Exalted Planets Series: Venus in Pisces

VENUS EXALTED IN PISCES

"They say love is blind. Rubbish! There's nothing so clear-sighted as love. Attachment is blind because it's based on a false belief."

"As long as I need you for my happiness, I cannot love you"

Anthony de Mello

These two quotes from the great Anthony de Mello are in keeping with the essence of Venus in Pisces.

The Greek's knew Venus as Aphrodite, the Goddess of love.

Aphrodite itself means "born of the sea foam" and she was sometimes called "Aphrodite Pelagia – she of the ocean" (Guttman & Johnson 1993).

Looking into the history of the Gods shows us how Venus is exalted in Pisces. Pisces is symbolised by two fish, the ocean and is the highest octave of the water signs.

Pisces symbolises man's connection to the spiritual world and the material world, hence the two fishes. Venus in Pisces brings together love and spirituality. A love for the transcendent and everlasting rather than the material (taurus) or aesthetic (libra) which Venus also rules.

Venus in Pisces may experience a deep longing for a love that transcends normal reality.

The story of Radha and Lord Krishna in Hindu mythology is symbolic of the yearning within the human soul for love. But that yearning that we have is for ourselves, the truest relationship we will ever have is with ourselves. It sounds cliched but it's actually the essence of all religious teachings. Radha represents the individual soul and Lord Krishna is the divine consciousness. Through Radha's selfless devotion to Lord Krishna, she becomes united with him. When we are united with the divine our yearning for happiness in the external world comes to an end and we access the bliss and peace that is our birthright.

Below is an image of Radha and Lord Krishna that I took during a visit to India. You can see that she is hugging him very tightly. She is totally devoted to him. This is symbolic of the need to maintain our connection with ourselves and never lose it, even when we are in relationship with another.

Antony de Mello says that "Loneliness is not cured by contact with other human beings, it's cured by contact with reality.

This is the true heart of the Venus in Pisces. Divine Love. 

Aleister Crowley describes Venus in Pisces as "The dawn of spiritual illumination in the mind of man."

Once you have contacted the reality within then you can truly love other people. True love is divine love. True love is for all and is not attached by conditions. True love is allowing the other to be themselves without any demands from you. It is not possessive or clinging. It is freedom.

Venus in Pisces will often experience feelings of oneness and bliss in relationships. People with Venus in Pisces love those who are in need, the underdog, the downtrodden. They may treat their partner as a God.

Venus in Pisces lacks an individual ego in relationships, this can be a beautiful thing but in the times we are living in it can be dangerous as unscrupulous people will look to take advantage of such purity. To guard against this anyone with this strong in their chart must deeply listen to their own intuition, even if others make you doubt it. It will guide you to safety.

Soulmate love is indeed a reality and those with Venus in Pisces may well experience it. But they may also look at those they love with rose coloured glasses and forgive things that others would not, often to their own detriment. Focusing on their own personal connection to the divine (the real true love of our lives) will be protective.

Martyrdom or doing so much for the other that is causes oneself pain can be common with these people due to their lack of individual ego. It is a matter of debate as to whether sacrificing oneself for others is admirable or not, the Piscean age was the age of Jesus after all, the ultimate symbol of self-sacrifice. I think the key with any matter of this sort is to use common sense and observe the middle way. If we are burnt out and exhausted, we will not be able to care for anyone. If we are too selfish and never think of others, we become closed to the beauty of selfless service.

Divine creativity is another beautiful expression of Venus in Pisces. Through their strong connection with the collective consciousness these individuals have great and sometimes effortless access to otherworldly creativity. They may become great artists and mystics. A note of caution however, sometimes the pull of the other realms is so great that strongly Piscean individuals may have a propensity to escape there through addictions, this can be a shadow side of Venus in Pisces. Or indeed, a pull to love those with addictions and get involved in co-dependant relationships.

I recently heard that exalted planets can be challenging to have in the age we are currently in. The Hindus believe that we are in a time called 'Kali Yuga' where we are furthest away from our connection to God (or our true selves). Evil flourishes and the material is worshipped rather than the spiritual. I.e. money is felt to be the most important thing rather than morality and that there is no point to life other than making money.

I think this could be very true for Venus in Pisces. In these dark times they may feel very misunderstood and are at risk of being taken advantage of. But hold tight dear Venus in Pisces it is also said that Kali Yuga is the best time to become enlightened or, more simply put, to come back to our true selves, and my goodness Venus in Pisces can come closer than most.

References:

Aleister Crowley, Astrology (1947) Neville Spearman (Jersey)

Arielle Guttman & Kenneth Johnson; Mythic Astrology; Internalizing the Planetary Powers (1993) Echo Point Books and Media.