Surely, we can all think of different kinds of love we share… whether that be love for a friend, a family member, an intimate partner, or a person you just met; they’re all unique feelings that we all tend to group under the same category: ‘love.’

According to the Greeks (Plato and his student Aristotle in particular) there are seven kinds of love. These forms of love are fluid. Not only can they complement one another but they can even morph into each other. The many forms of love are not necessarily mutually exclusive nor are they permanent within one given relationship. These kinds of love all come with their own qualifiers and stories and have their own individual strengths.

Eros is the love that one would likely equate to the sort of love celebrated on Valentines Day nowadays—it is passionate, sexual, and romantic love. Philia, on the other hand, is the kind of love one would think of when celebrating the Galentine’s Day. This is the unconventional but recently trending version of the February 14^th holiday amongst friends. Philia, therefore, is a love for true friends; friends that we trust and can depend on. Storge is love for the family; especially the love one feels for their children, therefore, it is often unidirectional.

Pragma is love in which sexual attraction “takes a back seat” but is founded on an ease of coexistence, sympathy and general compatibility. Hence the term ‘pragmatic.’ Ludus, on the other hand, is fun and (often) new love. This love is playful and flirty and even though it can last a long time, it is generally easy going and the people involved do not need to depend on one another. 

Philautia is love for oneself. That can mean pretension and vanity or a healthy sense of self-worth and confidence. Agape is arguably the opposite; it is universal love. Love for a stranger, for humanity, for all of nature, and for the divine.

There they are… Eros, Philia, Storge, Pragma, Ludus, Philautia and Agape. Which of these loves have you felt? We hope you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day and no matter which love you are celebrating, we hope you complement it with your most loved Doctor Aromas fragrance.