“When I am working on a problem, I never think about beauty. I only think about how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution isn’t beautiful, I know it is wrong.”
-Buckminster Fuller
Venus, the planet of love and beauty, has been retrograde now for three weeks in the strong-willed sign of Aries, and has three weeks to go before it turns direct. As Jim Sher wrote in his recent article, “this is a time for discovery. We need to be open to questioning our values and priorities and focus on placing our own needs first.” This is not the symbolic strong suit of Venus, which archetypally is most concerned with the needs and values of others. In Aries, therefore, this Venus transit gives us the opportunity to develop a greater sense of self in relation to other. According to Jim, we are being challenged to value the Arian need to validate our own path regardless of what others think, without asking for permission and not waiting for anyone to agree with us. “To do so, would undermine the need that Aries feels to exist under its own rules. It is the archetype of self-determination.” Wouldn’t living from the heart without regard for the frequently unfounded or simply irrelevant opinions of others be a beautiful solution to the process of self-awareness?
Venus meets up with the Sun in the “Inferior Conjunction” on March 25th, marking the commencement of a new Venus cycle focused on asking the fundamental questions about how we relate to others. Venus in Aries at this moment sets a tone for the next 19 months of relationship building that asks us to consider our own needs first and those of others secondarily. For some of us, like me, who’s natal charts favor Venus or Venus-ruled Libra over Mars or Mars-ruled Aries, this may present a significant shift in awareness. Can we be at ease and harmony with others and still true to our soul’s purpose? Are we able to express freely without fear of judgment or rejection? The Venus/Sun planetary pair symbolically is the equivalent of the golden mean in the art of relating where love is expressed from the core of our being. During this new cycle may we develop a prototype for a new way of relating that increases our experience of love.
The emphasis on self-determination represented by four planets in Aries (Sun, Mercury, Venus and Uranus) really kicks into gear when the Moon joins the bundle and conjuncts the Sun on March 27th. Notwithstanding relationship review-oriented retrograde Venus in close proximity of this New Moon, the forward rushing spring-like energy of five planetary bodies in Aries may be extremely hard to resist. The Aries challenge, however, is to be aware that the act of creating and forging new ground is not just for self. The impulsive Aries influence does not naturally think of the consequences of living in a state of jeopardy, nor of the need to protect its seed of creation for the greater whole of society. Recklessly casting that seed to the wind and expecting it to be sustained without effort puts at risk the very future of humanity. As this New Moon cycle unfolds with its theme of creation may we harness the power of pure unfiltered originality to reinvigorate the core of our being.
The New Moon chart also features other configurations that make the first New Moon of the new zodiacal year infused with dynamic, powerful and highly creative archetypal energies that promote freedom of expression, the tapping of of deep resources internal or external, sudden insight and the importance of relationship. A Mercury/Uranus conjunction in Aries trine Saturn in Sagittarius (March 26th to March 29th) may serve to awaken radical new ideas that hit like lightening (Mercury/Uranus) and yet have the managerial ground support to be sustained (Saturn in Sagittarius). Our way of perceiving may be more open to innovative solutions communicated in clear and practical manner. A Mars/Neptune sextile (exact March 27th) adds quiet mystical undertone (Neptune) to the movement for self-determination (Mars). Actions are strengthened when aligned with non-physical forces rather than propelled by sheer muscle. Symbolically, Neptune acts as a spiritual guide that directs Mars’ every action and deed.
While Venus’ placement in the fiery New Moon chart may stir us to seek counsel from others, beneficent Jupiter in Venus-ruled Libra figures prominently as the engine in the New Moon’s locomotive chart pattern, portending help may come from the cosmos in a big way to those willing to ask for it (not Aries strong suit!). But it is Jupiter’s tight square to Pluto in Capricorn (exact March 30th) on the chart Ascendant and IC angles that may have the greatest impact in this month. The archetypal titans of the sky and the underworld in tense alignment can manifest in a number of ways depending on the level of consciousness brought to a given situation. Access to a rich trove of some kind of resources may be granted that will aid in bringing reform to decaying institutions. Potent issues of power and control may come to the fore, or hidden wealth may be put in motion behind the scenes. With the recently revealed investigation into the Trump campaign, the Russian government’s cyber activities and other high level queries into the ethical practices of those in top leadership, it is not difficult to imagine how this aspect may influence that which we may not be privy to witness.
On March 31st, Mercury moves out of Aries and into earthy Taurus, putting on the mental brakes to the Arian rapid-fire thinking that has a tendency to overlook practical details. What this celestial influence lacks in processing speed, it makes up for in thoroughness as well as a sense of what will work effectively. Mercury in fixed Taurus may also be associated with a classically stubborn mind-set but in this Venus-ruled it is hard-wired to find beautiful solutions to any problem and have the persistence to sustain mental action as long as necessary to serve its purpose.
Here’s the data (using Pacific Time and planetary positions rounded to the nearest whole degree, unless otherwise noted):
March 25 – Sun conjunct Venus at 5° Aries at 3:16 a.m.
March 26 – Mercury conjunct Uranus at 23° Aries at 8:05 a.m.
March 27 – Mars sextile Neptune at 13° Taurus/Pisces at 9:46 a.m.
March 27 – Moon conjunct Sun (New Moon) at 8° Aries at 7:57 p.m.
March 29 – Mercury trine Saturn at 28° Aries/Sagittarius at 11:16 a.m.
March 30 – Jupiter square Pluto at 19° Libra/Capricorn at 11:41 a.m.
March 31 – Mercury at 0° Taurus at 10:31 a.m.
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