Tom JacobsI’ve been going over three interactions from the last week, and you’d think Venus has been in Scorpio for more than just three-ish hours. Unimaginative Venus and Scorpio energies can involve power plays, and I’ve been seeing them left and right. Don’t believe that Venus, as the ruler of Libra, is about niceness. It’s about feeling out boundaries and, when it’s clear they stink and we’re not being treated like equals, some of us choose to lash out at others in resentment.
Power play 1: A new friend repeatedly gave me advice and instructions about a cat I recently adopted, one she took responsibility for finding a new home (after the little guy was orphaned by her neighbor). I took a lot of the advice, considering that she was invested in making sure he had a good home, she really cared about him. But she refused to see in what ways my home is a good one, and I drew a line. A kind of argument ensued, as she listed in detail the reasons I’m a terrible cat guardian and made it clear that she’d already decided I wasn’t going to improve. I let her know her input was no longer welcome, and after she sent several more messages with advice and instructions, I withdrew, saying it was clear she didn’t respect me and, people, with Mercury stationing on my 1st house Mars-Uranus in Libra, I’ll have none of that.
(Pluto and the true Black Moon Lilith in Virgo, Mars-Uranus in Libra, all in the 8th.)
Power play 2: My mom brought up something again I’d asked her not to, as it hurts me rather deeply and I’ve not yet come to a calm place with it. Also, it very clearly has nothing to do with her. Screaming from me ensued, as it seemed an intentional crossing of a clear line which, people, with Mercury stationing on my 1st house Mars-Uranus… Of course, I’m imagining that motivation, but I’m not done being mad about it. It’s okay – it’s showing me something key about my assumption of her motivation. We’ll work it out, I’ll explain the assumption and apologize, etc.
(Sun-Uranus in Gemini in the 8th.)
Power play 3: The Lucifer talk I gave last night in West Hollywood involved example chart handouts. I’d made an error in the photocopying, and a woman in the audience made a giant deal of it, and wouldn’t drop it. I accepted responsibility and apologized, but it wasn’t enough. At least a half dozen times she interrupted the presentation to complain, and eventually I (sort of sternly) let her know that I’d heard her the first half dozen times and that she was going to have to accept the reality of the situation and stop whining about it (not a quote!). Several angry e-mails from her followed my sending her the charts as requested and her calling them worthless, and I didn’t read the last one, reiterating “Like I said, good luck to you.”
(Pluto in Virgo in the 8th opposing Moon-Chiron in Pisces in the 2nd.)
Now, I’m a Venus-Pluto in Libra person. There’s a resonance with Venus in Scorpio, an overlap of the two archetypes, and one with anything in the 8th house, associated with Pluto. Basically, I’m all the time living like Venus is in Scorpio. I have to see that I’m drawing these interactions to me to show me something. I could be ticked off that I “have” to “deal with” this stuff, but the reality is that all of you people who are not me are populating my dream of the world, showing up to help me see things that can help me progress on my journey. And the same about all of us populating your dream of the world.
The Scorpio response to these energies can range wildly from pettiness, lashing out and trying to trump the power play of the other, or what’s perceived to be a power play, to acceptance that other people behave as they do because of them, and that we’re in all of our relationships having ourselves reflected. The reflection when we’re in Scorpio can be intense, and we’re challenged to look ourselves-as-the-other in the eye, to open to the truth of what’s happening deeply inside us as reflected by the other.
It can be so intense that we think we have to strike out to protect ourselves. Yet the evolved Scorpio energy is about letting things go – all perceived transgressions can actually just be let go. Healthy Scorpio is into intensity, needs is, but isn’t into drama. And there are plenty of places to find and create intensity that don’t make you think you’re living in a soap opera.
And all this to say that as Venus gets re-acquainted with the mode of Scorpio, the sign of intensity, intimacy, deep honesty, and power plays, watch what’s coming up in your closest relationships. See everything that comes up as showing you something deep inside you that you need to see and acknowledge.
Check your reactivity until October 19th (when Venus enters Sagittarius). Thank all those who show up to teach you uncomfortable truths about yourself. Let go of the impulse to gain power over someone else, especially if they do something that ends up hurting you. Acknowledge that they’re populating your dream of the world, and doing what they can to help you out, as you are them – even if it’s not always comfortable.