FOCUS ON PLANETS: UNDERSTANDING VENUS
Everyone loves Venus. What’s not to like? In Madonna’s hit song, she beautifully reminds us that Venus’s mission is fun and pleasure. Girls Just Want to Have Fun. Venus is the signification for all women as the author Johnny Gray reminds us in: Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus. The two unite in passion to perpetuate the race but not without their elaborate dance. However, Venus has many more mysteries and is often misunderstood. Venus is a great Guru in her own realm.
Venus is the brightest light in the night sky and because of that certain schools of thought hold that when Venus is very closely conjunct with Mercury, Mars, Saturn in a planetary war, Venus wins. It is thought that Jupiter can win a planetary war from Venus. The Ancient Vedic civilization looked at Venus as the Sukrachara or the teacher of the demons but that does not diminish her spiritual role as a Guru and her greatness along with Jupiter as the world’s Gurus.
Venus teaches the secrets of immortal life and reminds us that we have to descend into the material world if we are to gain immortal life. It is said that the angel prays night and day to get a human form because only in a physical body can one realize God. Venus has the role of materializing the spiritual essence of eternal life. Venus combines sensuality and spirituality and reminds us that we are in our highest Divinity when we enjoy life: to sing and dance and express joy through love, music, and dancing.
One of Venus’s big secrets is that she is the planet of wish-fulfillment—the genie in the bottle. If your Venus is powerful, particularly if Venus is the Atmakaraka, it has a great ability to manifest material wealth. However, you have to be careful what you wish for. Out of balance, Venus can forget its Divine mission to bring the demons to the Divine and allow us to get trapped in the world of sensual pleasures and indulgence.
Venus governs pleasures, senses, comfort, sexual pleasure, having fun, shopping, marriage/relationships, artistic creativity, clothing, and vehicles. Venus helps us experience joy and be happy. If we do not discover her charms, we can miss the purpose of our earthly incarnation to experience all of the material and spiritual life.
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PART 2:
Venus is great friends with Mercury and Saturn and hence all the business and material planets benefit each other. Saturn needs Venus to remind it that hard work has to be accompanied by good relationship skills. Venus adds lightness to balance Saturn. A good businessman needs a massage to unwind their workday tensions. Venus needs Saturn to remind it that a bit of discipline and responsibility is needed to balance sensual indulgence and partying. It’s no wonder that Nasargika, dasha which governs the life cycles of mankind, that Venus rules ages 13-30 when we wake up to the joy of relationships, partying and dating. Venus moves us toward marriage to perpetuate the race.
Venus and Mercury are good friends and these planets combine to make great business people who are skilled in marketing and expansion. Venus strong in a chart allows one to write great poetry and song to soothe the tensions of the day. Venus creates great orators and charming leaders for the business community.
The Sun is the biggest enemy for Venus in a Taurus rising chart because Venus can make them too stubborn. For Libra rising, it can create too much political ambition since Venus can highlight the inner insecurities that create an opposition between their personal development which opposes their natural outer sensual expression.
Mars is the biggest enemy for an afflicted Venus. While these two planets create the archetypal romantic dance and sexual passion that continues the human race, any affliction with this pair of planets can lead to sexual conquests and sensual indulgence that takes Venus out of its deeper mission.
Venus does well when connected with Rahu since they both share material expansion and ambition. Venus, however, dislikes Ketu’s monkish energy since Ketu is at odds with its natural sensual passions and material expansion.
Venus and Jupiter are enemies because the two Gurus have different methodologies in their purpose to lead people out of ignorance. Jupiter/Venus connections in a chart can create too much overindulgence. Venus pulls Jupiter out of its priestly routine and need for ritual and gets Jupiter involved in too much fun and indulgence. Still, Venus is exalted in Pisces [a Jupiter owned sign], because the highest aspect of Venus is to discover Divine beauty in artistic expression and the beauty of life.
As a lover of community, Venus revels in relationships and brings people together in celebration. At its best, Venus creates great art also on the material level through architecture, sculpture, and painting.
On the level of wish-fulfillment, Venus desires to discover the most beautiful man or woman in the world and wed them in the eternal union as soul mates. We are reminded of the mythological archetype of the goddess Venus who lifts up a man from his baser and more violent nature. I fondly remember the end of Homer’s Odyssey where Aphrodite lengthens the night so that Odysseus can make love to his wife who has waited 10 long years for him to return from the Trojan War.
Venus shows up as wish-fulfillment in fashion magazines, romance novels, and television and film where sex and romance are the solutions to all our problems. But how many movies are made about great teachers who make a difference in people’s lives or great spiritual teachers? I can only count a few people like To Sir with Love (1968) where Sidney Portier is glorified as a great inner-city teacher that changes lives.
What are Venus’ best qualities? She is a harmonizing planet, the diplomat, the arbitrator who wants to bring everyone together in peace. Venus is gifted with sweetness and harmonizing skills and can resolve conflict and tame the violent Martian conquerors.
As the owner of Taurus, Venus brings out the most material aspect of Taurus as an earthy sign. Taurus is connected to bankers and the ability to store and hold onto money. But Taurus is also connected to the 2nd house of food where great chefs and restaurant owners dwell. With Taurus, there is a desire to materialize beauty by creating beautiful ceramics, beautiful homes, or great jewelry. With Virgo owning the 5th house for Taurus, there is a great love of gardening but particularly flower gardening and creating beauty in the natural world.
Venus also owns Libra and is gifted in being a great business person, marketer, lawyer, or diplomat. Venus energy also creates great painters and musicians. Libra energy delights in massage and creating beautiful fashion.
So where would we be without Venus? Life would be too serious and too caught up in religious rituals. We all need a little Venus in our life to make it through the day. I bow down to the great Guru of the asuras.
