By Len Wallick
Venus will enter Virgo as this coming weekend draws to a close. Shamanic astrologer Sheila Belanger would say the planet’s archetype is thus changing its attire. Assuming that description, this would be the third costume worn by the epitome of attraction since it disappeared from the eastern sky back on July 11.
Symbolically, it is a significant step in a longer process that will conclude when Venus is visible again in the west. In our earthly lives, it would be an opportune time to reconsider how our own attractions reflect on our part and place in the world. Currently, Venus is not visible from Earth because it is on the other side of the Sun. We lost sight of it three weeks after the Cancer Solstice and will not see it again until the Libra Equinox. From our earthly perspective, it is on an invisible journey. The end result of that concealed voyage will be the same planet in a new place, playing a different part in the sky. That goes beyond a change of costume to a change of character. It is much like an actor taking on a different role, reading different lines. It is a transmutation of form, taking place in stages.
The implication is that the Venus archetype itself is also in the process of transmutation, as is its expression in our lives. The planet is changing its identity, specifically in relation to the Sun. When appearing in the sky just before dawn, the role of Venus was to herald the day. The brightest planet appeared in the darkest hour, reflecting the light still below the horizon, attracting our attention its daily renewal. The deconstruction of that identity started five weeks ago.
When Venus first became indistinguishable from the morning light, it was in the garments of the Cancer solstice, suggesting a change of direction for our consciousness. Behind the middle panel of the solar shoji, Venus entered Leo, a sign ruled by the Sun. It was during its leonine tenure that Venus had a conjunction with the Sun. The planet was in effect, eclipsed and subsumed by the massive solar disc. Now, as if to begin a process of re-conceiving its archetype, Venus is revising its costume once again.
In a few days, Venus will change into the the more subdued raiment of Virgo, a sign ruled by Mercury, the innermost planet, which is passing in front of the Sun even as Venus is moving behind. As such, Virgo’s mercurial energy is symbolically out in front of our consciousness instead of being sublimated, serving as the template allowing reconstruction of Venus’s character as she moves forward into her new role.
When Venus appears again it will be in the western sky just after dark. Instead of serving to portend the day, its role will be one of reflecting the last rays of passing light, anticipating nightfall. Drawing upon Mercury’s aptitude for directing attention towards what attracts us rather than attracting attention to ourselves, Virgo’s new outfit may not be flashy, but it will do the trick.
Just as it is with the actual planet, the Venus archetype is expressed in reflection. Just as with the object in the sky, the place and role of that reflection is changing here on Earth. Even as the role of Venus is being re-conceived for a new horizon and new relationship with the Sun, the time is right for each one of us to develop a new conception of our own place and part in a relationship with the greater light of what what we have in common.
Offered In Service
PS …I did not add the emoticon, I swear……anyone know how to extract the contagion ?
…or are they kinda like Tribbles…
Len ‘n be ,
Firstly, grateful thanks for your responses…(food for thought, on several levels)………….
…Len- bin livin on Hawaiian time forawhile now…no such thing as “late”…jus’ “late ah”…..
…be- on a similar wavelength…right brain lookin’ for mandala in the chart(s)…left brain brakin’ it all down after……sometimes it’s a coupla daze on simmer, before it’s “done”…
Secondly, ‘errors and omissions’ :(and it’s only my first entry; craiEkey); put crucial data in the profile while registering; then monkeymind moved on to ‘comment’, and got ahead of himself…’56;Asc(real)earlyCap/Sun-lateAquari/Moon(real)earlyTaurus; …mea culpa….
Thirdly, your thoughts on the configurations, in and of themselves(kites alone; symetrical yods within kites), was a part of my inquiry……building blocks/tools appropo of any chart……never know when a piece of information will come to the fore and be the key….
…………Len-Mike Brown’s,”…no reason for it to be out there.”, is very powerful: a much needed kick in the pants kharmically r.e., ‘…it’s not ALL about Me…’;…… hate to say it but, each of us has a role in-someone else’s-kharma(souls traveling together ?)…nothing to do with one’s own account,[take THAT, Pluto in lateLeo generation];…and it is about strategy/relationship right now, in many ways.[TPlutoConjunctNJuno;same generation]]
…anyway……REALLY been a blast, to have you all out there; genuine connections are beyond measure……namaste…
Bradley
‘yods42,
For me, anything as complex as what you have described would beg to be broken down into smaller segments first and then once the meaning and inferences of those segments were assimilated you could get a handle on the whole of the transiting formation. After that you could take the transiting relationship(s) to your natal planets and aspects and draw some conclusions. Anyway you do it could be overwhelming, but my goal would be to try to see the pattern, not in aspects, but in meaning.
For example, how do you understand the sextile between Astarea and Sedna (what is it they ‘produce’) and then how do they use that ‘talent’ or product to get a result from the north node? One way to think of Sedna is as a symbol of sacrifice or abandonment. Her father ‘offered her up’ in order to save himself and left her to fend for herself. Astarea could represent the quality of not giving up until the fat lady sings. The sign of Taurus could represent fallow fields and the sign of Cancer could represent nuturance. Sedna’s positive and hopefully productive relationship to Astarea could be a successful crop of something and from that success could develop a teaching program (Sagittarius) for working the land and harvesting crops. The north node would provide opportunities for foreigners (Sag) to learn how to re-generate their homeland’s natural resources.
Follow that line of thought with the fire trine from Sun,Venus, Mercury in Leo and you might have pride in your ability to create beautiful things and sell them at the local farmers market. You participate in the class that the north node’s opportunity provides and offer up your own unique methods of successful growing (Eris & Lilith in Aries) but run into some conflict because of the hard-won successes via Astarea in Cancer. Also with Sedna’s struggle of being left behind and doing things the hard way could generate some bitterness at the seemingly arrogant and boastful ways of the happy Leo trio. Just one of many, many possibile scenarios.
be
whataretheyods:
Please forgive the late reply. That’s quite a question. From what you describe (just planets and their geometric relationships), Sedna is the wild card among all the spades. Taking a tip from the astronomer who discovered it, Mike Brown, who said that there is no reason for it to be there (Sun’s gravity not enough to keep it in orbit from that distance and nothing else we know of “out there” that would), Sedna knows something or some things that we don’t know. What you don’t know may fill in the straight or flush but that’s against the odds. What you don’t know could work better as a “hole” card because it will help you to determine who (if anybody) does know. From what you describe, it’s a strategy and/or relationship thing, so, is it worth it? If it is, think Sedna. If it’s not, cash out.
Salutations everyone…have been following the conversation(s) here, albeit silently, for a while……curious what anyone might have to say re the kite configuration, formed by the lunar nodes (the NN completing a fire trine, with the Sun/Venus/Merc constellation and Eris/BlackMoonLilith), and…(wait for it)…the yod, smack in the middle, formed by AstraeaSextileSednaQuincunxNorthNode………makes alotta sense in the mundane, but it has me kinda perplexed on the personal level……all of this has been triggering my natal Sun/Ceres/AstraeaOpposedPluto/Jupiter, so I’m gettin’ it in spades………(there are actually more yods and kites comin’ than you can shake a stick at when everybody heads into Virgo, but ,’thank the gods’, that’s for another day)… …thoughts ?
..at dawn and dusk I will look for her, and walk with her.
Saturn is to show me Her through my natal Libra conjunction, coming from my natal Pluto conjunction..
Thanks man, appreciate the words.
Peace,
Jere (I’ll get it)
That’s great, Len. Thanks for answering my question. Reading your piece certainly gave me the feeling of a bright light against the backdrop of… mmm… no words. It’s just been crazy up here. I sure do appreciate your writing and incisive accounts of what’s going on in the firmament.
michele,
Venus orbits the Sun in just less than 225 Earth days, so Venus returns come often and are not the auspicious milestones that Saturn returns (for example) are. It would indicate a new beginning (as we would expect of a conjunction) for relationship issues and issues of value. A Venus return is also a good time to ask for cooperation or negotiation or reciprocation and you would be receptive to the same sort of request. How’s that?
So would anyone care to elaborate on Venus returns?
Venus on Venus sounds pretty damn good after these past few months. Interesting, also, to me, that Venus’s only aspect in my natal chart is to a Mercury/Pallas conjunction in the 12th. I dare think of shiftings. Regaining my bearings. And whatnot. Must study up and change it up. Re-conception. If I had a bit of energy just at the moment I’d be jumping up and down.
Len:
Any time!! 😉
Jere,
Thank you. Long time. Not an odd question at all. Understand what you mean. Best to start with the fact that it is a classical planet. In other words, you can see it without the aid of a telescope. For as long as people have looked at the sky and paid attention from one night to the next, Venus has been a part of human experience. It is part of us. There is probably a Venus gene somewhere in our DNA. That also means it is pan-cultural. Every culture that has made a practice of astronomy/astrology has a prominent place for Venus. Then, there is its albedo – brightest thing routinely in our sky with the exception of Sun and Moon. Finally, there is the fact that its orbit is inside of ours – as result the Earth is never between Venus and the Sun (think of that, no opposition, ever) and, as result, it only rises so far up in our sky (just over 45 degrees at greatest elongation). All of this together, combined with the fact that Venus is relatively fast moving and exhibits lunar crescent characteristics gives Venus a Yin quality, a receptive manifestation and an essential spiritual pole. Venus is to our sky what a wall is to a roof – not complete by itself but not dispensable either. Another subject in itself is the wealth of information in the periodicity of Venus cycles.
be and Fe: thank you.
..odd question but, “how do you ‘feel’ out Venus”? I’ve read a shit-load of books, I’ve read a fuck-load of charts, and I still haven’t felt her. I know Saturn, not quite Mars, the Sun and Ascendant and I are friends.. What do I meditate on to figure her out?
..any words are cool,
thanks bro,
Jere
Super good topic Len. Love it when you talk Venus; I’m starting to understand more why she is the esoteric ruler of Gemini, what with her dual role in the sky seen through the eyes of our human Earthly duality, among other things.
TNO Chaos has now reached 15+ Gemini, and awaits Venus’ moment of occultation of the Sun from that degree, less than 9 months from now. At that moment the Moon will also conjunct Pluto and less than 3 weeks later Uranus finally makes his first exact square to Pluto. It seems to me that Venus by then will reflect the crisis of transformation that humanity will have reached, and from her position shared with not only the Sun but also Chaos, will bring forth a desire to create a new way of living; one that crosses the divides that separate us now. Now IS the time, like you say, to develop a concept of our own role in “a relationship with the greater light of what we have in common.” Thanks for your offering to us today Len.
be