Venus in Libra and Mars in Leo

On October 14th, Venus entered Libra, after 25 days in Virgo. It will remain in the sign of the Scales until November 8th. Why is this important and why am i writing this article for the second time (I deleted the previous one by mistake) is simply because this is the sign that Venus rules, as well as Taurus.

There are many arguments to whether Venus rules or doesn’t rule Libra. What is very true is that the Taurus side of Venus is easier to relate to and grasp, with all that love of beauty, creativity, the pleasures of the senses, eating well, drinking good wines, perfumes, silk and cashmere, beautiful objects and homes, singing, dancing, etc.

When it comes to Libra, an air sign, whose symbol are the Scales, an inanimate object, symbol of justice and social balance, for some, it’s difficult to see Venus in any of that.

If we look at the myth of Libra, Liz Greene, gives us the Myth of Paris of Troy, beautiful young son of Priam, the king of Troy. Because of his beauty and his experience with beautiful women, Zeus chose him to be the one to decide which of three of the most powerful and quarreling goddesses of the Olympus was the fairest of them all. The story goes that in a wedding celebration where the three goddesses were invited, Zeus called Paris, and gave him a golden apple that he was supposed to give to the chosen one. The three goddesses were, Hera, Zeus’ wife, very powerful, Athena, Zeus’ daughter, warrior and intellectual and Afrodite (Venus) goddess of love and beauty.

Since Paris was as intelligent as he was beautiful, he knew he was doomed, because whoever he chose of the three, he would have the other two against him. He begged and begged to Zeus to release of this fate, but the King of the Gods will not waver. Being a Libra, he of course chose Afrodite who had promised him the most beautiful woman in the world.

The problem was that the

most beautiful woman in the world was Helen, also Zeus’ daughter and she was married, to King Melenao of Mikenai. So, as arranged by Afrodite, Paris and Helen met at a dinner party and fell madly in love with each other, so they decided to escape together to Troy. This, unchained a series of events that led to the Troyan war, which lasted 10 years and ended with Troy burning down to the ground and with Paris and three of his children dead. In some of the versions of the story, Helen was returned to her husband.

This story speaks of various archetypal aspects of Libra and of Venus in Libra, choice, judgement and the appreciation of beauty above all. But what most people don’t know about Afrodite, is that she was forced by Zeus to marry Hephaestus, a very ugly son of Hera, who had been kicked out of the Olympus by his mother, because she could not bear the sight of his ugliness. It is through this marriage that Afrodite learns some of her most important lessons. It is a case that resonates with the story of Beauty and the Beast, because Hephaestus, was incredibly talented goldsmith and craftsman and he produced beautiful pieces of work.

And here we come to another of the very important lessons of Libra, which is learning to discern where beauty really lies.

Learning to find people’s inner gold, real inner beauty, and obviously their own inner value, is perhaps one side of Venus in Libra. The search for fairness in relationships, with equal distribution of roles within the relationship is something that Librans aspire to. Finding balance and harmony in human relations is what Libra desires to learn and implement.

As Venus entered Libra it encountered Pluto, by square (90º), and it contacted Uranus and Saturn, on the previous days, triggering this famous T-Square, Uranus-Saturn in opposition with Pluto in square to them, which will be with us for a while, and which will peak in June-July 2010, July 2011. The airs of change that this planetary formations exudes, will make an impression on Venus, so many relationships are know being challenged to change, re-adapt and move on. Many will be ending, due to one of the partners needing more space.

The transits of Venus are not particularly strong except that they make us feel like incorporating some of this values in our lives. Sometimes at a more superficial level, we experience the urge of taking care of our appearance by going for a beauty treatment or simply in a shopping spree. Aries-Libra-Cancer and Capricorn should perhaps be careful, especially with their credit cards, since they will feel like spending more. Gemini and Aquarius as well. In any case, there is absolutely nothing wrong in taking care on one’s appearance, and having a little fun.Mars entered Leo, on October 17th, just as Jupiter was ending the retrograde motion to be moving forward again. Not a bad entry, for the red planet, symbol of our inner courage, desire to assert ourselves, our sexuality and our inner hero.

Mars like Aquiles, goes to war, because he is a warrior and a soldier, without analyzing much the reasons why. It feels the impulse and acts upon it, no questions asked.

The action in Leo would be the impulse of expressing ourselves no matter what. Giving shape to our creativity and inner calling. Being Leo, it will not go unnoticed. Leo needs the world to admire him and watch him and when it does anything, it does it big.

Mars will do its retrograde in Leo, meaning that the transit through this sign will be the longest of the year. It will station retrograde on December 21st at 19º Leo 41′ and it will go down to 0º in March when it will station direct on the 11th. It will remain in Leo until April 7th when it will move to Virgo.

The call is especially for all the fix signs: Leo-Aquarius-Taurus-Scorpio. This four signs will have to “deal” with the urge of expressing themselves in spite of everybody else. Mars energy is felt particularly at a physical level, so this signs will be”charged” with extra energy which they need to channel in positive ways. It is not a bad idea, to do more physical exercise, if you already do it, you will benefit from it, since you’ll have more energy than ever. One thing to keep in mind is that not everybody will be feeling like you, so you need to develop patience or you will be arguing with everybody. Taurus, Scorpio and Aquarius, need to understand that the obstacles and challenges they might encounter during this period is for them to measure their own desire to accomplish a particular task. How badly do I want this?

Sportsmen and dancers will have to be careful not to injure themselves by overdoing it. The impulse will be to get things done NOW. So be patient, very patient.

At the end of January when the Sun is in Aquarius and links with Mars there could be a bit more pressure, especially for those born at the end of January, April, July and October.

It doesn’t have to be a negative experience, if you do a little introspection. It will help you find out, what is that you really want, out of whatever situation you are in. Mars says: Assert yourself!!!