Venus in Sagittarius - Fall 2021
Venus has now sauntered on into Tropical Sagittarius, where she will be for the next month, moving into Tropical Capricorn on November 4th/5th. Tropical Sag is a much better place for Venus than Tropical Scorpio. Because Mars is in Tropical Libra, while Venus was in Scorpio, those two planets were in mutual reception, each in the other’s sign. Now, Venus is in Jupiter’s sign, but before we get too excited and try to organize a parade, let’s look just a little deeper to see what is really going on.
The initial dispositor of Venus is Jupiter, but we need to go further to complete the dispositor chain to see who is really in charge. When we do that, we see that Jupiter is in Tropical Aquarius, which is ruled by Saturn, and Saturn is also in Tropical Aquarius, powerful in his own rulership, so Saturn is the final dispositor for Venus at this time. Don’t get too crestfallen though. This is a good thing! Getting too expansive right now could be disastrous.
First we need to take a moment to consider the relationship of Saturn and Venus. While the later Greek telling and the Roman version has Aphrodite/Venus as the daughter of Jupiter/Zeus, this is not the original story told by the early Greeks. The original story says that Aphrodite/Venus is born from Uranus, and is thus the sister of Kronos/Saturn. That means that Venus is not one of the later Olympian gods, but is actually one of the Titans. Of the deities we have named the planets for, only Saturn and Venus are titans. No one underestimates Saturn, of course, but everyone underestimates Venus. And why not? Western and Vedic astrology are both Indo-European traditions. This tradition was patriarchal from the start, and its offshoots seem to have only become more patriarchal over time, as we can see in the reduction of status for Aphrodite/Venus and the other goddesses over time in Greek culture, as just one example. But when we look even further back, back to the origins of our great Queen of Heaven, we find Ishtar, and lurking behind her, we find Inanna - Queen of Heaven and Earth. You underestimate Venus at your own peril! She isn’t just a frivolous Barbie doll made to serve your needs, for your privileged male pleasure. She is something resplendent in and of herself.
Saturn and Venus have a strong affinity. They are siblings, of a generation, and they ‘get’ each other in a way the other planetary deities don’t. Further, they have similar objectives. They are ancient, and they work hand-in-hand to create the manifest Universe in its intricacy and splendor. They will be working together while Venus is in Tropical Sag, and will continue to for several months, as Venus will have her upcoming retrograde cycle in Tropical Capricorn and will then continue on with Saturn in Aquarius before finally moving on to Tropical Pisces on April 4th/5th, 2022. Fasten your seatbelts, ladies and ladymen! The Saturn and Venus show is just getting started!
As if that were not all enough, we have Sun, Mars and Mercury in Tropical Libra, and that sign is ruled by Venus, so the final dispositor for all those planets, now that Venus has moved into Tropical Sag is - you guessed it! - Saturn. Mercury is still retrograde, so we have some rethinking to do in our conceptions of Venus and all her themes, as well as how we can apply her themes in a Saturnian manner, with a focus on the longview. As these three planets start to move into Tropical Scorpio in the last week of October and early November, we will see that rulership shift to Mars, who will be quite empowered and will make a superior square to Saturn, so November promises a lot of friction and tension, and honestly, looks to me to be the worst period of 2021 (sorry, but it is…). However, by then Venus is in Tropical Capricorn, where she has ditched any pretense of working with Jupiter and is fully in Saturn’s corner. This will be the saving grace of the very difficult November transits, and I would expect to see women and women’s issues very prominent at that time. I would also just point out that, matched against any of the planets, and especially the inner planets, Saturn always wins, mainly because he can wait them out.
By December 13th Mars leaves Tropical Scorpio for Tropical Sag and comes back under rulership of Saturn (as final dispositor - Jupiter is still in Tropical Aquarius), while Sun is finishing up his journey through Tropical Sag and Mercury has just entered Tropical Cap. Saturn, direct and empowered, is only days away from his third and final square to Uranus, and Venus is conjunct Pluto, square Eris and preparing to go into the Underworld through her retrograde cycle. The Saturn show, indeed!
For the next month or so, we need to closely watch the signs we receive from the Universe. Be careful of actions you take at this time, of group associations and of where you let your emotions lead you. Unwise expansion can be devastating now (and over the next few months), as Venus will square Neptune from Tropical Sag, and our thinking may not be clear right now, so just observe, but don’t initiate new actions. Further, Mercury is retrograde during most of this time, and even when direct is still in his retrograde shadow for a couple of weeks, so precipitous action, emotional overreaction and ideological fantasies will not serve you or bring the desired results. Caution and patience are the watchwords. And I know you are all sick and tired of hearing me caution ‘patience and care’, but this is a Saturn period. The Saturn period began in earnest in 2018 and kicked-off full-tilt in December 2020 with the Great Conjunction in Tropical Aquarius. Saturn is the major ruler of this cycle, and that cycle will last for 20 years, so that calls for a contraction, limitations and a serious rethink of priorities, methods and meaning.
I know you are all crying out under the weight of Saturn. I know you are all so super burdened and restricted (no generation ever suffered so!… <eye roll>) But you need to think about this. Where there are restrictions, Saturn is pointing out imbalances and where we are not in touch with reality. The nature of the precessional Age of Pisces has been Jupiterian - endless expansion and growth, hierarchies, social organizing around pyramid schemes and stratification, ideologies over facts and reality - delusions and pretty fantasy stories - over harsh truths and reality. Now we have multiple cycle changes. We have moved from the ascending iron age into the ascending bronze age, and so Jupiter will take on new meanings and a higher expression.
While we are not in the age of Aquarius yet, we are moving that way and will be in a few centuries, and that is an age ruled by Saturn. The Saturn rulership of the smaller cycles, such as the Great Conjunction cycle and the transits of Pluto over the next few decades, is putting the reins to the horse. It is setting up a period of contraction and limitation, because we have to see through our delusions. So the more we refuse to face reality, the more restriction we encounter. The level of restriction you are experiencing in your life is a direct reflection of the level of imbalance and delusion you have embraced. You want the restrictions to go away? Get busy on that inner work and face your shadow and your false beliefs - in short, get real! Saturn is the force of reality! The less we face our shadow and false beliefs, the more the restrictions will pile up. That’s just how Saturn rolls. If we attempt to enter the Age of Aquarius as the childish iron age people we currently are, I fear for the whole race, but that is a few hundred years off, and I think the restrictions and contraction of our time is the wakeup call.
I could write a book on this subject of the ages (and actually have, and am now beginning to look for a publisher…), so I will end this here. Venus in Sag is now back on board with the Saturnian agenda. Take care for the next month, and the next few months, to not attempt to expand too far or too fast, as we will likely be tempted to do so. Use this time to evaluate your beliefs, your ideological structures, your base assumptions about what is real or true, your thoughts about restriction, and find a space within your personal life, and in regard to whatever restrictions you are experiencing, to figure out where you can move, expand, act, create. Those are the areas that Saturn and Venus are beckoning you toward, and where they will empower you.
