Goodbye Fire, Hello Earth – Venus and Mars From Aries to Taurus

By Fran Rosen. Venus in Aries (since February 2, except for a week back into Pisces), along with Mars in Aries (starting on April 22), has been creeping through my 12th house for what seems like forever. I am Taurus rising and Venus in Gemini is my chart’s ruler (in the 2nd, giving me even more Taurus-like characteristics), so I am always acutely aware of where Venus is and what she’s doing. Take it from me, these planets playing tag through my 12th house in Aries has not been my favorite placement, particularly since I’ve been trying to find new employment since being laid off before Thanksgiving. The cadent 12th house is all about your buried fears and insecurities, and it’s where you bind yourself and keep yourself captive. It’s a hidden house and when you’re trying to make yourself known, it’s like yelling out of a deep well attempting to get someone’s attention. Similar to the balsamic phase at the dark of the Moon, a planet transiting your 12th house is a time when you will find yourself reviewing how you’ve used that planet’s energy in the past, and what has worked and what hasn’t. It’s a time to make decisions about the direction you wish to move in, but you have to be patient because it will take the energy of the cardinal 1st house to create the movement and set you on your new path. On May 31, Mars will move into earthy Taurus (until July 11) and on June 6, Venus will follow (until July 5), and all I can say is hallelujah! Although it will take a few more weeks for these energies to cross my ascendant into my 1st house, they will activate my 1st house by sign. (Your 12th house will in most cases be ruled by the sign before your rising sign, but not always.)

Mars in Aries energy is about being innovative, wanting to explore new areas of life, and doing things your own way. Venus in Aries is about seeking out new social and sexual relationships, finding new ways to generate material income, and forging new personal values. These energies moving into Taurus are an indication that concrete manifestations and feelings of security in those areas will start to occur. We should also see some of the changes and new beginnings instituted by the U.S. government begin to have a real world effect. On the other hand, the fires of enthusiasm will be dampened somewhat by a Taurean reality check, which can be either good or bad, depending on what you have your heart set on (and with the Jupiter/Neptune conjunction going on right now in Aquarius, we all seriously need to do continuous reality checks). If you don’t have a lot of earth in your chart (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) or a strong Saturn, then I suggest that you get the perspective of one of your most practical friends or a practical member of your family about any plan of action you suspect may need toning down. That may help to shake off some of the fairy dust before the practicality of these planets in Taurus squaring the Jupiter/Neptune grand idealistic vision does it for you as we move through June.

The fiery passion of Aries will turn more possessive in Taurus. Time will slow down. You may feel like it’s harder to get moving in the morning, but Mars in Taurus brings a sustaining strength, so you may move slower, but your energy will last longer. If you’ve been frugal, this will be the time to make those sensible purchases that you’ve been putting off. Venus in Taurus is a great bargain hunter and the bargains should be out there.

The Sun moved out of Taurus and into Gemini last week, so people are back on the roads for the holiday. However, the active and energetic Sun in Gemini/Venus and Mars in Aries vibration we are experiencing now will slow down noticeably as soon as Mars goes into Taurus on the 31st, so if you have been putting off doing anything that should be taken care of quickly, try to get it done this week. Mars in Taurus will get it done, but it will get it done in its own time.

I hope everyone had a good Memorial Day weekend.

Venus: Moving Forward, Finally!

By Fran Rosen. At last, Venus is stationing and going direct today at 29º Pisces. February 3rd was the last time she was at this degree, and it will take until about the 21st of May before she actually goes beyond where she’s already been this year. The time for reevaluation is over; now is the time to make plans for where you want to go from here. Some of you may have decided to end relationships; a lot more of you probably decided that you like the people in your life and have found ways to assert your independence while still maintaining a good rapport. On Tuesday, Mars will catch up with Venus and form a conjunction at 29º Pisces, and they will travel along close together until they again conjoin on June 21st at 15º Taurus.

Conjunctions of two planets merge their energies. Venus is about relating; Mars is about walking your own path. They conjoin exactly in Pisces, the sign of idealism and dreams of spiritual union. However, they soon move into Aries, where Venus has been for most of the last few months. Relationships based upon the dreaminess of Pisces will have a hard time standing up to the fiery energy of Aries. Aries doesn’t want to emotionally merge as true soulmates; Aries wants to have hot and heavy sex. Aries doesn’t yearn to save humanity; Aries yearns to help himself. Early in this journey together, these two conjoined planets will form a square aspect to Pluto. Pluto in Capricorn is the power of the establishment, and Venus and Mars in Aries is all about doing it your own way. Relationships formed impulsively will be tested through the adversity of reality in the form of authority figures, job responsibilities, and other powerful forces in life. Some will survive; others won’t. Pluto can also bring out violent tendencies, so be cautious about pushing other people too hard because you may miscalculate their breaking point.

This afternoon, the Moon is going into Aquarius, the sign of humanitarianism and friendship. Many people I know are either going away for the weekend or are spending time with friends. The combination of the Venus station and the Moon in Aquarius is auspicious for sociability. Put your work aside this weekend and have some fun. Spring has arrived and Venus is bringing beauty back into our lives. Live a little.

Venus Retrograde in Aries: An Opportunity to Glimpse Your Shadow

(Titian. Venus Anadyomene. c.1520. Oil on canvas. National Gallery of Scotland (on loan from the Duke of Sutherland), Edinburgh, UK)

On March 7, 2009, at 15º of Aries, Venus will begin the retrograde portion of its trip around the Sun and will appear to be moving backward when viewed from Earth. This event occurs about once every 18 months and lasts for approximately 40 days. While retrograde, Venus makes what is called an “inferior conjunction” to the Sun. An inferior conjunction occurs when Venus and the Sun align at the same degree while Venus is closest to the Earth, and on March 27, the inferior conjunction occurs at 7º of Aries. According to Alexander Ruperti in Cycles of Becoming (1978, CRCS Publications, Davis, CA), from the time Venus first transits the degree of the inferior conjunction (February 12, 2009) until it goes direct and conjoins that degree again (April 10, 2009), everyone will all be working on lessons and awareness having to do with how we relate to others and what we value in life. From February 12 until March 7, you will be made aware of ways of relating that have been unconscious, how those unconscious attitudes have interfered with what you desire, and you will have an opportunity for reevaluation in those areas. People from your past may reappear, and current relationships will go through a period of adjustment. Personal values will also be examined and reevaluated. At the inferior conjunction on March 27 at 7º of Aries, a new cycle begins, and you will have an opportunity to strengthen your personal relationships and consciously pursue personal values that don’t involuntarily work against what you are trying to achieve. At the time of the next Sun and Venus superior conjunction, when these two planets meet while Venus is furthest from Earth, the opportunity will exist to assess whether you have been successful in your efforts. The next superior conjunction will occur on January 11, 2010 at 21º of Capricorn.

Venus, when in Aries, is in what astrologers call its “Detriment.” Venus is all about attraction, love, sexuality, beauty, love received from mother, and personal values. When it’s operating in your life, you may meet someone and feel an immediate affinity with him or her. You won’t have to be cool or be someone other than who you are -- you will both just genuinely like each other. Robert Hand (Horoscope Symbols, 1981, Para Research, Inc., Rockport, MA) compares Venus’ power of attraction to gravity or atoms bonding together to create molecules. In Aries, though, Venus is working through a sign that is very self-focused, spontaneous and with a short attention span, so an attraction to another while Venus is in Aries may be full of passion and then burn itself out quickly. People also feel restless when a planet is in Aries, always seeking something new to get into, making this placement not very conducive to the formation of lasting relationships. The urge to be able to do whatever you wish without answering to anyone else is an innate part of Aries energy. Venus is all about keeping the peace and give and take, causing Venus to be uncomfortable in this sign of the pioneer.

If you do meet someone new during this period, give the relationship some time before passing judgment on it. Sometimes people just show up because there’s a lesson you need to learn or an adventure you need to have, and then they disappear as quickly as they appeared. Until April 10, my advice is to just appreciate new relationships for what they are and don’t insist on any commitments, or make any yourself.

Prior to March 7, you have an opportunity to become conscious of what’s in your life that is a value thrust upon you rather than one coming from your heart. After the 7th, you will have a good opportunity to assert yourself and be clear about values that are not true to your own vision. We often value things because everyone else does or the people we care about do, but those values may trouble us on a deep level. The first part of this retrograde period, between February 12 and March 7, is the time when you need to come to grips with values that no longer work for you. As the Sun and Venus move on from the inferior conjunction on March 7, you should make your feelings known about these outdated values, even if you just bring your new values into your personal consciousness.

On April 3, before the conclusion of the Venus/Sun cycle on April 10, Venus and Pluto will be square to one another (90º apart) from the signs Aries to Capricorn. This is the second time this separating square has occurred between these planets, the first being on February 6. There is great stress between the need for personal self-expression and freedom in relationships (Venus in Aries) and the ongoing transformation of what has been taken for granted as the foundation of personal and collective material security and status (Pluto in Capricorn). Relationships founded on a deep bond of love, such that each can give the other space to be who they are, and which are not based solely on material security, will transform and grow stronger through this period. Relationships created around values that don’t include a basic bond of love may fail because the roots supporting them are not strong enough. This square will occur one more time on May 2, after Venus goes direct, and if your relationship is in the grips of crisis after April 3, you will still have an opportunity to communicate your needs and your values to your partner so that adjustments can be made before May 2. Pluto is the destroyer, and if you ignore the stress and the pain hoping that the crisis will pass, you may find yourself alone – Venus in Aries.

This retrograde cycle actually began when Venus crossed 7º of Aries, the degree of the inferior conjunction, on February 12. Between now and April 18, when, for the final time, Venus passes 15º of Aries, the degree of its station, pay attention to your relationships and pay attention to your values. You now have the opportunity to reach into your own depths and cast some light upon your shadow self.