"I [Aphrodite] should find some favour with the sea, for in its holy depths in days gone by from sea-foam I was formed, and still from foam I take my name in Greece." - Ovid, Metamorphoses 4. 521 ff (trans. Melville) (Roman epic C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.)
3/27/2019
Venus entered Pisces on Tuesday and she seems to be demanding some sort of fanfare and tribute. After all, the planet of Love and Beauty is exalted in the watery sign of Pisces! It feels a bit like Aphrodite going to the Sea to celebrate her birth place and accept all the lavish gifts and praises of her Devotees and Lovers. I have been wanting to write about Venus in Pisces for a few days now (or rather, She's been demanding I give her some attention on my blog) but I've been terribly distracted and unfocused. I blame this on Mercury's final days of retrograde in Pisces, conjunct dreamy Neptune. If you've been feeling the confusion and haziness the past few days, you're not alone! Venus just joined the Pisces game and upped the desire for fantasy and escapism, but at least Mercury will start moving forward again on Thursday!
Pisces Pathways
So what's the deal with Pisces energy anyway? We've all felt the Pisces influence recently with the sun's annual transit of the sign of The Fish (February 18th thru March 20), along with Mercury entering Pisces on February 10th and the Pisces New Moon on March 6th. Neptune has been slowly swimming through the sign of his rulership since 2012, and won't be leaving until 2025!
Pisces energy is by nature, hard to define. As the Mutable Water sign of the zodiac, it tends to defy definition, slipping out of any box we try to put it in. It is the realm of the emotional, the spiritual, faith, the dream and fantasy, psychic abilities, psychedelic experiences, the subconscious mind and the karmic patterns of the soul; all those ineffable things that poets, song writers, and philosophers have expressed through history in ever-changing ways. That may all sound good - however; within the realm of dream and fantasy also lie the world of delusions, fears, and self-defeating behaviors such as addiction and escapism. "Beware: Here There Be Dragons" and other fantastical creatures which can offer us either great wisdom or great danger, depending on how we approach them. I think this quote is one that sums up Pisces energy quite well; “The psychotic drowns in the same waters in which the mystic swims with delight.” [Joseph Campbell, Psychology of the Future: Lessons from Modern Consciousness Research ] because the watery realm of Pisces can either be on one hand a delightful place of mystical enlightenment, or on the other hand a path of misleading delusional states and psychosis. These of course are the two extremes of Pisces pathology, and hopefully one can find the Middle Path when on this journey.
Journeys With Venus
Venus - "The Light of Beauty" is the brightest object in our sky other than the sun and the moon. Venus orbits around the zodiac wheel in just 225 days, spending under a month moving through each sign of the Astrological Wheel. Venus is the Planet of Love, Beauty, and Attraction and rules over the signs of Taurus and Libra. As ruler of Taurus, Venus acts as the source of our desire for material growth, prosperity, and comfort on the physical plane. As ruler of Libra, Venus acts as the source of our desire for union, connection, partnership and balance with others. Wherever Venus is in the zodiac wheel, she brings the energy of attraction; awakening our sentiments of Love, Desire, and Sharing through the energy of whatever sign she is travelling through. Venus is exalted in the sign of Pisces - while this Planet will be best expressed in either Taurus or Libra, an exaltation is the complimentary sign through which a planet's energy is most positively expressed. Pisces is often associated with the Ocean - the source of all life. Venus is named after the Roman Goddess of Love and Beauty - known to the Greeks as Aphrodite and to the Hindus as Lakshmi. Mythologies of both Aphrodite and Lakshmi relate her being born from the sea - the personification of beauty, pleasure, wealth, and inspiration.
Venus moving through the signs will inspire our creative passion in different areas of life as we find value in and attraction to the lessons and energies of the sign that she is transitting. This is especially true in the signs of Taurus, Libra and Pisces where her traits are expressed most positively. (However, in the signs of Aries, Scorpio, and Virgo, Venus' negative traits of jealousy, obsessiveness, or greed might be more pronounced) Venus lights up a passion and desire in us that can be transmuted into a sort of magnetism that draws us towards what we are seeking. She's the moth's desire to fly toward the light, and the Salmon's desire to swim home to procreate - that internal desire that pushes us to go out seeking, connecting, and creating.
"Venus gives Man the need to grow both materially and spiritually, and her powers of attraction are those which lead one on a path toward continual increment. The vibrations of Venus manifest themselves at their purest when in the sign of Pisces. It is then that selfishness is transmuted into selflessness and personal love becomes universal love." [Alan Oken, Alan Oken's Complete Astrology, Ibis Press]
Venus in Pisces allows us the fall in love with everything and everyone! As she celebrates her birthplace of the Sea- the watery realm of Unification from whence all life originates and all must return; Venus reminds us of our deep inner connection, the beauty of our own spiritual journeys and common dreams or fantasies. Alan Oken says; " The personal magnetism, sense of social harmony, and artistic nature embodied by Venus [in PIsces] is expressed through compassion and unversality of outlook. There is a tendency for overindulgence in continually changing forms of sensual self-expression as well as the ability to be sympathetic and completely understanding of all people." Venus moving through Pisces can help us relate to others from a place of deeper empathy and compassion, while making deeper connections from a place of a unified desire for the pleasures of shared dreams. Now is the time to really ask yourself where you wish to grow spiritually, and then seek out the supportive partnerships that can help you manifest those goals into physical reality. Be wary of strong attraction to fantasy and escapism though, as Venus in Pisces might encourage us to get caught up in sensuality and pleasure-seeking - but allow yourself to enjoy it if that is what Venus brings you! Just try not to get caught up in it or swept away - remember the key to navigating the Pisces Path is moderation and the Middle Way. All in all, Venus moving through Pisces can serve to reinvigorate your dreams and remind you what you truly desire, and this can and should be beautiful!
How can you make the most of Venus in Pisces: * Find out what HOUSE Pisces is in on your birth chart. This will hold clues about where Venus' movement through Pisces might manifest in your life. * Meditate on Venus. Meditate on Pisces. Journal your experiences.
* Keep a dream journal.
* Create a Vision Board - a collage or physical representation of the things that spark joy and love. What do you find beautiful that inspires you?
* Explore the concept of individual love vs Universal Love.
Aspects to Current Planets or Natal Planets As Venus moves through Pisces - she will form aspects with other planets that are currently in the following signs, as well as aspects to any planets in these signs in your birth chart. * Conjunctions with planets in Pisces. This tends to amplify the lessons of a sign, as two or more planets are teaching its lessons at the same time. The Venus-Neptune conjunction around April 9th will be quite dreamy and profound.
* Opposition to planets in Virgo. Oppositions are challenging yet balancing. There are lessons to be learned from the opposite signs that can create greater harmony in our lives if we heed the lessons.
* Trines to planets in Cancer and Scorpio. This is a harmonious aspect, as the water signs generally support each other.
* Squares to planets in Gemini and Sagittarius. Squares are generally seen as challenging aspects - the element is different but the mode (mutable) is the same. There is something to be learned here, don't be discouraged.
* Sextiles to planets in Capricorn and Taurus. A generally supportive aspect as these signs might share a common goal, though generally have different ideas on how to reach that outcome. Find the compromise. Venus will sextile both Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn as she moves through Pisces.
Totally random side note on Venus, compliments of Mercury and Neptune in Pisces causing me to go on a tangent;
One of the things I find most fascinating about Venus is the pattern created in her relation to the earth, called a Synodic Cycle; which creates a five-pointed star or five petaled flower. That next Interior Conjunction of Earth and Venus happens in August 2019 when Venus is in Leo. Check out this video from Shamanic Astrologer Gemini Brett to see this Synodic Cycle in action -
I am lucky enough to date Gemini Sun, Aquarius Moon and Venus in Pisces man :)