Venus in Leo

Planet Venus above Boudicca's prancing horse at Westminster

(photo credit: Mattbuck, March 2012)

Once Venus enters Leo, that will bring the number of planets in Leo to four (Venus, Jupiter, Sun and Mercury).

That’s a lot of Leo energy - not to mention that the ruler of Leo (the Sun) is one of those four planets.

Under any (or every) circumstance, Venus in Leo can be creative and fully capable of exuding incredible warmth and charm. This is the kind of influence one might associate with that perfect relaxing day, that effortlessly deft show of skill or that feeling that we’re on top of the world. Venus in Leo can put the spark in sparkle and turn up the light in utterly delightful.

Venus in Leo can also manifest in acts, choices or thrusts which are selfish, unthinking, or downright arrogant.

The difference between these qualities sounds simple: it’s about taking the opinions, preferences and aims of others into account. In other words, should Venus in Leo manifest as some sort of drama with you as the performer, it’s one thing not to care whether you have an audience (that’s performing for the fun of it) another to do your best for a suitable audience and another yet again to have some sort of paying audience whose sensibilities you completely ignore.

It’s not that Venus in Leo necessarily promotes thoughtlessness... although it can. And it’s not as if Venus in Leo is lazy, though there is a tendency to get a bit ‘lost in the moment’ (or in one’s own thoughts) at a moment which doesn’t work for others - and of course since they’re under Venus in Leo as well, the mere idea of being ignored can rub their Leo fur every wrong way in town.

Venus in Leo tends to dramatize things - even in our thoughts. With all the Leo energy going on at the moment everyone has their own (Mercury) idea on and are probably entirely too (Jupiter) willing to explain to you why they’re right... sometimes whether or not what they’re being so ‘right’ about even applies to what’s being discussed. Under Venus in Leo things seem more important than at other times which can be lovely or desperation-inciting, depending on where we stand with ourselves otherwise. Those who are content or in good shape are apt to reap benefits, especially as transiting Venus conjuncts and passes over Jupiter on August 18th (UT/+0) at 7 Leo while those who are having difficulties are likely to react or experience the breaking of dreams that those at the behest of those caught up in the dream of what they consider ‘right.’ This is a ‘transactional’ conjunction which - given that the Moon will be in early Gemini at the time - creates the ability to take a lot on but warns that potential is not reality and that details... particularly those we gloss over... are likely to come back to haunt us in a singularly flat-footed way.

Overstepping limits (‘coloring outside the lines’ or exceeding previously set boundaries) is another thing we’re likely to see and hear about between August 12th and 20th. Such matters will have enormous power of suggestion and should be treated/treated with accordingly, as it will be easy during these days to set forces in motion...and not so easy (and maybe not even possible) to contain or ‘edit’ what others are thinking - which of course means we’re going to hear the good and the bad, the discoveries and fun along with a fresh batch of rumors and trash talk coming at us through various media.  

Put simply, it is our allegiance to whatever idea we are currently holding dear which either motivates us to success...or which confuses us and confounds our success for reasons we tend not to understand but which have everything to do with the Leo tendency to be so involved with making something happen that we tend to not see our actions (present or past) with enough perspective to see what part of reality (or realities) we’ve forgotten.

(Or purposefully ignored.)

And for those who do see their errors or miscalculations, then comes the big Leo flinch. Leo, doesn’t like being wrong. Wherever we see Leo (in this case as a signature for Venus) that’s the area of life we’re not going to enjoy anyone even threatening to find flaws with. Under such Leo ‘threats’ (which may not be real threats even though our ego certainly feels threatened) instinct often triggers us to get all defensive-aggressive - which with Venus often manifests as physical criticism, attacks on ‘how something looks’ or responses, retorts and declarations which are basically ‘I’m so fabulous - never mind them.’

And sometimes that works. Sometimes it doesn’t.

Venus enters Leo

August 12, 2014 - 7:25 a.m. UT/+0 - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

This year Venus is arriving at its Leo ingress on August 12th at 7:25 in the morning UT/+0 time, perfecting a square to Ceres, which having moved into Scorpio on August 7th will still be loitering around at 0 Scorpio.

Venus-Ceres is about having a plan and executing a plan which accomplishes things which are (in particular) important to longer-term considerations. Having come into the 5-degree orb-of-square on last Thursday or Friday (August 7th or 8th, depending on where you are), with Venus then still in Cancer most efforts were about things basic, necessary and supportive of anything or everything else we might want to do in this life.

That quality changes once Venus enters Leo, asking how we can achieve those aims creatively. Cancer’s influence being cardinal (action oriented) we ‘did’ then and now we’re pausing to think what still needs doing and how to do... not do... or undo the next item on our list as Cancer’s watery emotionality gives way to curiosity, imagination and inventiveness - all of which are particularly strong for the first few days of this transit. Once Mercury moves into Virgo on August 15th (UT/+0 time) pragmatic and practical parameters start taking hold, becoming ever more evident (and useful) as the Sun joins Mercury in Virgo early on August 23rd (UT/+0), helping us to make headway on whatever tasks may be at hand.

A few more notes here on what is typically a rather pleasant transit (though if things are going wrong you can expect a good deal of grumpiness!). Are you planning on taking a vacation? Venus in Leo works well for vacations of the restful, recuperative and recreational types, though with so much energy in Leo there are bound to be more than a few people who (vacation or not) are too full of themselves for their own good. Why that is may be about pride... or it may be about some deep-seated feeling of vulnerability to embarrassment, which often comes off looking like pride. At the moment such moments (apart from the purely gleeful) are most likely to be set off when people try to do something they just don’t know enough about.

Bluffing sometimes work. Then again, sometimes it just makes things worse. Leo as a sign is the very antithesis of its polarity sign Aquarius in that Aquarius (and Aquarians) have a near-infinite (and to others, sometimes maddening!) ability to shift into impersonal mode where Leo takes all things personally.

That all of this is happening as Jupiter’s inconjuncting of Neptune comes to its focal point on the 15th (the same day that Mercury moves from Leo into Virgo) emphasizes the fact that there are a lot of people who are living in either an ideologically driven emotional space or a period of time which is emotional because our ideals are being contested by realities we (frankly) don’t like. How we deal with our own [Neptunian] fears on various subjects and whether we are willing to feel our fears and do what is morally, ethically and universally humanistic (in real world, real life, real human being terms) now tends to divide and conflict us, even with regards to that which we have believed in now for some length of time.

There are [Mars and Saturn in Scorpio] things which we will need to face now and deal with, like them or not. In dealing with such matters we will ‘steel’ ourselves, with most choosing ‘duty’ over humanity.

Where such choices (and all they lead to) express our personal internal standards with truth and accuracy things will be simple and direct. 

Where we are essentially in violation of our own inner core of mortal standards however, we will do what we must do with even greater vehemence, hoping to convince ourselves through the reactions of others.

And as always, we will project. The more married we are to our own ideas and ideals, the more we will come to this time feeling alienated or envious or simply regretful...the more we will tend to look to others without taking stock of - and learning (or relearning) how to utilize our worth.

But then, that’s one thing Venus in Leo is very good at. Venus in Leo can be the heart of showiness or an influence under which we are ‘shown’ what we yet can do and excel at. The native instinct under Venus in Leo is to do what we want while aiming to please our Self (or fulfill our dreams).

And often that works just fine.

Yet as with all things Leo, what we do which contributes to a greater whole (or purpose) is far more lasting and powerful. We are all being faced with a series of situations which seem to be all about the ‘other’ and what they like or even understand, with much in the way of challenges coming from areas of life or concern where people are embedded or ‘conditioned’ by some established position.

But that’s not what Venus in Leo is about. Venus in Leo is about who we want to be (or be seen as). Some such efforts are working, others are not.

And still we’re reluctant to change. Why that is may well become a bit more clear over these next few weeks - at which point we’ll decide what we want to improve upon.

Or not.
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Venus in Leo

'Summer' by Alfons Mucha

(1896, oil on panel)

When I think of Venus in Leo, my mind goes to moments of warmth and caring…days filled with laughter’s carefree sparkle…that singular satisfaction which comes of making something fun or great out of nothing special.

Then I think of that other side…those strains of Venus in Leo which manifest as arrogance, selfishness, lack of accountability and an inability to tolerate any opinions apart from your own.

Then I think about why this would be, and I realize it’s because Venus functions like a hinge.

A hinge

(photo credit: Sindala, October 2007)

What we bring to the situation, the level of quality we put into what we make of our abilities, these are where those Venus potentials born of its rulership in Taurus and Libra find their way into manifestation.

And depending on what we put out there…that pretty much dictates what we’ll get back. Venus is the hinge where cause becomes the reward we call effect.

I guess that means that if Venus Aphrodite sat down at a table with Newton, they’d have a lot in common. When Newton wrote his third law of motion – that idea which comes down to us as ‘for every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction’ he was giving a scientific explanation to the Venusian process we understand through our ability to create and maintain relationships – or not. We recognize our own quality (or lack thereof) through our ability to be respected for who we are.

Or not.

The Taurus Venus craves satisfaction. And like its native 2nd house it describes how we seek that through some form of validation. That we have to take our resources, whatever they may be, and put them to work and develop them into what they can be, that is the foundational work we do on our way to presenting ourselves and being received and valued and applauded by friends and strangers alike.

Or not.

And it’s that process of development which is so Leo. Leo envisions what can be made of things. Leo sees the possibilities. Leo drives to see how things work, and to come up with ways to express our inner desires, beliefs, discoveries, ideas which display our courage and willingness to be unique and individual.

Or...not!

Considering that this particular Venus / Leo ingress occurs with Venus conjunct asteroid Charybdis, there’s a ‘continuing’ factor in play.  This could pertain to something already in progress. Then again, it could point to some status quo or ‘repetition’ of response - you know, that same old issue bopping us in the nose yet again?

But there are two other items adding to the intrigue of the moment. The first is the idea that as Venus reaches 0 Leo, a degree which asks for clear thinking but which tends to incite some tendency to posture or bluster even if that seldom works, Ceres is right there at 2 Leo.

Ceres, as you probably know, is a harvest goddess. But Ceres isn’t just about ‘reaping the wealth.’ Far from it! Ceres is all about the process which leads to being able to reap of fruit of one’s labors. Or (since this is Leo) the fruit of one’s creative efforts and willingness to step outside of your own mental comfort zone.

All signs have their weaknesses. And with Leo, there seems to be a bit of a tendency to forget that if you’re going to be grand and glorious, YOU don’t define that!

Huh, you say? What the fern do I mean?

Let’s think of Leo as a creative energetic.  The polarity is Leo-Aquarius, which brings up that Leo love of being in the spotlight for what they do so well and the fact that Leo seldom shies away from competition. Being the sign of the creative urge (whether that means creating a relationship, a family, a product, social stir or plain old ruckus!) Leo is still a 2nd quadrant, natively below-the-prime-horizontal zodiac sign.

That means the crux of Leo competition is about whether you are doing all you can do. Or whether you are doing something as well as you can. This is Leo’s principle competitive quality; as the second of the zodiac’s fixed signs Leo ‘fixes’ to develop our native Taurean attributes, talents and resources so that they are ready to be put out into the world.

Wherever you see Leo in the chart, that’s where you will meet up with your finest – and darkest – Leo hours. That is where you will be tested – and test yourself on the subject of whether you are ready for your public debut.

The most common problem Leo has is remembering that we do not ‘define’ the interest or approval of others. This gets back to the idea that whatever you’re into investing in, it’s always good to know your audience. You can’t force people to love what you’re doing…but you can – by taking careful stock of who others are and what they’re interested in – learn how to appeal to them. Or what factors in what you’re doing are likely to appeal to them. Or work for them. Or even shock them.

So Ceres at 2 Leo is a sign that this is a moment to reconnoiter and think things through. Two Leo is a degree which asks that we do the right and righteously developed thing in the right setting. Sometimes the outlandish will work, but sometimes it doesn’t. So while you may get attention by belting out some giant aria in the center of a busy intersection, that also might just get you arrested.

Like they say – it’s all timing and location, location, location, right? (And ‘who you know,’ yes…which suggests alienating people is not the way to build your brand!)

After entering Leo on June 27th at 5:04 in the afternoon UT/+0 time, Venus will go on to conjunct Ceres late on June 30th (which will already be July 1st for those in Middle East longitudes or points east of there). And since 3 Leo is a degree which endows the ability to see life without preconceived notions, those who come into this time set in concrete may, within a few days, have an epiphany of some sort.

Which sounds sort of nice, don’t you think? That it happens as Venus conjuncts Ceres suggests that just as June turns into July there’s an opportunity to have an ‘aha!’ moment and see a way to do things which is going to get us more of what we want is decidedly nice.

Of course Mercury is still in retrograde. So this may not be the moment to act. Investigate? Yes. Ask questions? Sure! Think things through from a new perspective? Absolutely!

The other thing going on during this period is Saturn loitering around at 4 Scorpio in anticipation of a station-direct moment soon to come. That suggests that at some level or in some way the ‘stakes’ for us are up there. There is, in fact, a major planet (Saturn-Jupiter-Neptune) grand trine in water which becomes a grand trine in water on the date that this post goes up by virtue of June 26th being the (UT/+0 time zone) date that Jupiter enters Cancer, thus ‘filling in’ the grand trine by coming within standard (5 degree) orb of Neptune at 5 Pisces.

I’m sure we’ve all felt it ‘coming on’…which for some has been a subtle feeling of impatience, for others a sense that something isn’t quite right, or that important factors aren’t being paid attention to.

That grand trine being a subject I’d want to think through in its own right (read: you’ll see that blog post in a couple of days), since from our Earthly position Saturn appears to be ‘sitting there’ immobile and unmoving, from the astrological (geocentric) perspective this moment…these next few days or the next week or so is a time to take stock. Venus with Ceres says we should think through our plans and our positions and our (Mercury retrograde in Cancer) priorities so we have in mind what we’re aiming at – and why.

Saturn goes direct on July 8th and Venus is in Leo until July 22nd. The grand trine will be in force for the whole of the time Venus is passing through Leo. Some of us will experience this as an interrupting of what we want to do in favor of what we need to do, and that will like as not be signaled by events between June 26 (the date of Jupiter entering Cancer and Venus entering Leo) and Saturn’s station.

Some of us are going to recognize that there’s a greater pattern at work – a shift from what we thought life was going to be in the late 1990s and early 2000s. All that began to change between 2008 (the shattering of economic stability and all those rosy expectations) and 2011 when Uranus hit Aries, Neptune entered Pisces and a tsunami hit Japan and – beyond that – the consciousness and conscience of our world.

People are still saying ‘why can’t things be the way they were?’ to which the answer is ‘they simply aren’t.’ Humans are funny that way…we yell and scream that we want change but then change comes along and our first instinct is to cling to the old and known, tatty and unworkable though it may be.

Come July 6th, there’s another process which looks like it’s worth a thought or two…Venus will be reaching 10 Leo and thus coming into orb of square aspect to the Lunar Nodes, which are still sitting at 15 degrees of Scorpio (North Node) and Taurus (South Node) representing the cross-quarter thing.

- link to post -

The Lunar Nodes at Cross Quarters

 
Considering that as Venus reaches 10 Leo (a degree known for relationship tests and karma-laden dynamics) on July 6th Venus will also be in a passionate if uncomfortable inconjunct-of-the-6th-harmonic-kind with Pluto, this seems like a moment when more than a few of us are going to feel that not-so-fickle finger of fate pointing in our direction. And with Pluto conjunct Industria (industriousness) at the moment, the question would seem to be whether we have been working at something, whether we have been working against our better interests, whether our efforts are (Pluto) destroying our Capricorn structures (purposefully or otherwise), or whether we are about to pay the price for having ignored life's Capricornian 'rules of the road.'

You know, standards and such.

A few of us will now leap into action, trying to avoid that fate which fickleness has set them up to experience.

Will they succeed? Oh well...y'know, this is one of those questions which no astrologer likes to answer. It’s not just that you’re going to throw tomatoes at me (I guess those would be digital tomatoes, if still rotten)…but nobody likes saying ‘probably not’ when the answer equals pain or loss or humiliation, defeat or shame-inducing rejection.

I used to be a lot more glib about such pronouncements. But whether it's age or experiencing a few really hard falls myself (there's nothing like going through a few major health crises when it comes to learning about humility!)...as have gone along I've become less and less gleeful, smug or satisfied when seeing anyone fall.

Even those who ripely, even richly deserve it.

So here’s the deal…IF you have been working towards getting past those knee-jerk, pacification positions which are easy to take because they feather your bed and otherwise take less than buckets and barrels of nose-to-grindstone effort, those efforts which are continuing to evolve (grand trine = ongoing energy systems) will probably work okay. Even fine.

But those efforts (or positions, or alliances, or habits or whatever else) which you have been resisting changing, even if you know they’re not productive in the ultimate and worldly sense? Those are likely to now become a headache or burden.

And no, you won’t be able to fix things instantaneously. That’s the other side of grand trines. They preserve the ‘thing in progress’ like some oil tanker you’re trying to get stopped. Yelling ‘whoa, Nellie!’ doesn’t help – it’s a long slow process.

Which (interestingly enough! brings us back to Sir Issac Newton.

Mister 'Laws of Motion' himself, Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727) is here pictured

in a portrait by Sir Godfrey Kneller (1689, oil on canvas)

Sir Issac’s first law of motion is the one we know as ‘an object in motion tends to stay in motion’…and between that and his third law (the one about actions begetting opposite and equal reactions) sort of encompasses the whole of this Leo Venus period of transit.

I’m thinking that if Venus Aphrodite and Newton sat down at a table (to enjoy some figs nicely poised on fig leaves, no doubt) they would have reached an agreement on the Venusian form of astro-attraction.

Basically, in the end what we put out there attracts a response based not just on what we intend others to see, but the qualities we bring to the table in putting it out there.

What you see yourself as giving is not always what you get back in other words, if only because we tend to see only what we want to see – and that may not be what others see at all.
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Ask the Astrologer: The Nessus-Venus-Mars-Sedna (September 26/27, 2012) Edition

Hello Boots,
Any ideas the significance of Nessus, Venus, Mars and Sedna at 23° Fixed signs, representing a Grand Cross, on or about September 26,27 2012?

Signed, Anonymous

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This question was left by someone calling themselves “Anonymous” (they write a lot of posts all round the internet) with regards to a blog post on Sedna which you can find HERE

Let’s start the ‘think it through’ moment with a diagram…

For one thing, friend Anonymous, I can thank you for bringing up the subject of Algol. I’d already put it on my calendar to discuss Algol next month, as October 15th is the date when the South Node will conjunct Algol.

You’ve heard me discussing Algol on and off: it’s a star which is often referred to as ‘the power of the feminine’ which ISN’T a reference to gender, but rather to our ability to contain ourselves and/or to respond thoughtfully (at least sort of thoughtfully) instead of just going whole-hog emotional.

There’s a greater confluence here too – with Sedna in the mix, there’s a sign of ‘not wanting to let go’ which in the ‘my values, my money, my perspective, my…my…my whatever’ sign of Taurus we are seeing expressed everywhere by just about everybody.

Oh yes – and Sphinx? As an abstract symbol, Sphinx translates to patience and endurance. But time and again I’ve seen Sphinx in active little knots like this when there are problems in the middle east – a term I tend to use liberally when it comes to the geographic concept.

The positive side of this ‘grouping’ would be to work on your own thing, paying attention most of all to those abilities which will help you make your way in the world. Sedna/Algol is tough enough as a marker in time; it’s a prime signature of all the selfishness ‘so long as I get mine, to heck with everybody else’ sort of thinking. Now that the lunar nodes have backed into Scorpio (North Node) and Taurus (South Node) this is playing out more and more on a personal and relationship level. The most insecure among us will act the most ‘me-me-me’ and are the most apt to take without regard to what the cost is.

Such people should remember…my aunt is still out here.

Who’s my aunt?

It’s a joke, but I do often make references to ‘Aunt Karma.’ Why? Because I see karma operating so clearly in people’s lives that it may as well be a family member I’m listening to the nefarious (if grievously fair) doings of!

Truthfully, I rather love the idea of karma. It’s an Indian (east Indian) term which enfolds the idea that in what we do…or what we don’t do is enfolding the result of that action or act of action. It’s a spiritual and metaphysical way to say ‘cause/effect’ without referring to the parts. All is one. I’ve heard psychologists speak of this when they say ‘choosing the action is choosing the consequences’ (which also holds true whether you act or don’t act).

 It Shoots Further Than He Dreams - a 1918 war cartoon by John F Knoll

which pretty much describes the nature of karma rather well

Those who are most apt to act without thinking or who blame others for what comes of their choices…I tend to think they are students of my aunt. After all, they seem to structure their lives as to spend so much time in relationship with her…

Anyway…while that’s happening, Venus is making its way through Leo. The up side of Venus in Leo is ‘worthwhile creative development’…of ourselves, or maybe some situation – or even others. Or some ability. With Achilles here, this might be physical strength or a physical skill, which could be athletic…or then again the ability to nail the nail into the wall without hitting your thumb with the hammer. Maybe you’re trying to master some sort of drawing skill? Or baking? Those are physical too. Sharpening our skills to some definite purpose is very Venus/Achilles in Leo.

Adding in Eurydike/Agamemnon however….? Now we get to the cost (Eurydike) of maintaining a stance (Agamemnon). So are you sharpening your skills at some cost? Are you doing one thing when you know you should be paying more attention to something else?

Combining the Taurus quotient with the Leo quotient we are seeing a theme of wanting to do something our way. Algol and Achilles/Agamemnon both lend and edge here which can be useful if you’re doing something productive…and not so useful if all you’re trying to do is have your own way.

I’m going to skip over Scorpio for a minute and go right to the Aquarian Nessus/Lilith quotient. This is ‘denying you have any feelings about’ or ‘denying you aren’t being realistic’ or ‘denying that you’re responsible for repeated problems’ which happen in a distinctly social (or) societal (and/or) income deriving area of life.

In opposition to Venus, this may speak to what you haven’t learned to do. Or what you don’t want to have to know how to do.

And yes, it can also be the not wanting to have to do it, no matter what.

Having said all that, wherever we find the North Node, we know we are heading in the direction we should be heading. In Scorpio, the way to work things is to negotiate and to own your responsibility (and ability) to contribute while understanding and being fair with others. Everyone should come out with an equal amount of satisfaction wherever a Scorpio dynamic is concerned…but it’s a whole lot easier to aim for either your own goal first and last (or at least first, with whatever remains being left for others) or to do something to distract yourself or “cover up” if or where you’re having problems. The Medusa quality in this grouping speaks to the uncomfortable or disquieting or anxiety provoking or seemingly frightful, frightening, even futile thing-person-situation you don’t want to deal with.

Then we add in Mars and when we do act we may go overboard, and when we resist we’re iron clad.

But then there’s that North Node thing. And you know what the North Node says?

DO IT ANYWAY.

Whatever it is you don’t want to do because it’s so uncomfortable, because you swore you never would give in on this point, because you just don’t want the hassle…do it anyway.

 Maria Spelterini walking a tightrope across the Nagara Gorge (from the United

States to Canda) back in July of 1876

(photographer George E Curtis, 1830-1910, Niagara Falls Public Library)

And that’s really the ‘solution’ to this whole grand cross puzzle. The basic dynamic of the grand cross is one which is challenging to the utmost. Most of us consider a ‘grand cross-type’ situation and just turn our mind to something else because the whole subject is so complicated, disquieting, challenging…call it mentally exhausting.

Or maybe it just ticks you off. (That too.)

Fixed signs linger and linger and hold back and don’t do and won’t budge and often won’t even talk about it. I know one person with fixed Sun, Moon and Rising who has decided that life is “fate” simply because he doesn’t want to deal with standing up for himself, his own opinions, his personal outlook and what he might have wanted to do with his life before he bought into a list of ‘shoulds’ which haven’t made him happy, haven’t played out the way he thought they would and which as time goes along become more and more complicated and internally confining.

(Yes, Aunt Karma knows about him. I happen to know he’s on her ‘to do’ list.)

The thing about fixed signs is that they are ‘last minute’ folks. These are the people who did all their homework and studying the night before the test or due date for that report. These are the people who freeze like deer in headlights, who vanish when times get tough but who (often) pull it together once they realize for real and sure that nothing but being who they are will work.

It’s a lesson, this fixed sign thing. We all have fixed signs in our charts and we all go through it.

Bottom line, the clue here is the North Node. Everything else is a variable – the North Node is an instruction.

So whatever that uncomfortable, icky thing is? Do it anyway.

Oh yes – two other things:

1. This Algol-Sedna-South Node ‘entitled not to care’ thing is going to (alas) go on yet for a while. Call it at least until February 2013 and in all likelihood through mid-April 2013.

2. If you decide to ignore everything said in the course of this blog (which considering all the fixed signs involved, wouldn’t be shocking!)…you should at least know that the Moon enters Aquarius on September 24th at 11:34 p.m. UT/+0 time and it remains in Aquarius until the wee hours (3:34 a.m.) of September 27.

That means that on about 14 hours prior to that time (call it 3:30 or so in the afternoon of September 26th, UT/+0 time)…the Moon will be moving through the early part of Aquarius’ 3rd decanate: degrees 20, 21, 22, 23….
And that will set a lot of this energy off.

So don’t be surprised. Third decanate energy is energy that comes at us from the world, so this could be anything. It could be commentaries you’re expecting or out-of-the-blue events such as you haven’t ever anticipated.

If you see my Aunt Karma, say ‘hi’ for me – will you?

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Yes, I am always happy to answer questions! So long as they're general/generic or about transiting figures, ask me - chances are, if you're wondering, so are oodles of other folks. (For personal matters, I work with private clients, too.)

But questions? I love hearing questions!

So go ahead...(you know you want to, right?)...share your curiosity!

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Venus enters Leo: Pretty as a Picture

Today seems just exactly right for a blog on Venus entering Leo. Why is that? That would be because Venus in Leo typifies that ‘perfect image’ we get in our mind – whether that’s of someone we love, someone we’d like to love, some far off beach where nobody could bother us while we lie there basking, reading a book…

In the broadest of broad strokes, the almost-four weeks ahead of Venus in Leo (Thursday, September 6th into Wednesday, October 3rd) are the stuff of vacations. A time to have fun with the kids. A period when that paint you pick out for your back room will actually turn out to be the color you envisioned it would be.

But lets remember: all astrological doors swing both ways. So Venus in Leo can also be a time when that pretty vision in our head turns out to be about as wrong, wrong, wrong as humanly possible. When with the very best of intentions (and deepest convictions) we try to get everybody organized to do what we know needs doing and they tell us to get a life and get off that personal soap box.

What divides success from those rudest of unpleasant rejections? The Other. You know…those other people on the planet? There are two ways to win here: either your vision for Venus in Leo requires no help from anybody (see: book reading on deserted island beach) or you take into account not just what moving bodies are available but what they are up to in the moment.

That would mean this moment – this Venus in Leo moment when you’re trying to get your (Leo) vision to (Venus) come into reality and move towards fruition.

That said, why is THIS the ripest of moments to have this little Venus/Leo chat? That would be because Monday, September 3rd is the day when asteroid  Photographica (the “image”) goes station/direct at 20 Capricorn. Photographica – a main belt asteroid – is all about the image we see or the image we want to make for ourselves or some product…the how we want (it) to be seen quality.

Then we look at the astronomical perspective. Photographica’s outermost orbital point (its aphelion) is at 2.30552 AU (astronomical units) and its innermost orbital point (its perihelion) is at 2.1256246 AU. That’s not much of a difference. Moreover, considering that asteroid belt (defined as that space between Mars and Jupiter) runs from about 1.6 AU (Mars’ aphelion) to 4.95 AU (Jupiter’s perihelion)…Photographica seems to be pretty much part of what we might call the asteroid mainstream.

 Mars in crescent phase as photographed by Viking 2 

in 1976 (photo credit: NASA-JPL)

 

 

Very much so, in fact. So just in that we can draw some level of metaphysical inference that Photographica is about a ‘mainstream’ appearance or ‘looking like you’re part of the mainstream’…otherwise known as that mysterious quality known as ‘feeling we belong’ which closely related to ‘giving the right appearance’ and thus quasi-kind-of about being comfortable in our skin.

You know, that skin we make our appearance in?

Yes – that image!

So Photographica going direct can refer to anything from making a good impression to situations which disfigure us. Or repair disfigurements. Or our obsession with…or rejection of…standards of beauty.

There’s part of this which is reality based: the appealing product stands a far better chance in the marketplace against the unappealing product. But when we move to the esoteric considerations – namely, that need to look good applies to me too – then we get into a gray area which is about ‘objectification’ and whether that’s good for us. Any of us.

Then there’s that other part of ‘the image’ – that we call reputation. Reputation differs from image in that it’s not distinctly physical, it’s more….well, let’s call it transactional. Reputations are built and dinged (or exploded) based on the evidence of who we are we put out there principally through what we do.

In other words, reputation is where PR rubber hits the track record road. And since Photographica is going direct at 20 Capricorn…and since Capricorn is itself a sign about commerce and very much about our documented track record, Photographica’s turning points and direct-versus-retrograde passages have much to do with how we deal with what we do either remembering or forgetting that those actions live on. 

(And on.)(And on.)(And on.)

The particular degree Photographica is going direct at (20 Capricorn) is by 3rd decanate definition a ‘visible’ degree. So reputation – and the ability of others to see what we do and ‘call’ us on our actions or inconsistencies or qualities (or lack thereof) are in the mix now. But there’s more to 20 Capricorn than just that: this is an interesting degree which has a reputation for bringing out/exposing inconsistencies in character. For some this will be the willingness to take on a responsibility they have neither ability nor intent to carry through on (for whatever reason). For others, this may be the difference between the strong and forward personality you expect and the truth that the person you thought so strong and indomitable is actually pretty shy.

There isn’t necessarily any good or bad here – just a difference. And in this moment, as Photographica goes direct, that difference shows up. Typically, direct motion means there is input coming from without which evokes or provokes the ‘display’ of the asteroid (or planetary) attribute. In this case however, given which points we’re talking about (Photographica) and where it is positioned (20 Capricorn) we shouldn’t be surprised if situations now reveal things, assumptions, encounters, choices…whatevers from days gone by.

With Photographica currently at 2.288 AU from the Sun and headed away from Earth and towards Jupiter, we would guess that we are still trying to grow our images or master our issues with regards to image, whatever that may entail.

 Orbital diagram of asteroid Photographica at 

September 3, 2012 (JPL Small Body Database)

And then we get to Venus in Leo.

As Venus enters Leo, the aspects most applicable are Neptune 1 Pisces and Artemis at 1 Leo – together the concept of the inconjunct done to perfection.

Under any circumstances, Neptune inconjunct Venus will conjure some sort of inconsistency or feeling of inadequacy. Considering the signs each planet is in, it will be a lot easier (and therefore a whole lot more likely) that we’ll try to compensate in some way rather than deal with the ‘why we feel that’ stuff. Is that the most productive thing to do? Probably not – but since Venus in Leo is more inclined to pleasure than productivity, unless the need to invest effort in something is going to benefit us, it’s not likely we’re going to leap in and get to work at the moment!

Mind you…there are a couple of days between Photographica’s (Monday) turn to direct and Venus’ (Thursday) Leo ingress. And since prior to being in Leo Venus will be in Cancer, it wouldn’t be at all surprising to think that we would work to better our future from Monday through Wednesday then decide we deserve a bit of fun or relaxation as Thursday arrives.

As for Artemis, many of us know her as the twin sister of Apollo (God of the Sun) and Goddess of the Moon, the hunt, virginity and the health (or lack of health) of women, particularly as that concerns one’s womanly physicality. Yet like Apollo – who is probably better thought of as the god of enlightenment with Helios being the Greek god of that ‘thing’ we call the Sun (the disc in the sky), Artemis (or Diana, as she was known in Rome) is more akin to reflection or effect…as distinct from Luna, the actual image of the Moon as that object in the sky.

And that does seem to hold in mythology. Stories which have Artemis as a character are about the effect things we do have on our life. You know, in reflection. One such story is that of Niobe, the mother so proud of her children that she bragged they were better than the children of the gods. That being a pretty good version of Greek blaspheming, the gods took umbrage to this boast and it was Apollo and Artemis who were sent to hunt down Niobe’s kids and kill them – one by one – in front of their mother.

No, Greek myth is not a pretty thing. Then again, it’s greatly about our mentality, not about events taking place in real time or physical space.

The other story which occurs to me in regards to Artemis concerns Kallisto. Sworn to the (chaste) service of Artemis, Kallisto is overwhelmed by a super-lustful Zeus (Jupiter) and becomes impregnated. Considering the vow of chastity, it’s not surprising that a very displeased Artemis turned Kallisto into a bear as punishment.

 The 'Diana of Versailles,' a Roman Imperial Era marble

(1st or 2nd century CE) which having been a gift from Pope Paul IV

to Henry II of France, is now housed at the Louvre Museum in Paris.

 (photo credit: Marie-Lan Nguyen, Jan 2005)

 

Artemis does things which force us to reflect.

So as Venus enters Leo, some of us will reflect on things we’ve done which haven’t played out the way we wanted to. Or which haven’t sat well with our conscience. There is, many think, a quality of bravado which occurs as planets (or other objects) cross from Cancer into Leo, and that tendency to bluff is really our reacting to the internal sense of what we could profit by exploring throughout the Leo period. That being the case, whatever ‘jarring’ which causes us to react by deflecting, bluffing, maybe making some excuse or laughing something off… If we combine that with the known Venusian quotient for ‘concreting’ things, this Venus ingress may become a moment of realization, pointing the way to what which we will have an opportunity to do, enjoy and be empowered by (in whatever manner) over the weeks ahead.

Will we have second thoughts? Artemis’ presence at 1 Leo suggests yes. So expect some ‘what if’s and expect some ‘yeah, but’s and think it all through. Considering how Pluto will go direct in a couple of weeks (on September 18th) and how, as Venus eventually moves on into Virgo (on October 3rd) we will be at the Jupiter station (October 4th)… this is a natural time to be making headway, making plans, recognizing opportunities which need a little ‘reflecting’ on and thinking through, but which may well point to solutions or ways to better your life.

That said, it’s also worth being realistic. There are several sides to Neptune. One inspires, one fools. One inclines us to thinking overly well about ourselves and the other causes us to think less of ourselves.

Which is right? None of them!

In the end, Neptune says find out what the truth is. Or can be. The inconjunct to Venus says there’s something which we aren’t seeing quite clearly at the moment, but that doesn’t have to be any disaster. Far from it – we may be on the verge of finding a far, far better way to operate.

Good luck! Have fun! Do great deeds!