sneaky love is its own source
Yes, Venus and Mars are simplistically called the ‘cosmic lovers’, because they represent prominent characters, both in ancient mythology and in the Solar System.
The stories which follow were adopted by the Romans from the Greek, and what changed was the name of the Gods; very few gods are specific only to Roman mythology.
Mars (Ares, in Greek mythology) was the Roman god of war. A planet was named after him and in astrology, he is associated with drive, energy, dynamism but also anger and destructive rage, brute force and, yes: war! Mars rules Aries and Scorpio, two signs associated with intensity in physical approach and psychological depth, respectively.
Venus (Aphrodyte in Greek Mythology) was the Roman goddess of love and beauty, associated with sensual pleasures and lush, abundant pleasures of living. In astrology, she rules the signs Taurus and Libra. Taurus is the sign associated with physical values, valuables, material goods, luxury — and earned money. Libra is the sign of the couple and marriage. Cupid one of Venus and Mars’ children, was the god that sent his arrows which made people (and gods) fall madly in love.
And what is the archetypal story with Mars and Venus? Well Venus was married to Vulcan (the metalworker god); however, she had several other relationships with other men; her most famous lover was Mars; their was a relationship described better as a combination of lust and attraction, not the enduring, attachment type. Venus and Mars were caught together by Volcan, her husband; with remarkable self control, Volcano didn’t fight Mars, but he put an invisible net in her bed, which caught them together in an intimate pose; Then Vulcan showed the trapped couple to all the other gods, which couldn’t stop laughing at them.
So you see, Venus and Mars yes, shared a burning passion and an enduring relationship, with lies, extramarital affairs, getting caught, being exposed and ridiculed. And that, all of it, is what the Venus-Mars story is showing, wherever it comes up in charts. All the complex, sneaky love archetypal story, not the happily-ever-after-living-in-a-house-with-picket-fence-and-having-lovely-children.
Let me be even more explicit than this.
When people look for love in their natal chart or in transits, they look for Venus (and if Mars, her cosmic lover, happens to be around in a positive aspect, well — that’s even better!).
But, what are you looking at in that chart when you are looking at Venus? She’s the old female archetype, seductive and preoccupied by her physical aspect exclusively; vain and envious of other women’s beauty. This aspect of her is the inspiration for the evil queen in Snow White, who wished to remain the fairest in the land. In the mythology, Venus would often cause harm to other women, out of jealousy for their beauty.
We don’t like to think about ourselves about turning into envious, adulterous, jealous and sometimes outright evil, right? I mean, as humans we do make mistakes, but it’s not a quest itself to embody the Venus archetype fully, right?
By being human, we are going to experience envy and jealousy, and there’s no need to lash ourselves about it. Look at toddlers, who become envious and jealous and go act on that, and you’ll understand it’s so basic and human, and only later in life we come to consciously choose to move past those emotions.
Really, isn’t it anything different in astrology that could tell a different symbolic story? Not the story of Venus and Mars to look for in our lives, but something more balanced and worth pursuing?
Well, there are plenty of other stories, by different characters, that all have their counterparts in astronomy and in astrology.
We come this way to one ‘true’ love story. You’ll see what I mean by true. Even more so, Venus (Aphrodyte) was the one who wanted to destroy Psyche, for her reputation as one of the most beautiful women alive. She sent her son Cupid (Eros) to strike her with one of his arrows, so Psyche would fall in love with a monster. But, Cupid stumbled and stroke himself with his own arrow, falling madly in love with Psyche.
Their story continues to be one of the best stories in mythology to show enduring love, and the source of inspiration for what we know today, “Hero’s Journey”, intensely used by Disney in all their movies. THAT kind of stories is what we’re being exposed to, when we’re young, and this is what we expect.
Until then, know that when you’re looking in your chart for Venus, you’re looking to that area in your life where you express the vain female archetype, with complex relationships, desired by many and who felt like her value resides only in her being known as the ‘fairest’. It’s not good or bad, just know what story Venus tells, in a transit.
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