This is me back from my Mindfulness Teacher Training weekend at the Buddhist Centre at Samye Ling here in Scotland. While I was preparing to leave for my trip Mercury went direct – thank heavens, otherwise I would have had to repeat the whole process again! So, having caught up with myself back to “normal” life, I am sending you my latest article.

1) This article will give a brief overview of both Leo and Venus – their meanings as sign and planet then I will look at the two operating together.

2) Then we will look at the whole process of the retrograde period of Venus. Slightly technical, but it can’t be helped if you want to understand how the process works.

3) I will follow this with Venus in Leo through the Signs of the Zodiac.

********************************************

Venus is the planet of love, right? Well yes, and a whole lot more. Through the ancient cultures she was known as Inanna, Ishtar, Astarte and the Virgin Mary. The symbol for Venus is the universal symbol for the feminine, so she is associated with young women, beauty, peace and harmony, as well as love. She rules both Taurus and Libra; the 2nd house of personal values, earned money, security; and the 7th House of relationships/marriage and open enemies (did the ancients know a thing or two about that one, we have to ask?) She is exalted in Pisces – the painting by Botticelli of Venus rising from the sea describes this.

Wherever your Venus is placed on your chart is where you will seek those ideals described
above. Her qualities will be modified by any planet that engages with her for good or for stress – while she will modify that same planet with her qualities.

To the Ancients, Venus was the Goddess of Love and the sensual arts. She is associated with jewellery, clothes, and cosmetics. She oversees the bargains struck between lovers and ensures that harmony is achieved. She represents the function within us that seeks to inter-relate and to develop co-dependency with another.

In her Taurus mode she appreciates the beauty of the natural world. In her Libra mode, Venus seeks to maintain fair play and the balance of opposites. Architects and designers who have an eye for symmetry will often have a prominent Venus.

I think that we must also recognise that many of the indigenous cultures feared the sighting of Venus rising as for them she was a harbinger of war. This could stem from the “open enemy” meaning of the 7th House – let’s face it, Helen of Troy certainly set off a huge killing spree back then. Although it wasn’t her, of course, but the lust that Paris had for her, and the steps he was prepared to take to get her. Venus was also rising when the Twin Towers were struck down on 9/11. So a complex energy all round.

Leo is the sign associated with Royalty, power, creativity, children, generosity and open-heartedness. Leo also rules theatre, self-expression, playing and enjoyment.

Venus in Leo
My feeling about this combination is that for the next 4 months there will be a huge focus on personal values, which could include national values, too. So, for example, food and farming are national values in France; fair-play is a value in the UK; being religious is the value in many Middle Eastern cultures; and family is a value in the US.
This could bring many questions to the fore that address the issue of equal pay, equality for women in general, the treatment of young girls in many countries – child marriage or forced marriage, for example.
Finances and the sharing out of wealth, food and a place to feel secure will also be examined in the media (Leo) to a greater extent than previously.

**************************************************************

Why not have a consultation to find out more on your own Venus – how she works for you? You can contact me via the website for further details?

Learn astrology with me – watch this space for news about my new online Astrology Teaching Programme due to launch soon. You can contact me via the website for further details

Venus Cycles
This is a special time for Venus as she will be in Leo from 5th June until October 9th 2015. Why is it special, I hear you ask? Well, usually Venus only spends around 3 weeks in any given sign, but has an orbit of a year. Now any math student will tell you that 3 weeks X 12 signs equals 36 weeks. Yet the text books will tell you that she has an annual orbit of around a year – so what happens to the odd missing weeks? How does she catch up?

Well, every 18 months or so, Venus makes up these missing weeks by spending 4 months going back and forth (retrograde) in one particular sign which then regulates her orbit with ours. Venus is within our orbit around the Sun, as is Mercury, and her orbit is the next one to the Sun from us. In other words, while we are the “Third Rock from the Sun”, Venus is the second rock. Mercury being the first rock from the Sun, hence his speed and many more retrograde phases.

Venus is only ever 48 degrees from the Sun as seen from Earth – so on your chart can only make a conjunction or a semi-square aspect to your Sun. When Venus is 48 degrees ahead of the Sun (as now) she will be seen in the sky as the Evening Star, setting after the Sun. She then turns direction to retrograde (see my last article for a description of the retrograde phenomenon) forming a conjunction with the Sun known as an Inferior conjunction. She then stops swinging backwards at 48 degrees behind the Sun, rising before it. This is her Morning Star position. Moving forwards towards the Sun, she makes her Superior conjunction. The Mystic Marriage.

Each Venus cycle is 8 years long, in which she will repeat her natal position on your chart every 8 years around your birthday. The last time Venus was in Leo was in 2007 and before that 8 years earlier in 1999. It may be useful to look back over the summers of those two years (and other earlier multiples of 8 years) to see how your life was unfolding then. This will enable you to gain insight into how Venus works for you. The retrograde cycles of Venus occur in Aries/Gemini/Leo/Scorpio and Capricorn.

Plotting the cycles of Venus for five or more consecutive cycles through an 8 year cycle, a remarkable pattern socks us in the eye because a five-pointed star emerges! This is created by the consecutive signs that Venus retrogrades through, as they don’t run in Zodiacal order. They run thus: Aries, Scorpio, Gemini, Capricorn and finally Leo. Try this: draw a circle and put the zodiac signs around the outside in order from Aries through to Pisces then inside the circle place a dot beside the 5 signs above. Join the dots with a line thus: Aries across to Scorpio; Scorpio to Gemini; Gemini to Capricorn; Capricorn to Leo; and Leo to Aries – bingo! What do you get?

*************************************************

Your Zodiac Signs – Sun, Moon or Ascendant

NB – The readings below can either be read from your Sun Sign – ie your birthday – or your Ascendant sign, which is calculated form your time of birth. Try also reading it from your Moon Sign, as Hindu astrologers suggest. You may even read them all together for an even broader picture of your life.

Don’t know your Moon Sign? Get your FREE Sun/Moon combination reading and discover how your emotions impact with your ambitions to create your unique life path. Just email me your birth date, time and place and I’ll email it back to you FREE!!!

Aries : 21st March – 20th April: Venus in Leo falls in your 5th House of creativity, children and taking risks. She rules both your 2nd House of personal security, earnings and your 7th House of relationships so this is an interesting 4 months of enjoying your creative life and experimenting with form and colour, if you are a painter. Children are also a focus for your financial outgoings – they may be starting tertiary education and require quite an outlay from you. Venus’ balancing aspect here for you is that you will be balancing your books over how much you spend on yourself and how much on others.

Taurus: 20th April – 20th May: Venus in Leo falls in your 4th House your family and domestic life. She rules both your 1st House of personal interests and your 6th House of health and well-being. This is all about you and your desires. This is a great combination for a healer wishing to expand the tool kit over the next 4 months. The domestic situation with anyone who shares your living space could change quite rapidly in a harmonious manner for all concerned. You might decide to redecorate your home or workspace using a rich and balanced pallet of colours. Watch your eating habits through this time.

Gemini: 21st May – 21st June: Venus in Leo falls in your 3rd House of communication, siblings and short journeys. She rules both your 12th House of mysticism, meditation and escapism and your 5th House of creativity and children. This could be a good time to take that summer art course or yoga retreat that you’ve had your eyes on – think about all the new people you’ll meet; all the email addresses you’ll collect; and all the new Facebook friends you’ll connect with. This is a rich and highly social time, no matter what you do over the next 4 months. Get that novel out from the back of the drawer and start to edit.

Cancer: 21st June – 23rd July: Venus in Leo falls in your 2nd House of personal security, earnings and values. She rules both your 4th House of your domestic life and family and your 11th House of future projects, friendships and group activities. Venus is bringing you pleasure in your home with your parents, aunts and uncles, and your children – perfect for a Cancer native. You may be asked to smooth over some family issue or even give financial aid to a parent or offer them help in their own home. You may meet a new group of people who offer you stimulation, beauty and peace that can impact your future.

Leo: 23rd July – 23rd August: Venus in Leo falls in your 1st House of personal interests. She rules both your 3rd House of siblings, communication and short journeys and your 10th House of career and public profile. This could be your time at last Leo! Out in the public eye, centre stage, getting good wishes for your successes. There may be even media interest. New offers coming thick and fast that may bring the possibility of standing on your feet talking and teaching opening up your innate creativity. In your fun-loving way you are sowing seeds of warmth and generosity that bring their own rewards later.

Virgo: 23rd August – 23rd September: Venus in Leo falls in your 12th House spiritual pursuits, selfless service to an ideal and meditation. She rules both your 2nd House of personal security, earnings and your 9th House of long distance journeys, higher education. This could be a period of exploring the many different sides of spirituality and religion and finding a place that feels meaningful and offers you a sense of inner security. You could take a holiday – off the beaten track that nourishes your hunger for something deeper in your life. This quest may even see you taking a relevant study course.

Libra: 23rd September – 23rd October: Venus in Leo falls in your 11th House of ideals, groups and projects. She rules both your 1st House of personal interests and your 8th House of shared resources, mortgages and loans. This could bring you many new friendships with people of a like mind that have you looking to the future with a positive attitude. You feel now that you are in the right place and time and are ready to reap the rewards of your hard work. Personal desires might require that you have to spend more money to get what you want – just be cautious with the size of bank loan you ask for.

Scorpio: 23rd October – 22nd November: Venus in Leo falls in your 10th House of career and public profile. She rules both your 12th House of spiritual leanings, meditation and your 7th House of relationships and business partnerships. This could take your career light years ahead of where you thought it could go – you will be much in demand from others who want to benefit from your skills and innate wisdom. There could be an offer of a business nature that opens you up to a whole new way of working. You may pursue a new meditation practice that nourishes you deeply.

Sagittarius: 22nd November – 22nd December: Venus in Leo falls in your 9th House of long distance journeys, higher learning and publication. She rules both your 11th House of idealism, groups and projects; and your 6th House of healthy routines. A four month period of doing just what you love most – exploration, learning and travelling! This could be the perfect opportunity to start writing and publishing your ideas and sharing them with an eagerly reading public. New friendships and contacts could come out of this time and rekindle some dreams that you may have been nurturing for about eight years.

Capricorn: 22nd December – 20th January: Venus in Leo falls in your 8th House of mortgages, shared resources and taxes. She rules both your 10th House of career and public profile; and your 5th House of creativity, risk taking and children. A four month period of enjoying yourself while getting serious about the finances that you share with others. Your children may be making choices that free you up to do the things that you have been sitting on for far too long. Career is important to you and over this period you will begin to experience a whole new freedom which puts you in good stead for the future.

Aquarius: 20th January – 19th February: Venus in Leo falls in your 7th House of relationships and business partnerships. She rules both your 9th House of long distance travel, higher learning and publication; and your 4th House of domestic matters. This is a time for enjoying your home and your family of origin – there’s a lot of love about for you. You begin to feel a new sense of harmony and peace in all your close relationships and business partners. This is a good time to be out in the world teaching and learning about metaphysical matters that fulfil your ideals. a new business idea may come to you.

Pisces: 19th February – 20th March: Venus in Leo falls in your 6th House of rhythms, routines and health. She rules both your 8th House of shared resources, mortgages, taxes and profound exploration; and your 3rd House of siblings, communication and short journeys. This could be the perfect time to start a new health routine like Tai Chi or yoga – anything that enables you to embody your mystical yearnings. You could find that a sibling or cousin needs your wider perspective on a career or health issue they are going through. Finances demand a closer look in order to balance your books satisfactorily.
************************************************

Print or Email