Venus is now in Libra, arc minutes from a square to Pluto in Capricorn. The Virgo-Libra cusp is a busy place these days; Mercury just went into Libra (ending its retrograde two weeks ago, and its echo phase yesterday). Then at the end of the month, Saturn makes the same move as well. Each time a planet moves into Libra, it opposes the Aries Point, the first degree of the zodiac (said properly, the first degree of the tropical zodiac).
Libra is one of the home signs of Venus; it’s said to rule that sign (and also Taurus). So you can truly say this is a ‘good thing’, but as good as it is, it’s also made interesting by the aspect to Pluto and its presence opposite the Aries Point. As I have said here many times, the Aries Point in any astrological equation tells us that the big world (out there) and the little world (one’s private life) are intersecting. Yesterday’s conversation about where individual relationships meet society’s rules and expectations is a good for-instance, though the effect can get much larger. Yet the conscious attempt to reconcile where we actually fit into our culture is an excellent example of putting the Aries Point to work.
Venus square Pluto is a picture of one’s internal experience of a relationship; of one’s own relationship tendencies; and the role of erotic impulses in the quest for growth and personal evolution. The relational aspect comes from Venus in Libra; the societal attribute from Pluto in Capricorn. Pluto also brings in the concepts of growth and evolution. Venus and Pluto both bring in different aspects of sexuality, and add up to a lusty mix. Yet it manages to be something well beyond lust for its own sake; this is a drive to connect, and exploration of the motive to connect.
This is an aspect that feels meaningful, applicable and moreover, urgently calling for self-reflection. That square wants to start the conversation from the inside-out. It’s pointing to that significant piece of a relationship that exists within our individual psyche. We tend to think of a relationship as this thing that two people have; but really it’s two things that two people are having, with one thing assigned to each person.
Part of being a healthy relationship partner is being able to focus on both your experience and that of someone else. This would necessarily start with your own experience, and then embrace that of your partner. When we only focus on someone else and habitually forget our own needs, or act to our own detriment, that would be codependency. This aspect is saying start inside. Recognize how much of love, sexual attraction and obsession, acceptance, need, satisfaction, acceptance, guilt and fear are personal matters that we alone experience. Or said another way, the square is calling on us to call back our projections and take ownership of our experiences.