The level to which we value ourselves and others influences how we make decisions. From the information that Mercury delivers to us, it must be evaluated to enable us to make a choice moving forward with the help of Venus.
Her nature
Venus is a feminine planet and is cold and moist in temperament. With these natures, her effects are calming, soothing and refreshing. She is known as the smaller benefic or lesser fortune, paired with Jupiter who is known as the greater benefic. As a fortunate planet, her influence is desirable, and she will often grace us with pleasure and ease wherever her presence lands.
Venus is the goddess of love, beauty and art, which makes her strong presence desired during marriages and creative pursuits. Her essence is to appease, smooth and make peace.
Hesperus and Lucifer
Venus is the third brightest celestial body in the night sky after the Sun and the Moon and she is a marvel to witness at her greatest brilliancy. She doesn’t always shine at the same magnitude however, because she is lit at different angles throughout different stages of her synodic cycle. Like Mercury, Venus begins her synodic cycle at the superior conjunction which is when she is directly behind the Sun from the perspective of Earth. As she moves away from the Sun, she rises as an evening star, visible on the western horizon at dusk. William Lilly lists several names for Venus, including Hesperus and Vesperugo which both mean “evening”. When Venus is an evening star, her nature is cold and moist, she is more gentle and kind. At the middle of her cycle, Venus passes in front of the Sun, and is then reborn as a morning star on the eastern horizon at dawn. She is called Phosphorus or Lucifer, which both mean “light bringer”. As a morning star, her nature is hot and moist, she is more assertive and brave.
Traditional associations
Venus has traditional associations with musicians, artists, women, the colour white, sweet herbs, sweet apples, nightingales, dolphins, fountains, gardens, copper and sapphire. In short, if it’s beautiful and makes you happy, that’s Venus.
Venus is like Mercury, in that its orbit lies within that of the Earth. It takes approximately one and a half years to cycle the zodiac and orbits the Sun approximately once every 225 earth days. She can never be more that 47 degrees away from the Sun, so she can never be more than two zodiac signs behind or in front of it. This means she can never form more than a 30 degree semi-sextile aspect with the Sun. Venus spends about one month in each of the zodiac signs, except when she turns retrograde in a particular sign, and so will spend about four months there because she is moving backwards and then forwards along the zodiac. The duration of Venus retrograde is 40 days and 40 nights and occurs once every eighteen months. Over an eight year period, Venus makes five conjunctions with the Sun, and each of these five conjunctions are spaced relatively equally, so much so that a pentagram shape can be drawn when they are connected in the order of their occurrence. Venus retrograde phases often bring the return, revival, renewal and reassessment of Venusian themes, but there can be some difficulty involved. Whatever she signifies in your chart is what you are most likely to focus on during the Venus retrograde phase, it can be a rather productive time if used wisely.
Taurus
The first domicile sign of Venus is Taurus the bull. As an earth sign, Taurus is materialistic in nature and as a feminine sign, it is open to receiving material wealth. Taurus is a very strong and stable sign, considering that it is also fixed in its modality. In traditional western astrology, Taurus is associated with the neck and throat. In Indian astrology, it is associated with the face where the sensory organs are located. Therefore, there is a connection between Taurus, Venus, and the pleasures of our senses. When Venus is in Taurus, she is more focused on security, tangible stability and gaining the necessary earthly wealth to provide for herself. The season of Taurus runs from around 20th April to the 20th May each year, the period in the northern hemisphere where we turn the earth in preparation for sewing seeds and planting crops. The produce of the earth is the one true wealth. Money is valuable in our modern age, but not truly as valuable as what you wish to buy with it. The Taurine nature knows what is valuable and finds comfort in acquiring goods of true quality and usefulness. When Venus is well placed in the birth chart, this characteristic is often one that is observed in the native. Similar can be said for someone born with the Moon in Taurus.
Libra
The masculine domicile sign of Venus is Libra. As an air sign, Libra is light, changeable and sociable in nature. As a cardinal masculine sign, it is initiatory and proactive. Symbolised by the weighing scales, Libra seeks to find balance, often with trading and exchange. This is the harmonising aspect of Venus, who wishes to find a middle ground that benefits all. In traditional astrology, Libra rules the lower back, ovaries and kidneys. When Venus is in Libra, she is seeking peace for all. She is also very artistic in this sign, and loves music created with notes that naturally agree with one another, which is known as harmony.
Pisces
Venus is exalted in Pisces where she is said to express herself to her fullest potential. A watery mutable sign, Pisces is fluid, free and sensitive. Pisces allows Venus to show her most authentic qualities - joy, beauty, peace, patience, sensitivity and compassion. Pisces is ruled by Jupiter, the greater benefic, so when Venus is in his sign her character is amplified.
Paraśurāma
The Avatar of Venus is Paraśurāma which means “Rama with an Axe”. At a time when the Kshatriya warrior class were overruling the earth and abusing their strength and power, Paraśurāma destroyed them, time and time again, to restore balance in the world. This does sound rather strange for an avatar supposedly connected to peaceful Venus, but it does show that Venus is all about restoring equality, with whatever measures must be taken. This is also one way to explain why Libra is known as one of the violent signs of the zodiac, being the male sign of Venus.
Venus in detriment and fall
Venus is considered out of place in the domicile signs of Mars, which are Aries and Scorpio, her signs of detriment. Aries is opposite to the sign of Libra, and is all about the self whilst Libra is about the other, so Venus looses her ability to reconcile, appease, negotiate and compromise. She is more feisty. As the sign that rules the excretory and sexual organs, Scorpio is deep and intense. When Venus is in Scorpio she is opposite Taurus, and her focus on tangible wealth is replaced with the value of understanding deeper concepts. She is in fall in Virgo, the sign of Mercury. Virgo’s nature is too strict and precise for Venus who advocates compromise and liberty.
Venusian remedies
If you would like to strengthen your Venus, you can begin by reciting a mantra on Friday at dawn, or in the hour of Venus. You can wear more colourful clothes, but Venus is generally more associated with white and light pink garments. Allow yourself to indulge and relax in activities which are regenerative for your body and over all health. Listen to music, dance, go to an art gallery or buy yourself some flowers. In Jyotisha, Venus aids the body in repair and recovery and knows the mantra of bringing the dead back to life. Venus is also said to rule vehicles, and considering that the body is the vehicle of the soul it would be in our best interest to care of it.