Venus

Venus has got to be one of the most popular planets in Astrology. This is because people just love to talk about love, and indeed this is the planet most representative of our affections. True to form, Venus is generally considered to be a "fortunate" planetary influence when it shows up in positive aspects or transits in the birth chart. Who doesn't love good food, luxury, beauty, desire and relaxation? These are the qualities that fall under the umbrella and influence of Venus. And people who have a strong Venus in their birth chart are naturally drawn to these things. There is often a distinctly beautiful or feminine influence to these people even if they identify as male.

One popular topic in Astrology is the notion of gender. The Sun and Mars are usualy grouped into the "masculine" umbrella and the Moon and Venus the "feminine." However, it would be very limiting to cast these labels onto these luminaries without understanding further what is meant in Astrology by gender. For example, Venus has a propensity to encourage softness, foster a keen an eye for design, and encourage a love of cooking and working with food. These are traditionally "feminine" activities but there are plenty of male-identifying cooks, designers and counselors. By associating Venus with its traits it doesn't need to rely on the "feminine" label or even be associated with a gender at all.

Most importantly, Venus in the birth chart shows our heart's greatest desires. It shows deep down what we want. Who we love. Of course, what we want and who we love are not always what is actually good for us. An afflicted Venus tends to correlate nicely with two of the seven deadly sins: Lust and Sloth. It is possible to indulge in too much chocolate while lying in bed all day watching Titanic. And think about the people you have known throughout you life who stay in bad relationships. This negative presentation of Venus is hardly as dire as that of the malefic planets Saturn and Pluto, but it can still cause problems.

On the positive side, a well-aspected Venus shows where one is creative, social, engaging and accomodating. The soft energy of Venus is a welcome touch from the harshness and turbulence of life and the other celestial bodies that surround us every day with their madness.

Venus is ruled by the sign Taurus and has a natural home in the second house.