Venus and Discovering Your True Values — Part 1
As an astrologer and a life coach, I have had the opportunity to work with thousands of individuals on a personal level. They come to me with their romantic concerns, their financial worries, their anxieties and fears, and my responsibility is to help provide them with insight into their lives in a tangible, practical way that gives them meaning and solutons. Over the years, I have become convinced that the biggest tool of revelation in someone’s life is not a deck of tarot cards, the latest book by Deepak Chopra, or even their astrology chart. The biggest tool of revelation is our personal checkbooks.
Now, hang in there with me.
You see our checkbook, credit card bills, and everything that records what we spend money on are tools of revelation. Why? Our financial registers reveal to us what we really value in life!
Several years ago, I had a client that came to me with severe financial issues. Every time that I consulted with her the astrological influences would show me that money was coming in. However, her problem is that she could not seem to manage her money in an efficient manner. Each time she would get a promotion or a raise, she would end up being disappointed because she felt that this would help out her financial situation but actually it always made things worse. I then picked apart her horoscope and found the root of the problem and then together we took action resolve the issues. However, the problem was not really her finances; the problem was what she valued in her life at that time. Her need for personal pleasure and personal enjoyment seemed to trump having security, and when she sat down and looked at this honesty everything changed for her.
A Little Value History:
Before we get to how to look at values in the horoscope, let’s first look at what this word really means.
The word value in its modern context comes from the Latin word ‘valerie’ which means ‘be strong, be well”. It was not until the 1900’s that the word “value” changed into a term that had moralistic underpinnings with a painting called “Value Judgment”. Since the painting contains religious symbolism, the word value eventually morphed into a term that represented social mores and social codes rather than anything intensely individual.
However, with great irony, the planet that represents our values is none other than the goddess of erotic love Venus herself – and trust me morality is not the name of the game for this ancient deity.
Revisiting Venus:
A little over a year ago, Jacki Smith and I discussed Venus in relationships at length. Venus is one of the planets that I feel modern society has disconnected from (Mars being the other) – even though our religious standards and ideals have shifted significantly in the last 100 years. Instead, Venus has become our cultural obsession with accumulating wealth and possessions.
When most people think of Venus, images of Botticelli come to mind with his famous painting “The Birth of Venus”. Yet, her ancient lineage goes back much further than Ancient Greece. In Egypt, she was known as Hathor, in Babylonia as Inanna, and in Sumerian mythology she was known as Astarte. The priestesses of these goddesses were always trained in the erotic arts, but the underpinning of eroticism is something that is grossly misunderstood and instead of just being ordinary sexual pleasure, a visit to a temple priestess for sexual engagement was a rite of passage for masculine development (this does not necessarily mean men only). However, do not be confused, the women that participated in these rites were not owned by men or forced into anything – in fact, she refused to be bound to conventional life and her body was her own and she could do anything with it that she liked.
In myth, Aphrodite is most known for her vanity (self-focus) and unfortunately society has led us to believe that vanity in all shapes or forms is intrinsically wrong, narcissistic, dangerous, and in some circles down right evil. However, Aphrodite is herself an image of something that lives inside of all of us and an important image. In order to become a well-rounded individual, we at times must focus on ourselves enough in order to truly give to others. Further, Aphrodite is described in mythology as gold-laden or golden which reveals her significant importance to self-development. After all, Venus is rather comfortable in the sign of Leo and she has her joy in the 5th house – both of which are associated with the Sun (center of personality) in the horoscope. In Aphrodite’s rather lengthy literature, she never performs any of her activities in the dark – she is not lunar – instead she does everything in the light of day which symbolizes the necessity to bring this ancient deity into our consciousness. After all, Venus run amok is not very pretty and frequently displayed across the headlines when she bursts to the surface in the guise of a good sex scandal or the latest preachers visit to rentboy.com.
The Judgment of Paris:
The most famous story featuring Aphrodite (Venus) is called “The Judgment of Paris”. It’s an interesting story that involves a young man Paris who is called upon by Zeus to judge a beauty contest between Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. The three goddesses parade in front of Paris and each offer him a reward for picking them based upon their sphere of influence. Hera being the queen of the gods offers Paris power, status and dominion, Athena offers him military strategy and victory, and Aphrodite offers Paris the most beautiful woman in the world. Of course, Paris being a young man and rather amorous chooses Aphrodite and she grants him relationship with Helen of Troy who unfortunately is already married. This ultimately leads to the Trojan War.
It would be easy for us to sit back and see Paris’ ordeal as simply a love story. However, that would be truly missing the point. The story of Paris is really about choices and that we base our choices off of what we value at the moment. If Paris was a bit older and had experienced a couple of divorces and was paying alimony payments and child support perhaps he would have made another decision and chose Hera or Athena. However, we must remember that person that forces Paris’ involvement in the beauty contest was none other than the King of the Gods himself. This reflects that ultimately these are decisions and choices that we all have to make in order to define ourselves as individuals.
Being disconnected from our Venus is dangerous business. First of all, she leads to a loss of self-worth where regardless of how well we are doing we do not see our importance in our families, work environments, or the larger collective. Secondly, she leads to loss of joy and pleasure where everything in our life loses any sense of meaning and we begin to live a rather robotic life of doing the same thing over and over without experiencing any happiness or fulfillment. Most importantly, a disconnection from Venus can lead to lack of self-confidence. We simply do not have the gumption to go after what we truly desire. Of course, what happens is that we begin to overcompensate and pursue such Venusian themes as financial security, justice vindication (remember vindictive is as powerful a Venusian term as any other), obsession with our bodies, looks, and even the repudiation of anything that the collective views as beautiful. In essence, we will attempt to escape into our other planetary urges, but what will those really bring us if we do not or cannot feel happy with life?
Defining Your Values:
Before we begin to explore your natal Venus and what you truly value, I thought it would be interesting to see what your values are.
Here is a link to an exercise blog from the good people at mindtools.com.
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_85.htm
Take some time to work on this worksheet. Nobody is going to check your work and nobody is going to grade you so be true to yourself in this exercise.
Now that you have a clearly defined your value system, we can begin to explore your natal Venus.
Your Venusian Values by Sign:
If you need a copy of your chart to figure out where Venus is in your horoscope, you can get one for free on my website. Free Astrology Chart
For the sake of this blog post, I am going to focus simply on Venusian values. However, keep in mind that values is just one part of this planet (although often the most overlooked). Venus also represents how we appreciate, how we experience interpersonal relationships, our finances, and what we cherish. I will focus on the other aspects of Venus in future posts.
A short description of your Venusian values is below:
Venus in Aries:
In traditional astrology, Venus in the sign of Aries is considered in her detriment because her spontaneous movements do not really align with collective mores and values. However, Venus was a ruthless battle goddess and when she is in the sign most associated with “war”; you see the more aggressive tendencies of the planet. Venus in Aries values independence more so than interpersonal relationships and those with this placement usually spend a heap of time understanding themselves and being aware of whom they are as individuals. This Venus placement is not real fond of lawn chairs and the latest offerings from Godiva (unless it’s a reward for something they have achieved); they are more concerned with excitement, challenge, and potential. In Mars ruled Aries, Venus loves to be competitive because it affirms her ability to go out into life and get what she truly desires. Although Venus in this placement values confidence, enthusiasm, and competition, it must guard itself against being overly reckless, impatient, self-centered, combative and overzealous.
Venus in Taurus:
Venus is in her own sign of Taurus, so she is rather happy with this position despite its rather structured and concrete views of reality. Venus in Taurus values resourcefulness, productivity, and stability more so than anything else. In fact, Venus in Taurus will often sacrifice its own personal desires and happiness in order to feel more secure because structure is simply more reliable than unpredictability. Loyalty and traditional attitudes of life are of extreme importance to this position because they guarantee a sense of self-worth and dependability that this Venus position requires. However, if this position is not operating effectively and one has not discovered their inner self-worth then Venus in Taurus can be possessive, stubborn, passive, and often self-indulgent.
Venus in Gemini:
Venus being in the sign of Mercury ruled Gemini is one of her rather most interesting positions – and in fact, those that have this position would be happy to hear that because interesting is something they value more than anything else. Venus in Gemini values communication and has an intense need to learn from others. They are inquisitive, studious, adaptable, and very clever. Since Venus is in a people oriented sign (after all you need people to communicate), she values those that can stimulate her intellectual mind with mercurial conversation and adaptability. In fact, intellectual stimulation is more valued than emotional exchanges. However, if Venus is not operating properly in this sign she can be superficial, imitative, scattered, and high strung.
Venus in Cancer:
Home is where the heart is or at least where Venus in Cancer places her values. Venus in the Moon ruled sign of Cancer values the ability to receive emotional sustenance and security. In fact, it values it so much that it often will wax poetically about times of the past when the world was “perfect” and nothing threatened its hardened shell. Venus is a bit uncomfortable in all of the water signs because the need for emotional closeness and dependability on others is a bit at odds with her own nature and she can become moody and possessive as a result. However, these tendencies can often be forgotten as long as she has a family to take care of and people that she can nurture.
Venus in Leo:
The world of Leo is colorful, dynamic, dramatic, and filled to the brim with heaps of imagination. Venus placed in the sign of the majestic lion values her need to express and live out her fantasy world and be appreciated by those around her. She is self-confident, honorable, proud, courageous, and generous. In many ways, she is like a mother lion ready and willing to protect her cubs from any threat or outside influence. In her world of fantasy (which she prefers over reality), the cub is under her dominion and will remain within the confines of her rather colorful territory until she is ready to release it. However, this can become problematic because eventually every child wants to grow up and be an adult lion or lioness on its own. When Venus in Leo is being problematic, she is prideful, self-centered, domineering, and often experiences self-doubt.
Venus in Virgo:
Venus is considered in her fall in the sign of Virgo. Any planet in its fall has little dignity and therefore is susceptible to easily falling victim to the negative characteristics of the sign. The world of values for Venus in Virgo involves order, efficiency, hard work, and organization. Out of all the signs, this is probably the most difficult for Venus because she is extremely stifled and not able to express herself outwardly which can lead to difficulties if she does not find a proper outlet for her to be admired. Therefore, you will find people with Venus in Virgo valuing their jobs and careers or any type of service to others more so than emotional exchanges or imaginal longings. She values the real world and all the riches it can provide. However, if she gets overly focused on the physical she can be petty, judgmental, perfectionistic, and downright neurotic.
Venus in Libra:
Venus rules two signs in the zodiac. The first one was Taurus which we met earlier and the second one is Libra. In Taurus, Venus is concerned with structure and foundation and reliability; whereas, in Libra she values fairness, justice, and human decency. In essence, the value keyword here would be harmony which for Libra trumps everything. In addition, Libra is the sign of relationships and Venus in Libra definitely values her relationship exchanges with others. She considers relationships to be a high priority and anytime relationships go through a bit of chaos or a bit of unpredictability; Venus in Libra can fall off her game rather quickly. If Venus in Libra is not working properly in the horoscope it can be dependent, indecisive, over compromising, and superficial.
Venus in Scorpio:
Venus in Scorpio like Venus in Aries is considered in detriment. Detriment in astrological circles is a fancy word for a planet not operating effectively or is out of her element. In the sign of Scorpio this is definitely true. Scorpio is a very intense and deeply emotional sign that Venus would rather not deal with. However, if you are born with Venus in Scorpio you pretty much do not have much of a choice in the matter. Venus in Scorpio values circumstances and situations that are intensely real and not superficial on any level. She tends to understand the darker side of human nature (although she doesn’t particularly like it) and tends to navigate through such intense waters requiring more realism and more genuineness than many of the other Venusian placements. However, if Venus is not operating effectively in Scorpio or one is out of touch with this placement, Venus can be obsessive, possessive, vindictive, deceptive, and downright repressed.
Venus in Sagittarius:
Venus in all the fire signs (Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius) values possibilities and potentials more than anything else. This is amplified even greater when Venus is in the Jupiter “larger than life” sign of Sagittarius. You see, ordinary mundane life is just simply not desired for this placement and Venus will constantly look for and crave excitement in order to explore the horizons of her mind and make the world a larger and more enjoyable place. While in Sagittarius she values philosophy, religion, idealism, optimism, adventure, and most of all the freedom to do whatever she wants to do. In fact, too much of ordinary living can provoke Venus to flee the scene and head towards greener pastures. If Venus in Sagittarius is not working properly it can be self-righteous, dogmatic, deluded, and excessive.
Venus in Capricorn:
Venus in Capricorn values the good life – that is if the good life is stable, structures, and promotes ones social position. Although, Venus in Capricorn looks like a positive positioning for the planet, it can be rather difficult. The sign of Capricorn is associated with Hera in Greek Mythology. Hera is the queen of the Gods and the champion for traditional values and moral codes and Aphrodite and Hera have very little in common. Therefore, Venus can feel rather stifled in this positioning and feel frustrated until she learns to accept the realm she has been given. Venus in Capricorn values practicality, dutifulness, dependability, is financially reserved, and ambitious. In many ways, Venus can be admired (something she loves) if this is channeled into ones professional life or social structure. However, if Venus is not working properly in Capricorn she is controlling, materialistic, self-doubting, and self-seeking.
Venus in Aquarius:
Venus in Aquarius is a rather peculiar, yet interesting placement. Those born with Venus in this sign are very interested in social reform and the redefining of values and relationships in order to fit into their progressive view of life. Above all else, Venus in Aquarius values friendships because of the intellectual stimulation they provide and the need to constantly evaluate new ideals to create a more perfect life is of utter importance. However, Venus in Aquarius needs more breathing room than most of the other signs and can feel rather stifled in an overly contained environment. After all, she needs to reform, be inventive, unconventional and keep her eyes towards the future and that would be difficult being bound to a domestic or overly rigid life. If Venus is not working effectively in Aquarius she is disorganized, deviant, impractical, and often unpredictable.
Venus in Pisces:
Venus is considered exalted in the sign of Pisces. This means that the sign of Pisces has all the ingredients for Venus to have a great time – in every sense of the word. Venus in Pisces values the dream of the perfect vision of relationship and a utopian world of flowery co-existence in a world of Technicolor. She values the mystical, unifying, imaginative, high romance, and is very empathic. Further, her values allow her to sacrifice herself for the “dream” and works diligently towards its realization. The downside of Venus in Pisces is that the real world can seem extremely harsh and she can quickly become depressed or disillusioned if her dreams are overly stifled. When Venus is not working properly in Pisces she can be confused, unrealistic, delusional, escapist, and lack faith in the self.
Homework Assignment:
Go back to your original values notes from mindtools.com and compare whether or not your current values are aligned with your Venus. Do not be worried or concerned if they are not, I will focus on that in a future post – so stay tuned!
For further information on Venus and values you can listen to our episode of Keep It Magic. I have embedded the show below.
Coming Soon – Part 2 of Venus and Discovering Your True Values – Venus through the Astrological Houses.
Storm Cestavani is the co-host of the top rated metaphysical show “Keep It Magic” and the co-creator of the “Tarot Magic” with Coventry Creations. Storm is available for consultations by setting up an appointment to speak with him. Simply click on Book A Reading with Storm at the top of the page.
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