Disclaimer: this article is interesting for those that have been through quite the love drama since autumn 2021 and / or for those that love to learn about astrology. In this article I discuss some technical aspects of astrology that will be only interesting to those that like to learn about astrology. This article may be boring for you if you’re not interested in the more technical / underlying mechanisms of astrology and if your love life is excellent. The topic of this article is the astrology and mythology of Venus and Mars, it mainly has to do with intense love, either in the more innocent form of Ross and Rachel from the television series Friends or possibly in a more toxic or dramatic shape (as the Venus and Mars of the Romans). This article is mainly relevant for February 2022 and March 2022.
Listen to the wind blow, watch the sun rise
Running in the shadows, damn your love, damn your lies
And if, you don’t love me now
You will never love me again
I can still hear you saying
You would never break the chain (Never break the chain)
Lyrics: The Chain – Fleetwood Mac
Listen to the song here on YouTube.
I feel like this Fleetwood Mac song perfectly tells the story of Venus and Mars of ancient and of recent; two lovers in a somewhat toxic relationship bound by an invisible unbreakable chain, just like the two people in The Devil tarot card (see below). The Devil in tarot is related to the sign Capricorn. And guess what… Venus and Mars are hanging out together in Capricorn in the upcoming weeks.
The Devil card speaks about desire. In readings this card may speak about about addiction. It may be addiction to drugs, sex or other substances or experiences. This card may show up when the querent in an abusive relationship or some other type of toxic situation. Most of the times, this card isn’t a positive one. But it all depends on the question, the context and the other cards that show up in the reading. This card may speak about ‘not wanting to let go of something / give up on something’ or ‘going after what you want’; which in some instances can be very positive things.
Venus and Mars in Astrology
Venus and Mars (Roman names) – Aphrodite and Ares (Greek names) – are two well-known characters in love stories of the ancient Romans and Greeks. They are two important characters in astrology too – or more precisely planetary bodies. Moving around in the heavens above as two opposites… We all know what is often said about opposites: they attract.
Venus signifies pleasure while Mars signifies pain, and the list of oppositions between them continues; peace versus war, love versus hate, relating versus separating, creating versus destroying… Venus, the brightest most beautiful planet in the night sky, signifies all things beautiful and loving. The ancients described Venus as a ‘benefic planet’. Mars, the dark and blood red planet, signifies bloodshed and war. The ancients described Mars as a ‘malefic planet’.
Disclaimer: in this article I mainly go into the malefic qualities of Mars and the benefic qualities of Venus, which may make it seem like Mars / Aries / Scorpio is bad and Venus / Taurus / Libra is good. Astrology, as I practice it with my clients, is way more nuanced than that! You can’t make ethical judgements about people based on their charts (I’ve heard people say that they ‘don’t date Scorpios because Scorpios are mean’). Please judge people on their behavior and not on their date of birth. (And… Please use your brain, your gut, your intuition in dating and not apps like the Pattern or Costar; these apps should solely be used for fun, not for making decisions in love or other areas of life.) For the sake of making this article easy to read, I’m nuancing some extreme descriptions but I’m not going to nuance every extreme description. I do however hope that this article offers inspiration and teaches you something about astrology; because even though I mainly describe extremes, they are definitely valid in a particular way.
Before we go into the astrology of the recent past, present and future, I want to go into the oppositions of Venus and Mars a little bit more.
Taurus and Libra versus Scorpio and Aries
The planet Venus rules over the signs Taurus and Libra. Taurus is a sign of sensual pleasure, whether that means art for the eyes, music for the ears, food for the lips. Taurus loves to create, give, and receive pleasure. Exactly 180 degrees opposite of Taurus, we find Scorpio in the belt of zodiacal signs. The ruler of this sign is Mars. Scorpio brings intensity, destruction, death, transformation. Taurus symbolizes all things good and enjoyable, from flowers, to chocolate, to jazz. Taurus also brings stability. Scorpio symbolizes transformation, like flowers turning into compost. When Taurus and Scorpio meet, beautiful things can happen though. Scorpio brings pressure to carbon in the dark deep regions of the earth, which creates the Venusian diamonds of Taurus. It may sound like Scorpio is ‘bad’ and Taurus is ‘good’. There is no ethical judgement here. We are speaking about comfort here. Stability is comfortable. Transformation often not. Transformation, though, is key to processes like personal growth.
Taurus and Scorpio are a perfect pair in the bedroom. While Taurus loves to receive, Scorpio desires to penetrate. Scorpio also desires to dominate. The mythology related to this sign speaks about the desire for intimacy and a giant fear of intimacy (it’s the story of Artemis and Orion); Scorpio has an intense desire to meet the depths of another person but has a great fear to show their own. This makes this Mars ruled sign great at psychological warfare, and equally great at bedroom powerplays. Mars doesn’t like to release control. We can see how these two expressions of Venus and Mars are opposites. We can also see how these two signs may attract each other.
While Taurus is mainly an expression of the physical beauty of Venus, Libra is the more social expression of the goddess of love. Libra is positioned exactly 180 degrees opposite of the sign Aries, which is ruled over by Mars the god of war, in the belt of zodiacal signs. It’s interesting and significant that the two signs that Venus and Mars rule, are positioned exactly opposite of each other. Libra is the sign of the scales. In this sign we see the Venusian desire for harmony and balance in relationships. Libra is always focused on the Other. Aries, on the other hand, is mainly occupied with the Self. Libra always wonders what the other wants and works hard to make sure that the other is pleased. Aries always wonders what themselves wants and works hard to make sure that they get what they want. Both, however, are very aware of both the self and the other. You can only be aware of another, if you have a sense of self, and the other way around. The difference is that Libra prioritizes the other and that Aries priorities the self. That’s why Libras are often described as people pleasing and Aries is often described as self-centered and sometimes even rude.
Libra tends to give away power, in order to establish peace. Libra wants equality. Aries, however, will not give power away and will want to win no matter what (in sports, at boardgames and in war). Aries is often described as self-centered, rude, impulsive, hot headed and aggressive. Libra is often described as compromising, gentle, self-sacrificing, peaceful. Again, we can see how Libra and Aries, Venus and Mars, are opposites. We can also see how they attract. Two Aries’s would probably be in constant conflict with each other. Two Libra’s on the other hand would always be in a very peaceful relationship, but it would have zero spice. A self-centered asshole Aries that wants to be in control can only date a self-sacrificing Libra that’s okay with putting themselves second. Or to put it in a more positive way: Aries brings the necessary fights and heat (relationships need friction; friction brings personal growth and good sex), while Libra brings the communication and peace offerings that are necessary to make it last in the long run.
Venus and Mars in Mythology
The most well known story of Venus (Aphrodite) and Mars (Ares), is about these adulterous lovers being caught and exposed in a net that was made by Venus’s husband. Venus was married to Vulcan (Hephaestus). The marriage was arranged by Jove, also known as Jupiter (Zeus). Thus Venus wasn’t married to Vulcan out of choice or out of love. Venus was actually in love with Mars and the two had a longstanding passionate love affair.
Vulcan found out about the affair of Venus and Mars via Apollo. Vulcan went to his forge and created a snare made of bronze chains so fine that not even the gods could see them, and he spread them across his marriage bed, draping them all over the bed-posts. Then he told Venus that he was leaving for Lemnos. When Venus and Mars took advantage of Vulcan’s absence, they were caught in the net, unable to move and free themselves. Of course, Vulcan hadn’t really left for Lemnos and instead found them. He then called for Jupiter to witness the betrayal. Jupiter, Mercury, Neptune and other gods came to witness the lovers caught in the net (the goddesses stayed away in shame). The gods roared with laughter to see the lovers caught, and Mercury even makes a joke that he wouldn’t mind being caught in the trap himself (and in fact, in other stories Mercury and Venus also have a love affair going). Vulcan demands his dowry back from Jupiter, and Neptune bargains for the freedom of Mars and Venus, promising that if Mars doesn’t pay the dowry back he would pay it himself. Vulcan agrees and loosens the chains. Venus then goes off to Cyprus and Mars goes to Thrace.
The earliest form of the story that we have appears in Book 8 of the Greek poet Homer’s Odyssey, likely written in the 8th or 7th century B.C.E. The story also appears in Book II of the Roman poet Ovid’s Ars Amatoria, written in 2 C.E., and a briefer form in Book 4 of his Metamorphoses, written 8 C.E. In Ovid, the tale ends after the gods are laughing at the netted lovers—there is no bargaining for the freedom of Mars, and Ovid’s Vulcan is described as more malicious than enraged. In Homer’s Odyssey, Venus returns to Cyprus, in Ovid she remains with Vulcan.
Venus and Mars were intensely attracted to each other. Their chemistry was insane. Their lust for each other was immense. Their love was great and intense. But their story is also one of much drama and their love affair caused pain to others. They got several children, under whom Cupid (Eros) (though there are also sources that stated that Cupid is the child of Venus and Mercury). The children of Venus and Mars either embodied unconditional love (like Cupid) and other beautiful energies and qualities, or dark and troubling energies and qualities like lust and greed. You could say that their children were angels and monsters, representing the most saint qualities and devilish qualities of gods and humans.
That’s what you get when you bring Venus and Mars together… love that makes you high, the best orgasms ever. But also, pain, loss, and deceit. Have you ever had that type of a connection? I think I’ve had the most amazing sex with the person that also droves me fucking crazy. Intoxicating love can turn you into someone else, not recognizing yourself anymore when you look into the mirror. But damn, that love (or maybe it’s just the sex) is addictive. That’s Venus and Mars….
Let’s talk astrology
Let’s talk about the astrology of the recent past, the present and the future.
The story actually begins at the end of October / early November of last year (2021). On the 30th of October, Mars entered Scorpio. About a week later, on the 5th of November, Venus entered Capricorn. In that context (Mars being in Scorpio and Venus entering Capricorn soon after), the two normally form a sextile. A sextile is a supportive and flirtatious aspect, a supportive connection between two planets. However, the aspect never became exact. The two lovers were planning to meet, but they didn’t.
Let me explain… Usually, Venus moves faster through the belt of zodiacal signs than Mars. The planets closer to Earth move faster than the planets that are far away. The apparent speed of a planet (the speed as we perceive it from our position here on Earth) changes (as the position of that planet in relation to the position of the Sun changes). Thus, we’re not talking about actual speed here; we’re talking about apparent speed here, the speed as we perceive it. Usually, Venus spends a little less than one month in a sign. Venus entered Capricorn on November 5th 2021 and she will leave Capricorn on March 5th/6th2022 (the exact date for you depends on where you live, US or Europe). That period is way longer than one month! Venus spends so much time in Capricorn this time because, due to her position in relationship to the Sun, she slowed down in speed, so much so that she stopped moving, stationed retrograde, and started to move backwards in the sign of Capricorn retracing her steps… Venus stationed retrograde mid-December and she stations direct at the end of January. You can read more about Venus retrograde in this article that I shared in December.
Thus… usually Venus moves much faster than Mars. Mars entered Scorpio late October. Venus entered Capricorn early November. Normally, Venus would have ‘caught up’ with Mars and formed an exact sextile by degree while Mars was in Scorpio and Venus in Capricorn. Venus would have then left Capricorn earlier than Mars would have left Scorpio, because Venus usually moves faster. However, Venus slowed down while she was in Capricorn late 2021, eventually even standing still (and then stationing retrograde). Thus: even though Venus and Mars were in a sextile by sign, they never formed an exact sextile by degree. It’s like two people who are running. One has a head start. The other one is usually actually faster than the one that has the head start. But, something happens, and the faster one needs to slow down. Thus, the faster one never catches up with the slower one. It’s like that Ross and Rachel story in the final episode of the television series Friends. I’m not going to explain the whole story, but Friends viewers will immediately know what I’m writing about. Rachel leaves for France. Ross, at the very last moment, decides to go to the airport to try to catch Rachel before she boards the plane to tell her that he loves her. He leaves in time. He should be able to meet her. But… he’s at the wrong airport! Thus, they don’t meet. The sextile between Ross and Rachel never becomes exact. (Later in that final episode the two will meet after all, as will happen with Venus and Mars.)
Venus in Capricorn never managed to form that sextile with Mars in Scorpio in autumn 2021. The two lovers were about to meet, but somehow it didn’t work out. The two are about to get a second chance. Which doesn’t necessarily predict a happy ending, a marriage, or the like. I’m just saying that Venus and Mars finally will have their meeting.
Venus is still in Capricorn. She’s retrograde at this moment, as I’m writing and posting this article. She will station direct on January 29th at 11 degrees Capricorn. Mars is about to enter Capricorn. Since the 30th of October last year, Mars moved through both Scorpio and Sagittarius. On January 24th Mars enters the sign Capricorn. Thus, Venus and Mars will be in a sign based conjunction from January 24th onward (until early April).
Again, let me explain. Venus is basically standing still at the moment near 11 degrees Capricorn. She will slowly gain speed after she stations direct at the end of the month (29th of January), Mars is now able to catch up with Venus. Again: Venus usually is faster than Mars, but now the roles are reversed. The two will form an exact conjunction by degree on February 16th (which is also the day of the Full Moon in Leo), because Mars is able to catch up with Venus (if we compare it to Ross and Rachel; this is Rachel catching up with Ross). Mars catches up with Venus and surpasses her; which again creates distance between the two. But then Venus gains her speed and starts to chase Mars… It’s a cat and mouse / push and pull dynamic between the two that is quite the unusual astrological play.
Mars and Venus form an almost exact conjunction again at the late degrees of Capricorn in early March. On the 3rd of March the two of them meet up with Pluto, lord of the underworld, at 27 degrees Capricorn. For Venus this is the third time that she’s meeting with Pluto, she also did so before and during her retrograde period. Thus… Mars forms an exact conjunction with Pluto on the 3rd of March and Venus also forms an exact conjunction with Pluto on the 3rd of March. The conjunction of Venus and Mars will, however, be perfectly exact at zero degrees Aquarius on March 5th / 6th. In other words: Venus is about to catch up with Mars while the two are in Capricorn together. They will move into Aquarius at almost exactly the same time, just seven minutes away from each other! Mars moves into Aquarius first and Venus joins him seven minutes later; at zero degrees Aquarius on March 5th or March 6th (depending on your timezone) the conjunction becomes exact. Then Venus surpasses Mars and eventually Venus will move into Pisces before Mars does and the two will go their own way again.
I understand that the above is a long and complicated story for a lot of you, especially if you’re not that deep into astrology. I actually applaud you if you made it to this point. I will try to simplify… Venus and Mars were about to meet up for an intense get together in fall 2021, but they never did because Ross was at the wrong airport. In February 2022 Rachel decides to not go to Paris and to stay in the US, to finally get off that plane and to meet with the love of her life Ross. (Until she decides to go to Paris after all, and leave Ross behind, in April 2022.) Well… that’s the happy version… In February Venus and Mars do finally meet again. In a very intense entanglement! It becomes more intense late February / early March. Pluto even joins the party. Pluto brings more intensity and power struggles into the mix.
Let us not forget that Venus is just about to station direct as I’m writing and posting this article. Venus just went through an intense rebirth process. The goddess of love is now rich of insights. She knows what she wants, and she knows her worth. She will not settle for less! Venus and Mars meeting up again in February and March 2022 may sound lovely. But it does not necessarily signify make ups after break ups… What then is this astrology good for? This astrology is good for exes coming back together for one last time; fights between lovers; getting closure in an intense heated way, and it’s also good for bdsm…
The astrology of February and March is great for very very very hot sex. It’s also great for fights and arguments between lovers. It’s also great for reconnecting with old lovers, having one last time of great sex and then deciding to each go their own way. For those of you that went through a separation or conflict in November 2021, some closure may finally come.
If you want unconditional beautiful love…. Wait till Venus enters Pisces in April. Because chemistry might be fun, it doesn’t always lead to happiness. Don’t forget that Venus and Mars not only brought Cupid but also some very toxic children into the mythological world. Venus might be happier in Pisces (and without Mars) in April 2022.
X Maud