Venus-Chiron in the Eighth, or naked on love's threshing floor

But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor,
Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh,

but not all of your laughter,

and weep, but not all of your tears.

~ From The Prophet by Khalil Gibran

The position of Venus in the natal chart, together with the aspects it makes to other celestial bodies, offer a snapshot of the native's relationship patterns, as well as insight into their self-love and self-worth.

Or lack thereof.

As Saturn prepares to move into Libra again later this month, relationships and how we tackle them are once more to be highlighted.

If we have been less than able to maintain healthy one-on-one boundaries in the past, or placed unrealistic expectations on significant others, if our personal ties have been power struggles, breeding grounds for resentment or generally a vale of tears, this transit of Saturn, which will last till October 2012, is a window of opportunity to revisit, shed or refine such patterns.

No less for myself, as I continue to be single, and weigh up the cost of ever being partnered again.

With my natal Sun in the Seventh House of partnerships, ties to a significant other are always of major importance. But I must confess that, a year on from my last break-up, there are definite benefits to being solo.

For one thing, there's a welcome lack of having to compromise on important personal interests and activities which the other may have little time (or respect) for. A blissful ease in not having to expend effort and take on the stress of defending positions - intellectual, spiritual or ideological - which clash with the 'beloved's' own.

Plus you never have to worry about your future in-laws, or feel bad that your sleeping patterns are a less-than-perfect match to your partner's. Or that they earn more/less than you do.

However.

As someone whose natal Venus is conjunct Chiron in the Eighth House, despite the pain (Chiron) associated with relationships, and the feeling always of having to earn, or be 'good enough' for love (Venus square Saturn) or the constant anxiety of being annihilated by the beloved's possible rejection (Venus-Chiron opposite Pluto), there is a certain raw quality of longing, that I wouldn't exchange for any amount of suffering.

Yes, in my case, there is an exaggerated romanticism involved (read about the mixed blessing of Venus trine Neptune here), but the transforming depths (Eighth House) of the longing to merge with the beloved, that passionate yearning for total union, the unrelenting need for love, albeit one that brings with it profound wounding (Chiron) - which ultimately brings the cool relief of wisdom - well... it's a dynamic that is ultimately very precious to me.

No one can pine for that union of souls or nurture a divine discontent like a Pisces Sun. Especially one whose Venus-Chiron lie in the mysterious Eighth.




A modified version of the image above was originally taken from this site.

For my Cypriot readers: A Venus-Neptune theatre recommendation

This isn't really an astrology-heavy offering, other than to mention that my Venus-Neptune trine was merrily zinging tonight because...

(... and this is the point of this post...)

... this evening I saw a wonderful, original Greek-language work by the extremely talented director Magdalena Zira, entitled Metamorphosis: a seven-actor ensemble piece created by Zira's original translation of Ovid's eponymous poetry, and performed at the Cyprus Theatre Organisation's (CTO's) Experimental Stage in Agios Andreas, Nicosia.

Usually I whinge and complain about the dearth of quality theatre in Cyprus, but this evening, my passion for the performing arts was well-sated. Indeed, I was very proud that the show was having its world premier in my home-town.

The set-design was beautiful, the ivory costumes stylised and striking, the young cast lithe and confident - having obviously benefitted from many hours of rehearsal under a sure directorial hand.

As for the material, the tales enacted are stories of transformation as the title suggests.

Yet what I found fascinating and timeless about the unifying theme was not so much the physical metamorphoses imaginatively brought to life by Zira and her team (here kudos also to the lighting designer and composer of the original score), but actually the protean, ever-in-flux and ultimately - often tragically - unstable nature of love itself.

Naturally, such instability exploited to the max by the capricious deities of the Greek pantheon who grace the stage much of the time.

Hence, if you enjoy theatre and have ever been provoked, moved or even simply entertained by classical Greek mythology, you are in for an utter treat.

I would have loved to have posted a link to rehearsal stills, but was mysteriously unable to find any (bar one tiny one) on CTO's website.

So, instead, I settled for a cropped version of John Williams Waterhouse's Echo and Narcissus which you can see above, at the start of this post.

(Having said that, I almost went for the more famous painting by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, which, if you're curious, can be found here.)

I repeat once again: for theatre-buff Nicosians and Cypriot readers in general... this show is not to be missed. As good as almost any (actually better) as I've seen Off-Broadway in dear old New York City.

More information about Metamorphosis' performance times and dates, (in Greek only) may be found here.



The image above was taken from this site.

Light side of the Ninth: An astrological perspective

Well, here's part two for those who missed the first bit. The lighter or 'good' side of me.

It's funny, but I think I've actually been putting off writing this post. Had no problem going on about my evil-ness, but my good side is... I dunno, a bit embarrassing to speak of.

Still, better get on with it, for the sake of balance - something that might even bring a smile to sourpuss Saturn, currently in dignified Libra.

Firstly, I guess, there's that Sun-Jupiter conjunction in Pisces. It's a wide conjunction, but whenever I've had readings, the astrologer has considered me a Sol-Jupe kinda fella, and I think it fits well.

Essentially, I'm expansive when it comes to both beliefs and the magnanimity of the universe, and also in terms of my own desire to love all. (Do I succeed? Meh. It's varied, but the impetus is there).

In terms of being intoxicated with the broadest of idealistic horizons and a spiritual, all-encompassing love, I'm there.

And I have a big heart. On my good days. On the less good days, I feel as if I've swallowed the ocean and am totally lost in the supernova of spirit. To thoroughly mix my simile-metaphors.

Then there's that Venus-Neptune trine in fire (respectively Aries and Sagittarius). Can we say romantic? We can. Hopelessly, utterly, fatally romantic. If you want more of an elaboration, you can find it here in an earlier post.

Which basically means I adore beauty in all its forms - music, sculpture, poetry, painting, architecture, the human figure, all of the performing arts etc. - as long as it is inspiring (fire).

And I believe my exes, whatever else they may think of me now (and I'm grateful to say, these ladies are still friends) would attest to my love of the romantic gesture.

In short, I'm not the kind of guy who'll forget your birthday or neglect any of the niceties of courtship, tenderness and long-term devotion.

Also I have deep-rooted yen for courtesy and fairness.

Meanwhile, lurking in my sixth house are both Mars and Mercury in maverick Aquarius. Hence, I am both left-brained and right-brained: I've been cultivating an integration between the skills of the cerebral hemispheres for a long time now, and I believe I'm making progress.

So-called 'paranormal' abilities and energy healing are a few of my passions.

I'm the kind of person who'll entertain the zaniest (read: provocative) ideas, which sound, on the face of it, rather crazy. But I tend to be good at articulating the (il)logic behind 'em. And with Mercury in the sign of the humanitarian rebel, public speaking at any time, before any scale of audience, with or without prep, is like breathing to me.

As are writing, and speedily learning and integrating the latest spiritual, healing and technological advances. And I'm good with my hands, too (Mercury in the sixth).

Meanwhile, Virgo-rising, for all its anal nitpicking (that sounds rather unfortunate, but you catch my drift), makes me a fairly adept problem-solver. And good at sorting through the details.

Most of the time I even succeed in over-compensating for that lack of patience, too (Aquarius Mars in the sixth, square Scorpio Uranus in the third), by logically and methodically tackling needful (if boring) tasks.

Did I mention I like to be active all the time? Well, I do. I respect and take care of my health (though I wish I were more disciplined about cooking for myself) and to me that means fitness is key. I need to be in motion and tend to thrive if I can exercise intensely almost every day.

Hence, I'm a good person to have around if you need sustained, ignoring-the-pain-and-doing-it-anyway sort of energy. As long as there's a clear goal and the process isn't too mind-numbingly boring. I have a low boredom threshold.

Which also means I enjoy hard work (Aquarius Mars and Mercury in the sixth - as well as Capricorn Moon by its proximity to the sixth house cusp). In fact, I have workaholic tendencies. I sleep very poorly if I feel I'm not working hard enough. Though I am trying to break the pattern of deriving self-worth from the level of work I accomplish.

If you are my friend or a family member/loved one, I will be loyal and steadfast (Saturn in the 11th, Cappie Moon, Saturn square Venus) and take my responsibilities to you very seriously. I will strive always to do the right thing by you. Most of the time I will put your needs (and those of others generally) ahead of mine.

Again, with the current Saturn-Pluto square from my respective second to fifth houses, I am trying to find the balance between caring for my needs as well as others' in my significant personal and professional relationships.

And I'm creative (Moon in the fifth, Venus trine Neptune, Neptune square Sun, quintiles between Sun and MC, Mars and Venus) and, dare I say it, charismatic (Pluto opposition Venus, Uranus sextile Ascendant).

Acting, dancing, drawing, writing, directing, playing instruments come fairly easily to me.

To end on a Sun-Jupiter accent: I would describe myself as a servant king (Leo 12H, Virgo-rising), endowed with a rigorous creative, spiritual, intellectual and humanitarian drive, to put at the service of the collective.

And I strive to do just that, every day.



The image above was taken from this site.