In the context of Valentine's Day, the Roman figure Cupid, son of Venus, holds a central role in the ancient love feast, more accurately described as a lust feast. Roman mythology attributes to Cupid and his mother the power to ignite sexual passion in individuals, as well as the ability to extinguish love through their supposed love potion. Artwork frequently depicts Cupid as a naked, winged figure armed with a bow and arrow, shooting into the hearts of his victims. This imagery persists in modern times, appearing on Valentine's cards and in theater décor. Despite the passage of centuries and modifications to the celebration, Cupid remains a prominent symbol in the observance of Valentine's Day, reflecting its enduring pagan roots and focus on sensual desire rather than spiritual truth.

Cupid is the son of Venus, the Roman goddess of sexual love, and he played an important part in the Roman Lupercalia love feast, which is more appropriately called a lust feast. Roman mythology ascribes to mother and son the power to instill passion in people, and with their love potion they supposedly also had the power to make love cease. Cupid is usually portrayed naked, winged, and armed with a bow and arrow, shooting arrows into the hearts of his victims. When the early Roman church renamed Lupercalia as St. Valentine's Day, Cupid was not removed from the celebration. Even after Protestants pushed the saints into the background, Cupid remained, along with the arrowed hearts, and the day stayed as popular and pagan as ever. Cupids are still pictured on Valentine cards, in theater décor, and elsewhere today. Such imagery is a vestige of pagan worship, and God's command to Israel was to eradicate every trace of it, not merely to keep it out of worship of Him. Because all of life is to honor God, a true Christian will not take part in a festival that carries the symbols of Venus and Cupid.