Venus, Goddess of Love, Money & Desire
/"True, that he’s no Prince Charming, but there’s something in him that I simply didn’t see." — Princess Belle in Beauty and the Beast
In the horoscope Venus is responsible for fairy tale endings, joy, delight and happiness that we all seek. As well as compromise, appreciation and deal making. Princess Belle, the super hero of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, is the classic personification of an ideally placed Venus in the horoscope.
At the end of the day life comes down to two things, “Love and Money”. Both of which Venus is responsible for. Sadly, most people will be disappointed with both because of unrealistic expectations.
Creating wealth and committed relationships, while staying true to our own personal calling, is the hardest aspect of our hero’s journey. So, developing a good relationship with our Venus is essential for happiness.
A well-disposed Venus in the horoscope never has a shortage of adoring partners and people who love her because she knows how to strike the right balance between tolerating weakness and faults in others, without becoming a people pleaser.
A well-disposed Venus never struggles with feeling a lack of resources, because but she knows the value of money, as well as love, delight, joy and comfort.
The Venus archetype has been honored in all ancient cultures. as she is the goddesses who represents our hearts desires, and the physical, mental and spiritual grace, abundance, love and beauty that pervades life. She is known as Aphrodite to the Greeks, Isis to Egyptians and in our modern new age culture, she is the Goddess of the Law of Attraction and Manifestation.
In the Vedic tradition Venus is synonymous with Goddess Sri-Lakshmi. Goddess Lakshmi is depicted with four arms signifying her power to grant the Four Purshatras, a key concept in Vedic philosophy and Vedic Astrology, which refers to the four main goals or aims of a successful and fulfilling human life.
The Four Purushatras or goals and their corresponding Houses in Vedic Astrology are:
“Artha” – Prosperity, resources and our economic values
(houses 2 6 and 10)
“Kama” - Desire, pleasure, love and our psychological values (Houses 3, 7 and 11)
“Dharma” - Purpose, commitment, duty or moral/ethical values (Houses 1, 5, 9)
“Moksha” – Detachment, liberation and surrender or spiritual values (Houses 4 8 and 12)
Venus is the beloved in the horoscope, so any house or sign that Venus occupies or influences flourishes due to the love, delight and devotion Venus brings to it, but the Goddess would like us to bring the same Venus devotion and love to all the Four Goals of Life.
The Goddess has two white elephants pouring water on her four arms. Elephants are symbolic of the highest wisdom and discrimination in Hindu mythology. The elephants are a reminder that the Four Goals of Life must be enjoyed but simultaneously developed with wisdom and discrimination.
Goddess Lakshmi is sitting on a lotus and from her hands flow an endless stream of gold coins. The lotus, which grows in mud and muck, is the most sacred symbol of Hindu iconography, signifying Venus in its splendor, untouched by the dark side of materiality.
In the horoscope, Venus shows how vitalized and purified our five senses are, as it seeks to maximize their pleasure by fulfilling experiences of touch, taste, smell, sounds and sight.
None of the other planets have this access, Rahu tries but usually just ends of numbing itself from with excess.
It is Venus’s desire to experience delight and joy that creates the attraction to “fall in love”. Venus loves romance and the possibility of fairy tale endings. But Venus is capable of enduring relationships because she understands “choosing to love”, as much as falling in love.
As the ruler of Libra, whose symbol is the scales, she is the power of responding with balance and harmony. A well-disposed Venus is able to weigh the cost and benefits and willing to pay the price to get along in all types of relationships, including romantic, familial, friendships and even strangers.
Unless under the influence of another planet, Venus does not like to take more that it gives, nor give more than it takes. So, her down side in any relationships is that she might be willing to play both sides therefore, often considered fickle by planets like the idealistic Jupiter or the emotional Moon and passionate Mars. In that sense Venus is like the skilled deal maker, diplomat, salesman, or the charming and well-mannered host/hostess.
Venus is also the beauty queen and all its pageantry. Venus is glamor and appeal. Influenced by other plants she can become the seductress, whose joy is being desired and not commitment.
Venus’s aversion of all that is not beautiful and delightful can also make her artificial superficial and vain. Her desire for joy, risks becoming unrealistic and avoiding all discomfort and suffering.
Venus can lose her desirous nature in the heart centered sign of Pisces, and take delight in devotion and unity. She can surrender some of her charm and enchantment in the industrious sign of Virgo and devote herself to service.
Venus is also present in the beauty, balance and harmony in art, architecture and design.
Ultimately, Venus is the expression of our inner vitality and health. A well-disposed Venus gives beauty, balanced proportions, glow and vigor to the body and mind.
As the most important planet for health in Ayurveda, our Venus is also reflects the quality of our most essential life giving energy called Ojas.
Ojas gives health, immunity, good mood and sleep as well as healthy digestion. Ojas gives internal balance and harmony so we can self-soothe and easily bring the self into a dynamic center of balance.
The condition of Venus in the horoscope is one of the primary indicators of our genetic predisposition of Ojas. In Ayurveda, Ojas is the final bi-product of our genetics, as well as all that we consume, digest and absorb, including food, water, air, thoughts, impressions, ideas and experiences.
While, there is no equivalent to Ojas in western medicine it can be linked to our contentment hormones and neurotransmitters such as Endorphins, GABA and Oxytocin.
Oxytocin, also called the "love" hormone, helps to create intimacy, trust, bonds and build healthy relationships.
Endorphins are opioid like neuropeptides, which create bliss and ease in the body.
Gaba functions as a sedative and pain killer.
Healthy production of these neurotransmitters is critical to every aspect of our physical, mental, sexual and spiritual health. These neurotransmitters bring ease to the body and mind and make life sweet.
It is no wonder that the Sanskrit word for Venus is Shukra, which comes from the same Latin root as sugar, and sucre in French and Spanish.
Shukriya, with the same root is also the word for Thank You or gratitude in Urdu and Arabic.
Venus Dasha planetary periods are generally “sweeter” than those of any other planet’s. They are also productive for regaining health and vitality in Ayurveda Astrology. According to Vedic mythology Venus knows the mantra of immortality and can raise the dead.
In Vedic mythology Venus and Jupiter are also the two “Gurus” and guides of the zodiac. Jupiter the guru of our higher spiritual aspirations and Venus our worldly and material aspirations.
While Jupiter reveals the higher wisdom of astrology, it is Venus that delivers the knowledge. In that sense, Venus is an excellent teacher or counselor, who has the right speech akin to poem or a song, which requires the right timing, right words and right images to convey what is being revealed in the horoscope.
Using the template of Campbell’s Hero’s journey Venus is a character like the fairy god mother, easing the path of the hero’s journey. She brings comfort and tools that will help the hero but does not necessarily seek to change her.
Jupiter as a guru and guide is more like Yoda, who is seeking a complete transformation and rebirth in the hero.
The dry, difficult and minimalistic spell of Ketu dasha precedes Venus’s 20 year long maha dasha, planetary period. Pheromones peak as Venus planetary periods starts, health returns, opportunities for delight show up and relating and relationships become one of the main themes of this season of our life.
In Venus planetary periods, we can “follow our bliss” do “what we love, and we might even have a hard time understanding why other people struggle so much in their life. Of course, if Venus is really in trouble in the horoscope, the pain of lack of love, delight and resources will also be more acutely felt during Venus periods. Still, Venus is a gentle guru and guide, most people in Venus planetary periods will receive some comfort and ease under Venus regardless of the placement of Venus.
We are meant to engage the senses and enjoy the Venus planetary dasha seasons of our life but always remain mindful of not to losing ourselves to her charm and seduction and lose touch with our higher aspirations.
Finally, let’s look at what Princes Belle in Beauty and the Beast got right about Venus.
She did not focus on her outer beauty but rather her inner beauty.
She didn’t fall in love with out trappings, like the handsome and ripped Gaston.
She didn’t let the popular girls in the town influence her, nor did she criticize them.
She was able to communicate with a Beast and even make him fall in love with her.
She displayed the courage that comes from Love and ventured into the dark scary castle to find her father.
She managed to find pleasure and delight even in the dire situation she found herself in at the castle.
She was not a people pleaser. She didn’t just give in into all of the Beasts demands. Nor did she try to change him.
Venus rarely gets to be the Hero in most myths and stories, where the hero conquers some dangerous enemy through courage and daring. Like Belle, Venus reminds us that often it is just subtly shifting our perspective that gives us access to happiness, beauty and grace and makes us a super hero.
To realize Venus fully in your life don’t just fall for her seduction of the senses but rejoice in the wondrous beauty and grace of our inner and outer life.