The planet Venus is named after the goddess of love and Beauty. Her celestial dance is unique among the planets, tracing a beautiful five-petalled flower in the heavens. This special relationship that Venus has with the Earth mirrors the natural pattern of growth we see in nature and symbolises the law of attraction in action. Love does indeed make the world go around.
Everyone wants to be loved and find a soul mate, but this is often easier said than done. Before we can find love, we need to learn about ourselves, develop a personal value system and learn to evaluate other people. Love can blind you but, if you develop these life skills, you can more easily find potential partners who fit your personality and priorities.
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In addition to considering the zodiac sign of Venus, you can gain further insight into the mysteries of love through the angular relationships (aspects) between Venus and other planets.
Planetary aspects are imprinted within your psyche at the moment you are born. Aspects are like roads that criss-cross between different parts of your psyche. Each birth chart contains a variety of aspects. Like connecting pathways, aspects create a network that expands your perspective and helps you develop life experience and self-knowledge. Because Venus is the key planet of relationships, her angles, or aspects, with other planets are a key factor in how you relate to others.
Aspects: lines of influence
The eternal dance of the planets creates a variety of harmonious and challenging aspects. Harmonious aspects such as the sextile (60 degrees) and trine (120 degrees) provide an easy flow of energy between two planets. These types of Venus aspects boost your confidence and self-esteem. They help you interact with people, socially and personally. These easy flowing aspects enhance friendliness and communication but it’s also true that easy aspects can be problematic. If life is too easy, you can miss out on developing more meaningful connections with people because you have not experienced any hardship that develops your understanding. Too many easy aspects can result in a lack of empathy for others.
The hard aspects of Venus, like the square (90 degrees), semi-square (45 degrees), sesquiquadrate (135 degrees) and opposition (180 degrees) are more challenging combinations that build character. It’s these aspects that determine your values and principles and, in turn, this helps you find other people who share them.
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Conjunctions (two planets close together) and stelliums (three or more planets clustered together) are especially powerful. These can operate in several ways depending on the planets involved and additional aspects to the group from elsewhere in the chart.
Minor aspects too, such as the semi-sextile (30 degrees), quintile (72 degrees) and quincunx (150 degrees), all say something about how Venus operates in your life. In the astrological system known as vibrational astrology, it’s not just the main aspects that matter but all angular relationships. Aspects are related to harmonics and they have particular vibrations that resonate in your birth chart.
In practice, not all harmonious aspects are easy and not all challenging ones are difficult. A challenging aspect can provide opportunities for growth and development while an easy one may not even be noticed. As you grow and evolve and learn more about yourself and others, you can turn liabilities into assets.
Most people have a mix of easy and challenging aspects, all of which shape you in some way. If you’re not familiar with your birth chart and your Venus aspects, read the descriptions that follow and see which ones you most relate to.
The major aspects
| Aspect Name | Aspect | Division of 360 (harmonic) |
| Conjunction | 0 degrees | 0 |
| Sextile | 60 degrees | 6 |
| Square | 90 degrees | 4 |
| Trine | 120 degrees | 3 |
| Opposition | 180 degrees | 2 |
Some minor aspects
| Aspect Name | Aspect | Division of 360 (harmonic) |
| Semi-sextile | 30 degrees | 12 |
| Novile | 40 degrees | 9 |
| Semi-square | 45 degrees | 8 |
| Quintile | 72 degrees | 5 |
| Sesquiquadrate | 135 degrees | 3×45 (8th harmonic) |
| Quincunx | 150 degrees | 5×30 (12th harmonic) |
Venus-Jupiter aspects
The largest of all planets, Jupiter bestows good fortune and opportunities. Both difficult and easy aspects from Jupiter to Venus provide an element of luck and boost confidence. Jupiter aspects help you to forge relationship connections, both personally and professionally. If Jupiter aspects Venus, you’re likely to feel generous and giving. This aspect helps you reach out to others. Jupiter helps you experience a sense of wellbeing and optimism. People like being around happy people and this is an ideal aspect as it encourages you to be more sociable and outgoing.
Sometimes those with Jupiter aspects can be blissfully unaware of the inner life of other people and miss subtle nuances in relationships. Jupiter-Venus combinations can sometimes lack empathy and can be so exuberant that the only priority is having a good time, leading to wastefulness and indulgence.
If you are lucky enough to have a Venus-Jupiter aspect in your birth chart, sharing your good fortune is a good way to win the love and respect of others.
Venus-Saturn aspects
Security is important when Saturn is in aspect to Venus. Saturn-Venus aspects suggest a deep-seated need for love and nurturing. These aspects can develop into a hard outer shell that is used for protection. Sometimes those with Venus-Saturn aspects deny that they have personal needs and focus instead on work and money to provide material security.
In mythology, Saturn feared that his children would usurp his authority and so he swallowed them, thus preventing them from developing. Those with Venus-Saturn hard aspects may have experienced a parent who restricted their natural expression in some way.
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Self-esteem problems can be present with hard Venus-Saturn aspects, especially the square. Healing childhood trauma can go a long way to resolving relationship difficulties. Remember, the birth chart is not static but evolves just as you do.
If you have a Venus-Saturn aspect, try boosting your self-esteem by nurturing yourself on a regular basis: work less and enjoy life more. Express your affection for others, and for yourself, in meaningful ways. This will help you overcome any limiting feelings or fears. Try to balance your serious side with some fun and laughter now and then.
All Venus-Saturn aspects raise the bar on what you expect in relationships. Saturn teaches you about boundaries and helps foster discipline and a sense of responsibility. Your high standards, loyalty and ethics mean that once love is found you will always honour your partnership.
Venus-Chiron aspects
Chiron orbits the Sun between Saturn and Uranus. Discovered in 1977, Chiron is named after a gifted centaur and healer. The wounded healer archetype is strong for those with Venus-Chiron aspects, who can sometimes feel alone in the world. If this is you, you may have personal issues that you feel are yours alone to carry. Sharing these problems with others can be the gateway to healing and finding love. Healing happens through sharing your experiences, which fosters understanding and respect and makes special connections happen. You’ll discover that you are not alone and that others share similar wounds. People with Chiron-Venus aspects are often good at healing others, but it’s important for you to learn to receive love as well as bestow it.
In mythology, Chiron was abandoned by both his parents and this can be the case for those with Venus-Chiron aspects. The key to finding love is in accepting that your wounds can also be your greatest gifts. Chiron teaches you so much and creates a depth of understanding and wisdom you can share with loved ones. Whether your wounds are psychological, physical or both, Chiron teaches that we are all special and worthy of love.
Venus-Uranus aspects
Uranus adds a level of excitement and unpredictable energy to relationships. Those with Venus-Uranus aspects can experience love at first sight or sudden infatuations that can disrupt the stability of other relationships or family life. With a Venus-Uranus aspect, you may be attracted to eccentric people who fulfil your need for the unusual or different. This type of relationship can be intrinsically unstable. It can include unconventional living arrangements or a substantial age difference between partners. Just about anything goes with Uranus!
In mythology, Venus was spawned in the foaming ocean by the sky god Uranus, and both these archetypes are highly creative. This combination is a dynamic one for artists and creative people.
If you have a Venus-Uranus aspect, you may have trouble settling down with just one partner or, if you do, you may easily become bored and distracted. If so, try channelling your restless energy into creative projects instead. This will help smooth out relationship wrinkles that can lead to chaos and help bring more stability in your personal life.
Venus-Neptune aspects
Romance plays a key role in your life if you have a Venus-Neptune aspect. There is a magical and spiritual element to relationships for those with Neptune aspecting Venus. If the aspect is a challenging one, this can lead to escapism, a desire to be rescued or a love for those who need to be rescued. Fantasy may play a large role in your life. Real flesh-and-blood humans may not live up to your dreams and visions, or you may project a godlike status onto your beloved. The boundaries between self and others can be ill-defined.
With a Venus-Neptune aspect, you may love being in love and can be highly imaginative and sensitive. You seek a mystical soul connection but may have difficulty connecting to a real person, so the relationship you have could be mostly in your imagination.
The unconditional love you may be looking for can be found once you learn to give and to receive. You could benefit from using your highly developed visualisation skills to build yourself a stronger reality base or a protective aura that will help you avoid people who are not in your best interests. Learn to be more discerning about who you let into your world. Try to be more independent and manage things on your own, as this will help you strengthen your sense of self.
Venus-Pluto aspects
Venus-Pluto aspects can be very intense. With this aspect, personal relationships may be fuelled by deep-seated emotional issues. In addition, inherited patterns can affect the way you relate to others. It’s often all or nothing when Pluto is involved.
In mythology, Pluto (Hades) abducted Proserpina (Persephone) and took her to live with him in his underworld. He did this because he was feeling lonely. Eventually, Jupiter (Zeus) intervened and Proserpina was able to spend six months of the year with Pluto and the other six months free in the world. In this way, an amicable solution was found. The same dynamic applies if you have a Pluto-Venus aspect. It’s important to find a power balance in relationships.
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You may have a tendency to psycho-analyse your partner. Or you might be drawn to psychology, in particular the psychology of relationships and sexuality. Sigmund Freud and Dr Phil McGraw both have a conjunction (a type of aspect) between Venus and Pluto.
With this aspect, you may find it difficult to give others space and freedom. These aspects can foster jealousy and suspicion. Sometimes, it’s other people who may react this way to you, so you might be on the receiving end of psychological manipulation. Control and power issues can be problems with Pluto but, equally, this aspect can help bring about a truly transcendent love that is deeply moving and eternal. The Venus-Pluto aspect deepens your understanding of yourself and of others.
Unaspected Venus
If Venus is unaspected and has no links to other planets at all, there may be a lack of awareness when it comes to other people, which can affect relationships. Edward VIII, who fell madly in love with Wallis Simpson and abdicated the English crown in order to marry her, had Venus unaspected. He was besotted by her and she could do nothing wrong in his eyes. Highly romantic, perhaps, but it’s said that Wallis didn’t want Edward to give up the throne or marry her, and his sudden decision and public announcement meant they were cast out of society.
The noted playwright Oscar Wilde also had Venus unaspected. He went to prison rather than denounce his gay lover, who, by all accounts, was unworthy of his devotion.
In both these cases, having Venus unaspected meant the beloved was not seen as a real person with human flaws, but as a personification of the love goddess herself. Without any Venus aspects, you may not have a wide frame of reference when it comes to assessing other people and could see others in a one-dimensional way. With Venus unaspected, judgement can be compromised.
Venus phases
Just like the Moon, Venus waxes and wanes. Further insights into the mysteries of love can be found by looking at her phases.
If Venus is in an earlier degree of the zodiac than your Sun, it’s a morning star Venus. If Venus is at a later degree in the zodiac than your Sun, then it’s an evening star Venus.
Keep in mind that Venus will disappear from the sky for a few months in the glare of the Sun when she is transitioning from morning star to evening star as she is on the other side of the Sun to Earth. When she is at the end of her evening star phase, she vanishes for a few days to awaken as the morning star once more, moving between the Sun and the Earth as well as retrograde (moving backwards).
Venus: morning star
Venus is new, fresh and youthful at the start of her cycle, which commences when Venus is between the Earth and the Sun. Venus is retrograde at this point but soon she becomes the morning star. A few weeks later, Venus turns direct. Venus is waxing in the morning sky as her crescent shape gets bigger. If you’re born with morning star Venus, you’ll actively seek relationships and personal fulfilment. You can bounce back from disappointment and relationship difficulties fairly well, and tend to remain positive and optimistic about love prospects. Morning star types are sociable and extroverted.
Venus: evening star
After about nine months as morning star, Venus vanishes behind the Sun for several months before she reappears as the evening star. Marriage and commitment are highly valued if Venus is behind the Sun. Once Venus re-emerges as the evening star, she is waning, so if you’re born in this phase you can be more receptive and less direct in seeking love. The evening star type tends to place a higher value on sharing, family, community and core principles rather than on purely personal needs. Evening star types are sensitive and introverted.
Venus retrograde
When Venus reaches the end of her cycle and turns retrograde, she asks you to reconnect with your inner goddess. This is the perfect time to refocus on personal priorities. Reflect on how your relationships (personal, family and business) can be improved. Most importantly, attune yourself to your inner needs and values.
Venus retrograde is the perfect time to do this personal work in preparation for when Venus becomes the morning star once more and brings fresh opportunities to find love. In 2017, Venus will be retrograde from March 4 until April 15.
This is an ideal time to re-evaluate your commitments. Sometimes you make compromises that take you away from your core values and principles, but Venus retrograde draws you back into yourself and helps you assess which relationships, be they friendships, business contacts or personal ties, have true merit.
