Explore how the benefic planets Venus and Jupiter can point to where you might find your greatest sense of happiness and satisfaction.
Astrology can be a powerful tool for self-knowledge, helping you understand your life with greater perspective. You might have first turned to astrology when going through a rough patch and you wanted to understand how to fix any problems or challenges you were dealing with. While that is a perfectly valid and helpful way to use astrological tools, one underappreciated use of astrology is that it can point to sources of joy and meaning that may already be in your life.
THE VALUE IN HIGHLIGHTING THE POSITIVE
This might sound odd – after all, don’t you know what is good in your life, and shouldn’t you focus more on what’s not working instead? Well, yes and no. While you might be somewhat aware of what’s good in your life, there are a couple of reasons why it can still be valuable to consciously identify particularly positive areas of your life.
One, humans have a well-studied negativity bias, which means your brain pays more attention to a single unpleasant experience than several pleasant ones. This means that no matter how legitimate, the weight that you might give to an area of difficulty will take up disproportionate mental space compared with equally positive areas of your life. One way to counter this tendency is to pay more deliberate attention to, and give gratitude for, what is good and going well.
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Second, it’s common to downplay the areas of your life that may have been fortunate. This tends to happen if you assume that your experience is the norm rather than more positive than average. It’s also common to not recognise that areas of your life might be positive unless they’re extremely good.
For instance, someone may have a particularly successful career and receive professional recognition, but only compare themselves to other people with prominent success rather than appreciate that career success in itself can be a clue that something that has gone particularly well for them.
Similarly, another person may have a particularly positive relationship with their parents who were alive and healthy for many decades into old age, but may not stop and think about the fact that not everyone has that experience and that a great relationship with parents who live long, healthy lives is not guaranteed.
TYPES OF JOY AND MEANING
There are many places to look in the birth chart to identify potential areas of joy and meaning, as there are many types of both. You can experience fleeting joy that is superficial but still authentically makes your life brighter. Then there is the sober, satisfied kind of meaning that comes from meeting your responsibilities well or working towards a long-term aim, even if those activities may not feel as immediately joyful in the moment. And there is the centred sense that can come from living your truth. There’s also a sense of meaning that can come from cultivating a transcendent kind of joy that doesn’t depend on circumstances being any certain way.
All these types of meaning and joy point to different possible places in the birth chart to examine, but for the purposes of this article let’s focus on places in the chart connected to two specific planets, Venus and Jupiter.
UNIFICATION AND EXPANSION
Both Venus and Jupiter are benefic planets, meaning that they tend to bring things you want. Of course it gets more complicated and individualised when examining your entire birth chart, like taking into account factors that might alter each planet’s function such as planetary condition, aspects and the like, but this is a good place to start.
Venus is the planet of beauty, harmony, and interpersonal connections. Venus describes how you make yourself attractive to others (both romantically and generally), things that unite people together, pleasure, and artistic creation. Venus can be associated with both short-term pleasures, such as a delicious dessert for example, and longer-lasting pursuits like a marriage or a classic work of poetry or painting.
One of Jupiter’s principal significations is expansion, which is why Jupiter is associated with abundance. Jupiter also rules expanding your horizons physically or mentally, and can correlate with topics such as long-distance travel, interactions with other cultures, higher education, or subjects that give you a big-picture perspective on life.
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These two general principles, unification (Venus) and expansion (Jupiter), encompass a lot of what you might think of when you talk about happiness. Generally it’s better to get along with others rather than to struggle with tension and disharmony. Relationships with other people are consistently named as one of the most important sources of joy. Similarly, abundance is a common wish, and expansion and growth over time can contribute to feeling that you’re enjoying a successful life.
BIRTH TIME | DAY VS NIGHT
While you can look to both these planets to identify potential sources of joy and meaning, one planet is usually working a bit more beneficially for you than the other. This will depend on whether you were born during the day time or at night. This is based on an astrological principle called sect, which divides the planets up into two teams depending on whether the Sun in your birth chart is above or below the Ascendant/Descendant axis.
A whole article could be written on the topic of sect, but for this article all you need to know is that if you were born during the day with the Sun above the Ascendant/Descendant axis, then areas connected with Jupiter in your chart will tend to work more positively for you, and if you were born at night with the Sun below the Ascendant/Descendant horizon, then areas connected with Venus will tend to be more helpful – all other factors being equal. Even if you don’t know your chart, just knowing where you were born during the day (Jupiter) or night time (Venus) can point towards which planet will generally be more helpful for you.
To find out which areas are highlighted for you as potential sources of joy and meaning, first determine which planet, Venus or Jupiter, should be operating more beneficially in your chart based on whether you have a day or night chart.
Then, locate the house where that planet is placed in your birth chart. I would recommend using the whole-sign house system for this purpose at least initially, though feel free to also look at how this shows up in your preferred house system if you normally use a different one. To look at your chart with whole-sign houses, simply note what sign your Ascendant degree is in; that entire sign will be your whole-sign 1st house. The sign following your Ascendant sign will be the entire 2nd house, the next one will be the 3rd house, and so on.
Next, locate which houses that planet rules in your birth chart. Using traditional rulerships, Venus rules two signs, Taurus and Libra. Jupiter also rules two signs, Sagittarius and Pisces. Find which whole-sign houses correspond to Taurus and Libra in your chart if you were born at night, since those are ruled by Venus. If you were born during the day, then locate which houses correspond to Sagittarius and Pisces in your natal chart, since Jupiter rules those signs.
You should now have two to three houses to consider: one where Venus or Jupiter is placed, and up to two others that it rules. Read on for suggestions on some possible sources of joy and meaning to recognise, strengthen and cultivate greater appreciation for these areas of your life.
The information below won’t cover every possible topic for each house, but it will give you a place to start thinking about each house’s main themes.
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Keep in mind that while Venus tends towards relationships or unifying themes in regards to the house topics, and Jupiter usually expresses more as personal expansion and perhaps wisdom in these areas, there can be significant overlap when looking at Venus and Jupiter in this way. For instance, you may get happy relationships from Jupiter or opportunities from Venus.
Venus or Jupiter in/ruling the 1st house | With Venus in the first house, your gift is to draw others to you and build personal connections easily. Joy and meaning can come from creating harmony and beauty in your world, whether through artistic expression or simply being an example of emphasising our commonalities and connection with others. With Jupiter here, your nature is naturally buoyant and expansive; by embracing your own exploratory nature, you can expand your world and share that broad perspective with others. Joy and meaning can be found in making your own life into a never-ending journey and becoming a resource for those who may not find it as easy to see the bigger picture.
Venus or Jupiter in/ruling the 2nd house | One of your greatest resources is your earning ability, and the comparative ease that can offer in enjoying life. Money may not be everything, but it’s usually easier to focus on higher needs when more immediate ones are covered. Some potential sources of joy and meaning for you could be the ability to provide for yourself or your family, having or collecting beautiful or artistic possessions, or sharing your abundance more widely with others, whether in small or larger ways.
Venus or Jupiter in/ruling the 3rd house | Joy and meaning can be found via your personal relationships with siblings and other relatives, or your social ties in your immediate neighbourhood. You could receive positive recognition for your style of speaking or writing, or simply get enjoyment through the exchange of information and mental stimulation. You could also be a particularly valued teacher, formally or informally.
Venus or Jupiter in/ruling the 4th house | Family and home life can be a positive area with these natal placements, whether one’s family of origin or one you create as an adult. Satisfaction may come in quiet moments of private life or contemplative activities such as meditation. Buying a home, working with real estate, or coming from a more fortunate upbringing either financially or otherwise can give you a more positive foundation for other areas of life. Delving into the past can also be gratifying, whether through history in general or by exploring your genealogy and ancestry.
Venus or Jupiter in/ruling the 5th house | Artistic pursuits may be a particular source of joy for those with these placements, such as visual arts, film, music or dance. Children may also be a topic that brings meaning to your life, whether that’s through having your own children or by working with young people. Sexuality is associated with the 5th house and may be a more important source of joy for you than the average person. This house is oriented towards pleasure more generally, so having Venus or Jupiter involved emphasises enjoyment even further.
Venus or Jupiter in/ruling the 6th house | You may find particular joy through your work or in relationships with coworkers and employees. Following or teaching particular health and wellness regimes may hold special meaning. You might also have particularly strong bonds with your pets or animals in general.
Venus or Jupiter in/ruling the 7th house | While partnership and marriage are important to many people, if you have Venus or Jupiter connected with your 7th house then this area of life can be especially meaningful to you. You may expand your sense of self through partnership with others, and may experience some of the most joy or even success when you are with a significant other, whether that is a personal or business partnership.
Venus or Jupiter in/ruling the 8th house | You may be particularly fortunate with regard to financial matters involving others’ resources, such as money from marriage or inheritance. In turn, finding ways of sharing resources more broadly may be meaningful. You may also find joy in activities that involve delving deeply on a psychological level, or helping others through crisis situations or even with mortality issues.
Venus or Jupiter in/ruling the 9th house | With Jupiter or Venus connected with your 9th house, joy can be found in long-distance travel or exploring different cultures. These placements also have a particular affinity for higher education, whether studying or teaching, and topics that explore big-picture views of life such as religion and philosophy. Astrology and divination are also traditionally given to the 9th house, so these can also be particular areas of meaning with Venus or Jupiter involved here.
Venus or Jupiter in/ruling the 10th house | You can experience genuine joy from your career or a public role in your community, and could experience greater-than-average success here. Meaning can come from being highly visible and focused on your work. With Venus connected to the 10th house, you may perform a unifying role in public life. With Jupiter in or ruling the 10th, you will likely find expansion in your professional life and could be seen as a source of wisdom in this area.
Venus or Jupiter in/ruling the 11th house | You may take great pleasure from a community you belong to and can find having good friends or a large circle of associates a particularly meaningful part of your life. Joy may be found through being part of a social collective or working on social issues that are meaningful to you. The particulars may differ, but belonging to a greater whole will be important for you in some way.
Venus or Jupiter in/ruling the 12th house | This is a private/hidden placement, possibly indicating sources of joy or meaning that aren’t visible to others besides you. Joy can be found through solitary and perhaps contemplative pursuits such as meditation or prayer. Retreat centres or ashrams could also be a source of quiet meaning in your life. Service to others who are isolated in some way, in places like prisons and hospitals, or otherwise set apart from worldly life, can also be a personal source of meaning.
EXTRA GOODNESS AND A CAUTION
Now that you have identified the houses that your most beneficial planet is linked to, you might like to repeat the same process with the other beneficial planet – Venus if you were born during the day, Jupiter if you were born at night. Your primary benefic planet should more reliably describe sources of meaning and joy, but the other benefic planet can indicate additional sources of happiness, just usually less strongly so and perhaps with more potential pitfalls to avoid.
The most common issue to watch out for is overdoing it. If Venus is your main benefic, guard against overdoing it with socialising, chasing after superficial pleasures or sacrificing authenticity for the sake of unity. If Jupiter is your main benefic planet, the danger to avoid is overexpansion. Take care you don’t strive for more of something too often, whether that’s food or drink, spending or buying things, or overly focusing on the topics related to the houses connected to your Jupiter placement to the detriment of other areas of life.
This is just an introduction to using your birth chart to identify and cultivate areas of joy and meaning. Hopefully you’ve been inspired to more actively notice the areas of life that have been beneficial for you and that are either already sources of joy and meaning, or could become so with intentional focus. Sometimes, despite the challenges that life inevitably presents, one way to greater meaning and joy can simply be understanding and appreciating the gifts you already have.
If you don’t know your personal astrology chart, here’s a guide to which houses might be sources of joy and meaning for you – depending on whether you were born during the daytime or at night. If you do know your personal chart, use the houses indicated in it as they will be more personal to you.
| If your Sun Sign is… | You’re born during the day, you have Jupiter ruling the … | You’re born at night, you have Venus ruling the… |
| Aries | 9th and 12th houses | 2nd and 7th houses |
| Taurus | 8th and 11th houses | 1st and 6th houses |
| Gemini | 7th and 10th houses | 5th and 12th houses |
| Cancer | 6th and 9th houses | 4th and 11th houses |
| Leo | 5th and 8th houses | 3rd and 10th houses |
| Virgo | 4th and 7th houses | 2nd and 9th houses |
| Libra | 3rd and 6th houses | 1st and 8th houses |
| Scorpio | 2nd and 5th houses | 7th and 12th houses |
| Sagittarius | 1st and 4th houses | 6th and 11th houses |
| Capricorn | 3rd and 12th houses | 5th and 10th houses |
| Aquarius | 2nd and 11th houses | 4th and 9th houses |
| Pisces | 1st and 10th houses | 3rd and 8th houses |
