BAM! A radiant and revolutionary Venus for the Aquarian Age – *LOVE* it!
I mean, holy Venus in Leo – what a muse….! The hair, head-held-high attitude, use of the word “glorious”….I’m not sure you get much more Venus in Leo than this (well, maybe if she were wearing a crown, LOL). Add that in-your-face liberated edge from Uranus in Aries, and I suppose this is what you wind up with – so perfect for the final trine between Venus in Leo and Uranus in Aries that is about to be exact tonight. As the Sun slips into mutual reception with Venus, no less….you go, girl!
LOL, nobody loves to be flattered quite like The King….except for maybe a Queenly Venus in Leo amped up by a conjunction to Jupiter! 😛 😀
But with Venus retrograde, on a more serious note mere plastic praises are not enough and a litmus-test square to Saturn does suggest making sure it’s REAL and not just a bunch of ingratiating BS! Also? Don’t be the girl depicted in the cartoon above! That same square to Saturn may indicate there’s some psychological work required, perhaps because self-worth might be lacking. And it *is* possible to overcompensate for a sense of inadequacy via an excessive focus on the approbation of others. So funk dat noise – keep in mind how last month’s newsletter mentioned that it is more important we learn how to self-validate with Venus Rx!
What an astrological clash we have going these next few days! On one hand we have this fun & fiery, creatively expanding, heart-opening, confidence-boosting, life-affirming, growth-oriented relationship potential that seems to carry a surplus of abundance and joy – Venus and Jupiter are the Lesser & Greater Benefics, respectively, and when they join with one another our blessings tend overflow on an astrological level. But this duo squares an intensely “all business” Saturn in Scorpio, threatening to dampen the festivities.
There are two big keynotes that tend to stand out to me regarding Saturn in Scorpio; these are the concepts of “psychological blockages” and also “obstacles to intimacy”. There seems to be some kind of hesitation in going deeper….could we perhaps be protecting ourselves with some kind of mask or cloaking device; harboring a growth-limiting fear of being physically, emotionally, or psychologically “naked” in relationships? Saturn in Scorpio can be a definite fear of exposure, one that may stem from the experience of an old and possibly unresolved trauma similar to the saying “once bitten, twice shy”. But something does seem to be getting in the way in relationships; perhaps a psychological obstacle where we may need to get a handle on some internal demons. I sense a huge potential self-love issue here with Venus currently retrograding in Leo next to Jupiter, and Venus/Saturn squares do tend to point to possible issues regarding self-worth. The impetus for this post actually arose because I awoke the other morning with this song inexplicably in my mind, and if you’re familiar with the lyrics at all you’ll definitely see how it parallels the astro in some ways:
Many a time have I seen a Venus/Saturn individual settle for meager crumbs in a relationship because on some deep and internalized level they felt like that was all they were worth. Often this stems from some kind of lack, as the parental model may have been inclined to be one where affection was scarce. And since we *are* currently dealing with Saturn in Scorpio, I think it behooves us to examine the attitudes or beliefs about love we may have inherited from our parents, because they may be quite outdated and getting in the way of all this Venus/Jupiter bounty. See, the Venus/Saturn inclination may be to believe this opportunity standing right in front of its eyes is too good, so it approaches with caution and suspicion; insisting such love is only the kind found in childrens’ storybooks and can’t be real. How wrong Venus/Saturn would be, though, in that assessment – the goods *are* there; abundantly so. In true Jupiter square Saturn fashion, it may be our perspective that’s all wrong, where we are limited by the darkness instead of looking to the light. So what is the internal subtext getting in the way here, and what are we wiling to work on and through so that we might claim the blessings Venus & Jupiter have to offer that we are indeed so deserving of?
“Oh, so just let me try
And I will be good to you
Just let me try
And I will be there for you
I’ll show you why
You’re so much more than good enough…”
Lastly, it’s worth mentioning – with a trine between Mars in Cancer and Saturn in Scorpio also going at the same time – this is not the time to hold our feelings in and it absolutely IS a time to confront the effects of the past upon the present. I see this as potentially being an emotional clot-buster of an influence, especially when we take into account the Moon also hitting Aries during the height of this square (August 4th & 5th) and thus amping up Mars via mutual reception. Mars is in its fall in Cancer, and there can be a strong predisposition to have all these competing feelings eddying around within and vying for dominance as our desires wax and wane. But the internal conflict that can surface during this square may just be enough to get us to act on our feelings and push us through any psychological walls that have prevented intimacy. So confront those feelings head-on, because facing our fears and/or inhibitions pays off with Mars/Saturn contacts. Take a calculated risk in being forward about how you feel, even…because emotional bravery may well be rewarded.
I was discussing retrograding Venus-in-Virgo squaring Saturn-in-Scorpio matters of the heart with a girlfriend last night when I found myself trying to put things into perspective for her by dispensing the advice not to take things too seriously re: her current love interest. It was then, of course, the imaginary juke box in my head decided to fire up with this little ditty, LOL – it’s a sort pop-y one-hit wonder from circa the late 90’s, so don’t be surprised if you’ve never heard it before:
How perfect for the current astro! She was overanalyzing things (again) and getting way ahead of herself about where the relationship was/wasn’t going, so I kind of had to pull a “full stop” on her and jam on the brakes a bit, LOL. You may recall back at the beginning of the year that I outlined in my newsletter how the outset of this retrograde has the ability to cause us to re-evaluate relationships with a more critical eye, and that while healthy discernment does play a role in keeping us safe from any proverbial Trojan Horses, the old saying about “looking a gift horse in the mouth” does come to mind.
So why make more out of it (meaning, a relationship) than it is by turning it into A Big Deal? Not necessarily in the sense of getting more of a commitment out of a partner by defining dealbreakers or through requiring a more serious level of intimacy (though that’s certainly possible under this astro), but why not practice just being in the moment and appreciating a relationship for what it is in the now rather than …Read More…
Originally written and performed by incomparable Bill Withers, this cover is a personal favorite due the addition of crescendoing violins – a lovely touch! Upon hearing it today, I was struck by how it seems to epitomize the current square between Venus in Leo and Saturn in Scorpio – a vibe that will more or less pervade during the next 3 weeks courtesy of Venus’ slowed motion and subsequent (impending) retrograde. Venus square Saturn can indeed be a time of hardship or testing in relationships…the shields may seem to be up and it may be a lot more challenging to access some lovin’. Since we have Saturn in Scorpio involved, there may be a psychological, sexual, or other energetic barrier involved – remember what I said in an earlier post about the possible tendency to put ourselves on lockdown. It could be self-protective, and there may even be an element of fear involved when real intimacy is on the line.
Typically, Venus in Leo would rather play, but this is serious business and she’s less able to be footloose and fancy-free than she would otherwise be when unbound by Saturn’s constraints. It would appear she has some commitments she may be duty-bound to honor and simply might not have the time to invest in her relationships the way that she might like. Demands and responsibilities seem to be cramping her style – especially due work – and she may well have to take her sunshine away and TCOB for the time being. But it won’t be this way forever, nor for comparatively very long, so freak not if things seem to be stalling for you on the partnership front. Venus clears her second square with Saturn after August 5th, her next point-of-contact being liberating Uranus on August 19th – that is the ideal time to really jailbreak and remove any hardware restrictions!
Much as I love the original, I must say I’m quite taken with this cover.
Lyrics:
Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way
Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run; you missed the starting gun
And you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it’s sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in a relative way, but you’re older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death
Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone, the song is over, thought I’d something more to say…
A frightfully apt song with Saturn passing back into Scorpio – especially when we take into account the broader astrological context that it will eventually creep toward a square with Jupiter/Venus in Leo during early August! If ever an advertising slogan fit a particular transit, I’d say the old Reebok tagline “Life is short; play hard” seems pretty damn apt for this upcoming square. Jupiter + Venus in Leo is hedonism to the nines, ostensibly spurred by Saturn’s realization that it could all end at any moment and that nothing in life is guaranteed except death and taxes.
I think that if you’re grimly hanging onto anything that you shouldn’t be at this point in life and thinking you still have time to make up for it, the tension of this square could be quite the wakeup call. Entrenchment in defunct situations because we are locked in and too afraid to let go (perhaps due the prospect of loss) could be preventing something wonderful and life-affirming from entering our lives – things like happiness, abundance, joy, and love, for example. When Venus and Jupiter are in league, our cups may runneth over…but with Saturn and Pluto back in mutual reception once again, there may be a contrasting psychological barrier where we’re putting ourselves on lockdown for some reason. Perhaps in true Saturn/Pluto fashion, we find ourselves making an effort to delay the inevitable and may fear the potentially life-changing ramifications of opening ourselves up to whatever opportunities Venus & Jupiter present. Saturn squaring Venus especially calls to mind possible issues regarding self-worth that inhibit pleasure because on some level we might not feel deserving of this bounty. While we can’t take it all in one bite and forgo paying the piper entirely with this square, we can certainly work on any psychological complexes that stand to limit personal growth and fulfillment.
Ergo, during this square I say to hell with the concept of “hanging on in quiet desperation”- in a case like this, I think it’s important we know when to quit and then steel ourselves to take that hit, because the alternative may mean staying stuck in a dysfunctional scenario that does indeed have severely limited growth potential. Jupiter & Venus in Leo are all about opening and expanding the Heart Center; especially as it relates to self-love. Remember they are the Greater and Lesser Benefics, respectively – are you sure you want to shut the door on them if they come knocking?
“There is probably no better or more reliable measure of whether a woman has spent time in ugly duckling status at some point or all throughout her life than her inability to digest a sincere compliment. Although it could be a matter of modesty, or could be attributed to shyness – although too many serious wounds are carelessly written off as “nothing but shyness”- more often a compliment is stuttered around about because it sets up an automatic and unpleasant dialogue in the woman’s mind.
If you say how lovely she is, or how beautiful her art is, or compliment anything else her soul took part in, inspired, or suffused, something in her mind says she is undeserving and you, the complimentor, are an idiot for thinking such a thing to begin with. Rather than understand that the beauty of her soul shines through when she is being herself, the woman changes the subject and effectively snatches nourishment away from the soul-self, which thrives on being acknowledged.”
This is an apt thought for consideration with Venus in Leo – who loves praise – now in a sextile to a very verbal Mercury in Gemini. Do you know how to accept a compliment graciously? If not, isn’t this a skill worth acquiring?
….Your “Intro to Ballroom” dance class is full to capacity andthen some! The enthusiasm and encouragement of your ballroom Guru is positively contagious, creating a warm and festive atmosphere that fills up the room to the point of overflowing. Your heart rate is elevated; the dew in your mane collecting at the nape of your neck and causing stray wisps of hair to spring into buoyant curls. The upbeat tempo of swing and joy of just having fun has you bubbling over with exuberance and laughter.
From the Robin Wood Tarot. Doesn’t our King just look like he’s extending an arm to his lady and asking her to tango? Grab that hand – it’s time to dance!
Everybody has a King/Queen of Wands somewhere within them – these archetypal monarchs have joie-de-vivre in spades and absolutely lust for life! Venus has just entered Leo and will eventually augment Jupiter, so don’t be a wallflower because this is a time to put yourself on display! Leo is a consummate performer and entertainer, so why not give ‘em a show? We have expanded access to these fiery archetypes within our personas now and can easily connect to our vivacity, creativity, confidence, and belief in ourselves as talented individuals, so show the world how YOU shine! All the world is your stage – embrace the close-up!
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