Venus and Mars

Venus and Mars by Sandro Botticelli

Venus and Mars are the ruling planets of Taurus and Scorpio, meaning they focus the energies of these two ways of being.  Both of these planets go retrograde this year, renewing themselves and their goals.  It's interesting that both Gemini and Virgo, the signs Venus and Mars retrograde through, are ruled by Mercury, the god-energy of Mind and Intuition.  It seems we have to start using our minds and our hearts together if we want to fulfill our highest potentials this year.  We have to let Aphrodite and Eros awaken us to our Divinity. 
Mars is also the ruler of the sign Aries, which is concerned with our self-identity.  With Uranus traveling through Aries, our Mars energy has been trying on new identities to live by.  Whether we feel we are leaders, warriors, healers, bards, mystics, adventurers or farmers, we are being asked to assume a larger identity in the world.  This Mars in Virgo retrograde has been a time to fine-tune that identity and the desires it constellates.

Mars went retrograde on January24, 2012 at 24* Virgo and turned back to direct motion on April 13 at 4* Virgo.  Mars symbolizes our desire nature Eros, as well as our warrior nature Aries.  Mars is the god who grapples with life, bringing us those things we desire enough to work and fight for.  The retrograde Mars turned within to fine tune those things within us that needed to be healed and analyzed.  

Now that Mars is moving ahead again in Virgo, Mars can help us become a master at whatever we do.  Virgo is the sign of the craftsperson, someone who takes the time to perfect what needs doing.  Virgo is analytical and practical, wanting to find the best solution to problems.   Mars in Virgo is the master craftsman, striving for perfection in order to achieve his desires.  Mars in Virgo is modest, helpful, analytical and willing to be of service to others and to the world, but we have to watch out for self-criticism and perfectionism if we want our Mars to work competently. When Mars goes retrograde in Virgo, our desires are scrutinized and carefully considered, since we want to show the world the best that we are.  It isn't about perfection, but rather wholeness.

Venus is the planet that symbolizes our ability to connect with what we love.  The goddess Aphrodite/Venus is not only the goddess of Love, Beauty and Sexuality, she is the goddess of Wisdom and Wholeness.  It is the call of Venus that awakens Psyche within us; it is Love that shows us how to be whole.  Venus calls us to the deeper realities of the Spirit Incarnate.  She is the goddess who knows that Love is the most central Law of the Cosmos and she is the gift the Great Spirit of Life has given us.  What a dry, bitter world it would be without Love!

Have you seen Venus shining so brightly in the evening sky?  She is slowing down now, about to turn retrograde on Tuesday, May 15th at 7:33am PDT/ 10:33am EDT.  She will begin to move back toward the setting sun until she disappears in the sun's rays.  Then Venus will move across the face of the Sun on Tuesday June 5th at 16* Gemini.  (More on this in the next few newsletters -- we'll see her toward sunset in the western USA.)  Venus moved over the face of the Sun back in 2004 and now eight years later we'll see it again for the last time in another 100 years.  Venus, which is now the Evening Star, will become the Morning Star once again.  



Venus is traveling through the sign of Gemini, retrograding from May 15 to June 27, from 24* to 8* Gemini.  When Venus goes retrograde, we re-evaluate our values and our relationship, which were formed by our family, our culture and our religions.  Now we get to see what our hearts really yearn for, our true feelings about what is important to us.

Venus in Gemini knows that good communication skills are an important part of any relationship.  In Gemini, Venus advocates for a meeting of the minds before deep intimacy can be achieved.  Venus here wants to be a good companion, using her intellectual talents as well as her enthusiasm for life in all her relations.  This airy Venus wants to play with everyone and certainly doesn't want to be "tied down' unless she does the tying.  Venus says we need to find new ways of relating that fit our new sense of ourselves.  There is nothing possessive or dominating about Venus here -- it's all about the ability to partner up and play with ideas, feelings, intuitions, purposes and each other.  Nothing is set, nothing settled.  It's all about curiosity and experimenting.  Of course this can lead to shallow interactions and indecision when it comes to feelings.  But at its highest levels, Venus in Gemini calls us to open our minds and hearts to each other and see what we can learn about new ways of relating, new ways of giving value to things and people (our money system) and new ways to be creative.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/2/Beltane-and-the-Scorpio-Fu-by-Cathy-Lynn-Pagano-120502-603.html