The principle of Venus—so often called the planet of love—would more accurately be described as mirroring our own personal choices in love & pleasure. Venus is a reflection of how our values evolve throughout life. Venus also deals with the consequences that come with choosing, which necessarily means giving up one or more alternatives.
In mythology, the goddess Aphorodite is a Venusian archetype embodying the courage & discrimination required to live one’s most authentic life. Aphrodite frequently faces backlash from those who wish to embarrass her for living unapologetically in touch with and aligned to her deepest desires, but at the end of the day, how else is she ever going to be personally satisfied unless she knows what she wants?
If you expect to be loved by another person without first truly knowing yourself— that is to say, if you don’t bother to continually refine your own personal values— then who exactly is it that your partner is ‘loving’? Further, how do you know whether this current version of you will feel satisfied by what’s in front of you? These are all questions Venus asks us to continually rebalance within ourselves. Only then can we hope to evoke a sense of balance & harmony in relationships, finances and all the other Venus-ruled subjects of pleasure.
If you expect to be loved by another person without first truly knowing yourself— that is to say, if you don’t bother to continually refine your own personal values— then who exactly is it that your partner is ‘loving’? Further, how do you know whether this current version of you will feel satisfied by what’s in front of you? These are all questions Venus asks us to continually rebalance within ourselves. Only then can we hope to evoke a sense of balance & harmony in relationships, finances and all the other Venus-ruled subjects of pleasure.
Good communication isn’t possible without a foundation of internal clarity. It’s a more balanced deal all around if everybody knows (roughly) how success is defined. That's not to say it's about perfection or planning exactly how everything will play out (which would spoil a lot of the spontaneity & fun). Instead, Venus is just concerned with having a firm grasp on both your guiding principles & dealbreakers which will define how you choose as you go along. Those personal choice principles are what allow you to relax and be in the moment! You don’t need to control everything any longer - you just need to know when to walk away in the face of a dealbreaker.
Let’s take a deeper dive into this by examining Venus’ qualities as he appears as a male figure from Hindu mythology. We’ll be pulling from a therapeutic myth called The Greatness of Saturn, ¹ a story which is part of the Foundations of Planetary Myths course that teaches you how to begin navigating your natal chart.
In this myth, Brighu is the name of Venus’ archetype. As the story opens, King Vikrama is learning about Brighu during the presentation on the wondrous power of the planet Venus. ¹ The king had called a round table of his closest advisors in order to discern which planet is the greatest of them all. He was scheduled to give a verdict once every planet's advocate finished their presentation. ¹
During the Venus presentation, it was revealed that out of all of the planets, Venus is the only celestial body with the power to raise people from the dead.¹ Take a moment to fully appreciate the metaphorical implications here. If you were to directly experience the energetic renewal of the life force energy that underlies all things, you would come to an understanding of how the universe resurrects itself every single morning. This miraculous happening usually escapes our collective attention because of our focus on how much time is passing, how much division there is in society, and all of the various instances of death & decay which make up the story which our physical eyes tell us is 'real.'
In this myth, Brighu is the name of Venus’ archetype. As the story opens, King Vikrama is learning about Brighu during the presentation on the wondrous power of the planet Venus. ¹ The king had called a round table of his closest advisors in order to discern which planet is the greatest of them all. He was scheduled to give a verdict once every planet's advocate finished their presentation. ¹
During the Venus presentation, it was revealed that out of all of the planets, Venus is the only celestial body with the power to raise people from the dead.¹ Take a moment to fully appreciate the metaphorical implications here. If you were to directly experience the energetic renewal of the life force energy that underlies all things, you would come to an understanding of how the universe resurrects itself every single morning. This miraculous happening usually escapes our collective attention because of our focus on how much time is passing, how much division there is in society, and all of the various instances of death & decay which make up the story which our physical eyes tell us is 'real.'
However, the energetic reality underneath all of these cyclical events reveals that energy doesn’t disappear, but instead it simply changes form. Energy that has become outworn gets cycled into new life every day in ways that surprise & delight us, but we often miss out on witnessing it.
Sometimes, we lose something or someone we love & the pain becomes so intense that we cannot imagine ever having that aspect of our personal Venus fulfilled by anything or anyone ever again. We can’t even bear to try to imagine a ‘replacement,’ which by definition would feel subpar to us compared to how lovely this situation or person was. How could anything else charm us as much? It just wouldn’t be the same.
Sometimes, we lose something or someone we love & the pain becomes so intense that we cannot imagine ever having that aspect of our personal Venus fulfilled by anything or anyone ever again. We can’t even bear to try to imagine a ‘replacement,’ which by definition would feel subpar to us compared to how lovely this situation or person was. How could anything else charm us as much? It just wouldn’t be the same.
Enter Venus’ resurrection capabilities, which introduce us to the idea of ‘rebalancing’ as a kind of resurrection that brings us back the same energy we found so charming & lovely. Life is here to provide, after all! The physical appearance is never the same, but what often escapes our awareness is the energy behind all that goes on within the physical plane - that which feels so familiar to us on a spiritual level. The essence of that energy is always the same & it will never abandon us, no matter what is implied by the appearance of a situation.
We tend to believe only what our eyes show us as real, but when we remember that what is driving our physical reality is intangible - a force that cannot be comprehended with the eyes - then we get a glimpse of our own limitless potential to experience a greater Venusian fulfillment. There is always more fulfillment to be had, and this beautiful truth of life is an important part of what Venus teaches in the chart.
We tend to believe only what our eyes show us as real, but when we remember that what is driving our physical reality is intangible - a force that cannot be comprehended with the eyes - then we get a glimpse of our own limitless potential to experience a greater Venusian fulfillment. There is always more fulfillment to be had, and this beautiful truth of life is an important part of what Venus teaches in the chart.
More archetypal myths of the other planets are contained within our course Foundations of Planetary Myths. For each planetary module, you will perform exercises to strengthen your creative vision in the context of your natal chart and dissolve your inner resistance for every subject that is currently challenging you. In the case of the Venus module, the reward is a life lived by your own newly refined sense of personal values.
As the ultimate teacher of personal choice, Venus would be quite pleased if we left you with Rumi’s advice:
‘Don’t be satisfied with the stories that came before you. Unfold your own myth.’
Foundations of Planetary Myths is designed to help you do just that.
Course outcomes include building two distinct skillsets:
Course outcomes include building two distinct skillsets:
- Learning to navigate the space of variations to find your soul's success sectors, and
- Effectively co-creating with archetypes in the natal chart so the inner image matches those sectors. This requires the ability to dissolve your inner resistance so that what you don't want stops sticking to you like glue.
Enjoy the process!
Love,
Phoenix
References
1. Svoboda, Robert. Chapter Seven - Venus. The Greatness of Saturn: A Therapeutic Myth. Lotus Press, 1997:
