Amanda Painter

Venus is conjunct Saturn in Scorpio (exact in a week) — an interesting position for these two planets that is setting the background tone now. Both planets are a little out of place in this sign, a stark contrast to Libra, where Venus is ruler and Saturn is exalted. Both planets are ‘natives’ in Libra. Yet in terms of being out of their metaphorical element, they’re very much ‘in this together’ in Scorpio — much as we all are, given this week’s swings of the political pendulum.

Simplified chart section showing the Sagittarius Moon (conjunct Pholus) exactly square the Virgo Sun. Venus is moving into a conjunction with Saturn and the north lunar node in Scorpio. Also shown: Mercury in early Libra. See glyph key here

That theme has just been illustrated by an Op-Ed in The New York Times written by (drumroll…) Russian President Vladimir Putin. Now, Putin is a politician just like the rest of them, and neither he nor recent Russian governments have been paragons of human rights or peace (jailing members of the activist band Pussy Riot, cracking down on homosexuals, their own invasion of Afghanistan, and so on).

But if Venus and Saturn are about figuring out ‘how to get through this together’, Putin’s rhetoric could not be better timed:

“I welcome the president’s interest in continuing the dialogue with Russia on Syria. We must work together to keep this hope alive.”

Indeed.

What felt like impending death and chaos as we headed into this last weekend is suddenly engendering another form of transformation, and it is happening in the context of yesterday’s anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy. As Eric wrote recently, “There’s a lot to grieve over, and a constant confrontation with death.”

That kind of emotional/spiritual assault takes its toll. No wonder so many people tune out, go numb or seek distractions.

But Saturn has been in Scorpio for nearly a year now, asking us to dig deep emotionally. The convivial sense of balance Venus had in Libra needs to find a new kind of equilibrium in Scorpio; it seems suggestive of a more vertical alignment through layers, rather than the horizontal image of the scales.