Vortex Tales
February 21, 2010
The Strategic Zodiac: A Mandala of Power
May 31, 2010
Aries is considered to be one of the more difficult Signs for Venus. Astrological tradition states that Venus is in her “detriment” in Aries, meaning that it is difficult for the planet’s essential energy to manifest through the matrix of the Sign. Each sign represents an energy distribution pattern, and in Aries, the pattern concentrates energy on the self in order manifest the self’s potential. It is not a cooperation-based stage of development. Aries is individualistic, brash and more interested in actions than feelings. It emphasizes the exploration of self-reliance at the cost of interdependence.
In Aries, Venus is in Mars’ territory. Although force, conviction and energy abound, there is little harmony to appreciate and mediate in the home of the war god. It is a difficult territory for the lady to govern. Venus is the goddess of heartfelt and often sensual connection. It is interesting that in world myth, Mars is often a solo character, denied lasting conjugal union. Ares, the Greek god of war, had no consort, only a series of affairs. Kartikeya, the deity given to Mars in Vedic astrology, was also denied marriage. Instead he brooded and meditated in the mountains. Venus in Aries does not make relationships impossible, but it makes it a lot easier to be single.
Calliope and The Fire Flower
“Literature has up to now magnified pensive immobility, ecstasy and slumber. We want to exalt movements of aggression, feverish sleeplessness, the double march, the perilous leap, the slap and the blow with the fist.”
-The Futurist Manifesto
Venus is the planetary patroness of the arts, and Aries, although often cast in a more warlike light, is an extremely creative sign. In many senses, Aries is saddled with the key task of creating the self. Here, the bloom of Venus is engulfed in the dragon’s breath of Aries’ flame, becoming the power-up immortalized in Super Mario Brothers; the Fire Flower.
A parallel can be drawn between Calliope, the classical muse of epic poetry and song to Venus in Aries. Epic poetry is not a form practiced much today, but the spirit of Jason and the Argonauts, Odysseus and the whole crew lives on in the thousands of adventure stories the culture tells itself every year. It is the story of bigger than life characters involved in bigger than life action. The Lord of the Rings, and every DND style derivative owes a great debt to this tradition. In the epic, the internal world is projected onto the screen or page in its full glory. Each story is mythology and mythology the map of the psyche writ bold. Venus move through Aries, for many, rekindles a sense of themselves as important characters in a story yet to be told. In the crackling radiance of Aries’ fire, a vision of gods, humans and magic is seen. Life’s myth.
Venus in Aries especially highlights the spectacle of the complete individual, the self perfected within its own confines, but without context in the world. One of the ways people work with this vision is through the world of comic books. The majority of super heroes, heroines and villains have their individuality heightened and defined by their powers. A “power” is in most cases that of the self-in-action, the spirit manifest.
Heart of the Glamazon
The central conflict f
or Venus in Aries stems from the identification with the aggressive, martial drives. A natural tom boy, she is at home with the boys. Venus indicates the aesthetics one enjoys. In Aries, Venus enjoys the aesthetic of badassness. She likes watching the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and playing Mortal Combat. The spectacle of raw energy, creativity and power makes her chain mail panties rust.
However, when she approaches sexuality, she tends to do so from a masculine point of view. Venus in Aries understands what men want, because, in many ways, it’s what she wants. Venus in Aries waffles between being “just one of the guys” and largely asexual, to powerful and direct sexuality.
Simultaneously embracing and yet excluded from male dominated arenas, Venus in Aries is in a difficult position. To play with the boys, she must prove herself and either down play or put to strategic use her sexuality. Her fellow women will often be jealous of close relationships with men, and may also reject her for not being feminine enough or for acting like a “slut.” Her identification with the masculine perspective makes it difficult for her to create a vision of herself as a woman outside the eyes of men, and problematizes her relationship to women. Because it is so permeable, the barrier between the sexes is often exaggerated in order to reinforce it.
In an era between traditional gender roles and total freedom, Venus’ movement through Aries crosses and blurs these lines, incorporating much of what is traditionally masculine into the culturally accepted sphere of the feminine. It’s difficult being a tom-boy, porn star and feminist simultaneously, but someone has to do it.
44 Comments
I’m very drawn to the fact that you chose the Red Queen and the Fire Flower to represent Venus in Aries because those are two images that I’ve gravitated towards in the past. I haven’t seen the newest Alice yet, but in the old Disney version I always thought of the Red Queen as me when I exhibit my dark side. She seems very much a Leo/Aries type- I have Moon in Leo/Venus in Aries.
Excellent article! Very pleased you friended me on Facebook. Thank you!
How did you know about my chain mail panties?!? 🙂
In my natal chart I have Sun, Venus and Mercury in Aries. Also my moon is in Sag. It’s difficult to chill sometimes, as you can well imagine. Thank you for acknowledging that I’m a tomboy slut. So true! I just never knew what to call it before. My husband will agree wholeheartedly with you 🙂
It’s difficult being a tom-boy, porn star and feminist simultaneously, but someone has to do it. always been my favorite quote from you as it has summed up my life to a T Taurus sun /Venus Aries Double damned
Omg this was my favorite quote from this whole article too and the one I resonated with the most. I too am Taurus sun and Venus Aires!
My Venus is Retrograde in Aries, so I’m not sure how much of this applies to me. I can relate to some of your article though, I like making the first move and flirting.
Its asking someone out that makes me nervous, when I “chase” someone, I usually try to indicate that I have feelings for them but I never go up and actually tell them, I just hope that they’ll pick up.
Ugh, my natal chart is so fucked up.
Sincerely,
(Sun in 29 degrees Pisces, Venus in Retro Aries).
It’s difficult being a tom-boy, porn star and feminist simultaneously, but someone has to do it. always been my favorite quote from you as it has summed up my life to a T Taurus sun /Venus Aries Double damned
Yeah, I’ve yet to see a woman pull this off. There is always something over-bearing or awkward about them.
Yeah…I tried to present a balanced perspective on this one, outlining the difficulties, essential concerns and possibilities in relatively equal measure. It’s not the easiest Venus position.
No, it’s definitely not.
Thanks for the delightful writings and pontificatings.
One little typo to note: “Venus’ retrograde through Aries will, for…”
Venus isn’t going to be turning retrograde in Aries (at least not until 2017)
I’m curious to hear if the author (or any other astrologically literate trickster geniuses out there) have been watching the stories woven by our new dwarf planet Eris (currently at 21Aries54). Our stellium in Aries is going to be pushing her buttons loudly pretty soon, and one central subject matter I’ve been watching with her is about the next chapter of the sexual revolution.
Excited to learn more, and to explore some new frontiers- without so much clothing in the way, maybe.
Oops. Sorry about the retro thing. This piece is extracted from an article I wrote during Venus’ last retro, in Spring of 09.
Wicked title, Hoss!
Wicked title, Hoss!
As a female Aries I could not have personally described us better myself! Well done, love your site and visit often when planetary energies leave this empath quite awry. 🙂
Namaste.
Wow nailed it! My Venus is in Aries and I do watch UFC and play combat video games. Well done sir.
Really interesting – I’m 55 – so I’ve been through coming of age in the 70’s – which had a heavy influence of the peace, love, sex free-for-all era. Your description of my feminine expression/masculine-like attitude is extremely accurate.
Yep, all true. My favorite first date was ringside at a women’s kickboxing tournament. Fortunately the man I was with ‘got’ me (he had mars in Aries). Venus in Aries blazes new sexual trails 🙂
@ViscountValmont
Nailed it, Love 🙂
This is quite old by now, but I just came across the article and couldn’t agree more. This is probably my most difficult placement to deal with.
I’m Gemini Sun/Venus Aries/Mars Gemini/Mercury Taurus/Libra Asc.
I’m very much one of the guys, but I’m also very girly. I love having girlfriends, but often feel more at home hanging out with men (platonically or otherwise). Problem is, in romantic situations I often come on too strong or aggressively, which feels natural and fine for me, but not so much for my recipient. 🙁
Though this piece was written many years ago, I’m amazed it took me this long to find it…describes me, venus in aries, very well indeed. Yes I do ‘get’ the guys…always had male friends, and females hate my guts unless they’re weird in some way (unusual femininity) or have a lot of fire in their charts. Thank you very much.
Glad it resonated for you!
I love my Venus in Aries. My Sun & AC are in Aries too. Not only did Venus fix me up in the looks department but she also causes me to be extremely creative. I’ve never cared for Feminists & women in general I consider to be high maintenance. I used to down play myself around them because of their “resentment” toward me but they still didn’t like me so I stopped going out of my way to cater to their “issues”. I do not like weak & insecure men. I have been sexually adventurous but do not relate to the porn star description at all. I can relate to the tom boy description because I am a huge nature lover & like to get out in it but most of my other pursuits are feminine or gender neutral. I hate the war games & contests you mentioned but am no pacifist. I can be charming at times…if I’m in the mood.
Resonate with a lot of this. Pisces with Venus (and Mercury) in Aries…how to hold the warrior/protector energy in a way people understand and accept..
It’s difficult being a tom-boy, porn star and feminist simultaneously, but someone has to do it.
DEAD!
DYING ON DA FLOOOR!
LMAO!
? ? ? ?
Also Taurus sun/Aries venus! And I’ve never read such a comforting description of my lifelong struggle, that now seems actually virtuous. I’ve always felt like a man and a woman at the same time, and telling someone that get a lot of eye rolls. Thanks for the insight. This article still resonates 7 years later.
Not true for myself I’ve never been a tomboy but I have liked a tom and I’m physically repulsed about women fighting in most instances and others who push women to fight belong in that repulsive category
Fighting is for men mostly. Than again I’ve rarely resonated with astrology
I’d say what is true about Venus in Aries is they like variety in relationships and interactions
This gave me SO much life. Born on March 9 too❤️
My Sun , Mercury and Venus In Aries. Mason Tender 7-3 and Esthetician 4-9. Can’t Choose Between The Two
Feminist, TomBoy,Girly , Porn Star, (wit da rite man) Single , And Sexy
You Have Peeled Back A Layer Of My Onion
I think that is the worst very little of that is true for me I think it’s ridiculous women with masculine traits not me it’s ok for others but for me no thanks I like my men and I don’t care to be one
I am a Taurus sun, Aries Moon, and Aries Venus, and I am a woman. Considering how sexually suppressed our society still is despite our need to exploit sexuality anywhere we can in media, I have always found myself stifled and confused and sexually frustrated as a whole. I never felt pretty or desirable because of my tom boyish ways and my less than waif-like look. Television always seemed to portray women in very limited ways in the 90s and the “strong, independent woman” trope left much confusion as to what an ideal woman should be, as attempts to be that particular trope in real life, often leads to no friends or lovers. There is a need to relate to others and be a part of a group, but I found acceptance difficult, and when I have tried to downplay my energies and drives in the past and tried to conform to other’s ways of being, I found myself put down and derided, and I felt weaker for it. Ignoring my sexual needs and trying to fit into either side of the dichotomy women are often still pushed into (I am of course referring to the virgin/whore archetype)… has never made felt right to me, and often I question how I manage to stay sane in a world that just won’t let me be who I am. In general, I find feminism has worsened the divide between men and woman rather than mended it and that real feminism involves treating men and women with respect for who they are rather than bitching about how oppressed we are. I am oppressed by wrong ideas, not men. I am oppressed by authoritative governments who use religion to sexual repress its people regardless of whether they are men or women, and I just dislike that we can’t enjoy life or sex the way we want because of it. In general, most of my personal life issues and self-esteem issues can be connected to being born with the energies I was born into while living in a world that despises anything that goes against what is “truth” (i.e. delusion). It is like being sexually frustrated every minute of every day since as long as I can remember (way before puberty) and nothing ever alleviates it for long. It is like I am a live exposed wire that moves and buzzes as if reaching for others and no one ever really connects to it unless it is to try to disconnect the power within me so I can safely be put away where I won’t harm anyone.
A great example of how supposedly “sexually liberated” people are: I once auditioned for a play at college that was supposed to be open commentaries about sex and we were told to be as candid as possible about our sex lives during the auditions. I was asked “when was the last time you had sex?” and I answered, “this morning” and the auditioner looks at me with a disgusted expression and says, “did you shower before you came to audition?” It pissed me off because, 1) Why does it matter? 2) What a childish response, 3) He wasn’t even aware of his own sexual suppression and negative views of sex (i.e. sex is dirty and women who have sex are dirty) and 4) It was apparent that he was judging me for the answer I provided like I was some whore when it was with my boyfriend that I had been with for over a year. Needless to say I didn’t get a part in their play that was likely a very narrow view about sex that was most likely put on by them to show how edgy they are as “artists.” This is just one of many examples of what it is like being Aries in Venus. You know what you want, but what you want isn’t acceptable to the rest of the human race. You are only liked if you play as something that you aren’t and you feel stifled for the rest of your life always second fiddle to other people’s inflated egos and delusional mindsets or ways of life. It sucks, but I am happy to say that I am stubborn as a bull enough to have lived through the more tumultuous parts of my life (my teens and twenties) to finally look at who I am a little more closely and see that while I have conflicting energies in my chart, humanity is already insane and I have yet to find anyone who has tried to push me down that didn’t have their own set of delusions that stemmed from such behavior. I have flaws and I am not perfect, but the beautiful part about living past my twenties and rising toward my sexual peak is that I can love who I am even if it might mean that I have to “play by myself” as it were… both figuratively and literally. 😉
Good grief!! Omg Yaaaaaassssss! My whole life it is JUST maddening.
FINALLY explained. THANK YOU
…and yes I am all of that….like a Marilyn Monroe/Firefighter/Frat boy
The Struggle is Real.
Good grief!! Omg Yaaaaaassssss! My whole life it is JUST maddening.
FINALLY explained. THANK YOU
…and yes I am all of that….like a Marilyn Monroe/Firefighter/Frat boy
The Struggle is Real.
Aquarius Ascension Gemini sun Libra moon
Taurus mercur/ venus Aries mars
Oiy.
My Venus is in Aires AND my Mars is in Pisces. I’m trying to understand the balance of masculine and feminine within myself and these particular placements have made it very challenging.
I agree. My sun is in Taurus, Mercury and Venus in Aries, Mars in Picses. Detrimental placement for Venus and Mars. For Mercury, I learned from an early age to watch my mouth. BTW, I worked as an engineer in heavy industrial manufacturing for 40 years…just one of the boys that had to prove herself on a daily basis. Looking back, it seems to have been an appropriate career.
I’m an Aries rising with both Venus and mars in Aries. I think it’s a bit weird that I don’t have any male friends at all, I just don’t get men! That’s the only part of your article that didn’t quite hit at home with me but otherwise totally nailed it!
I’m an Aries rising with both Venus and mars in Aries. I think it’s a bit weird that I don’t have any male friends at all, I just don’t get men! That’s the only part of your article that didn’t quite hit at home with me but otherwise totally nailed it!
As someone with an Aries moon, I do love Arian energy, though it forms a tough transformational square with my cancer sun.
My sister, however, has this Venus placement and I would say it sums her up perfectly.
As someone with an Aries moon, I do love Arian energy, though it forms a tough transformational square with my cancer sun.
My sister, however, has this Venus placement and I would say it sums her up perfectly.
As someone with both my Venus and my Mars on or bordering the cusp of Aries (my Venus at 0 degrees Taurus, Mars at 29 degrees Pisces), there was a lot in this article that resonated me- specifically in its highlighting of the difficulties of the placement, instead of the usual stereotyping of the Aries energy as selfish, domineering, and manipulative in a romantic context.
I was wondering if you could also do one on Venus in Taurus.
Completely spot on. Thank you ?.
I agree. My sun is in Taurus, Mercury and Venus in Aries, Mars in Picses. Detrimental placement for Venus and Mars. For Mercury, I learned from an early age to watch my mouth. BTW, I worked as an engineer in heavy industrial manufacturing for 40 years…just one of the boys that had to prove herself on a daily basis. Looking back, it seems to have been an appropriate career.
Thank you for this! It validates everything I feel and struggle with. I am Sun-Pisces
Moon-Gemini
Ascendant-Libra with both Venus and Mars in Aries. People find out that I am a Piscea woman and expect me to act like one, which I do, somewhat. But all that air and fire keeps me burning and bouncing off the walls! This helps me accept and settle into the Aries part, especially in my new love relationship (he is an Aquarius and loves fiery women). Thank you ?
I have Venus in Aries but pursuing men sounds exhausting and unnecessary. I prefer to leave that to them. The aesthetics of aggression and conflict don’t appeal to me, either. I suppose I was somewhat a tomboy as a young girl, but I find the idea of tomboyishness antiquated. I do seem to have more male friends than female, though, and I understand and enjoy men better than many of my women friends do. So on that point alone I relate to this.