By Amanda Painter
This morning at 10:31 am EST (15:31 UTC) Venus ingressed Libra, where it is conjunct the lunar North Node. In Libra, Venus is less about the earthy sensuality and physicality that Venus possesses in Taurus; rather, Venus in Libra brings a more intellectual (yet no less harmonious and receptive) approach to beauty and harmony.
Photo by Amanda Painter.
In fact, Venus in Libra is said to exhibit clear and direct emotions, and relates to others easily.
Even though Venus had not yet crossed the cusp from Virgo yet on Saturday when President Xi Jinping of China met with President Ma Ying-jeou of Taiwan in Singapore– in the first-ever encounter between leaders of the neighboring and rival countries since 1949 — the North Node was there.
It’s not too much of a stretch, I think, to imagine that as the lunar nodes were vibrating the sensitive axis where political and personal intersect, Venus was in the process of wiggling off her Virgo costume to slip into something a little more comfortable, something more like ‘home’. Not exactly baggy sweatpants and her boyfriend’s T-shirt; more like one of those simple-yet-put-together outfits of upscale ‘weekend wear’ that you see in an L.L. Bean catalogue.
The meeting of Mr. Xi and Mr. Ma carries some complex undertones: it may or may not mean all that much, given that Mr. Ma will finish his final term as Taiwan’s president next year; and China is still trying to avoid acknowledging Taiwan’s sovereignty (among other pesky details). At any rate, the meeting was still historical.
It also has at least the outward earmarks of moving toward an uncomfortable yet forward-looking way of relating (North Node in Libra), and away from a more habitual and singular focus on asserting self-identity (South Node in Aries). We’ll have to watch to see how China-Taiwan relations develop.
Yet on Saturday, there was Venus: warming up in the wings, ready to bring some sincere charm and elegant diplomacy to the follow-up. Did you feel any kind of similar shift (perhaps giving a little to receive a little) in a relationship of your own Sunday?
Looked at that way, Venus in Libra could be a nice foil for the Scorpio New Moon later this week. Exact Wednesday at 12:47 pm EST (17:47 UTC), this is the Sun and Moon forming a conjunction in Scorpio.
Although a Scorpio New Moon is less likely to come with the polarized interpersonal fireworks/intrigue/belligerence you might have experienced two weeks ago with the Taurus Full Moon, this is still a passionate aspect. New Moons are generally a time of introspection, or a drawing-in of energy and winding-down of projects. Yet that energy is being drawn in and concentrated, not dissipated.
Scorpio is already a ‘concentrated’ sign. Whether you experience it as lusty erotic energy, or a pull toward fertile darkness and dimly lit secrets, or an awareness of all the ways you’ve been slighted and the ways you’d like to get the perpetrators back, inner intensity is the name of the game for a Scorpio New Moon.
This one occurs just after the Sun and Moon (at 19+ Scorpio) have each conjoined Mercury in Scorpio (at 15+). Mercury is therefore very much still in the aspect.
Questions you might ask yourself: what secrets are you keeping? Is there something about these secrets that have you not fully recognized or acknowledged to yourself? Alternatively: do you notice that your conscious/intellectual and intuitive/emotional responses to erotic energy are aligning?
One image I saw when I looked at the chart again today was of three girls huddled together on the playground, sharing a secret; something they feel very intensely bonded over. Yet the planets involved actually represent our three levels of awareness: unconscious/intuition, ego consciousness, and intellect. How deep does this secret go for you?
The other thing I noticed is that the New Moon and Mercury are also trine Chiron in Pisces and sextile Jupiter in Virgo. Trines and sextiles are both aspects of harmony and cooperation, though they function slightly differently.
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What happens if you imagine Chiron to be the ‘sensitive kid’ on the playground who can feel the intensity of the three girls; maybe in the past he’s felt hurt and left out, but right now he has a chance to talk to the girls and let them know how he felt.
It even looks like they’re listening, and might allow some empathy. In a more literal sense, think of this as an awareness of the pain secrets can cause, a desire to stop hurting, and a desire to learn from them and to learn empathy.
Another interpretation: when you open up the channels of empathy, emotion and creativity in sex — on both conscious and more subtle levels — the flow of erotic energy not only intensifies, it can take on a healing quality.
What about Jupiter? Jupiter in Virgo is opposite Chiron. So on one side, Chiron is reflecting the whole emotion/passion/pain/creativity pool back at Jupiter. What is practical, cautious, scientific Jupiter in Virgo going to do with all that information?
Luckily Jupiter — like a really astute, gifted teacher — knows how to work practically and productively to foster group harmony, because he understands the needs of the group and of the individuals in it. Jupiter in Virgo can be a really good investigator or detective; in the non-confrontational sextile with the Scorpio planets, our metaphorical teacher could easily figure out the girls’ secret just by observing them.
On a more literal level, the Jupiter-New Moon sextile bodes well for any team projects or other group activities (conferences, book clubs, sales or negotiations, seeing your life as part of a larger pattern).
Remember: your passion has a greater value and wider application if you share it towards a common goal than if you keep it a secret with yourself. But you have to make the effort, work with those in authority, and allow your more self-centered emotions to shift into empathy. The dark can be a fertile place of gestation; at some point, however, what has germinated in the dark must break the surface and grow into the light.
“..inner intensity” indeed characterizes a Scorpio moon! I have moon & Venus in Scorpio in my 5th natally (not conjunct), & was born a couple of days before a Sagittarius new moon. I’ve always been deeply introspective, & yes, intense, & in my younger years my passions weren’t as disciplined as they now are, though always creative.
Not surprisingly, with my natal moon square Mars/Pluto, (& a 4th house Neptune) I grew up in a family with many secrets, some of which I’ve only unraveled in recent years, long after my parents’ deaths. All expressions of feeling & affection were either very formalized or simply squelched, as though everyone was complicit in sitting atop some kind of Pandora’s box containing things greatly feared, should the lid ever fly off. Unable to get that lid open, as a teen/young adult I added some more things to the box, I suppose, while my family worked harder to keep the lid on & a kind of sign in their social window reading “everything’s fine here!”, though it clearly was not.
Scorpio season, & the deepening dark, are my time of taking stock of my summer, both within & without, assessing lessons learned & food grown/preserved. I don’t like the long dark & the imminent winter, but I find it’s become my painting season, which I guess is another way of integrating the year so far.
I find myself more willing to participate in my village community than I used to be. It’s true I haven’t a great deal in common with most, but at some point I seem to sometimes manage to, as you put it, “shift into empathy.” That changes everything. I’m trying to bring that same spirit to my reflections on family history. That is more complicated.
Thank-you for this reflective, thought-full post today, Amanda. It’s exactly what I needed to read on this chill, foggy day.
Bette — this sounds perfect:
“Scorpio season, & the deepening dark, are my time of taking stock of my summer, both within & without, assessing lessons learned & food grown/preserved. I don’t like the long dark & the imminent winter, but I find it’s become my painting season, which I guess is another way of integrating the year so far.”
I think you definitely “get it.”
And it sounds like you’ve come to your understanding through a long, Scorpionic road. Congrats on making it through — and for finding how empathy can forge a path of connection where none seemed to exist before. I’m grateful to know that this piece resonated with you!
I love your characterisation of Venus in Libra and the contrast with Scorpio. Reminds me of something Eric said the other day about the dichotomy of Scorpio (a feminine water sign ruled by masculine Mars) and at the time I thought – well, that’s the mirror image of Libra, the masculine air sign ruled by Venus.
Oh, and another lovely photo!
Ah, yes — I had this sense of that (of the feminine water sign rules by Mars), yet somehow did not make the connection all the way with how it balances Libra. very cool.
Yes, the photo! I love backlit trees especially, & this one’s a gem.
Amy, my Virgo daughter has Venus (rising) in Libra – yes, very different expression of Venus than mine in Scorpio. She lights up a room when she walks in, while I can be practically invisible.