Remediating… Venus
Welcome to the “Remediating…” series, where I give you practical info & tips on how to better understand a planet and remediate the issues it may cause in your life based on your birth chart! What is planetary remediation, you may ask? You can read an article dedicated to it here. To put it simply, planetary remediation is the art of identifying what planet or placement is connected to a problem you have, and to act directly on the planet through symbolic subsitution, replacement etc. in order to ease the issue. For example, say that you keep having issues with passive-aggressive neighbours no matter where you move (and have decided, after some good self-introspection, that you don’t seem to be the annoying one). We look at your chart, and see that Mars in Cancer (the sign of its fall) is in the 3rd house of neighbours. Ah-ah! From time to time, when an activation happens (say, Mars squares your natal Mars), your neighbours act up and start being extremely mean. Based on your chart, and on the timing of these issues, I would suggest different solutions, all related to other symbols of Mars. For example, starting a martial art class (Mars) in your neighbourhood (3rd house) or donating red objects or spicy food (Mars) to said neighbours or a local charity (3rd house). The idea is that you symbolically substitute an issue here for a less problematic manifestation of it, it order to mitigate the issue.
But, it’s not always easy to know where to start. How do I know what placement is tied to what problem? Or, if you know a bit about astrology already, you may be aware that a certain planet is giving you some trouble… But what can you do about it?
This article is here to give you a place to start with the tools that will help you figure out these answers yourself. If someone is an expert in a topic that confuses you, isn’t the best remedy to ask them directly? For each planet, I will give you the basic signification that it holds, and potential issues that may arise. I will also explain how to pacify relations with planetary charity (donating time, money or objects to a cause that’s ruled by the planet in question), before giving you suggestions on how to set up your planetary altar (a dedicated space with symbols of the planet/deity that you can pray to & ask help from). Let’s dive in!
Venus Essential Info Sheet
Name: Aphrodite, Venus, Inanna, Ishtar, Sekhmet, Shukra…
Sect (time of day where it’s at ease): Night
Domiciles: Taurus, Libra
Exaltation: Pisces
Detriment: Aries, Scorpio
Fall: Virgo
House of its joy: 5th house
Number associated: 7
Symbolises: love, desire, happiness & laughter, harmony, union, erotic love, sex, cleanliness, music & songs, dance, the arts, beauty in general, jewellery, clothing, presents/gifts, sweets and nice smells, flowers, swans, pearls, emeralds, diamonds, pleasure, temples and places of worship, women and femininity, sex work, profit and riches.
Parts of the body: the neck, face, lips, throat, and intimate parts according to some.
Colours: white, green, pink (modern)
Determining Whether a Planet Needs Remediation
Using the system of “essential dignity” as established in traditional astrology, we can examine whether a planet has resources or not to enforce its agenda (do things according to its nature) based on certain factors such as the sign & house it’s in, the aspect(s) it makes to other planets, its speed, visibility, etc. There are a lot of factors in order to assess what a planet is up to, and whether it’s free to act or not. So when I say that a planet is “exalted” or “fallen”, it doesn’t mean “good” or “bad”. It means: the planet is in a position to enact its nature, or it might be a bit more constricted. It’s all nuanced, so keep that in mind as we explore possible remediation for a certain placement!
Venus: the Concept
In our solar system, Venus has an interesting cycle: known as the "Venus phase cycle", the circumvolutions of Venus describes an elegant pattern as she returns to the same position every 8 years, which looks like a 5-petal flower. Beautiful!
Venus is also the brightest body in our solar system (excluding the Sun & Moon). For that reason, she has been known for centuries as the bright star, and Romans would called her "Lucifer" (the light bearer). Because of her position relative to the Sun, Venus cannot be more than two signs away from it, and her twinkling motion is also a noticeable feature. This is perhaps why she was known as "laughing" in various cultures: the Greeks called her "laughter-loving", and a Dreaming (knowledge/history/myth story) from Australian Aboriginal cultures would say that Venus (called) was a laughing goddess who had a foot tied to Earth (which sums up both of these features!)
Venus is a planet of love, desire and harmony: she "brings things together". Known as the lesser benefic planet, Venus rules over the night sect and is therefore a nocturnal planet. Her association with love and beauty can overshadow her more complex features: if the Roman tradition "pacified" her a lot, making her more maternal and sweet than anything, the Greek goddess they were inspired by was not so sweet and meek. Aphrodite was also a more lustful goddess who had the capacity to turn people crazy and crush those who disobeyed or did not bow to her orders.
The concept at the heart of Venus is union: the goddess brings things together… For better or worse! Traditionally, Venus cares less about morals or the "proper" way of doing things than to just… do it. In ancient times, passionate love was seen as a dangerous things, as people could lose all reason and break out of societal roles to pursue passions that would lead to their demise (cue Greek tragedies about people sleeping with each other, Romeo & Juliet, etc etc)
So whatever we do, let’s NOT underestimate the power of Venus. Her association with feminine things has historically been used as a symbol of "weakness", dependence or frivolity. In reality, Venus teaches us that these things are powerful in & of themselves. By accepting this and embracing the sensual & mighty Venusian within and around us, we can better understand, appreciate and access all the beauty and power that Venus had to offer us.
Venus Issues & Remediation
Venus issues can show up as difficulties or blocks surrounding our appetites, desire and passion. This is true in love and sexual pleasure, where we may une cessa tilt complicate things in our head (hello, Venus in Virgo) and notice every little issue in the other, but this is also true of the opposite: desiring and romancing obsessionally, feeling a compulsion to love and be loved, to always have something going on. If these issues may present differently, they both have a root of insecurity: feeling ashamed or disconnected from what we really desire and gets us off.
This is also true outside of the romantic realm: Venus issues may show, in both frigidity and excess, as a lack of temperance. Spending too much money, feeling disconnected from others and fearing socialisation, not enjoying the simple pleasures in life… In many ways, connecting with Venus can help us with reconnecting with ourselves, as we understand what we really want, what genuinely brings us happiness and enjoyment independently from social expectations.
In general, Venusian issues can make us uncharitable, harsh and mean/critical with a closed heart, greedy with our love, money and time (think: Scrooge). This is often not because we don’t want to, but because we’ve grown up in environments that made us feel unsafe, that taught us that people would systematically take advantage of any form of generosity or kindness. While there are certainly people like this in the world, closing our heart to the possibility of love & generosity can make it sad and unpleasant. The gift of Venus is to open us up and make us accessible, replacing fear with openness.
In short, Venus remediation can temperate both the harsh critic and the excessive passions within us - after all, as the night benefic, she is a temperate planet. Venus remediation can help us access our true desires, abundance and love via the recognition of what makes us truly happy & passionate!
Venus Remediation Steps
Planetary Charity
Where to start? If you want to understand Venus better, planetary charity is always a good idea. By donating money, time or objects to a cause ruled by Venus, you “appease” her and do a gesture of good will. The optimal scenario is to do this on the planetary day and hour of the planet in question. For Venus, Fridays (day of Venus) and/or Monday nights (night of Venus) are best. In order to track the planetary hour, you can use Google to find a planetary hour calculator or use an app (TimeNomad is a free app that lets you display planetary hours, which start & end will vary depending on your location, time of year etc.). Planetary charity is sort of like bringing cookies to your neighbours: by offering something and making an effort to build a relationship with someone, they are more likely to see your good intentions and help with with whatever you need (and pacify relations when necessary!)
For Venus, you can donate money or time to: women’s shelters, helping women and girls around you in general (with time spent, donating money…), sex workers & advocacy groups for sex workers, pay for a makeup class, donate clothes (especially white and green ones), buy beauty supplies and clothes for those who would appreciate them, donate money to art museums and artists (and art residences!), purchase art, fund art restoration and art schools, donate money to temples and their maintenance. You can also gift flowers to people around you.
You can also wear a diamond ring or a diamond pendant to attract good fortune when it comes to Venus.
If you donate money, it doesn’t have to be a big amount, but it’s best to give money or objects in a multiple of 7, on a recurring basis (for example, donating $7 to a women’s shelters, or offering 7 flowers to someone around you on a Friday or Monday night).
Venus Altar
The next step is to set up a Venus altar, if you feel compelled to do it. By building a Venus altar, you will be able to directly address Venus and all its avatars to give you advice and provide assistance with whatever issue you may have. You can have a dream the next day, or a conversation with someone that will bring answers you are looking for: that’s the planet/deity’s way of helping! Here are instructions on how to set up a Venus altar:
- Venus Ritual -
Use a light green or pink cloth (paper is also fine), according to your preferences, and put it on your altar.
Put seven candles (light green or pink, but white is also fine) on your altar. You can engrave them with the symbol of Venus.
Put objects that evoke the image of Venus. You can print out an image of a painting or sculpture of Venus (I personally love Botticelli's painting as they are full of astrology and Venusian references!), put Venusian objects such as combs and mirrors, shells, and pearls.
Copper is the traditional metal of Venus, so you can put copper objects on your altar. You can also put 7 coins on it. The traditional stones of Venus are diamonds, you can also use emeralds or rose quartz. Peridot is also good - I love malachite and chrysoprase as well.
With a green or pink pen, draw the symbols of Venus, her planetary square, as well as Agrippa seals (they're all attached to this email, you can just copy them!) on paper.
Get incense. I like to use incense sticks (you can buy an incense stick holder for that). For Venus, I like to use benzoin, jasmine, ylang-ylang. You can also use frankincense.
For offerings, I like flowers (you can buy 7 roses for example), chocolate and sweet things, as well as sweet liquor (fruit juice works too, preferably fresh one). You can also put a fresh glass of water on the altar. Peach schnapps is my favourite. Keep in mind you can personalise your altar with Venusian things that are personal to you. After starting my Venus practice, I started seeing and being approached by swans a lot more, so I have a crystal swan on my altar. To each their own!
You can also put Venus materia & talismans on your altar (what is talismanic/astrological materia?)
Before the ritual, take a shower and make sure you're clean (it's a plus). Wear white clothing. You can use perfume and/or your favourite accessories.
On the planetary day (Friday) or night (Monday night) and hour of Venus, once your altar is ready, light the candles and incense. You can then say the Orphic Hymn to Venus (file attached). Once you're done, make your offerings to Venus, and you can then respectfully ask for what you wish for. Venus rules over love, relationships, sex, harmony, peace, laughter, money and profit, so anything you'd like to request in that domain you can ask Venus. Once you're done, thank Venus and meditate. And you're done!
Consistency goes a long way, so doing this for even 5 minutes every week is better than a big ritual every other month!
You will find a prayer (the Orphic Hymn to Venus) below, as well as symbols to put on your altar. You can also devise your own prayers and symbols if you prefer!
Thank you for taking this Venusian journey with me, I hope it can be a useful starting point for a blossoming Venus pratice! ♀
