Venus Morning Star, Venus Evening Star

by Michael R. Meyer

If you're one of the millions who give attention to astrology, or have had your birth chart drawn and interpreted, you probably know the zodiacal sign and natal house occupied by Venus at the time of your birth. The natal house in which Venus was located at birth shows the particular set of human experiences through which your emotional life, feeling nature and sense of values, fueled by the type of energy symbolized by Venus' sign, best operates.
      But a house and sign examination is not the most fundamental astrological key revealing your Venusian nature. This article presents a basic, easy-to-use technique to determine and interpret your Venus type. It is based on viewing the 584-day cycle between the Sun and Venus as a whole. Readers of my series on mental types, The Four Faces of Mercury, will recognized that the Venus cycle follows a pattern similar to the cycle of Mercury, but with some important and very intriguing variations.
      The approximately 116-day cycle of the Sun and Mercury deals with mental processes, associations and attitudes, while the cycle of Venus symbolizes emotional processes and attitudes, as well as our value-and-meaning-giving faculties � that is, how we interpret, evaluate and make sense of our life-experiences and the world around us. Whereas Mercury is the neutral and asexual planet, the servant and messenger of other planets and their functions, Venus is assigned a feminine polarity; it represents the set of values motivating our actions (Mars) and guiding our mental processes and use of knowledge (Mercury). But the most unique and fascinating feature of the cycle of Venus is the remarkable way it conforms, cycle after cycle, to a five-fold pattern.

The Cycle of Venus and Its Five-Fold Pattern
Because the orbit of Venus lies within Earth's, from our geocentric point of view Venus always leads or follows the Sun by no more than 47.5 degrees. Another special feature of the Venus cycle (which it shares with the Mercury cycle, because the two bodies both lie within earth's orbit) is that Venus forms two very different types of geocentric conjunctions with the Sun � the inferior conjunction and the superior conjunction. A Venus cycle begins at the inferior conjunction, when Venus is exactly between the Sun and the Earth. At the superior conjunction, which is equivalent to the opposition aspect, Venus is on the far side of the Sun, with the Sun standing exactly between the Earth and Venus.
      The inferior conjunction, equivalent to the New Moon phase of the lunation cycle, occurs when Venus is in the middle of its retrograde cycle and moving quite slowly across the zodiac. It is then nearest to the Earth and, from our point of view, dark. Rising before the Sun, Venus appears in the pre-dawn sky about a week after the inferior conjunction, when the Sun and Venus are about ten degrees apart. As a herald of the new day, Venus is called Phosphorus and Lucifer, the latter name meaning "light bearer."







Venus turns direct about three weeks after the inferior conjunction. Thirty-six days after the inferior conjunction, Venus is most brilliant in the morning sky. Thirty-six days more, Venus reaches its maximum distance from the Sun. At this time, Venus is moving through the zodiac at the same speed as the Sun, and gaining.
      Two-hundred and sixteen days (or 6 x 36 days) later, Venus reaches its superior conjunction with the Sun, when it is moving close to its maximum of speed of about 1°15' per day. For several weeks before and after the superior conjunction, however, Venus is so close to the Sun in the sky that it is no longer visible. Venus is furthest from the Earth at superior conjunction, which is equivalent to the opposition aspect and the Full Moon phase of the lunation cycle. The superior conjunction inaugurates the hemicycle in which Venus plays the role of the Evening Star, Hesperus, which means western. Thirty-six days after the superior conjunction, when the Sun and Venus are about ten zodiacal degrees apart, Venus first appears in the evening sky, setting after the Sun.
      Two-hundred and sixteen days (6 x 36 days) after the superior conjunction, Venus again reaches its maximum distance from the Sun � about 47 degrees, but maximum elongation varies slightly from cycle to cycle. It occurs when the motion of Venus equals the Sun's, and is slowing. Thirty-six days later (which is also thirty-six days before the next inferior conjunction), Venus is most brilliant, outshining all other objects in the evening sky . Then, about two weeks later, Venus begins its forty-day retrograde journey, in the middle of which occurs the inferior conjunction, the birth of new cycle. But about twelve days before the inferior conjunction Venus becomes no longer visible in the sky.
      Because Venus rotates one-hundred and eighty degrees on its polar axis between inferior conjunctions, at each superior conjunction Venus shows Earth the face that during the inferior conjunction faced the Sun, while the side that was facing the Earth during the conjunction now faces the Sun. But this is not the most extraordinary feature of the Venus cycle. When one plots the cycle of any important turning point of the cycle of Venus for five or more consecutive cycles, a remarkable pattern forcefully emerges � a five-pointed star!







So many factors figure into the remarkably stable five-fold structure of the Venus cycle that we can only outline here a few of the most important. The most striking features of the pentadic structure include: 1) a superior conjunction occurs very near to 648 degrees (one complete circuit around the zodiac plus 288 degrees or four points of a five-pointed star) from the inferior conjunction which opened its cycle; 2) successive inferior conjunctions occur about 936 degrees zodiacal degrees apart � that's two circuits around the zodiac, plus 216 degrees or three points of a five-pointed star; 3) this patterns repeats itself in terms of the zodiacal degrees on which Venus turns retrograde and direct, as well as the degrees of greatest brightness and maximum elongation; 4) a complete pentagram is formed after five complete cycles, totaling two days, eight hours short of eight years; 5) successive five-cycle sets identically repeat the pattern, with an offset of only two zodiacal degrees; and 6) the star pattern created by five Venus cycle rotates backwards through the zodiac, completing an entire round once every 760 Venus cycles, which adds up to about 1,215 years.
      Additionally, phenomenon of Venus occur in steps of thirty-six days or in multiples of thirty-six. Maximum brightness occurs thirty-six days after the inferior conjunction; the next step, maximum elongation occurs thirty-six days later; and the superior conjunction occurs 216 days (or 6 x 36 days) after maximum elongation. In the evening star phase, maximum elongation occurs 216 days after the superior conjunction; maximum brightness takes place thirty-six days following maximum elongation and thirty-six days more brings the inferior conjunction.

Morning Star, Evening Star
The brief overview of the Venus cycle presented in the previous page provides a multiplicity of factors susceptible to astrological interpretation, and it offers a foundation for a process-oriented classification of Venus types. Such a classification consists of two fundamental types � Venus Lucifer, the Morning Star; Venus Hesperus, the Evening Star. As we'll presently see, each of the two types presents a particular emotional temperament and a particular sense of values, meaning, ideals and appreciation. Additionally, each of the two primary types carries a special retrograde subtype.
      Determining your Venus type is easy. First locate the Sun in your natal chart. If Venus is clockwise from the Sun, your Venus type is Lucifer, the Morning Star. On the other hand, if Venus is positioned counterclockwise from the Sun, your Venus type is of Hesperus, the Evening Star.
      If you haven't had your birth chart calculated, simply look up your birth day and year in an ephemeris. If the Sun is further along the zodiac than Venus, your Venus type is Lucifer. If Venus is further along the zodiac than the Sun, it's Hesperus. While you're at it, check to see if Venus is retrograde (indicated by the letter R in the Venus column above your birthdate). In the ephemeris and horoscope graphics generated by Khaldea2001^TM, retrograde planets and listings are shown in red. For example, if your natal Sun is 20 degrees Gemini and your natal Venus is 10 degrees Taurus, your Venus type is Lucifer, the Morning Star.
      While the interpretation given here provides the most fundamental approach to the cycle of Venus and its place in astrology, it is important to note that it does not factor the latitude of Venus into the picture. Additionally, a thorough astrological consideration of one�s emotional nature requires an examination of the house and sign occupied by Venus, as well as considering how other astrological planets, especially the Moon, Mars, Saturn and Neptune tie in with Venus and the chart as a whole. Nevertheless, the interpretations below provide the first and most fundamental approach, and they deal not only with our emotional make-up, but also with our value-system and how we interpret, evaluate and make sense of our life-experiences and the world around us.

Venus Lucifer
A new Venus cycle opens when the Sun and Venus meet in inferior conjunction. It is a moment when the Venusian faculties of emotion and evaluation are impressed with what Dane Rudhyar calls a "new quality of will and purpose." But the new quality of Venusian response and meaning does not become realized all at once. It is rather gradually translated from potentiality to actuality throughout the 584-day Venus cycle.
      The first half-cycle of the Venus cycle is characterized by a spontaneous, eager and impulsive emotional nature. It corresponds with the constructive, biological activity predominate during the waxing hemicycle (from the conjunction to the opposition) of the lunation cycle. But while the approximately 29-day lunation cycle deals with our most basic and essential life forces, and with adapting to the demands of daily life, the Venus cycle deals with our inner nature and the set of meaning-giving values guiding our daily actions and forming our long-term goals.
      People born during the Luciferian or Morning Star half of the Venus cycle generally let their feelings lead the way, tending to feel and emote first and think later, especially if natal Venus rises before Mercury. They are emotionally fresh, spontaneous and open to new experiences. Emotionally resilient, Venus Morning Star people usually recover quickly from emotional or romantic disappointment, while Venus Evening Star people are more likely to scar emotionally and carry deep-seated resentments because their emotional make-up tends to process and replay scenes of disappointment and hurt. But when a Venus Lucifer person, especially one born while Venus was retrograde, experiences profound emotional pain or abuse early in life, she may "close down" emotionally and assume a protective or fearful attitude toward life and relationships.

Venus Hesperus
Venus' second half-cycle begins at the superior conjunction � which always occurs when Venus is direct and moving through the zodiac near its greatest velocity � and continues until the next inferior conjunction. A few weeks after the Sun and Venus meet in superior conjunction, Venus emerges on the other side of the Sun, appearing as Hesperus the Evening Star.
      Corresponding with the waning hemicycle of the lunation cycle (from Full Moon to New Moon), Venus' Evening Star half-cycle denotes a deliberate and goal-oriented emotional make-up seeking to extract and distill the meaning of experiences encountered and ideals formulated during the Morning Star half-cycle. Whereas emotions and feelings eagerly rushed forward during the Venus Lucifer period, they are now more controlled and introverted in the Venus Evening Star period, though not necessarily less intense!
      Although Venus Evening Star people may not show emotions are largely and as easily as Venus Morning Star types, they often experience emotions more intensely because they tend to become more privately and internally involved with their emotions and their emotional life. Feeling after the fact, so to say, Venus Hesperus people may take a long time to recover from emotional trauma, thinking about and anguishing over a lost love or a bitter disappointment for years.

Relationship between mixed types, while not necessarily favorable or unfavorable, may at times produce misunderstandings and a sense of being "out-of-synch". In such instances, it is not unusual for the Venus Morning Star partner to claim to immediately "forget about" or "get over" a disagreement or fight, while the Venus Evening Star person may require much longer to "forgive and forget." One may be amazed and deeply perplexed that the other can so easily disregard a painful incident, or that it made such a minor impression on his partner; the other may be annoyed that her partner still brings up that "old" issue of a few days ago, thinking, "It doesn�t bother me, so why should it bother him?"

The descriptions of the Venus types (and subtypes) which follows are illustrated with the birth charts of numerous personalities. Thorough interpretations of the sample charts are not attempted here, but indications are provided regarding how Venus fits into the chart as a whole, and some additional hints are given regarding the key factors of the nativities. Additionally, in the examples an exhaustive interpretation of the Venus types is not attempted. We point the way, and offer suggestions, because our approach encourages self-devised, self-initiated learning and thinking. We encourage you to study of the biographies of personalities who interest you, and if you wish to learn more about the astrological planets and asepcts, you may want to have a look at The Planets - Celestial Organs and their Function, and The Eon: The 36 Cyclic Aspects. You can also learn more about the planets, astrological aspects, the signs and the houses, and much more by browsing the online edition of A Handbook for the Humanistic Astrologer and The Astrology of Relationship.

The cycle of Venus begins during its retrograde period, signifying a phase of renewal and reorientation of feelings, emotions and values. It is a time when the future attempts to free itself from the past, clearing the way for the development of a new set of values and a new emotional sense. But attempts to fight or rebel against the past and its values and morality can bind us to the very things from which we seek to free ourselves.
      During its 584-day cycle, Venus spends only about forty-one days retrograde, which is proportionately less than any other planet, and only about one in 30 people are born while Venus is both Morning Star and retrograde. If you are one of them, your feeling nature and sense of values may go "against the grain," and you may deeply question traditional values and morality. This means you may find it difficult to get emotionally insynch with others, or others may have difficulty connecting with you or understanding your value-system. Yet your emotional natural is very strong and you are guided by a very definite set of values and ideals.

Venus Lucifer retrograde people often find themselves involved in the arts, especially as exemplars dedicating their life and work to new ideals. Such truly avant-garde individuals may be so far ahead of their time that their true stature is recognized only after the close of an often tragic life. In other instances, a struggle against the past and its biological and social imperatives, combined with a search for higher values and ideals, may lead to ascetic practices or to a life of devotion and renunciation. But ironically, such practices and their associated forms of devotion and renunciation, and the values and ideals driving them, are likely to be rooted in a past tradition.
      Examples of the denunciatory type include Meher Baba, the once famous "silent mystic", and the female Christian mystic Teresa de Avila. The birth chart of Meher Baba features Venus in the first house Aquarius, with no planets between it and the Sun. Uranus is on the Midheaven, with Scorpio Moon and Saturn retrograde nearby. In the instance of Teresa de Avila, Venus is on the Ascendant and Mercury rises between it and the Sun. Pluto retrograde is on the Midheaven.

In a man�s chart, Venus Morning Star retrograde suggest a high degree of self-discipline and dedication to one�s ideals and goals, to one�s art and self-image. Dedication of this sort should not be confused with pure ambition or a drive to "get ahead" or to dominate � drives connected with Mars and Jupiter � and which may factor in according to how these two planets tie in with natal Venus. The tragic artist Amadeo Modigliani (who was born with Venus straddling a very close conjunction the Sun and Mercury) is an example of this type, and so is, in his own way, actor Jack Nicholson.

Women leading pioneering, often difficult, lives figure largely as examples of Venus Lucifer retrograde. Chrissie Hynde, the first woman to become the creative and musical principal of a successful rock band, is an outstanding example. Chrissie went where no woman had gone before. She was never merely a "chick" in a rock band, and she never played traditional female roles. Chrissie is the heart, soul and guts of The Pretenders, and she made it as "one of the guys," on her own merit. And when she wanted a child fathered by a musical genius, she chose and won her long-time influence, Ray Davies of the Kinks.
      Another example is provided by the birth-chart of Mimi Farina, sister of Joan Baez and widow of writer Richard Farina. Until a tragic motorcycle accident took her husband�s life 30 April 1966, Richard and Mimi Farina were among the most successful and influential folk musicians of the mid-1960s, and probably the first to create the folk-rock-blues fusion that saw fuller development and success in the work of Bob Dylan, Buffalo Springfield, the Byrds, Country Joe and the Fish and many others. In the 1970s Mimi founded the Bread and Roses Foundation, which brings live music concerts to prison inmates.
      Courtney Love exemplifies the full range of Venus Lucifer retrograde womanhood. Born when Venus was conjunction Mars in the eight house, and at the very end of the Venus retrograde period, just a day before its station, Courtney had to rise out of a background of early abandonment and abuse to find her own place in a world which never seems able to understand her, a world in which she often felt emotionally displaced. In 1994 her husband, the legendary Kurt Cobain, took his own life, leaving her with a young child. Fan�s of Kurt�s band, Nirvana, and the press tried to blame her for her husband�s suicide, and she was even vilified by her publicity-seeking journalist father. Yet Courtney continually goes on, and the world continues to misunderstand her.

When considering a birth-chart with Venus Lucifer, it is important to determine whether or not Venus is also the Planet of Oriental Appearance � that is, if it is the planet rising immediately before the Sun, with no other planet between Venus and the Sun. Additionally, planets situation between Venus and the Sun should figured into the interpretation the Venus types, as the functions and drives they symbolize inevitably play into the picture. In the instance of the remarkable birth-chart of figure skater Tonya Harding, Jupiter (expansion, compensation and the need to succeed) is situated between Venus Lucifier retrograde and the Sun, and the three are involved in a triple conjunction, which opposes a tight conjunction of Moon and Saturn retrograde.

Venus is seen stationary, turning direct, about three weeks after its inferior conjunction with the Sun, marking the beginning of the approximately nine-month long Lucifer-Direct phase of Venus. During this face of Venus, the emotions become more relaxed, free-flowing and less encumbered by fear of loss, hurt and rejection.
      Venus Lucifer direct people are not necessarily more emotional, or even more emotionally demonstrative, than Venus Lucifer retrograde types. But whereas Lucifer retrograde people internalize emotional difficulties, often to an intense degree, and tend to fear or anticipate future emotional hurt, Lucifer direct people are more emotionally relaxed, at ease and resilient. They seem to quickly bounce back from a romantic break-up, a personal rejection, a disappointment or an insult. Because they appear to bounce back so easily, and because they do not always appear to register emotional impacts, Lucifer direct types sometimes seem like emotionally detached social butterflies. But such an impression can be deceptive because Lucifer direct people can be very adapt at concealing their emotions, which are often far more intense, delicate and vulnerable than they care to reveal. This is especially so of people born during the early part of the Lucifer direct phase, because they tend to be working their way out of the Venus retrograde character, and are therefore more delicate emotionally than those born later on in the phase, who tend to possess quicker, more fluid emotional natures.
      Venus Lucifer types often conceal the more vibrant (and dark) sides of their emotions because they desire to fit into the cultural mainstream, a tactic Venus Morning Star direct people often feel will at once give them a greater sense of self-worth and enable them to effect their culture and its values and ideals more successfully. Nevertheless, Lucifer direct people can be very direct and demonstrative regarding their feelings, and they tend to have an open and optimistic approach to life and to relationships.
      Venus Lucifer direct people are often involved in promoting new values, ideals, outlooks and ways of life created or exemplified by others. They do not wish to live a life "against the grain," which is more the destiny of Lucifer retrograde types. And because they wish to "fit in," they tend not to "act out" their emotional turmoil as fully as Venus Morning Star retrograde types.
      Although Lucifer direct types are not likely candidates for a tragic, misunderstood artist, they are often very successful at producing the sort of social and culture reforms and change the more tormented and misunderstood Lucifer retrograde types dedicate themselves. They excel at politics, leadership and the at art of making things happen. Bestowed with a strong sense of ideals, Venus Lucifer direct people are often of a humanitarian spirit, wishing, and often working long and hard, to make a beneficial contribution to society.

About two weeks after turning direct, while rising about 40 zodiacal degrees before the Sun, Venus is most brilliant in the pre-dawn morning sky. In natal astrology, it is difficult to gauge if Venus Morning Star natives born while Venus is brightest are more or less emotional than others - especially because they tend not to "act out" as much as others. Indeed, rather than "acting out" they tend to play an acceptable and comfortable role.
      While it may be difficult to gauge the emotional intensity of the few people born while Venus is most brilliant in morning sky, these individuals do seem to be very dedicated to their work, possessing compelling ideas and values. Examples include Alan Watts, the English cleric turned Zen philosopher; Robespierre, a ruthless leader of the French Revolution; cowboy humorist/philosopher Will Rogers, and opera star Luciano Pavarotti.
      The birth-chart of Alan Watts features a well-defined See-Saw, with a tight conjunction of the Sun, Mercury and Mars in the first house, Capricorn, and with Venus Morning Star in the twelfth house, Sagittarius, trine Neptune retrograde � a suitable configuration for a Zen thinker. Watts was also a gifted promoter and, along with Allen Ginsberg and a few others, played a large role in bringing Buddhism and Mysticism into mainstream Euro-American culture.
      In the instance of the birth of Robespierre, leader of the ruthless "Reign of Terror", we find Venus Morning Star in the first house, near Uranus, the planet of revolution. Saturn is just below the Ascendant - suggesting a strict, stern character - and Mars and Neptune are conjunct in the sixth house, Leo, trine Jupiter and Pluto, both retrograde in the tenth house. Venus is "under-aspected," forming only a powerful tri-octile (135 degrees aspect) to Mars. Venus not only signifies our emotional life and our values and ideals, it also symbolizes judgement, which is something Robespierre performed with unequaled ruthlessness. Yet the ruthless judgement of the reign of terror was based on a revolutionary, but limited, set of values, ideals and goals, albeit tinged with vengeance and cruelty.
      Sex-Symbol Marilyn Monroe was born shortly after Venus Morning Star was brightest. Her birth-chart shows Mercury rising four degrees before the Sun - she liked smart men, said Albert Einstein was the sexist man she had ever met, and had an over-powering attraction to Robert F. Kennedy. Venus is the most elevated planet, and it is trine Neptune in the first house, Leo - a fitting symbol for a glamorous film star. But the most powerful and revealing configuration of the chart is a tight T-square in fixed signs, formed by Neptune opposing a conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter in the seventh house, with Saturn retrograde in the fourth house square both ends of the opposition, suggesting potent parental complexes.

Venusian qualities become more pronounced, and the emotional nature more active and responsive, between the time of Venus' maximum brightness and its maximum elongation from the Sun (about 47 degrees ahead of the Sun); that is, about thirty-six to seventy-two days after its inferior conjunction with the Sun, while Venus is still moving through the zodiac slower than the Sun.
      Rock icons David Bowie and Jim Morrison were born two to three weeks before maximum elongation. In Morrison's instance, there are no planets between a Sagittarius Sun and Venus at the first degree of Scorpio, but the tenth house Sun broadly opposes Uranus, Mars and Saturn in Gemini. The latter three bodies are retrograde. Additionally, the chart features an outstanding number of quintile aspects, and Pluto retrograde is conjunct the north lunar node, just below the Descendant, and square the Moon. David Bowie was born just after a conjunction of the Sun and Mars, and both Mars and Mercury stand between the Sun and Venus, suggesting Bowie's Venus Morning Star qualities are somewhat filtered through Mercury and Mars, symbolizing his faculties of intelligence and self-promotion, reinforced by a quintile linking Venus and Mercury. Pluto retrograde is seen just below the Descendant, with Saturn retrograde and the Moon nearby. The latter two bodies are trine Venus.
      Leader of the 1916 Russian Revolution, Nicolai Lenin was also born soon before maximum elongation. In Lenin's birth-chart a conjunction of Mars and Neptune in Aries (suggesting a ruthless, ideological attitude toward life) is found between a sixth house Sun and a third house Venus. Additionally, the Mars-Neptune conjunction forms a tight square to Uranus, which is on the north lunar node. Saturn retrograde has the focus, in the first house, Sagittarius.
      Singer-songwriter, painter Joni Mitchell was born ten days before the maximum elongation of Venus Morning Star. In her horoscope, Mercury rises one-degree before a fifth house Sun, in Scorpio, while Venus is conjunct Neptune - appropriate symbols for her multi-faceted talent. Her chart also features a tight T-square in mutable signs, formed by Venus opposing the Moon, with a conjunction of Mars and Saturn (both retrograde) at the apex - a stressful and difficult configuration from which she probably draws much material.
      "Live fast, die young, and leave a good-looking corpse." Film icon James Dean was born just three days before the maximum elongation of Venus Morning Star. His chart features Venus in the first house, quincunx (150 degree aspect) Mars retrograde and a trine to Neptune (film, glamour, suicide) and a sextile to a Scorpio Moon. Saturn and Mercury lie between Venus Morning Star and the Sun, and the pair opposes Mars retrograde, Pluto retrograde and Jupiter retrograde. Both ends of the compound opposition square Uranus in the fourth house, Aries.

Early abstract artist Paul Klee and modern composers Maurice Ravel and Alexander Scriabin were born two to three weeks after the maximum elongation of Venus Morning Star - that is, when Venus began to "loop back," moving toward the Sun, attaining at geocentric velocity greater than the Sun, and gaining.
      In the instance of Paul Klee, Mercury Sagittarius retrograde � standing in the ninth house very near the Midheaven � is situated between a Sagittarian eleventh house Sun and Venus in the eight house, Scorpio, symbolizing the mental approach and philosophical values he shared with many early-modern artists. Additionally, Venus forms a trine with Jupiter and the Moon in the first house, Pisces, and a tight opposition with Mars conjunct Neptune retrograde in the second house Taurus.
      The birth-charts of early modern composers Ravel and Scriabin both show Venus rising about forty-four degrees before the Sun, and both have Saturn and Mercury retrograde standing between the Sun and Venus, though not in the same sequence. In the instance of Ravel - who was born at a New Moon � Venus is seen in the third house, Aquarius, at the apex of a tight T-square with Neptune (the planet of music) just below the Descendant and Jupiter retrograde just above the Ascendant. Additionally, Uranus is at the Midheaven.

We now come to a long segment of the Venus Lucifer direct phase during which a much larger number of people are born than during the "sub-phases" discussed above. Coming out the its maximum elongation from the Sun, Venus Morning Star spends about six months increasing velocity and moving closer to the Sun - advancing toward the superior conjunction. This part of the cycle of Venus symbolizes a gradual refinement of goals and values, as well as a more deliberate and confident approach to relationships. In a sense, Venusian qualities are being honed and better defined as they become closer integrated with Solar will. The emotional nature becomes more fluid, spontaneous and fearless as Venus gains velocity over the Sun, and individuals born during this period tend to be more emotionally secure and demonstrative than those born before maximum elongation. Yet other horoscope factors, such as Saturn retrograde, may figure into the picture, which may symbolize a tempering or repression of the emotions and the expression . . . or, at times, just the opposite. Additionally, individuals born toward the close of the Venus Morning Star direct phase often seem to take on some of the characteristics of associated with Venus Evening Star types.
      In astrological symbolism the planet Venus and the sign Taurus represent the throat, the vocal chords, the voice, vocalists and singers. Early woman of Rock, Ann Wilson, and alternative singer/songwriter Alanis Morissette, were both born a couple months after maximum elongation of Venus Morning Star, and the horoscopes of both feature Venus in the sign Taurus.
      During the early-70s Ann Wilson formed Heart - one of the first successful Rock bands led by women - with her sister, guitarist Nancy Wilson. One of the strongest and most compelling voices of Rock, Ann Wilson was born with Venus rising about thirty-six degrees before the Sun, with Mercury situated between the two. In her chart Venus is seen in Taurus just below the Descendant, square a powerful Moon-Pluto conjunction in the ninth house Leo. Additionally, Venus is the focus of a number of quintile and decile based aspects (derived by division of 360 by 5 and 10, or multiples of 5 and 10, producing aspects of 36 degrees, 72 degrees, 108 degrees, 144 degrees, and so on. See my The EON: The 36 Cyclic Aspects Symbolically Depicted for more on the aspects). In addition to forming a decile (36 degrees) with the Sun, Venus is also involved in a triangular formation consisting of a bi-quintile (144 degrees) to Neptune and a quintile to Jupiter, with a bi-quintile between Jupiter and Neptune. It is an apt configuration for talent, fame and success as a vocalist and songwriter, but there might be a story behind the singleton Jupiter standing alone at the Nadir.
      The birth-chart of Alanis Morissette also features a number of decile and quintile based aspects. Venus in the tenth house, Taurus, rises forty degrees before the Sun (a novile aspect) and is bi-quintile Neptune in the fifth house of creativity and self-expression - a fitting symbol for a highly expressive singer. Significantly, Venus is exactly opposite the Moon in the forth house, Scorpio, which is conjunct Uranus retrograde � a striking symbol of the female angst which in 1997 brought Alanis worldwide attention (and unparalleled success) with her album Jagged Little Pill.
      Icon Madonna was born a bit further along the Venus cycle, when Venus rose about twenty-two degrees before the Sun; that is, midway between maximum elongation and the superior conjunction. Both Venus and the Sun are in Leo, with Venus in the eleventh house of associations, connections and aspirations, and with the Sun in the twelfth house (with three other planets), suggesting she is much deeper and more complex than her public image. Notably, the edgy and non-conformist planet Uranus stands midway between the Sun and Venus. Additionally, Venus forms a tight square to Neptune (music) in the second house (money), which is conjunct Jupiter (expansion, compensation, success) and the north lunar node (what one aspires toward). Saturn is retrograde in the fourth house.
      Giovanni Casanova was also born midway between maximum elongation and the superior conjunction. In his instance, Mercury rises between Venus and the Sun. Venus and Mercury are conjunct in the fifth house Pisces, and Mars and Jupiter are also seen in the fifth. Uranus (conjunct the south lunar node) is rising and, significantly, Mercury (the scribe) and Venus are opposite Pluto retrograde in the eleventh house of friends, associations and social enjoyments. Casanova was more than a famous lover who wrote a lot about his sexual exploits (Venus, Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter in the fifth house), he was also a penetrating social historian and his autobiography not merely depict his sexual escapades, they also provide an inside look at the courts and aristocracy of his time.
      Victoria Woodhull was one of the most important women of the 19th century, and one of the most Promethean women of all time. An early feminist, one of the first truly liberated women, a consort of J.P. Morgan, an early health food advocate, a financial advisor, one of the first "channel writers," and a candidate for the office of the President of the United States, Victoria Woodhull was born with the Sun and Jupiter at the Ascendant, both in the last degree of Virgo. Venus rose twenty-one degrees before the Sun, and Jupiter and Mercury retrograde are seen between the Sun and Venus.
      The birth-chart of nineteenth-century social satirist Oscar Wilde shows Venus rising fifteen degrees before the Sun. Venus is the focus of a number of septile based aspects (derived by the division of 360 by 7 and by multiples of 7). Venus also forms a bi-quintile aspect with Uranus (he was persecuted for his unconventional, homosexual lifestyle) and a decile with Mercury, symbolizing his literary artistry and talent.

As Venus draws near the Sun, it attains its maximum velocity through the zodiac. When the arc between the two reaches about ten zodiacal degrees, Venus is so near the Sun that it is no longer visible in the morning sky. The period of "invisibility" lasts several weeks before and after the superior conjunction; it symbolizes an integration of Venusian guiding qualities and principles with solar will geared toward the fulfillment of an ideal, vision or creative goal . . . or solar will (or egotism) eclipsing and overshadowing Venusian values.
      Romantic composer Frederic Chopin, scientific genius Nikola Tesla, and singer/songwriter Tori Amos were born at the close of the Venus Morning Star phase, just before the superior conjunction. Chopin's horoscope shows Sun and Venus just below the Descendant, with Pluto on the Descendant, and the three form squares to Neptune and Saturn, which straddle the Nadir. In the instance of Tesla, a lifelong celebrant, the Sun and Venus straddle the Nadir, in Cancer, while forming squares to the Moon and Mars (the latter is also conjunction the south lunar node) in the sixth house, Libra. The Sun quintiles Pluto, which is rising - suggesting Telsa's energy discoveries, as does the bi-quintile linking Mars and Uranus in the first house. Tori Amos was born when Venus rose two-degrees before the Sun, and her horoscope shows both bodies in the ninth house Leo, along with Uranus in Virgo. But the focus of her chart seems to be placed more on Saturn retrograde in the fourth house (always a powerful symbol, often indicating a father complex) and Jupiter retrograde (symbol of compensation) in the fifth house, both of which stand alone.

I am reluctant to provide gender specific interpretations for Venus Lucifer direct for a number of reasons. As we have seen, this particular face of Venus comprises a number of "sub-types", and it is better to attempt to achieve a integrated understanding of the entire Venus cycle, and the gradations of the Venus Lucifer direct type, in basic human terms. Additionally, in this phase, and in the corresponding Venus Hesperus direct phase, gender shadings regarding the Venus function - especially concerning core issues and physiological complexes � are far better symbolized by Venus' place in the chart as a whole and by her connections with other planets.

The Evening Star hemicycle of Venus begins at the superior conjunction of Venus and the Sun, while Venus is moving at or near its maximum velocity. In the Venus cycle, the superior conjunction corresponds to the opposition and the Full Moon. It is a moment of fulfillment of Venusian values and goals - or the beginning of a realization of failure to integrate new Venusian qualities into the fabric of personality. In the first instance, the second half of the Venus cycle symbolizes the distillation of meaning and purpose from prior experience. In the latter instance, the cycle tends to become a closed circuit of devolution, repeating past failures and shortcomings. But inevitably there is both partial success and partial failure, a blend of the two.
      If your natal chart features Venus Hesperus Direct, your feeling nature tends to be mature and outwardly reserved. Yet in spite of your tendency to withhold public displays of emotion, you may be emotionally intense under the surface, and even explosively expressive in your private life. In another sense, while Venus Lucifer denotes an outgoing emotional nature, Venus Hesperus suggests a more deliberate and reflective emotional nature that tends to feel after the act.
      Venus Evening Star direct people are guided by the distillation of experience and a highly refined and often elaborate set of guiding values, ideals and goals. They take in the big picture and base their judgements and plans on personal and historical precedents. They are more given to formulating and executing long-term plans with deferred incentives and rewards than Venus Morning Star types, who tend to let their immediate feelings, emotions and desires guide the way.
      Venus Evening Star direct types are inclined to evaluate and react to situations after they take place, and their post facto judgements tend to rest on a set of values and expectations based either on a cultural tradition and its morality or on one's own past experience and observations. In any instance, as a Venus Evening Star type your strong sense of values and ideals tend to temper your emotions and feelings. In other words, for Venus Hesperus people, their Venusian qualities tend to be most visible in large ideas and systems. The world knows them for their big ideas and schemes, but to their lovers and family they are loved and feared for their big emotions. Their emotions are big, and displayed on a large canvas, because they tend to internally process, replay and elaborate their emotional experiences.
      Whereas Venus Morning Star types tend to release their emotions in a more immediate fashion, letting them out and often forgetting about their content, Venus Evening Star types internalize their emotional experiences, both the pleasant and the unpleasant. So when their emotions do fully surface, they often erupt with pent-up force. When such eruptions occur, family and lovers might feel overwhelmed or think the expression is out of proportion, that the Venus Evening Star person is "over-reacting." This is especially the case when a Venus Evening Star makes a big reaction to a seemly minor incident or disagreement. It is not the single, isolated event she is reacting to, but to a long series of similar incidents which she has been internalizing and feeling resentful about for some time. Feelings of frustration or resentment might have been exaggerated if the Venus Evening Star person had attempted to discuss her hurt feelings in a "rational" manner, yet unable to succeed because her partner, perhaps a Morning Star type, didn't recall a particular incident, or thought it not worth discussing, or avoided addressing the issue.
      The tendency of Venus Evening Star types to internalize emotional disappointment, abuse and damage gives them much in common with Venus Morning Star retrograde people, but theirs is generally a larger perspective, with greater patience and reliance on precedents.

During the first several weeks of its Evening Star phase, the light Venus is lost in solar brilliance. It is only when an arc of about ten zodiacal degrees separates the Sun and Venus that the Evening Star may be actually seen by the unaided eye in the early evening sky just after sunset. In astrological symbolism, the period between superior conjunction and Venus' first visibility in the evening sky suggests an integration of solar will with new Venusian visions and ideals developed during the Morning Star hemicycle. Whereas those born during the closing period of the Morning Star hemicycle tend to be more concerned with personal or individual goals and creative fulfillment, those born during the Evening Star phase tend to place more focus on social values and in making a creative contribution to their society. But in a less integrated personality, the superior conjunction might represent proud egohood, a "do what thou will" attitude. As with every astrological factor, however, one needs to be careful not to make too much of the Venus type. The whole chart needs to be considered, and any particular astrological symbol stands not on its own but as a part of a whole picture. The chart as a whole is the ultimate astrological symbol.
      People born at the beginning of the Venus Evening Star phase may dazzle us with their solar brilliance, but behind their solar will often stands strong Venusian vision, values and goals. For example, novelist and social satirist George Bernard Shaw, prototype superstar Franz Liszt, and editor Helen Gurley Brown were born just after the superior conjunction of Venus and the Sun.
      George Bernard Shaw, one of the most intellectual men of his age, was a penetrating wit and an insightful satirist of Victorian society. His birthchart shows Venus at the Nadir, rising immediately after the Sun. A Promethean Mercury rises much ahead of the Sun, suggesting his avant-garde views and mental orientation.
      Franz Liszt, who in the nineteenth century achieved unprecedented fame and notoriety as a concert pianist, was born when Venus rose three degrees after the Sun - the mirror image of his friend, composer Frederic Chopin, who was born just before the superior conjunction. In the instance of Lizst, Mercury rises before the Sun and forms a productive sextile aspect to Neptune (the planet of music), and Venus is trine Jupiter in the eleventh house. Although Lizst is best known as the first superstar performer, his musical compositions are now becoming recognized as precursors to twentieth century music. Additionally, Lizst brought to musicians a new social standing, elevating them above the status of "servants," to which they were designated before his time. Indeed, he was the first musician to enter through the front door.
      During the middle part of the twentieth century, Helen Gurley Brown, editor of Cosmopolitan magazine and author of Sex in and Single Girl, played a tremendous role in re-defining gender roles and liberating female sexuality. Though she was not as outspoken as edgy feminists of the time, as an editor her influence was deep, enduring and ubiquitous, and she never sacrificed her femininity in realizing her vision of a "new woman." Her chart shows Venus in Pisces rising three degrees after an Aquarian Sun. A visionary Promethean Mercury retrograde in Aquarius rises before the Sun. The Sun and Venus form bi-quintiles to Saturn retrograde in the ninth house very near the Midheaven, as well as squares to a twelfth house conjunction of the Moon and Mars in Scorpio. The edgy and revolutionary planet Uranus rises soon after Venus.
      It is important to note that the three above examples feature Mercury Prometheus - that is, Mercury rising before then Sun - which in a sense can "masquerade" as Venus Lucifer. Mercury Prometheans let their minds - or their rationalizations - and thinking guide the way, and when born during Venus Evening Star, they tend to seem mentally proud, egotistic and judgmental. Often maintaining a degree of restraint in the relationships, they do not easily give themselves completely.

After Venus becomes visible in the early evening sky, it continues to distant itself from the Sun for about six months, rising later, and remaining visible longer, each evening until it reaches maximum elongation from the Sun 216 days after superior conjunction. During this period values become more defined, longer term incentives are pursued, and perspective deepens. A greater reliance is placed upon traditions and systems because they are required to integrate experience, to give meaning to existence, and to serve as a foundation for judgement. Emotions and feelings become tempered (or conditioned) by morality and tradition.
      Johann von Goethe, author of Faust and one of the greatest intellects of all time, was born midway between the superior conjunction and maximum elongation. His natal horoscope shows a Full Moon, and the Sun and Venus are in the tenth house, Virgo, with Sun at the Midheaven. Mercury is in the ninth house, Leo, rising before the Sun and opposite Uranus. Saturn is at the Ascendant.
      The birthchart of Wolfgang Amedeus Mozart shows Venus in the sixth house rising twenty-two degrees after the Sun. Both are in Aquarius and the Sun is in the fifth house conjunct Mercury, rising one degree after the Sun. Saturn, rises four degrees before the Sun. The Sun, Mercury and Saturn are opposite Neptune retrograde. The Moon and Pluto form an exact conjunct in the fourth house, Sagittarius, and they in turn form a square to Uranus on the Descendant (and south lunar node) and a sextile to Jupiter in the second house, Libra. The chart features a rather large number of quintile and decile based aspects, including a quintile linking Venus and the Moon. Mars retrograde in the tenth house is trine Venus.
      The natal horoscopes of Mohandas Gandhi, liberator of India, and poet Paul Verlaine, both feature Venus Evening Star conjunct Mars. In Gandhi's instance, Venus rises thirty-eight degrees after the Sun, with Mercury in Scorpio just below the Ascendant, rising between Venus and the twelfth house Libra Sun. Venus is in the first house, Scorpio, with a Scorpio Mars rising two degrees behind it. The Venus-Mars conjunction is involved in a tight and powerful fixed T-square - Venus-Mars is opposite a conjunction of Jupiter and Pluto, both retrograde in Taurus and in the seventh house, and both sets of conjunctions form squares to a Leo Moon in the tenth house of politics and the public life. Additionally, the Venus-Mars conjunction trines Uranus in the ninth house. A conjunction of Venus and Mars is always significant in a birth chart, and it generally tends to figure into the sexual life, either directly or indirectly. In his younger years, Gandhi was hypersexual, turning celebrant in his later years as a social activist. Additionally, Venus rising before Mars suggest Gandhi's Martian nature was bridled and guided by Venusian values and principles, and this symbol is reinforced by the fact that the two bodies are in autumnal signs.
      In the instance of Paul Verlaine, the sexual symbolism is even clearer and more revealing. His birthchart shows a seventh house Taurus Venus rising forty-one degrees after the Sun in the sixth house, Aries. Pluto rises twelve degrees after the Sun, and Mars rises three degrees before Venus. A conjunction of Uranus and Mercury rises soon before the Sun. The conjunction of Mars-Venus, Taurus, in the seventh house of relationship and others is at the apex of a very tight fixed T-square, forming squares to both ends of an opposition between Moon in Leo in the tenth house near the Midheaven and Neptune in the fourth house near the Nadir. Verlaine was an outstanding poet and writer of the mid-nineteenth century, but he is today most remembered for his tumultuous homosexual liaison with Arthur Rimbaud, a relationship which culminated with a gunshot wound inflicted upon Rimbaud and a prison term for Verlaine. While in prison, Verlaine embraced Catholicism, though his reform seemed short-lived and he spent much of his remaining life drinking and consorting with prostitutes.
      The horoscopes of Gandhi and Verlaine are examples of another sort of Venusian dualism, a dualism other than the fundamental and obvious duality of Morning Star and Evening Star. While Verlaine was born while Venus and Mars were in the vernal sign Taurus, the two planets were in the autumnal sign Scorpio, during the birth of Gandhi. Additionally, Gandhi was born with Venus rising before Mars - signifying Venusian values, principles, goals and incentives guiding Martian action - while Verlaine was born with Venus rising after Mars, suggesting a more macho, dominate approach to life and relationships.
      Ideally, Venusian values and principles guide Martian action. But astrologers today have all but lost sight of the fact that there is a fundamental difference between Venus in the vernal signs (Aries, Taurus and Gemini) and Venus in the autumnal signs (Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius) - just as there is a fundamental difference between Venus' "rulership" of Taurus and its "rulership" of Libra.
      In An Astrological Study of Psychological Complexes, Dane Rudhyar writes that symbolically, Venus as a "behavior-determining factor in man's inner life, is related mainly to the zodiacal sign Libra (her 'day house') and to the fall equinox, the symbolic time at which the mature seed is released from the planet that bore it. Venus a ruler of the spring sign Taurus (her 'night house') is, on the other hand, subservient to the positive Mars-in-Aries, the energy at the core of the vernal equinox period. Venus is then that which gives substance to the Martian impulse and outward initiative. It is the woman who 'bears children to' her man and concretizes his desire for self-extension into progeny. Thus, generally speaking, Venus in the early vernal signs of the zodiac is largely dependent upon the Mars function which gives it direction and purpose; it is Venus as an instinctual power of fertility. But when placed in autumnal signs, Venus acquires a very positive determining energy which dominates, for good or bad, the emotional life."

As we move toward the maximum elongation of Venus as Evening Star, we encounter a group of personalities inspired by big ideas. They possess the vision, evaluative abilities and long-term motivation required to successfully integrated large bodies of knowledge and experience into important theories and systems of philosophy, science and religion.
      The natal horoscope of J. Krishnamurti features a see-saw pattern suggesting a fundamental dualism of personality. Venus Evening Star rises thirty-eight degrees after a third house Taurus Sun. Mercury, Pluto and Neptune rise before Venus, and Jupiter and Mars rise after Venus. The Sun is opposed Uranus in the ninth house and Venus opposes an eleventh house Moon. While still a boy, Krishnamutri was promoted by Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater as the vehicle of the coming Maitreya, and a large number of devotees gathered around him and joined the many worldwide organizations he "headed," such as the Order of the Star of the East. Later, he went his own way and eventually K. become identified as a philosopher of "Wholeness" and "non-dualism," yet his philosophy remained essentially dualistic because it was deeply rooted in denial.
      Dane Rudhyar, the premier philosopher of Wholeness who has given Wholeness its fullest formulation, was born a few weeks before Krishnamurti. His chart features Mercury Prometheus and a number of quintile aspects and no planets between the Sun and Venus Evening Star. Rudhyar's multi-dimensional philosophy of Wholeness is founded in a "total affirmation of being."
      The natal horoscope of Charles Darwin shows a number of planets between the Sun and Venus Evening Star. Born about six weeks before maximum elongation, when Venus was forty-four degrees behind the Sun, Darwin was able to formulate a vast and revolutionary scientific hypothesis. Additionally, his horoscope also features a conjunction of Saturn and Neptune in Sagittarius on the Ascendant, which ties in with the authoritarian, almost religious, foundation and zeal of Darwinism.
      Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon Church of the Latter Day Saints, formulated and promoted a grandiose religious system, one of the first modern religions. Born less than two weeks before maximum elongation, Mars, Mercury and the Moon rise between a Sagittarian Sun and an Aquarian Venus in the seventh house. His chart also features a conjunction of Uranus and Saturn in the fourth house Libra.
      Betty Friedan was one of the very first promoters of the women's movement of mid-twentieth century, and her The Feminine Mystique was as revolutionary and as important in its day as the work of any leader in science and religion. Friedan's natal horoscope shows Mercury, Uranus and Mars rising before Venus, and it is notable that Mars is in Pisces and Venus in Aries, both in the third house of communication. Her birth chart features a strong see-saw pattern, comprising one group in the first quadrant (first to third house) opposite another group in the third quadrant (seventh to ninth house). All of the planets in the latter group - consisting of Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Pluto - are retrograde (because they roughly oppose the Sun). Notably, Venus and Mars oppose Saturn retrograde in the ninth house Virgo, which is near Jupiter.

What happens when there is a breakdown or devolution of Venusian values following the superior conjunction? Marquis de Sade was born about twelve days before maximum elongation, into a class and family background which allowed him, at least for a time, to more or less freely act out his anti-social values. Jupiter, Neptune and Saturn rise between the Sun and Venus. Most notably, Venus is conjunct Saturn and both are in the twelfth house, along with Neptune (a planet often associated with sadism and sexual aberration). Mercury Prometheus rises immediately before the Sun, suggesting, in terms of the whole picture described here, emotional detachment and de Sade's undeniable talent as a writer. The planetary package is led by a powerful Mars in Aries, elevated near the Midheaven, which squares Venus and Saturn. The Moon in the second house Virgo, Pluto retrograde in the fourth house Scorpio and Uranus in the sixth house Capricorn (significantly conjunct the south lunar node) are found below the horizon, and they each seem to stand alone.

Born shortly before maximum elongation, Werner Heisenburg is the formulator of one of the most important and far-reaching principles of physics - the principle of indeterminacy, which bears his name. In his horoscope, Uranus rises soon after a Sagittarius Sun, followed by Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, and finally Venus. A first house Scorpio Mercury rises before the Sun, and it forms a productive sextile with Venus.
      Long before the women's movement of the 1960s-70s started changing the world, Marie d'Agoult was a liberated woman, the paramour of Franz Liszt and, writing under the pseudonym Daniel Stern, one of the most important French social commentators and philosophers of her time. Born three days before maximum elongation, her birthchart features Sun in Capricorn on the Nadir, conjunct the north lunar node. Mars and Mercury retrograde rise soon after the Sun, and much later, Venus, which is in the fifth house, Aquarius. Additionally, Neptune is square Venus and decile Mercury, and Venus is trine a conjunction of Saturn and Uranus in the first house.

At maximum elongation Venus' speed of daily motion matches the Sun, and slowing. The Evening Star period following maximum elongation is much shorter than the span leading up to it, and Venus turns retrograde seventy-two days after maximum elongation. After maximum elongation, Venus' velocity of daily motion rapidly decreases, leading to its station seventy-two days later.
      Individuals born between maximum elongation and Venus' retrograde station tend to be more involved with their emotional life than those born before maximum elongation. People born while Venus is moving toward its Evening Star retrograde phase may possess big ideas, expansive vision and long-term goals similar to those born earlier in the Venus Hesperus hemicycle, but they tend to be more easily hurt emotionally - and they register emotional pain and trauma deeply, taking a long time to get over it. More than other Evening Star direct people, they tend to feel, emote and evaluate after the fact.
      Helena Petrovna Blavatsky was born twelve days after the maximum elongation of Venus. A powerful Leo Sun in the second house, opposite a conjunction of Jupiter and Uranus, rises forty-five degrees before Venus, which is in the fourth house Libra. The Moon, which is opposite Pluto, rises six degrees after Venus and a third house, Virgo conjunction of Mars, Saturn and Mercury rises between the Sun and Venus. HPB was one of the most important and influential women of the late-nineteenth century, and her Secret Doctrine is the most all-embracing metaphysical work ever published. It was (and remains) as influential as any modern scientific theory or religious work. While Blavatsky, like the earlier examples, was successful in formulating a vast system of thought, she was also famous for her highly emotional nature, symbolized by a Leo Sun - perhaps frustrated by an exact conjunction of Mars and Saturn.
      The natal horoscope of contemporary poet and writer Jim Carroll shows a bright Venus in the sixth house, Virgo, close to the south lunar node, rising thirty-seven degrees after the Sun. Saturn in Virgo and Neptune in Libra are also seen in the sixth house, and Pluto and Mercury rise between the Sun and Venus. Mars and the Moon are exactly conjunct in the third house, near the Nadir, and they are also conjunct Uranus, which rises seven degrees earlier. The triple conjunction is the apex of a T-square, being linked by squares to both ends of an opposition between a twelfth house Jupiter and Neptune in the sixth house. Additionally, Jupiter stands alone in the twelfth house, a singleton above the horizon. Outwardly calm, Carroll's dairies shows another side.
      A bright Venus Evening Star is also featured in the birth chart of Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia. Her birthchart features Mars rising shortly before a first house Taurus Sun, with an exact conjunction of the Moon and Venus rising forty-two degrees later (Moon rising immediately before Venus). Neptune is situated between the Sun and the Moon-Venus conjunction, and it is trine Pluto in the seventh house of relationship. One of the most unusual women of all time, Catherine the Great is often regarded as hypersexual. Although the number of her for love affairs might have been inflated by early biographers, a Taurean Sun is certainly one of the most sexual and sensual configurations for a woman, and in the instance of Catherine the Great, an exact conjunction of the Moon and Venus in Gemini suggest a promiscuous approach to relationships, perhaps exaggerated by Pluto in the seventh house and Uranus Scorpio retrograde in the eight house. But Catherine the Great had a stern side, symbolized by Saturn in the first house, just below the Ascendant.
      Finally, one of the most successful and unique women of Rock, Stevie Nicks, was born at the end of the Evening Star direct phase, one week before the retrograde station of Venus. Her natal horoscope features a loose see-saw pattern, with all planets below the horizon, except the Moon, in the tenth house near the Midheaven (symbolizing her public life), and Jupiter retrograde in the ninth house Sagittarius (symbolizing her metaphysical outlook and the internalized, compensative influences of her father and grandfather). The massing of planets below in horizon is contained by a trine linking the Sun in the second house, Gemini, and Neptune Libra retrograde in the sixth house just below the horizon (the latter symbolizing her musical talent, her "love won and lost" themes, and a predisposition to drug use). Neptune forms a square to the Moon and another square, this one exact, to Venus in Cancer conjunct the Nadir, which in turn completes a cardinal T-square with an opposition to the Moon, across the meridian (one of the most difficult configurations of a woman, yet it also signifies the her powerful and projective feminine character). A Gemini conjunction of Mercury and Uranus in the third house is situated between the Sun and Venus (symbolizing her songwriting talent, her youthful quality, and the quality, character and action of her drug of choice - cocaine). The Mercury-Uranus conjunction is opposite Jupiter retrograde (bringing it all back to the big picture).
      The gestalt pattern and containments of Stephanie's chart, and the strong T-square, are key factors in considering the chart as a whole, but there are many more factors operative here. For instance, Neptune is linked by bi-septile to the Mercury-Uranus conjunction, and Saturn (which forms a loose conjunction with Pluto) is seen at the midpoint, forming septile aspects to both Neptune and the Uranus-Mercury conjunction, comprising a septile-based triangular formation. Additionally, Venus and Mars are septile, and Pluto is linked to both ends of the opposition between Jupiter and the conjunction of Uranus and Mercury by octile-based aspects (forty-five and one-hundred and thirty-five degree aspects).

The retrograde station of Venus commences the concluding phase of the 584-day cycle of Venus. Lasting only 21 days, during the Evening Star retrograde period of Venus and the Sun toward each other in zodiac - from opposite directions.
      In astrological symbolism, the final phase of the cyclic relationship between Venus and the Sun - as seen and experienced from our geocentric perspective - represents the essentialization and internalization of the experiential contents of the entire cycle. The new set of values, ideals, goals and incentives released at the beginning of the cycle are now integrated into a large tradition, and formulated as enduring new forms which, while new, remain faithful to fundamental values - artistic, religious, metaphysical, scientific or national.
      If you are one of the very few born during Venus' Evening Star retrograde phase, self-expression for its own sake is not enough. For you, your work and your creative outlets must have an enduring social value. Though you tend to be outwardly reserved in your social relationships, you are passionate about your ideals and goals . . . and in your intimate relationships.
      Venus Hesperus retrograde types are often diligent workers, especially in creative fields, and they often find themselves intensely involved with, and often icons of, the avant-garde and social movements of their time. Highly dedicated, they possess a large capacity for self-sacrifice. Yet their true natures are often misunderstood by others who are unable to see the breadth and depth of their emotions, ideals, motives and goals.

"How glorious it is, but how painful it is also, to be exceptional in this world!" So wrote poet, writer and dramatist Alfred de Musset in his 1842 work La Merle Blanc. A leading figure in the Romantic Movement of the early-nineteenth century, Alfred de Musset was born two days after the retrograde station of Venus, with Venus situated in mid-Capricorn in the twelfth house. Significantly, there was a Sun-Saturn conjunction and a superior conjunction of the Sun and Mercury less than two days before his birth.
      In de Musset's natal horoscope, the Sun, Saturn and Mercury are in Sagittarius and seen in the eleventh house of associations, friendship and aspiration, with Saturn rising a degree before the Sun (it is therefore the planet of oriental appearance), and Mercury rises a degree after the Sun. The triple conjunction is opposite a fifth house Gemini Moon, while also forming bi-septiles to Jupiter retrograde on the third house cusp, squares to a first house Pluto, and sextiles to Mars in the seventh house of relationship. Neptune is elevated in the tenth house Sagittarius, near the Midheaven, an appropriate symbol for a poet and dramatist. Alfred de Musset was the first modern dramatist of the French language. He was a talented creator of multidimensional female characters, he wrote of love from the depths of experience and integrated classical clarity and purity of form with the passionate subjectivity characteristic of Romanticism. Alfred de Musset was at the center of the Romantic Movement and was an early lover of novelist and liberated woman, George Sand.
      Vocalist Nancy Sinatra was also born a few days after the retrograde station of Venus. Her birthchart features five planets in the twelfth house, including a conjunction of Venus stationary retrograde with Mars and the Moon. Other than the conjunction, the only aspect to Venus is a septile to Uranus in the eleventh house. Neptune stands alone, below the horizon near the third house cusp.

In the birth chart of a man, Venus Evening Star retrograde often indicates a high degree of artistry, and a tempered and disciplined approach to work. de Musset showed a careful appoach in his creative work, though not particularly so in his personal life. Other careful and successful male artists born during the Venus Evening Star retrograde phase include abstract artist Wassily Kandinsky and musician/artist Graham Nash.
      The premier abstract artist of the twentieth century, Wassily Kandinsky, was born midway though the Venus Evening Star retrograde phase. Venus rises twelve degrees after the Sun, and it is conjunct Mercury retrograde, which rises three degrees earlier. The three bodies are in the first house Sagittarius. Saturn in Scorpio is on the Ascendant, opposite Pluto. Kandinsky's art, though thoroughly revolutionary, entirely abstract and non-representational, was the product of an utterly systemic approach which grew, in part, out of Kandinsky's study of Blavatsky's The Secret Doctrine. In Kandinsky's work, every primitive - point, line, curve - every color, every geometric form has a place and meaning according to they system of his devise. A highly Saturnian approach, but also an approach which aimed at integrating new forms with traditional values, creating a new approach of lasting value - particularly in view that both Venus and Mercury were approaching the conclusion of their cycles of relationship with the Sun at his birth.
      Graham Nash, member of the super-group Crosby, Stills and Nash, was born at the very close of a Venus cycle, less than a day before an inferior conjunction. In his birthchart the Sun-Venus conjunction is situated in the third house Aquarius, near the Nadir. Mercury, retrograde in the forth house Aquarius, rises about thirteen degrees behind the conjunction, and the three oppose a Leo Moon in the tenth house very near the Midheaven. Neptune is in the eleventh house and there is a stellium of four planets in the seventh house - including Mars, Saturn, Uranus and Jupiter, the latter two being retrograde. The Moon-Mercury opposition forms a T-square with Saturn and Uranus at the apex. Nash brought to the group he formed with Stephen Stills and David Crosby a disciplined professionalism, an attention to traditional musical values, and a vocal polish needed to leverage the group to super-stardom. In addition to being a musician and talented songwriter, Nash is a photographer, artist and social activist.

For a woman, Venus Evening Star retrograde is often more difficult and stressful than for a man, and social and cultural factors may contribute more to it than anything inherently female. Additionally, this Venus type seems to manifest in the form of self-sacrifice and renunciation more frequently for women than for men. Yet, this too may have more to do with "sexual politics" than with anything inherently female.
      Dancer and double-agent, Mata Hari was also born midway between the retrograde station of Venus and the inferior conjunction. Her natal horoscope features the Sun and Venus in the ninth house, Cancer. Significantly and revealing, Mars rises just one degree after Venus retrograde and the two are very near the Midheaven. The Venus-Mars pair are opposite the Moon in Capricorn near the Nadir - a difficult, but very powerful, set-up for a woman! Equally revealing, Jupiter is retrograde in the first house Scorpio, suggesting a predisposition to self-sacrifice and involvement in social causes - perhaps deeply rooted in a need to compensate. Jupiter trines the Sun, Venus and Mars, opposes Pluto in the seventh house, squares Uranus in the tenth, and sextiles the Moon. Saturn is retrogade in the fifth house. A double agent for the allies during WWI, Mata Hari's motives and intrigues were too deep for the French to appreciate.
      The classic example of Venus retrograde, Annie Besant, was a remarkably ascetic and influential woman. In the 20th century she was known not only as the adopted mother of J. Krishnamurti, but also as the leader of a very large, international theosophical organization and a leading figure in the early struggle for Indian independence. Her horoscope features a sixth house Venus rising three degrees behind the Sun in the sixth house, Libra. Venus is also conjunct the north lunar node and involved in a T-square with the Moon and Uranus. One of the most famous and infamous women in Britain, Besant was a feminist and a strike leader, an early advocate of birth-control (a Venus retrograde symbol because it goes "against the grain" of natural biological imperatives and traditional female gender roles), a lover of George Bernard Shaw and a large figure in the Fabian Movement.

The Progressed Venus Cycle may be used as a guide to help you understand turning-points and stages of emotion development, and refinement of values and goals, throughout the life-cycle.
      Progressed transitions from one Venus type to the next are revealing, but few nativities occur close enough to the conclusion of any particular to allow the possibility during a normal lifespan. Movement from one "sub-type" to another are - such as attainment of maximum elongation - are more common and are worth tracking. CyberWorld Khaldea plans to web-publish tables listing the dates of the major turning-points of the Venus Cycle over the span of 1900-2050.

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