Venus -- Archetype of Love, Beauty, and Desire

Moisa (Muse), tell me the deeds of golden Aphrodite Kypria,
who stirs up sweet passion in the gods
and subdues the tribes of mortal men and birds that fly in air
and all the many creatures that the dry land rears,
and all the sea: all these love the deeds of rich-crowned Kythereia.
Homer

Throughout the ages,
stories with certain basic themes
have recurred over and over,
in widely disparate cultures;
emerging like the goddess Venus
from the sea of our unconscious.
Joan D. Vinge

Art! Who comprehends her?
With whom can one consult concerning this great goddess?
Ludwig van Beethoven

All thoughts, all passions, all delights
Whatever stirs this mortal frame
All are but ministers of Love
And feed his sacred flame.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Unlike the Earth, there are no craters left behind by meteorites, and Venus has no moons or satellites. Venus has no oceans, water, ice, or water vapor, either on its surface or in its atmosphere. Instead, Venus is covered by a very thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid. Its thick atmosphere produces a powerful greenhouse effect, causing the temperature to rise to 740 degrees. Many astrophysicists believe that water did exist on Venus at one time, but that it was boiled away by the greenhouse effect.

Venus is the third brightest object in the sky; only the Sun and the Moon are brighter. Because of its brightness, it is believed that Venus has been observed since prehistoric times. Venus rotates very slowly on its axis. It takes 243 Earth days for Venus to make one complete rotation on its axis. Venus revolves around the Sun slightly faster than it rotates on its axis. In other words, a day on Venus lasts longer than one Venetian year. Venus also rotates backwards or retrogrades when compared to the Earth and the other planets in our solar system.

The planet Venus appears to have been referred to as a goddess of femininity by all ancient cultures. The Babylonians referred to Venus as Ishtar, and the Greeks identified Venus with Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. Venus is named for the Roman goddess who ruled love, beauty, and women.

Like Mercury, Venus was sometimes given two names. When Venus rose before the Sun as the Morning star, it was referred to has Eophorus or Lucifer (light barer). When Venus set after the Sun as the Evening star, it was referred to as Hesperus. Also like Mercury, by the time of the ancient Greeks, it was well established that Lucifer and Hesperus were the same planet.

The glyph of Venus is consists of the circle of Spirit sitting on top of the cross of Matter. The interpretation of this glyph is that Spirit has conquered Matter, and, therefore, Spirit is able to manipulate Matter, causing Matter to be a perfect or near perfect reflection of the beauty of Spirit.

The glyph is also said to represent a hand mirror. The mirror allows one to see her or his reflection and improve on her or his appearance. The glyph is also referred to as the mirror of Isis, the Egyptian goddess of beauty, femininity, magic, and creativity.

Venus represents the establishment of meaning, values, and ideals as well as the urges to attract what is thought to be desirable and to unit with another individual. Venus symbolizes aesthetic sensibilities, affection, art, beauty, compassion, creativity, desire, femininity, finances, harmony, ideals, love, marriage, money, partnerships, pleasure, relational sensibilities, the urge to share, values, valuable objects, and women.

Venus traditionally rules the signs of Taurus and Libra and the second and seventh Houses. Taurus and/or the second house represent the side of Venus that appreciates natural beauty, earthy or materialistic values, sensuality, and simple, uncomplicated love, lust, and desire. Libra and the seventh house represent the side of Venus that appreciates man-made beauty, the fi ne arts, justice, and most human relationships including friends, colleagues, business partners, companions, lovers, and marital partners.

Venus is exalted in Pisces and the twelfth house, where individualized forms of love and desire expand into universal compassion. However, if Venus is afflicted, or temporarily afflicted by progressions, directions, or transits, developing compassion may come only after painful experiences in love and relationships. An exalted Venus in one’s chart may signify reaching out to others who are suffering in some way, to sainthood, and/or to low self-esteem expressed in sexual promiscuity or prostitution. 

Venus is in its fall in Virgo and the sixth house, where values, desires, loves, and relationships may lose their wholesomeness if overly subjected to inspection, analysis, criticism, perfectionism, discrimination, and obsessive-compulsive tendencies. However, such analytic tendencies may also lead to understanding, improvement, and wiser choices.

Venus is in detriment, or weak, in Scorpio and Aries, and in the first and eighth Houses. In Scorpio and the eighth house, Venus symbolizes secret relationships, pent-up feelings, secret feelings, hurt, resentment, jealousy, fear of love or relationships, and difficulty setting aside an “I” or “me” attitude in favor of a “we” or “us” attitude.

In Aries Venus often symbolizes a naive, aggressive, impulsive, or selfish approach to love, lovers, and valuables. In the first house, Venus may symbolize the qualities of Venus in Aries—a conceited attitude, or the use of love as a means for self-aggrandizement. However, many people with Venus in the first house (depends on the entire chart) can also symbolize an attractive personality, charm, and a strong ability to express love.

Venus’s corresponding metal is usually considered to be copper. Some astrologers refer to it as brass. Venus rules Friday.

First and foremost, Venus symbolizes one’s value or desire center, whatever one wants to attract. It describes what one appreciates, cherishes, and idealizes. Venus symbolizes what holds positive, inner meaning. Its house position describes what one values or enjoys. Its sign position describes how one attracts what one desires as well as one’s approach to love and loving. It also tends to modify or particularize the objects of desire, enjoyment, and value described by the house placement. Aspects and other astrological indicators symbolize the ease, difficulties, talents, abilities, challenges, and successes one experiences in the search for what one desires.

Venus is also the center of personal relationships. It describes the most natural way one relates to others and maintains personal relationships. It describes the nature of one’s interpersonal relationships, especially relationships with close friends, partners, lovers, spouses, and women in general. The sign position of Venus often indicates the qualities one admires most in other people. Venus also describes most significant women in one’s life.

By progressions, directions, and transits, Venus describes one’s growing ability to attract love, relationships, valuables, and money. They also describe one’s ability to transform desires through each stage of life. Progressed, directed, or transiting aspects to Venus (natal or otherwise) also describe changes, challenges, losses, successes, and transformations in one’s values, finances, and relationships.

Venus and the Sun

Like Mercury, the orbit of Venus lies between the Earth and the Sun. Therefore, from the Earth’s perspective, Venus never appears to be far from the Sun. Venus is never found more than 46 degrees from the Sun. In other words, Venus is never more than two zodiac signs ahead of or behind the Sun. Its proximity to the Sun suggests that one’s desires and values (Venus) are closely connected to the inner, spiritual Self (the Sun), and to the goals and purposes of the soul. Venus conveys the desires, values, feelings, and affections of the Self to the outer world. 

When Venus and the Sun are found in the same sign, the person’s values strongly reflect the purposes of the inner Self. Unless otherwise indicated, such a person would experience great difficulty hiding his or her feelings or being dishonest in relationships.

When Venus and the Sun are found in different signs, the individual’s values and desires and his or her manner of expressing affection conflict with the purposes of inner Self. In some ways, when Venus and the Sun are in different signs, the individual’s inner life is more complex and colorful. A difference in signs allows the individual to make choices regarding how, when, and if he or she relates emotionally. Such a difference in signs also allows the individual to think before he or she speaks.

However, the differences also suggest that the individual may feel that he or she can never express exactly how he or she really feels. He or she may feel alienated and that no one really understands him or her. Much depends on the aspects between Venus and the Sun as well as the signs, houses, and the chart as a whole.

Whether or not Venus rises before the Sun is another type of Sun-Venus combination often worth interpreting. If Venus rises ahead of the Sun, the intuitive or feeling nature or function of the individual is quickened. He or she is very sensitive to others’ attitudes and, if need be, is quick to adapt to new social situations.

If the Sun rises ahead of Venus, the feeling nature may be well disciplined and conservative. Such an individual may appear to be shy or detached. He or she is quietly gathering clues about another’s emotional or psychological state. Later, when time permits, he or she assembles the details and then formulates a conclusion concerning the other’s emotional state and whether or not it is safe to reveal his or her true feelings.

Venus Retrograde

A retrograde Venus at birth symbolizes that the individual is using this lifetime either to re-evaluate his or her values and desires, to transform the way or manner he or she attracts what he or she wants, and/or to develop a different approach to interpersonal or romantic relationships. The values, desires, and affections may be turned inward, away from ordinary social stimuli and conventions. The individual may appear to be withdrawn, introverted, or limited in communicating affection. 

The purposes behind this inward turn may be to seek out new values, new ways of being, new ways of relating, and/or new ways of expressing love and affection. The individual may be attempting to develop self-love, experience person harmony, or demonstrate new values. It is most likely that he or she will be working on all these areas at one time or another.

In re-evaluating his or her values and desires, early experiences will lead the individual to reject values and desires that worked in prior lifetimes. He or she may have been born into a family and a culture or setting that still upholds the past life values. The individual will be critical of the values of those around him or her, and he or she is most likely to be perceived as part of a counter-culture.

A person born with Venus retrograde, or someone whose progressed Venus has turned retrograde, may appear to be strange, peculiar, and detached. The manner in which he or she attempts to attract people, relationships, romance, and wealth will appear to be self-defeating. He or she may have to change his or her personality style or persona as well as social groups many times before any degree of success is achieved. He or she may appear to be conceited, narcissistic, or selfish. Venus retrograde may symbolize that the individual has much to learn about other people. Sometimes the individual may forego intimate relationships altogether in order to develop some other aspect of his or her life.

Whether or not Venus is retrograde at birth, it will change directions, signs, houses, and aspects several times during the lives of most people. These changes indicate the timing of powerful, personal challenges, opportunities, and abilities regarding the individual’s desires, values, wealth, and relationships.