Venus in Sagittarius: Relief in Release

Song of Songs (Cantique des Cantiques) by Gustave Moreau

(1893, watercolor on paper, Ohara Museum of Art)

When Venus enters Sagittarius on October 7th at 5:55 in the afternoon (UT/+0 time), we’ll all feel some sense of release.

It’s not the answer to all our prayers, but it’s something. Everyone has been feeling a deal of intensity in their life. That intensity has been growing rather steadily…actually for quite a long time now. Back when Saturn entered Scorpio (this is now October of 2012 we’re talking about) we all felt life enter some kind of ‘new phase.’ We understood it was there, and we knew we had to deal with it whether or not we liked all of it.

Sometimes that’s just how life is. And that quality – the ‘dealing with the reality of life’ is the core of all things Saturn. So that fits.

More recently, two things occurred. One was the early September (September 3rd) onset of this November’s Scorpio solar eclipse effects…the ‘prep for evolution,’ call it.

Then Venus moved into Scorpio on September 11th, setting us all up for all those contentious little moments when whether or not we were ‘picking sides’ in any real sense, we felt what we felt and we wanted everyone else to comply with what we felt about things.

Venus in Scorpio is famous (if not infamous) for a bias of preference. Actually, Scorpio is famous for a bias of preference, and Venus in Scorpio just brought that out of us…marking three (plus) weeks when we have all wanted what we wanted, which everyone else having their stuff center stage in their mind elicited in them – at least as far as we were concerned. They may have been totally focused on whatever we realized they were focused on all along. But by gum, Venus in Scorpio brought that out in them…which in turn brought our stuff out in US.

No, it wasn’t graceful. Nor was it all terribly ‘Scorpio-ish’ in the sense that one generally thinks of Scorpio. What it was, however, was a time when through bringing the least satisfying aspects of our own life out in others – or in conversations or situations, we got the opportunity to recognize our weaknesses. Often these came through challenging or even unsatisfying (read: ridiculously lousy) interactions with others. Venus passing through Scorpio ‘evidenced’ and ‘elicited’ facets of the pre-solar eclipse ‘breaking down’ mode so that we could have the chance to see how to (Venus) improve how we do things (or how we grapple with the idea of doing things) in order to get better reactions, responses and opportunities.

Not that most of us responded all that well.

But being that this was Venus – and with Venus being totally ‘at home’ in Scorpio’s polarity sign of Taurus, it was natural to have everyone projecting their desires and emotional lessons onto each other…and that applied individually, depending on who we are. The whole structural dynamic of that time was Venus in Scorpio – the projecting and interacting and trying to get our own approval for our own position through others (often failing utterly)…and even as a Pisces astrologer I can say it wasn’t all that easy to remember that when my Virgo friends were telling me to have faith that was THEIR lesson while as a Pisces I was trying to find the information and be pragmatic and practical, which was MY lesson.

I’ve been thinking about all this in the past few days, which is maybe less helpful than it could have been (had I gotten this into my head a month ago) but now we’re here and since September 29th Mercury has been in Scorpio with Venus now moving on into Sagittarius.

That’s the point here. Mercury and Saturn are both in Scorpio. Being ruler of Virgo and Gemini, Mercury will now be ‘evoking’ (or bringing to light) thoughts, situations and conversations which present questions of Virgo functionality and ethics in a very intense light as it ALSO (in being in the 6th derivative sign to choice-oriented Gemini) forces us to focus on whatever choices need to be made…or maybe remade. The combination of Mercury and Saturn in Scorpio as the sign of the incoming eclipse is the signature of a time which is sobering in its realities and emotionally trying in that it is forcing us to recognize what really ‘isn’t’ about “them” and is really our affair.

Or our responsibility.

Or our choice.

Or the ‘price’ of being the person we need to be in our own life if we are to feel fulfilled and satisfied in the (Saturn) long run.

INTO WHICH…comes Venus in Sagittarius. Simply as a combination, Venus in Sagittarius tends towards the fun, and often towards the hilarious and frivolous and fascinatingly exciting.

Except for the solar eclipse. Because all this ‘weight’ is sitting in the sign behind Sagittarius (yes, we’re talking about Scorpio) this is like having the proverbial 600-pound gorilla poking us from behind. (And no, gorillas aren’t known to be either very gentle or picky about where and how hard they poke.) Any time any heavy energetic is in the sign ‘behind’ anything in the metaphysical sense, we’re talking a 12th house harmonic.

At the same time, we could also say that Venus being in Sagittarius is in the 2nd derivative sign to Scorpio.

And this difference probably outlines a good portion of the choice or ‘balance’ which is going to be going on in all of our lives from the 7th through the 23rd of October, when the Sun moves into Scorpio.

That’s a bit of a game changer.

Meanwhile, first things first. Venus in the 2nd derivative sign to Scorpio tells us that this is a good time to try out new ways of doing things – or that by doing things in a new way (or simply by doing new things) we will at the very least be able to get some perspective on what’s going on in the rest of our life.

That the Sun is still in Libra during this October 7-23 period highlights matters social and societal specifically in the sense of jobs and incomes and being part of ‘your group’ and making all that work.

Or not.

And that ‘or not’ part comes from the Scorpio thing, which no, we don’t get to get away from. Remember – with Saturn in Scorpio, reality is reality and our reality isn’t just ‘what we work for’…it’s how we go about working towards it and who we choose to go about trying to work towards it with.

That last little phrase is the glitch-maker, most likely, as the whole of this evolving solar eclipse pressure-fest comes down to are you invested with the right people doing the right thing? We each are going to have to sort through both parts of this equation. In other words, you may be doing the perfect ‘right thing’ but be doing it in conjunction with the wrong people. Or maybe you’re connected to a lot of really wonderful folks, but your function or your abilities aren’t working for you or otherwise fitting into the mix.

Either one – or both – can be wrong now. And the Venus in Sagittarius part of this is, first and foremost, the recognizing that there’s more to the world (and your world) than you had suspected. Somehow, through some means, by some mode, through some tweak of chance we each and every one of us will encounter something new…or maybe just some unexpected response to something we’ve been doing the same way for ages and ages…which cues us in to realizing there are options – valid options – which could make our life a whole lot better than it is right now.

This isn’t easy because right now there’s a HUGE amount of energy invested in our emotional status quo. You may be in the middle of changing your house, your career, your marital status, your health status – whatever….and all of that will make you want to preserve your emotional status quo so you can “get through” whatever you’re doing.

That’s the Scorpio part.

But then comes the glimmer. The understanding. The realization. The opportunity to have life be even better. Or more effective. Or more of what you really want it to be though you hadn’t imagined doing it quite that way…

And just that much, just that little idea is going to get a really touchy response from you, from me and from everyone else we know. (And don’t know, for that matter.) Why? Because with Venus in Sagittarius, all the Scorpio ‘stuff’ is in the derivative 12th sign position. And since anything having to do with a derivative 12th anything presents us with the need to not just feel our feelings but feel ourselves feeling our feelings, this comes down to how we equipped we are emotionally…and self-reflectively.

And yes, these are two different things. I have a friend who is just sterling when it comes to self-reflection but who sucks when it comes to getting emotionally intimate with their Self, never mind anyone else. Point taken?

Another side of Venus in Sagittarius is the idea of ‘gaining perspective’ – whether that’s on yourself, what you’re doing or life in general. Things we learn at this level can be motivational, even inspirational.

Then again, they can bring on a perfect deluge of doubts.

It all depends on where Sagittarius…and yes, Scorpio…fall in your natal chart.

It also depends on your natal Venus – if it’s a happy Venus or a Venus which just never seems to get what it wants. (You unhappy Venus people know who you are, no question.)

One other thing we should remember about this Venus in Sagittarius passage is the fact that Mercury – representing mentality and communication – goes into retrograde on October 21st. On the face of it, that ratchets up the rate or pace of everything coming at us as of around …say, October 12th. That Mars will move into Virgo (one of the signs Mercury rules) on the 15th adds a note of ‘necessity’ to the balance of October and on into November.

 Venus as photographed by the Hubble Telescope in August of 2010 (NASA-ESA)

Were you planning on this month being humdrum? So sorry to disappoint…

Venus will be in Sagittarius until November 5th. And though Venus and Mars will never come into direct square aspect during that time, the ‘aura’ of being out-of-step with what we consider our normal Self or our desired aims…or at least what we came into this period thinking of as our desired aims…is not likely to congeal.

Being that Mars will have come into Virgo from Leo, that suggests a sort of ‘running at full steam’ from the 7th through the 15th only to have a series of things pop up after the 15th which present new problems, challenges, ideas or questions (all represented by ongoing meteor shower) stir our thoughts about whether something is workable.

Or even desirable.

Or whether there’s maybe something even better out there.

Venus in Sagittarius – in its most optimal form – is like seeing the universe…the ‘everything which is out there’ to choose from for the very first time. It can be daunting. It can be wondrous.

Sometimes just knowing how much there is makes us feel very small. Sometimes it allows us to understand that we’re part of everything around us, and that we can indeed gain from allowing ourselves to be guided by the good idea…while being realistic about where it takes us.

This is Venus’ last shift of sign before November’s eclipse. About the time Mars enters Virgo on the 15th, Venus conjuncts Antares, reminding us that with our every choice we have the opportunity to do good…or just to get things done. To do for ourselves or to enhance the whole, thereby creating a better future.

Which matters more to you?
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