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Between the Cancer New Moon opposite Pluto, Lunar Nodal Shift, and two retrogrades (looking at you Venus and Chiron), this week offers potent planetary portals galore.
Though I mostly have my Astro eye on Venus and Chiron retrograde cycles beginning the same weekend the Sun moves into Leo. Um, also the same weekend the Barbie movie comes out.;)
Astrologer Chris Brennan also pointed out that when Barbie came out in 1959 it was at the same time Venus was in Virgo retrograde moving into Leo. A very astro-attuned pop culture moment!
From July 22 until September 3, Venus moves backward in the sky asking us to reflect on our relationship to intimacy itself.
The feeling of loneliness can be two-fold, a lack of close relationships with others (our mammalian parts need it) and often a lack of connection with ourselves. And Venus can help.
Archetypally, Venus rules the realms of intimacy including friendship, romance, sensuality, pleasure, value, but also transformation and self-intimacy. Venus energy craves affection and feelings of fondness and has much concern with how to add more sweetness to life. In a nutshell — or scallop shell in the case of the goddess’ birth — Venus seeks to love and be loved.
In this way, Venus can reveal our love language, reminding us of the unique combination of factors that lead to satisfaction in our relating. Knowing Venus's placement can also help us understand why we have different ways of interacting with others and appreciate the nuances of our needs and theirs. Understanding your natal Venus involves digging deeper into the needs of each layer, such as:
Sign: The basic energies that attract us to friendship and partnership, allowing us to feel connected.
Aspects: How we work with or can be challenged by our love language or loving nature.
House: Area of life where we most crave connection or want to apply our gifts of love.
To make things a little easier, here’s a list of possible relationship needs and manifestations of the Venusian vibes that could relate to the sign, aspects, and house in any combination. I included both the positive and potentially negative qualities associated to keep an eye on blocks to love and connection in all forms:
Venus in Aries, Venus in aspect to Mars, 1st House:
A lover and a fighter, this combination craves independence and freedom in relating.
You may feel pulled to motivated or inspired people or may feel most alive when you are doing something active with others.
Beware the need to be so self-sufficient that you miss out on meaningful connections.
Venus in Taurus, 2nd House:
It doesn’t get much more lovey-dovey than double Venusian energy. You may feel most loved when receiving gifts or monetary gains.
Your creativity could be one of your greatest assets, so finding a place to channel it with others could help you feel more connected.
Watch out for the possessive side of Taurus energies, as love thrives in both freedom and containment.
Venus in Gemini, Venus in aspect to Mercury or Pallas Athene, 3rd House
Kind words or intellectual stimulation could be the way to your heart.
The desire to communicate or say beautiful things to those you love may be one of your best qualities.
It’s possible the social butterfly nature of this combination could have a lot of acquaintances and not as many stable relationships to lean on.
Venus in Leo, Venus in aspect to the Sun, 5th House
It’s possible you have a claim to fame for being a royal lover or making others feel that way.
Your warmth and confidence around connecting put others at ease.
A reminder that being pulled towards sparkly and shiny people may not be a good solution to loneliness.
Venus in Virgo, Venus in aspect to Mercury, 6th House
Showing love by helping people problem-solve or acts of service are superpowers for Venus in Virgo.
Your high standards for love can affect your discernment around where to invest your time and energy.
Virgo tends to want to be helpful — be sure to ask for what you need to feel connected and not just lead with critical nature.
Venus in Libra, 7th House
You may prefer one-on-one relating over groups to build intimacy, which can be a wonderful way to build connection more quickly
Having a romantic heart means you can show others the beauty of love — and flirtation.
People pleasing can be a shadow side of this placement (and most Libra placements) so watch out for co-dependent tendencies in forming relationships.
Venus in Scorpio, Venus in aspect to Pluto, 8th House
Needing depth in relationships offers you and others the ability to go deeper.
You bring both vulnerability and empowerment to those you love.
Love can be tied to the intensity with this combination, so be aware of the pull towards dramatic people or constellating intensity to feel more connected
Venus in Sagittarius, Venus in aspect to Jupiter, 9th House
Making people laugh may be your way of feeling adored — and others love it.
You feel most connected through experiencing or traveling together.
The shadow side of this combination could be self-involvement in relationships or focusing too much on what you need.
Venus in Capricorn, Venus in aspect to Saturn, 10th House
You take love seriously in friendship and relationships and value those you’ve known the longest.
You know relating takes work and aren’t afraid of difficulties — you know that it doesn’t mean the end of the relationship.
Feeling lonely could be a more common occurrence and you may feel pulled to those who are unavailable.
Venus in Aquarius, Venus in aspect to Uranus, 11th House
You want to be admired for your vision and future-oriented thinking.
There can be electricity and creativity in loving others that lights you up.
Love at first sight is a common occurrence with Venus in Aquarius, though it’s often simply the want of new and different.
Venus in Pisces, Venus in aspect to Neptune, 12th House
The award for hopeless romantic has your name on it. This placement loves to love.
Love takes on a dreamy quality ripe for seeing the best and most beautiful qualities in others.
A difficulty could be not seeing relationships for what they are where they actually are.
In support of deeper intimacy with self and others, I have a two-for-one astrology reading offering IRL or online. (I haven’t been promoting this, but a few of you have found it…) Sign up with a friend, lover, stranger, family member, or business partner and receive two, individual 30-minute sessions rather than one, one-hour reading.
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