Venus in Pisces, Vesta in Aquarius

(background) Polyphony

by Paul Klee (1932, tempera on linen)

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Our world will heave a collective and universal sigh once Venus moves into Pisces - an event which will happen on January 27th at 15:01 ... or 3:01 p.m. for those not into global timekeeping.

Mind you, some will be sighing with relief and some with regret as Venus enters Pisces - there are those who truly enjoy the multi-faceted (if sometimes fractious) pace of information and opportunities which tend to create consequences (serious and sincerely, even riotously otherwise) under Venus in Aquarius.

All that now fades away as Venus enters a sign of astrological exaltation, bringing out the ‘softer’ side in many a conversation, relationship and thought.

 Venus in Pisces (text chart)

January 27, 2015 - 15:01 (3:01 p.m.) UT/+0 - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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Venus in Pisces (glyph chart)

January 27, 2015 - 15:01 (3:01 p.m.) UT/+0 - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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But at the moment, though we want (and need) to continue dealing with whatever is on the table, in progress or our responsibility, one of the meanings of the t-square Venus fills in/creates by arriving in Aquarius, most of us could do without anything new being tossed into life’s ring when mentally, physically, financially or otherwise its already a bit of a 3-D circus.

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Make that t-squares with Saturn at the apex of the ‘t’ in both cases.

Saturn at the apex of the t-square represents all which is on one side a governor on something ... and which on the other speaks to a need and/or ability to persevere, learning as you go. The Saturn-Black Moon Lilith part of this formula having timed a slow but sure increasing need to ‘physician, heal thyself’ (as is uttered in the world of old sayings) since the latter part of last June  - a need which is (and/or has been) diligently responded to with denial as we determined a course of action which by now has proven very successful in some of its ‘doing’ phases and somewhat more questionably in its results.

For most of us, the issue is simply what we didn’t do (or what didn’t get done) because of that highly focused focus ... though there are those who simply refused to work on anything. Either way, this isn’t just Saturn-at-the-‘t’-of-the-t-square ...

(As if that would amount to being ‘just’ anything with Saturn, emblem of our need to try growth or be-and-become summarily ever-more-limited involved?)

... no, this is Saturn-Charybdis, which is all the Saturn with a definite ‘getting swallowed, then spit out whole’ sucked into the mix. Whatever Charybdis is, it isn’t a menial influence. Referred to as a ‘monster’ (which metaphysically translates either to an ogre or some force or influence which is ‘monstrously large’) Charybdis is the daughter of Poseidon (read: the feeling world) and Gaia, our tangible reality and all that we rely on to initially survive ... and to ultimately thrive.

The term ‘daughter’ here isn’t sexual - it’s more akin to the term ‘yin’ meaning responsive, recipient, container or respondent - which when combined with Saturn strongly suggests an attempt to limit something, whether that something is coming from without or something we’ve been doing up until now which (as we now recognize) we need to stop doing.

And because Saturn is now in Sagittarius, chances are we’re aware that we’re learning something from a substantially new perspective. (That would be the Sagittarian way.) And given that, we are also likely to want to tell others - or convince them of our having learned something new.

But back to that Poseidon thing for a moment ... the other name for Poseidon being Neptune, it’s interesting and (one would expect) informative that as Venus enters Pisces, Neptune is just out of reach - meaning, given the standard 5-degree orb of conjunction, though Venus (at 0 Pisces) is conjunct fixed and royal star Fomalhaut at 4 Pisces, and though Fomalhaut itself is conjunct Neptune, Venus isn’t.

So we really have two conjunctions (in the Pisces quadrant - Pisces being the “goal” or “answer” to this particular t-square. The Neptune conjunct Fomalhaut combines the need for purity (Fomalhaut) with that of (Neptune) inspiration-versus-illusion/self-delusion while Venus-Fomalhaut stands on a question mark between the result of something done for the right reason (or in the correct way) and that done for the wrong reason (or the wrong way) ... in spite of whether good or bad (Venus) comes from each or any of it.

Plus there are also a couple of interesting notices posted by Lilith being conjunct Orcus (equaling a denial of consequences) and Venus, in being at 0 Pisces at the ingress, setting off a ripple of conscience-meets-consequence arising from Venus at 0 Pisces being in opposition to Regulus at 0 Virgo, the net of which would seem to be signaling that some things (or at least the emotions and feelings we have vested in them) will end or be let go of so as we confront what (Regulus) course of action is based in fact, on pragmatic functionality and supported by well-rounded planning ... not on emotionalism.

Apart from this, there’s also a kite in the ingress chart...

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... and though Venus isn’t involved in this configuration, because the top of the kite is something in Libra tells us that whatever this kite represents in your world and life, the shift of Venusian influence or emphasis is going to be reflected - and reflected (interestingly enough) in how some current goal manifests (or could manifest), what we would have to do (or be) to achieve our aims ... or what we really want - at this particular Venus-in-Pisces point in time - out of what we’re doing.

We’re leaving a (January 3rd through 27th) Venus in Aquarius period behind. When we do that, the idea stops being enough. Aquarius is an air sign - the concept, the notion, the idea of alliance and ‘special-ness’ sounds and seems very appealing, so much so that under Venus in Aquarius we tend to think of the ‘idea of the thing’ in its entirety.

But then comes Pisces - the sign which shows us that beyond the idea is the instinctual understanding that everyone is special, and that in the end no alliance is any better than the heart and soul and spirit of those involved.

Pisces, like Aquarius, is a universal and universalist’s sign which manifests either as emotions we hold very much in common with every existent thing ... and as anything which will push us to stop thinking only in terms of Self not so we can be ‘drowned’ by being one among an uncountable many, but so we can feel connected - first and last with what we are ... the reality of who we are and how we feel about what we believe and don’t believe in.

Through that we arrive at what we can best offer and who we have the capacity to be in the world, and to others.

There’s just one catch. Pisces is a sign someone once described to me as ‘the distance by which we fail our own expectations.’ We all dream big - and big dreams are wonderful venues for possibilities. They’re the stuff of conviction and faith and trust which gets us past the hard parts and dark days and all that would have us give up on our Self. But when that dream becomes a substitute for reality, no matter how wonderful the intent or instinct, we’re bound to be or become disappointed.

And it wasn’t life which did it - it was our willingness to delude our Self by turning that which was supposed to be inspiration into expectation.

Hope is okay under Pisces. Expectation gets us into trouble - an aspect of which may be found on the subtle shift of perception with which we view our goals ... and our relationship to those goals as Venus exits Aquarius and enters Pisces.   

As to that kite I mentioned, like all kites it’s about a focused interest, intent or effort which in (grand trine) part rests on something which can be relied upon to be what it is (at least for the moment) and which makes a concerted effort (represented by the two sextiles at the top of the figure) to achieve our given aim.

The ‘focus’ is the opposition - in this case North Node (plus) Medusa at 12 Libra in opposition to the South Node at 12 Aries conjunct Uranus at 13 Aries. This is a bit of a quirk (which isn’t surprising, what with Uranus in the mix) as usually it’s the North Node which is the “should do this” point and the South Node (the easy or at least easier way to do things) which we’re not supposed to rely upon. But with a kite, it’s the bottom point (the kite’s “tail”) which is the point to operate from ... or which people are going to be operating from.

The ‘support’ points here come from Pallas (the coolly dispassionate, logical and well-informed perspective) and Juno - the ability to manage our (Leo) abilities and/or self-concern (read: ego) in order to support our interactive aim(s).

And when you combine that with Venus ... well, apparently it’s easy to think, discuss or debate about things and its going to take a lot to get us to the real goal of the moment - the feeling part (or the part which pertains to our real feelings or the reality of our feelings).

Can we be human - or is that too much of a human thing to do at the moment?

Fortunately, Venus in Pisces is a passage which can allow us to let go of certain fears. And because of that, we often make connections (to others, to ideas, to opportunities, etc.) under Venus in Pisces which we wouldn’t quite get to during Venus’ more analytical passages.

Whatever happens now, because this Venus-Pisces ingress comes with a side order of Typhon going retrograde at 22 Libra, things around us (that coming from the degree, which is social and not personal) seem pointed at the basic, the primal, the necessary-to-maintain, lest all else fall in a heap. In Libra, there are two sides to the question - both of which (despite the sign’s reference to others) are about who we are in relationship to others ... which 22 Libra adds to by adding a necessity to define and/or be definite.

In other words, no tap dancing, no wiffle-waffling, no joining the Gilbert & Sullivan chorus (where you take the side of whoever last spoke) ... and because 22 Libra seems to turn dalliances and indulgences of the ego into invitations to passing karmic sharks, especially considering how this is the second thing of the moment which oozes a ‘no-no on the e-go’ aura, it might be best to turn the wattage of our personal Klieg lights down.

For how long?

No one knows that for sure. But we do have a hint - that coming from the (Lachesis) duration of what would seem to be the (Vesta) cost we pay to uphold that we hold as our (Aquarius) system of thinking or that which supports our life and lifestyle - all of which begins as Vesta moves into Aquarius at 19:41 (7:41 p.m.) on the 28th - the day after Venus enters Pisces).

'Les Parques' (the Greek Fates)

by Alfred Agache (c.1885)

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As one of the Greek Fates (of which there are three), Lachesis refers to how things simply are. It’s ‘fate’ ... this is the way it is. If this was Klotho (beginnings), we would know something was going to start. If this was Atropos (the cut-off) we would know something was about to end or come to its conclusion.

But no... this is Lachesis - a reference to how long something lasts: Its duration.

In going retrograde at 3 Libra, Lachesis not only adds another vote for the ‘how I relate to others or things’ department work we’re about to undertake over the next couple of months as we experience whatever it is we need to feel to get us ‘down to basics’ (Typhon) ... for however (Lachesis) long a time - and that would be ‘down to basics’ with our Self.

According to writings on this degree, 3 Libra is degree which underscores (and perhaps promotes) difficult insights in spiritual people ... and a treacherous tendency to refuse to see in those who are of a more earthy and/or ‘prove it to me’ nature.

Lachesis direct is going through a process or working towards some aim. Give or take how Lachesis is placed in your natal chart (which can always change things towards a plus or minus), transiting Lachesis in retrograde is akin to how long it takes to... (finish sentence with your desire-de-jour) ... and what it takes to get me through that period, or what happens along the way.

As such, obviously not all such desires are going to get taken care of during Lachesis’ several months of retrograde. But during that time we are surely going to deal with what it means to have something for a certain amount of time, whether that’s a positive or negative.

In other words, in terms of the Vesta cost (to retrograde us) of doing what we need to do - a notion which is somewhat different than lasting through the cost - which is also valid here.

The last note to add to this muddle of mid-week motion is asteroid Terpsichore - the ‘dancer’ of all types - going direct at 21 Gemini, a position which is exactly conjunct fixed star Bellatrix (the thing difficult to put across - or - the difficulty/effort it takes to put the idea across) ... and one degree off fixed star Capella (‘singing the song’) - both of which are often associated with communication, oratory, writing (any form), even plain old everyday texting, conversing, philosophizing, daydreaming or even out-and-out arguing - or a lack of same.

Terpsichore is an asteroid which in referencing ‘dance’ speaks either to a deft and gifted (often well-practiced) ability which may be genius or something which just be a flash in the pan - or even a fabulous farce which we now get to display ... as opposed to embodying it, as we would have over the past couple of months of Terpsichore retrograde. With all that’s going on - and let’s not forget that eclipse effects began just last week ... is it small wonder that we’re under Mercury retrograde, asking us to think/check/ask twice (or even thirty-three times) before doing?

What could this possibly be about?

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Every situation and life is individual, of course. But the degree 21 Gemini being considered as 'being about' a 'coming back into balance' goes with Bellatrix rather seamlessly seeing as Bellatrix has an assertive (Mars-like) reputation which tends to come out in or through  Gemini or Mercury modalities - through how we think or what we want to think about ... and though such expressions may be well formed or formulated, they aren’t necessarily known for grace.

Emotional grace, that is. Bellatrix-Capella is Gemini at its airy and driest mode. Wit, you get. Deftness goes well. But caring about the Other - or even beyond the thought? Not always.

This doesn’t mean that wonderful things can’t come out of what we do in this moment. But with Mercury in retrograde and Venus entering a sign of exaltation, reconsidering who we are to be doing anything ... and why it matters (beyond the need of the moment, that is) ...that would all seem to be up for thinking about this week.

Which only leaves one question: are we willing to do the thinking?
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The Libra New Moon: Life Revealing

 Hebe by Carolus-Duran (19th century)

With Libra being the precept of connecting with others in order to see what they think of us, our situations or what we’re doing with our life, the New Moon which will take place on Monday, October 15th, 2012 at 12:04 in the afternoon UT/+0 time is of interest to us in part because it occurs at 22 Libra.

 The New Moon of October 15, 2012 at 22 Libra

occurs at 12:04 p.m., UT/+0 time

(Aries Wheel - Location Not Specific)

Twenty-two Libra is a degree which asks us to focus on how much we’re trying to do…and where that’s too much, to pare back (carefully) so that we have the mental space in order to do what we do well and to good effect.

That doing this isn’t going to be so easy is well portrayed in this chart by Hebe, Rhadamanthus, and Medea all being clustered at 21 Libra.

Hebe is the servant of Olympus who brings the sacred nectar of life (ambrosia) to the gods. This is a reference to whatever it is you need to survive…and whatever it is you think you need to survive. And yes, they can be two very, very different things!

More on that in a bit.

Rhadamanthus is a judge. A very fair judge. He’s impartial and totally unmoved by pleas or excuses. If you’re looking for a Greek version of the ‘just the facts!’ concept, Rhadamanthus is your man – and symbol.

Okay...so as son of Zeus/Jupiter and Europa, Rhadamanthus was only half-human.

In this painting of Europa by Willy Bosschem (painted in 1994) the quintessential image of Europa getting  'carried away' by Zeus (Jupiter) seems very much in keeping with much else about the current New Moon-lunation. With Rhadamanthus as 'what comes' of this union of Europa and Zeus there's an implied understanding that we can get carried away and that what comes of that can be very good. But is it always? Or maybe more importantly - is 'what has come from' some sort of 'getting carried away' for good or ill good or bad and have you faced the consequences? Especially with a solar eclipse looming, that would seem to be the question!

But he was considered so fair in life that when he died he was then made an ‘eternal judge of consequence.’

More to our point, with Rhadamanthus in this mix, we know what really counts here is what has been already done.

Haumea is a Hawaiian goddess, a shape-shifter whose neediness or greediness (depending on how you interpret it) caused her to keep changing ‘who she was’ (which to us in Libra would be our expressed position on things, our partners, our attempts at building a reputation, our prioritized efforts) in an attempt to feel like she was important.

With Haumea we get a note about ‘stooping to the unimaginable’ too, as in stories about her she goes so far as to shape-shift into a younger form so as to marry her own children.

Plainly with Haumea there are some boundary issues. There’s a note of neediness. And even a few comments about our willingness to acknowledge the passage of time.

Ahead of this 22 Libra New Moon sit fixed stars Arcturus and Spica, the unity of which asks us how brilliant we are, can be or have been.

So maybe it’s for us to ask ourselves. How brilliant have we been of late?

Oh yes…and with Arcturus and Spica is a little ol’ asteroid named Medea, she of famously obsessive character and willingness to use her own powers ostensibly to love someone…but in reality only so that she could get something from them.

Oh yes – and while Medea is at it, she kills her her own children. (Talk about bad judgment…!)

 A poster for the play 'Medea' starring Sarah Bernhardt

(artist, Alfons Mucha - 1898)

As an asteroid, Medea is pretty large (136 km). And though that’s not to be compared with any planet, have you noticed how often we’ve found Medea mixed up in astrological images of late?

That’s an indication that there are obsessions at play. The ‘Medea vibe’ is functional in each of our lives and it’s likely that we’re ‘killing something we love dearly’ because we’re choosing to do something which should just be lower down in our priority list than we’re making it.

Personally, I’m willing to raise my hand on this one. I’ve done it, I’ve recognized what I did, I’m sorry I did it and I’m doubling around to fix the harm I’ve done myself.
And since I don’t have children (never have had children, alas!) the message here is that none of this has to be literal.

With 22 Libra being a 3rd decanate degree (meaning it’s in the last third of the given sign) the ball isn’t in our court. Everything 3rd decanate, in whatever sign is about how others react to us, how others respond to us, what others have to say about the situation we’re in, whether they’re willing/able to support us or whether they even agree with our primal premise.

So…how brilliant have we been of late? That does seem to be the question!

Then again, part of this is all about who you ask, who’s doling out the reactions and by inference, who you’ve been keeping company with.

That’s very Libra too. But more than that, there’s another whole subject to be considered here, namely the fact that the South Node – that thing we all like to do which is so native to us, requiring little-to-no effort or thought – is conjunct Algol at 26 Taurus.

Also at 26 Taurus at the moment: Phaethon, the signature of being too headstrong for your own good.

And right nearby sits our (ouch!) good buddy and maturity-checker supreme, dwarf planet Sedna.

In lore terms, Algol is a tricky star. Often referred to as ‘the power of the feminine,’ the term ‘feminine’ here means ‘receive/respond, ‘ not gender. Algol is thus all about how we tend to receive what happens (or what we are given) and how we tend to respond to that – which pretty obviously refers to our emotional makeup.

Interestingly, as far aback as ancient Egypt there was an understanding that as a star, Algol is ‘variable’ – which is probably a clue as to its metaphysical presence as a ‘fluctuating’ emotional quotient. Today we know that the variance in Algol’s light (an indication of the energy which streams towards Earth over lo, many millions of miles) fluctuates because Algol is not just one star, but three, all circling each other.

In Greek and Medieval astrology, Algol is known as the ‘Gorgon’s head’ and when critically associated with a planet or axis was considered to be a sign that death by decapitation was possible.

Today? With decapitation (thankfully!) not being as frequent an event, having Algol prominently placed in your chart can still mean you tend to ‘lose your head’ emotionally…or that when a situation emblematic of that which Algol is connected to, you stop thinking logically and get overtaken by whatever emotionalism is indicated.

Get the connection?

As part of the constellation Perseus, Algol is generally designated to be the hero’s right foot, important in metaphysical theory because the right side of the body (like the right side of the horoscope) is considered to be about things which have already happened. So they can be a past which haunts us, they can be experience and what we’ve learned along our way through life. Right side images can represent our support system…or all we’ve built.

 Perseus rescuing Andromeda by Paul Veronese (1576-1578)

The right side of the horoscope wheel (and thus the right side of the body, including the foot) are also about where we ‘invest’ ourselves in situations, relationships, agreements and such. This, in air sign Libra points mostly to agreements, things said, promises made, alliances and sources of support…whatever form that support may take.

Considering that Sedna represents tests of emotional maturation which ask us to let go of the old and fend for ourselves, when combined with Algol and the ‘I want to do this the easy way’ South Node you can pretty much see the problem.

Oh yes – and don’t forget Phaethon. Phaethon is a headstrong teen who takes something Apollo (truth in enlightenment) has said and twists it to give himself an advantage which ends up killing him.

Gosh, let’s do the (uh…) head count here: Medea ends up dead, Sedna finds her strength only after getting drowned in a storm, Phaethon dies when he falls from Apollo’s chariot as it gets too close to the Sun and Phaethon gets charred, Algol is about the ‘gorgon’s head’ (the gorgon in question being Medusa – another indication that Algol is about falling prey to our own emotional drives and betrayals of standards, vows, promises, commitments and other responsibilities.

Add in Rhadamanthus and we have a distinct quality of ‘consequences.’ So either you’re about to do something which has ‘deadly consequences’ (again, don’t take that literally), or you’re now dealing with the fact that you have done something which has had deadly consequences.

One more item to discuss here, namely Libra’s rulership by Venus.

Venus, as you recall, is currently in Virgo, a sign about reality. Right away this is another hint that we’re hitting bedrock on something at some level.

 A photograph of Venus over the Pacific. When looking at the night sky,

Venus is always brighter than any star

And remember – to a greater or lesser extent, this is happening in everyone’s life.

At this moment in time, Venus is at 14 Virgo, a degree which says that through communications (i.e., Mercury factors) things get connected. That may mean what you’ve done prior to now connects to now, that may mean that people you have connected to now become connected to each other or to something/someone else you hadn’t thought of/about…in general, this is a ‘how small is my world’ sort of nuance which teaches us that no matter how well we think we ‘compartmentalize’ things (our thoughts, our activities, whatever else) we are not in charge of life and life has more quirks and byways than we’ll imagine in a million-zillion years.

So…considering where you are now and what all is on your table, what are you going to do? How are you going to proceed? What gets priority in your life?
This is where we touch back to Hebe and that ‘cup of ambrosia’ idea. What we want may not be what we really need.

It’s to think about. And because this lunation (lunar cycle) ends at the November (Scorpio) Solar Eclipse, whether we need to face ourselves in the physical, mental, moral, emotional, financial, relationship - whatever mirror you care to name, this would seem to be the moment to do that and get on to doing whatever is possible to do in global terms.

As with all other transiting events, if you stop and think about it (okay, so maybe you don't have to think hard...) you'll know what this New Moon pertains to in your own life. But it's also happening in everybody else's - so how do you think they're going to react to it?

For some people, the answer will be 'with regret.' For others, plainly the answer is that they'll react not all that well. Maybe not at all well!

There are always some who refuse to take responsibility, period. There are also those who refuse to think of others. And some who can't be bothered to deal with the idea that different lives have different parameters and different goals.

Probably most difficult of all...and therefore those who are likely to run into the biggest difficulties (or disappointments) are those who refuse to understand that their life needs to work in tandem with others. We do not exist alone in the universe. Life does not end at our skin, nor at our front door, nor at the boundaries of our kith and kin, our nation - even our species.

The great Einstein equation E=mc2 says we are all connected. Life would be better if we lived like that was a general fact, not just a scientific one.     

In metaphysical terms, probably the thing to do now is to think in 'Rhadamanthus terms.' Dispassionate judgment is a universal function now. In the first couple of days after this New Moon you’re likely to realize – by whatever mans – that life is not poetry.

But it does speak the language of poetic justice. 
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