The cycle of Venus and Saturn

As I lay here in this Oregon field naked (and freezing my ass off, but at least not getting rained on), I look up at the stars and contemplate the nature of the cycle of Venus with the next planet in line...Saturn. Come lay with me naked, share some stale cinnamon Life cereal with me, and let's talk for a bit on the nature of these two planets and their cycle.


Once again we are dealing with the planet Venus, which represents that which makes our lives
more valuable and pleasurable, including material possessions as well as relationships and the
expression of love and appreciation. Today we are coupling this planet with Saturn, which
represents the principle of contraction. Saturn grounds us into reality and forces us to face the truth as well as our fears. Unlike Jupiter, which allows for expansion and abundance of intention, Saturn forces us to be aware of our intention, to be responsible for it, and if it is truly our desire, to earn it.


Through the nature of the cycle of Venus and Saturn, we must face issues of self worth. We must face necessary controls and adjustments on how we spend our TIME, this being a measuring tool for what we value. We must continually make adjustments and come to a point of a balanced sense of values, and ultimately a healthy and well grounded self worth. This is primarily done through lessons in relationships.


Venus/Saturn tends to place a defined and exact value upon each relationship, unlike the Jupiter combination where value was extracted for the pure pleasure of it, and ultimately scattered out out of addiction to this pleasure. The saying "You cant buy love" may not sit well with the native of this planetary karma. They would ask "Why not? All love is really just grounded into a practical exchange of resource....a you scratch my back, Ill scratch yours type of exchange".
It is interesting that this aspect is often found in men that frequent prostitutes, as well as many prostitutes themselves. It is logical however, given the fact that there is a defined exchange of goods and resources for exchange of affection or the perception of love. This is especially true with the world of BDSM and domination, as the natives have found a way to equate pleasure with restriction and discipline.

So what is really at play with this above exchange? What leads a soul to feel that he/she must pay, or trade a good or service for love and affection. Certainly the example of prostitution is extreme, but it is appropriate and a most pure expression of this dilemma. Venus/ Saturn natives have issues with understanding that they are valuable; that they are loved.

This always goes back to the experiences of early childhood, and usually always involves the father. The father in key points in the cycle of these planets was often seen as cold, distant, unloving, or at the very least, himself struggling with self worth enough to damage the child's receipt of this. The father also could have placed unbelievable demands on the child. Either way, the child is put in a position of having to PROVE his/her value in order to acquire affection. Perhaps in most cases, some sort of reward/ discipline system of punishment was set up, and usually as is the case with this native, the expectations were high. The child learned that he/she must do X before positive reinforcement is given. This is similar to a monetary exchange for goods. What must truly be understood is that usually, the father or parent in question is at a crisis point in his own values. He may be struggling to express his values into the world at large in order to produce money for his family, and in doing so is not appropriately balancing the distribution of his attention and affections towards his family. Often the case in this aspect is that the native is truly loved, but he/ she does not feel fully loved and appreciated. Even if there was a good degree of love, the value system in the home may be dominated by troubled parents trying to balance and create their own values, leaving the new values that the child came into this world with unnurtured.

Because of this lack of balance, there comes a belief in the observation that love and affection is ephemeral; that it comes and goes in cycles. There is anticipation in it coming but fear of the period when it wanes and is not there in abundance. Not only is this true for relationships, but also spills over into the realm of resources. Venus/Saturn natives must work extremely hard for material comforts, and there is a fear that there will not be enough at times. Resources often become substitutes for relationships, and when they become substitutes, the loss of resource once again forces the native to adjust its value system and learn that you cannot put too much value into material things. The problem with Venus/ Saturn natives is they can carry the belief that you cannot put too much value into ANYthing or ANYone (they never felt that they were valued for who they are enough).


With these the two planets in conjunction, there comes the opportunity or TIME to demonstrate VALUE.... to show others and the collective at large what you as a soul have come to express. The "packaging" of this expression becomes a factor of importance, for others may not be open to what makes you "valuable" as a person if the package doesn't sit well with them. Commonly we may think of how someone dresses, but it also can deal with prejudice such as not being fully heard because of race or sex. Imagine a homeless man that hasn't showered for weeks trying hard to demonstrate his value (Venus) to the world by trying to get work (Saturn), and ultimately once again establish some sort of social status (again Venus).


The issue here is, unlike the Venus/Jupiter conjunction, where appreciation was shown and drawn easily, value must be PROVED...and with this a real feeling that love and affection are truly conditional in this world rather than a birthright. Natives of this aspect may find that they are under appreciated in the work place, and may draw bosses that reflect that father as they spend their career trying to impress him and get noticed. There is a tendency as well to be attracted to older men in the case of women. Security is extremely important, and finding an older man who represents this security also provides an opportunity to regain the self worth that may have been damaged early from a cold or detached father.


Although there is a fear regarding security (manifestation of not having enough in the way of material is a reflection of not having enough in the way of love and affection...and the former can also compensate for the other in this aspect), there is a great opportunity to learn on a deeper level what it is that makes each of us valuable. As we learn what we value, what others value, and what makes us valuable, we can ground into a cooperative focus in order to build towards our dreams and visions through serious partnerships. In the meantime, more often than not, the native of the conjunction either contracts within the self and builds a protective wall to protect themselves from relationship, or they tend to give everything in order to please the other's values while seemingly having no value system of their own, as if they have learned that they are not as important.

At the square of these two planets, we come to a crisis point where becoming an "island amongst yourself" will no longer suffice. The energy of relating to others and being related to reaches a point of tension of much so that the native can put a wall up shutting people out..because they also feel that others have shut themselves out from relating to them...again a byproduct of not feeling appreciated for VALUE at a young age. Sexually, natives of the square tension of these planets often experience impotency, or the inability to let go and have an orgasm. They may fully shower a partner with affection and give love but shut themselves off from receiving it
Understanding that a relationship takes time to fully develop...these aspects are about moving slowly through the process of building and forming a successful relationship by allowing others to know us..allowing them in.

The tension of this square thus causes experiences in which the native puts all his energy into the security of his work, feeling like he is doing all he can to please a hard to please boss, and in the end is fired...losing everything he feels he has. This experience can happen in relationships as well as material possessions we value. Loss teaches us to adjust our values. Think of the people that lost their homes in the hurricanes in the gulf..everything they owned gone. We can just hear about it and realize how they would look at each other differently, showing appreciation and value for the simplest things in life that they took for granted. It took this kind of CRISIS to being them back to balance. The square of Venus and Saturn can create this kind of balance.

Venus/ Saturn people can be extremely loyal with a great deal of integrity. The value system of our world can undergo a great deal of scrutiny by the natives of these aspects. They have a great disdain for people who don't value what they perceive as important, loving family values. Can you see as well that some of this is a projection of pain in which they themselves experienced as a child?

At the opposition, we face the father head on in the world at large. At the square, we either have fully grounded into our self value and found a practical application for this value in a relationship and career where others can appreciate it and see it applied, or the native truly feels ignored and practically useless...everywhere a projection of the cold and unloving father. Ultimately, the father needs to be understood as a person that was trying to build up his own sense of lost values. It is difficult for a child to be in a position to have to build up the father's self image with unconditional love, but the Venus/ Saturn child, or even father himself, has the opportunity for this experience. Competition for parental affection at an early age can lead to external compensation for value in adulthood....a person perpetually projecting value into another or avoiding relationships all together and instead finding value in something material...building a business and becoming successful but shutting out love all together (in this way either embodying the Venus archetype or the Saturn archetype)

Through the energies of Venus and Saturn, we have the opportunity to break down the walls of protection from relationship by finding and demonstrating our value. It is through great trial and often pain that we finally come to terms with this value and fully love the self. Remember that we have no value without others that are valuable, for none of us live in a vacuum. As the father is generally regarded as the first person to provide us with a set of values in the world, to guide us and help give us an integrity and work ethic, thus learning how the world will respond to our value. If he is absent emotionally or even physically, then we must find that archetype by holding true to who and what we are...by maintaining a high degree of self integrity.

The Venus/ Saturn natives are strong souls with a great deal of integrity and love inside of them. They are strong enough to take the hard lessons of criticism, and the perspectives of a often cold, unloving world and transform it in such a way as to eventually love the self more, and in turn love and forgive others. Being "devalued" is a way to put the back against the wall and force the soul to have a voice, to compete for value in order to value and be valued. Perceiving that one does not have enough air will only force them to breathe more deeply. The same goes for those that feel unloved. Ultimately they will dig deeper and deeper, and realize that it was all around them, and within them all along.