Venus; Do we really know her?

 

Venus is the planet of love, beauty, money and values. We all have Venus in our chart somewhere and the sign she is in often shows us how, what and who we are attracted to. The house she is in shows us where her influence will be strongest.

But, this is not the full story for Venus. Do we really know her?

During Venus’s cycle she shares two very different conjunctions with the Sun. The inferior conjunction occurs when Venus is halfway through her retrograde cycle. At this point she is nearest to the Earth and appears at dark. Venus appears in the pre-dawn sky about a week after the inferior conjunction when Venus and the Sun are roughly 10 degrees apart. At this point Venus is called Phosphorus and Lucifer, meaning ‘light bearer.’ Venus turns direct 3 weeks after the inferior conjunction and 36 days after the inferior conjunction she is at her brightest. 36 days later Venus reaches her maximum distance from the Sun, and is moving at the same speed and gaining.

216 days later Venus reaches her superior conjunction with the Sun. For several weeks before and after the superior conjunction Venus is so close to the Sun she is not visible. The superior conjunction of Venus is like the opposition aspect of the full moon lunation cycle. At this point Venus becomes the evening star and is called Hesperus which means ‘Western.’ 36 days after the superior conjunction Venus first appears in the evening sky, setting after the Sun.

216 days after the superior conjunction Venus again reaches its maximum distance from the Sun. 36 days later Venus is at its most brilliant. About 2 weeks after this Venus begins her every yr and a half 40 day retrograde. In the middle of this the inferior conjunction occurs once again and Venus begins her cycle anew. 12 days before the inferior conjunction Venus is not visible in the sky.

Venus rotates 180 degrees on its polar axis between inferior conjunctions. After 5 or more consecutive cycles occur, if they are plotted and put down on paper (or a computer screen) an amazing 5 pointed star emerges that can show us Venus’s path!

Morning star or Evening star

Venus as a morning star and Venus as an evening star represent different emotional temperaments, values and ideals. Each of these 2 types also carry a special retrograde subtype as well.

Which Venus are you?

Finding your Venus type; morning or evening is not difficult. If the Sun is further along the zodiac than Venus your Venus type is Lucifer, or Venus is a morning star. If Venus is further along than the Sun it is Hesperus, the evening star. For example, if your Sun was at 16 degrees of Cancer and Venus 23 degrees of Gemini,  Venus is behind the Sun which makes this Venus a morning star Venus.

Venus Lucifer

This individual typically has an impulsive, emotional, eager and spontaneous personality. If you were born during the first half of the Venus cycle, or under the morning star you typically let your heart lead the way before your head. These Venus’s are typically open to new experiences and are emotionally resilient.

If a Lucifer Venus was born during a retrograde Venus cycle, and experienced emotional pain or abuse early on in life they may completely shut down on an emotional level and take on a fearful or guarded stance toward relationships and life in general.

These people sometimes dedicate their life to work and new ideals rather than love. They are attracted to the arts but are often found to be too ahead of their time in their lifetime.

In a man’s chart Venus as the morning star (retrograde) suggests dedication to goals and ideals. Actor Jack Nicholson is born with this placement.

Women with this placement often lead pioneering lives, paving the way for other women, but their lives can be difficult and demanding and they are often misunderstood.

You may deeply question traditions and some morals and find yourself out of sync with others.

Venus Hesperus

 If you were born under Venus Hesperus or evening star Venus, you may easily fall into a goal oriented and deliberate make up and seek to understand the meaning of your many experiences. Your emotions are more controlled than morning Venus since you don't show  emotions as easily and are more privately involved with your own feelings than Venus Lucifer. Evening Venus may feel their emotions more intensely and it takes them longer to recover from emotional upsets. They are not as resilient and Venus as a morning star.

If Venus Hesperus is born in a retrograde period this suggests a higher than usual degree of self discipline and dedication to one’s art or ambitions. This is not the same type of dedication a Mars or Jupiter aspect would confer however, it is rather a lifelong purpose, and one often feels out of sync with others.

In 2023 Venus reached its inferior conjunction August 13^th and is now a morning star for the rest of the year. It will be at its brightest in the night sky mid September.