Venus: All's Fair in Love and War

Venus is widely known as the Goddess of love and beauty, but as Morning Star she is revealed as the Goddess of War.

"All's Fair in Love and War"

This maxim, with its implied contradiction has always intrigued me. It’s an odd pairing, but perfectly embodied by the Goddess Venus, or, as she was known to the ancient Greeks, Aphrodite. Today, we tend to forget the Goddess’ association with warfare but for ancient peoples, the Gods and Goddesses had many faces and diverse qualities. In some ways, we moderns are far less sophisticated, preferring black and white deities to the subtle grays conveyed by ancient myths. In fact, Hesiod’s origin story for Aphrodite connects her birth to an act of patricide. The titan Chronos (Saturn), murdered his father Ouranos, tossing his severed genitals into the sea. This frothy mix of sea foam and semen, gave rise to the “awful and lovely” Aphrodite (Theogony, 176-206). She emerged fully formed, riding a scallop shell to the shores of Cythera. In astrology as in myth, Venus governs beauty, desire, art and adornment. She is also associated with money, luxury, sensuality and war. She is the principle of attraction, both creative and destructive.

According to Homer, Aphrodite was so alluring that all who looked on her desired her. Her beauty inspired such enmity and rivalry among the gods that Zeus decided she must marry to prevent war among them. To this end, he chose for her the most unlikely of suitors - Hephaestus, small lame and homely. Aphrodite complied with the wishes of Zeus but her will (and sexuality) was not subdued. She took many lovers, both human and divine. But true to her nature as the Goddess of Love and War, her most significant and enduring relationship was with Ares (Mars), God of battle and bloodshed.

Hellenistic astrologers recognize the duality of Venus, attributing different qualities to her as she moves through her synodic cycle with the Sun. As Evening Star, she is cooperative, harmonious and gentle. But as Morning Star, Venus becomes much more assertive and demanding. During her retrograde cycle, the Goddess of Love may even become combative. To better understand a synodic cycle, we can look to the phases of the Moon: each cycle begins at the New Moon when the two luminaries conjoin in the sky; it culminates at the Full Moon when the two lights are farthest apart; and it resolves during the balsamic phase when the Moon is hidden from the night sky. The synodic cycle of Venus is similar but slightly more complex because unlike our Moon, the other heavenly bodies also have retrograde cycles during which they appear to reverse course before stalling and resuming their primary motion around the Sun. As a result of the retrograde period, Venus actually meets the Sun twice during her synodic cycle.

As planets approach their conjunction with the Sun, their lights are obscured by solar brilliance and they disappear from the night sky. During this period of invisibility, the planet is believed to be weakened or disempowered. In a sense, the planet and its significations are dying. This is where we find ourselves in mid March of 2021: Venus as fiesty Morning Star is dying. After her conjunction with the Sun, March 23- 26, she will be reborn as the more conciliatory Evening Star.

It is natural to feel a little low during this period as relationships and creative projects wane. It's a time to release unhealthy patterns of relating and perhaps even let go of relationships that have run their course. By the time Venus becomes visible in the evening sky, around May 22, our new relationships and and creative babies will be ready to bloom. Until then, I wish you all the freshness and hope of Spring.

Peace my friends,

Lizanne

Categories: Astrology, BirthChart, Divination, Greek Mythology, Horoscope, Nature, Spirituality, Taurus, Wisdom, Venus, Goddess of Love, War Goddess, Relationships, Libra, Morning Star