Happy Venus Day! (And Friday the 13th!)
One of the reasons I eye-roll so hard at astrology skeptics is because they tend to criticize something they don’t even understand—and most of them only think of astrology as far as their sun sign.
Anyone who actually takes the time to learn more about astrology knows that your sun sign is a drop in the bucket of your cosmic signature. It represents your ego and how you go after your goals, and yes, it’s important, but there’s a whole hidden treasure waiting to be discovered for those who care enough to search for it.
You have an astrological placement for every planet, luminary, asteroid and comet in the sky, and they all represent something different in regards to how that energy shows up for you.
One of my favorite placements to dive into is Venus (I know, shocker).
According to Karmic Connections author and late astrologer, Judy Hall, your Venus placement can point to your relationship expectations. “There are crucial factors that people unconsciously look for in relationships: someone who fills in a missing piece and someone who affirms who they are.”
“The goddess Venus had many sides to her character, all of which will be apparent in relationships. Traditionally, in addition to being connected with love, Venus is sensuality: the capacity to enjoy gratification of the senses and to give or respond to pleasure. This planet also indicates whether the incarnating soul believes that it deserves happiness, especially in relationships.”
Something that many people are not aware of is that Venus in a man’s chart describes the kind of woman he’s attracted to, and may be a projection of his idealized feminine self (or anima) which he needs to own within himself rather than seeking it in the outer world or in another person.
Meanwhile, Venus in a woman’s chart shows her approach to her femininity and how much she values herself as a woman, as well as how she presents herself to the world, the body language she uses and how comfortable she feels with herself. (A woman’s Mars sign will point to the masculine qualities she’s attracted to, as well as her own inner masculine energy.)
Below are Hall’s Venus interpretations for men and women. Look at both the sign your Venus is in and the house it’s in for a full scope. If you don’t know what sign or house your Venus is in, you can find out here (you’ll need your birth time to know the house placement).
Venus in Aries or the First House
Men: The soul is attracted to strong, independent women (or men), who may have a masculine edge to their femininity. The man with this placement will expect his partner to fend for her or himself, to take the initiative and to make sexual advances. Past relationships may well have been volatile. The shadow side of his ideal woman is egocentric, selfish, self-absorbed and unable to share intimacy.
Women: This soul has learned how to assert itself sexually. The woman with this placement goes all out for what she wants. She is confident within her body, enjoying using it and displaying her sexuality proudly. Her challenge is to recognize that her partner has needs too.
Venus in Taurus or the Second House
Men: The soul with this placement is attracted to good looking, sensual and yet practical women or men who have an earth mother quality about them and who offer secure relationship prospects. The shadow side of the picture can be a possessive, bossy partner whose suppressed anger occasionally breaks out with dire consequences, or a hedonistic, big spender who makes the home as opulent as possible in order to give her or himself much needed security.
Women: This is a woman who has learnt to enjoy her sexuality and takes pleasure seriously. She needs a secure relationship in which to flower but feels completely at home in her body. Her challenge is to overcome inherent jealousy and possessiveness.
Venus in Gemini or the Third House
Men: A man with this placement has a natural tendency to flirt and philander. He is attracted to many women, or men, all of whom combine brains with beauty. He wants a vivacious partner who will entertain him and who is inventive enough to stave off the sexual boredom to which he is prone. His ideal woman shadow may be uncommitted and shrewish-tongued or flighty and uncommitted.
Women: The woman with this placement has a need to present herself intelligently. She may well go in for sophisticated glamour as an antidote to sexual insecurity. Her challenge is to overcome a tendency toward superficial emotional encounters—something in her fears emotional intensity and she may well have trauma in her past.
Venus in Cancer or the Fourth House
Men: Nurturing, mothering and glamour appeal to the man with Venus in Cancer. He wants someone who intuitively understand the feelings he keeps hidden, and may fall for a sensitive partner only to find that he or she expresses the clinging shadow qualities of moodiness, unpredictability and possessiveness.
Women: The soul with this placement has a powerful urge to nurture her partner. In the past, her role will have been to do with mothering and caring for others. Now she needs to feel needed and much of her behavior will be geared towards eliciting this response. Her body language rarely gives away her true feelings. Her innate over-emotionality may need to be tempered with rationality.
Venus in Leo or the Fifth House
Men: The man with this placement seeks a partner to be proud of and show off as well as someone to love. He or she must have beauty, intelligence and playfulness—a sex kitten or a trophy wife. The ideal woman shadow may well be vain and too demanding of attention.
Women: Venus in Leo tends to flaunt sexuality and femininity. This is a woman who needs to be admired and to give free rein to her sexual appetites. She is happy with her body, values her femininity and wants the world to know this. Her challenge is to curb the emotional games to which she is prone.
Venus in Virgo or the Sixth House
Men: A man with Venus in Virgo is seeking an almost impossible combination: the perfect Love goddess who yet remains virginal and untouchable. On the one hand, he wants to release earthly sexuality, on the other hand, he needs his partner to remain chaste. The shadow side of his ideal is prudish, critical and cold or promiscuous and detached.
Women: The woman with Venus in Virgo enjoys her body and her femininity, until that little voice that says “impure” kicks in. In the past, she has been taught to dislike her physical self and to keep her sexuality strictly under control. She valued virginity, waiting for the right man. Now, her challenge is to allow her innate sensuality to flower without guilt.
Venus in Libra or the Seventh House
Men: A man with this placement expects his lover to be his other half. This is a placement that has had a soulmate in the past, and expects one in the present incarnation. Nothing less will do. The partner has to be stylish, pleasing to look at and pliable. The shadow is vain, shallow, critical, vacillating and judgemental.
Women: A woman with Venus in Libra is made for pleasure. She is at home in her body, values her femininity and refined sensitivity. Her only problem is that she may be too absorbed in pleasing her partner to attend to her own needs. Her challenge is to avoid losing herself in a partnership.
Venus in Scorpio or the Eighth House
Men: Men who have this deep, dark and powerful placement have been through the emotional mill in the past and are pre-programmed to seek intensity in their relationships. The ideal woman is a hypnotic anima figure who pulls the man down into the depths of himself. Glamour, sexual magnetism and eroticism is the lure. The reward can be great, but the shadow side brings all Venus’ darker qualities to the fore.
Women: Glamour used to mean to cast a spell and Venus in Scorpio women work sexual magic. Those with this placement of Venus often have a special magnetism about them. Their use of their body to allure and enchant may be unconscious but it is powerful nonetheless. They value their sexuality and the pleasure it can bring, but may fear it too. Sexually timid Sun-signs may be overwhelmed by the intense passion. The challenge of this placement is to integrate the darkly erotic side of Venus into healthy relationships.
Venus in Sagittarius or the Ninth House
Men: Men with Venus in Sagittarius are looking for a hetaera: a charming, intelligent companion who can entertain as well as provide sexual divertissement. This man has had problems with intimacy in other lives and prefers to skirt around emotional issues. The ideal woman may metamorphose into an uncommitted, promiscuous flirt who constantly moves on.
Women: The woman with this placement enjoys her body and her fiery femininity, and has probably been a courtesan in earlier times. She values sexual freedom and is the perennial flirt. Her challenge is to be committed in relationship.
Venus in Capricorn or the Tenth House
Men: Cool and contained, the man with Venus in Capricorn is nevertheless drawn to strong, passionate yet feminine women or men. This complex placement may have internal conflicts—celibacy, duty or restrain may have been a feature of past relationships. If these issues are not addressed, the ideal woman may manifest the hard shadow qualities of control, coldness and judgmentalism.
Women: This is a woman who is comfortable in her body and usually enjoys her sexuality, although she may not show it outwardly. In which case, there could be a past life program running that says sex is sinful. Control is important to the woman with this placement. When she does cast constraint to the winds, her passion is strong but it will be in the privacy of her bedroom. Appearance is important to her and she wants to look good, but this is in an organized, businesslike fashion. She is the ultimate power-dresser. The challenge is to loosen up, to allow other people in emotionally and to trust enough to love and be loved.
Venus in Aquarius or the Eleventh House
Men: Venus in Aquarius men like their partners to be a little different. This is a quirky placement that wants to experiment and so the ideal woman is not averse to sexual risks. On the other hand, Aquarius has a difficulty with intimacy and may prefer someone who is available only in fantasy. Shadow qualities include distance and detachment, or mood swings, and this man may find himself with an unstable partner who is unable to enter into a close, committed relationship.
Women: This is an independent woman who values herself but may be unsure of her sexuality, especially its orientation. She may prefer to be asexual, having taken a vow of celibacy in the past, or finds it easier to relate to other women. The challenge for this placement is to enter into close intimate relationship with oneself and others.
Venus in Pisces or the Twelfth House
Men: To men with Venus in Pisces, all women are ideal or idealized. Those who idealize women may well enter into homosexual rather than heterosexual relationship. This is a natural deceiver, someone who draws people through sympathetic emanations, and the man with this placement may confuse fantasy with reality. This placement is prone to finding itself in a relationship that was never intended, and then had difficulty extricating itself so the ideal woman may turn out to be nothing of the sort. The shadow carries a powerful victim orientation.
Women: Venus in Pisces defines herself through other people. If others find her attractive, and she may well be stunningly beautiful, then she is at home in her body and revels in her femininity. If others reject her, then she assumes there must be something wrong with her. Her challenge is to find her own inner value and worth.
Whew, who else feels called TF out?!
That’s what we love about karmic astrology. It shines a light on the stuff we may not want to accept or acknowledge in order to grow beyond it.
Again, these interpretations are just the tip of the iceberg, so as always, if you feel inclined to jump down the rabbit hole, venture off and do your own research and see what resonates with you.
And if you thought this was good, just wait until we talk about your moon sign…
Have a beautiful weekend and a wonderful solar eclipse!
Xo