Venus in astrology

Venus is the planet of Love, Romance, Affection. Love is what we call it when our ego disolves in our desire for another, where we ultimately merge with the other. Being the ultimate merging, Venus represents sexual intimacy, and by extention, physical pleasure and delight. A strongly placed Venus in the birth chart, such as when it occupies the Ascendant (1st house) indicates someone with a powerfully romantic nature, Attractive to Others, and a need to express oneself through one-to-one relationships. Venus is the planet of Art, Beauty, Appearance. Beauty comes from the feeling of exquisite pleasure we get when contemplating something which embodies our sense of harmony and aesthetics. Thus Venus is Good Taste, Refinement, Purity, Quality. All of the Arts, ranging from Painting, to Music, Poetry, to Theatre, Cinema, etc. come under the significations of Venus. This includes people who are engaged in the arts, from Musicians to Actors. Venus represents Young Females, Wife, and Marriage. As the goddess of Love and Beauty, it comes as no surprise that Venus signifies young women (older women and mothers are represented by the Moon in Vedic Astrology). In a mans chart, Venus is one of the significators of Wife, as well as indicating ones marriage karma Venus is the planet of Value, Price, Finance. Since Venus generally indicates something Desireable, it comes to represent Value, and therefore Money and Finance. A strong Venus is welcome in a natal chart, especially in one of the financial houses, such as the 2nd or 11th house, as an indicator of Prosperity. Venus is the planet of Guidance, Teaching. In the ancient mythology, it was said that the Asuras (the Demons) were so busy fighting amongst themselves that nobody could teach them any of the Divine Knowledge (and thus raise up their condition to something better). Then along came goddess Venus, who with her Charm, Grace, and Beauty, got their attention and was thereby able to impart some of the exalted teachings. Thus Venus became one of the planets of Guidance (the other one is Jupiter). Venus is the planet of Balance, Agreements, Compromise. Being an essentially good planet, Venus wants everyone to be happy. This is achieved through Compromise when parties have to come together to pursue some common action. This necessarily implies some Sacrifice in order the Achieve Balance and Agreement. Sacrifice to attain Harmony is the basic nature of one of Venus signs, Libra. Venus also is an important planet in Negotiations, Treaties,

Contracts, etc. where the basic energy is to find something that everyone can agree on. Another way to understand the Venus Guidance quality is to realize that in ancient times in India, much travel was undertaken after sunset or before dawn, when it wasnt so hot. One way to tell direction was to know that since Venus is never too far from the Sun, the planet appears either as the Western Evening Star, or as the Eastern Morning Star, depending on what time of the year it is. So again, we look to Venus to guide us. Venus represents our Inner Desire to be Good. On the spiritual level Venus manifests as Love of God. Venus is Devotion and Devotional Practices, such as Bhakti Yoga. Ultimately Venus is our Search for Inner Truth. In that way Venus, like Jupiter, comes to represent Truth in our lives. Like all significators in Vedic Astrology, Venus has a negative side as well. The desire for pleasure can become an Obsession. Thus Venus represents Sensual Indulgence. The planet of Appearance and Beauty can degenerate into Vanity and Self-absorbtion. The Devotion to an Ideal or Religion can become Fanaticism. The expression of Sexuality can become Dissipation. The appeciation of Value and Riches can become Hoarding and Selfishness. But, as a chiefly Benefic planet, even the downside of Venus doesnt go so far as say, Mars, which can be Cruel and outright Destructive. In a birth chart, the influences on Venus determine its quality in your life. If Venus associates with a good planet, such as Mercury or Jupiter, mostly the good qualities will manifest. Venus with Mercury is found in the charts of people in the Entertainment Business, the Media Arts, and Financial Transactions. Venus with Jupiter brings Appreciation for Learning, Wisdom and the Arts. But Venus with Mars will put the two gender planets together, creating Passion which can get out of hand. Venus with Rahu puts the Goddess and the Demon together which can bring Obsession with Sensual Pleasures, even to the point of transgressing societal norms. The placement of Venus in the birth chart shows how the planet expresses itself. If we think of Venus as Love then just by noting its house placement in the birth chart we can get some analysis. For instance, Venus in the 9th house would be Love of Religion, or of Guru, or a religion based on Devotion. Venus in the 10th house of Career manifests as Loving ones Career, which would be in some Venus-ruled part of life, from being a Provider of Arts or Pleasures to Finances to Teaching, depending on other factors in the chart. Venus in the 2nd house of Family and Personal Finances is generally a good placement for Love of Family and Prosperity.

An accurate assessment of how Venus behaves is dependent on looking at all factors of the birth chart. There are many variables to consider, and many techniques in Vedic Astrology for calculating the outcome of any particular factor. What particular significations of Venus will manifest depends on the sign it is in, the planets associating or aspecting it, the general nature of the chart as shown by Rising Sign, Moon sign, current Major Period Ruler, etc., etc. A careful analysis of your natal Venus makes you aware of potentials that would be worth pursuing in your life. This is where your own Intention, Choice and Action come in. By consciously augmenting the positive qualities of Venus as shown in your birth chart you experience more Ease, Comfort, Harmony, and Love, and thus Live Your Life More Skillfully.