Yesterday Venus left Aries (a tense, though impetuous and passionate placement for the goddess of love) and entered Taurus (one of its home signs of rulership — the other is Libra). The sign change brings Venus into aspect with Neptune, Chiron and Jupiter in useful, even playful ways. We could, on the surface, liken this to someone coming home from work and slipping out of heels that pinch and into soft fuzzy slippers. Now that Venus has shed the martial psychic armor she’s been wearing in Aries (sign ruled by Mars, the god of war) she — that is, our own feminine sides — can be more at ease with what our senses perceive, and bring the physical and emotional into harmony.
This blend is heightened by the fact that Venus is also strong in Pisces (it’s the exalted planet), and there is a lot of Pisces energy right now several ways.
The first and most obvious point of Pisces contact is a sextile with Neptune in that sign. Venus in this flowing, supportive aspect to Neptune adds the essence of meaning to what we call love. It’s about gently dissolving boundaries and attachments. This may be an especially useful aspect if you’re finding yourself drawn into certain characteristics of Venus in Taurus, such as possessiveness and a certain quiet stubbornness (or alternately, persistence and devotion).
The first pair are mental/emotional postures that can take hold, especially if we feel threatened by some kind of loss (literal or ego-based). If you can allow yourself to soften your grip a little, Neptune’s dissolving property can connect you to the more transcendent quality of Venus.
Venus is also approaching a sextile to Chiron, which is just a smidge further into Pisces than Neptune is. Plus, Venus is beginning to activate Chiron’s discovery degree, which is 4 degrees Taurus. The degree where Chiron was discovered can act a lot like Chiron itself; this accentuates the sensation of emotional contact as a deep driving force in the psyche. Venus-Chiron has a mystical quality to its passion.
Love is about being open to more than a person or a feeling; it’s about being open to existence. If you’re feeling constrained in love, you may need to open up to the next few levels. The physical body is a vehicle for what some call ‘cosmic consciousness’ because it’s our way of experiencing the cosmos, at least while we have it to explore in. Going beyond the limits that we perceive the body to have, as it becomes an instrument of awareness and not of limitation. This can take practice, including meditation or experimentation with mind-altering substances.