Smoothing Rough Edges with Venus

11.7.07


Even when life deals you lemons and you must frantically jockey to concoct a tasty batch of homemade lemonade, it always sweetens the deal to slap on a spotless smile and your Sunday best… and come out with just the right thing to say to elicit warmth and goodwill from everyone you meet.

Venus in Libra is our perfect helper for that.

Venus, the goddess of beauty and grace and charm, is at her happiest in ruling-sign Libra. Her people skills are unparalleled. Her ability to anticipate others' needs—and cater to them, in order to eventually get the favor returned—is without a rival. She looks like a million bucks, smells like gardenias, and never cracks a sweat or raises her voice to pull off her moves. She's smooth that way.

Life hasn't exactly been without its trials in recent times (especially not for me), with a Mercury retrograde under our hats (not as 'harmonious' as I'd hoped) and 'a Mars retrograde rapidly advancing (it officially begins next Thu Nov 15). And as far as the Mars business goes, we're a long way off from salvation, as the retrograde remains through Jan 30 08. More on all this very soon…

But we must look for the silver linings where we can get 'em, and the voyage of Venus through Libra from tomorrow (Thu Nov 8) through Dec 5 is one such prospect. While Venus in Libra cannot save us from the moody frustrations that Mars's upcoming retrograde could bring, as we muddle through whatever bewildering reasons may prevent us from proceeding full steam ahead, it can help us keep our best face forward. After all, a mark of success isn't the ability to conduct oneself without impediment or error… but merely to play it off as if everything couldn't be better. A calm demeanor gives others permission not to worry about whether you're about to lose your shit—and what they don't know won't hurt 'em.

While it may seem slightly disingenuous to put forth a façade that masks much of the tumult transpiring beneath, there's nothing especially false about such a focus on appearance. Doesn't Venus rule over art, the practice of making an aesthetically attractive and appealing product from the raw (and often unattractive and unappealing) stuffs of life? And can't we justifiably use Venus in Libra to sculpt a charismatic front for our day-to-day tribulations… without necessarily lying about (or even concealing) the truth of what we're up to?

The answers are ours to discover, while keeping a watchful eye over Libra's potential, if left unchecked, for insincere sugarcoating.

Venus in Libra ensures that social gears remain greased, no matter what internal demons might otherwise inspire us to burrow beneath our beds and cower until the storm has passed. She gifts us the proper poise and pronunciation to keep our companions entertained, though we might secretly tell ourselves we'd prefer to be alone. And she glosses away the roughest emotional edges, recasting tales of our reality with a luster that conceals the flaws and airbrushes our complexion to within micrometers of perfection. We don't have to love every inch of our lives, but it's usually a major relief to appear as if we do.

The only danger here, under this otherwise delightfully prettifying influence, is in letting our social stance toward 'maintaining appearances' (or 'charming the pants off 'em') overshadow the full spectrum of what's really going on inside our well-put-together vessels. The Mars retrograde (I already told you: more on this soon) will challenge us to reexamine our relation to physical instinct, as a clue to what our bodies—and thus our holistic selves—really want. Lest we repress this challenge, simply to present a pretty exterior to the world at large, we'll personally suffer the lack of self-knowledge… without anybody else cluing into it.

If a nice appearance is all we're interested in… well, that'll be all we attain. 'Fine' for now, I suppose. But over time, all purely superficial appearances show their cracks, without exception.