the hiersogamos is upon us! the sacred marriage of venus and mars, feminine and masculine, yin and yang is but days away. the first big one happened back on april 21st of this year. that one was in pisces, a water sign, and was at the last degree of pisces- the omega of the omega if you will (pisces is the last sign, the 29th degree is the last degree). the first conjunction of venus and mars was like the starting of the race (so to speak). since that day we have been in the venus and mars dance, as the two went back and forth in forward and direction motion, moving from pisces through aries and now into taurus, ready to meet again. as astrology is all about symbolism- as above, so below- we can look at the symbolism of this connection and read into on many levels.
the first and most basic, but superficial, layer is that of the potential for great sex and/or connection with another. venus is the archetypal divine feminine and mars is the archetypal divine masculine- and when you get these two together you get fireworks. if you have ever had a relationship or intimate connection with another and you guys just turned each other on from the get go you likely had a venus/mars aspect (or venus or mars with pluto- as pluto is the higher octave of mars). believe me- i know this one from experience. one guy i dated had his mars on top of my venus…FIREWORKS. two others had their mars opposite my venus…FIREWORKS again. others i did not have this aspect with, or some other kind of pluto aspect, did not have the same energy at all. i have seen in charts that it helps to have the man and/or the person who identifies with the masculine more (particularly in same sex relationships) be the one whose mars is involved, and the womane and/or the person who identifies with the feminine more as the one whose venus is involved, so that the yin/yang balance is aligned. anyhow- on the most basic level these two joining together make for great, sensual, beautiful connection. and in taurus the sensuality and pleasure gets amped up to the nth degree. but there are layers beyond this one- and those are the ones that take us beyond the material/physical world.
on a deeper level this conjunction is symbolic of the sacred union or marriage of the divine feminine and the divine masculine within. each person has a feminine and masculine side- just as each person has a venus and a mars in their chart. the point of any kind of spiritual or psychological work is to become whole within the self- to embrace and integrate the feminine and masculine sides within. prior to doing this one often identifies with one and projects the other. then we meet the ‘other’ in relationship- thinking it is the other person but really it is about unowned aspects of the self. when you do work to integrate all that you are- your yin and your yang, your dark and your light- you become whole, rather than ‘good’ or ‘perfect’, and from this place of wholeness you can be complete unto yourself and then all relationship paradigms shift dramatically. once you own all your own power you no longer need someone else to save you/heal you/complete you. from a place of wholeness you can choose to relate to others from a place of equality- where two self-empowered individuals meet in the middle and create a sacred space for relationship. this extends beyond just relationships though. relationships are mirrors- and you can see relationship dynamics between classes, races, generations, nations and even universes! once you are balanced within you no longer see fear or love outside of the self. you see that it all emanates from within. and from that place you can have mastery over your own life- and make healthy choices from a place of wisdom and awareness.
so this venus/mars conjunction in taurus has the potential for tremendous healing on many levels for individuals as well as the world. the thing about astrological aspects is that the energy can be very subtle and if you are not conscious of it it can seemingly pass you by. yet there is something that is most definitely happening beneath the surface- and if you attune to it you can actually assist the process and experience profound shifts on the inner as well as outer levels.
the sacred marriage of venus and mars in the hierosgamos chart (greek for ‘sacred marriage) occurs on sunday june 21st, a day after the solstice, at 5:30am, just 7 hours after the sun moves into cancer. as i mentioned above, this conjunction occurs in taurus, whereas the previous one occurred in pisces. the difference is subtle but significant. the shift from pisces to taurus is from water to earth, from the emotional realms to the physical, from the soul to embodiment. what began on a very inner, emotional, soul level is now ready to be taken to the outer, physical, embodied level. it is time to bring the sacred marriage of yin and yang into the material world. all the work we’ve each been doing on the innermost levels when it comes to our feminine and masculine selves, our empowerment, our relationship issues, and our self-love is now coming to a place where we can manifest it tangibly and externally. this is huge.
in the chart itself (see attached) we have several fascinating things going on- and i will attempt to describe them here :)
first of all the chart has a grand earth trine formed with venus/mars in taurus, ceres/saturn in virgo and lilith in capricorn- all within 2 degrees of exactness. this is interesting because ceres and lilith are two aspects of the divine feminine- and one of the huge things about the imbalance of the feminine and masculine in contemporary society is the fact that the feminine has been bastardized, disempowered, and violated. the perfect example is the prevailing mythos of the trinity- god the father, god the son and god the holy ghost- all who are seen as masculine. yet in history prior to patriarchy taking over and the masculine getting out of control there was the concept of father god and mother goddess- both of whom needed the other in order to be whole. in the current christian myth (one i grew up with) the only feminine is mother mary, who was a self-sacrificing virgin, and mary magdalen who was labeled as a whore (this is a whole other discussion as there is much more to both of their stories that was kept out of the bible). this disconnection from the feminine has resulted in the splitting off and demonizing of the feminine and of women in general. so in this chart having a grand earth trine with three aspects of the divine feminine involved (venus, ceres and lilith) is very important. briefly- ceres is the mothering/nurturing aspect of the divine feminine and lilith is the powerful, independent feminine energy that many men fear because of her tremendous power and the inability to control her (check out tom jacobs website for more info on lilith). the grand trine shows a flow of energy that is supportive and potent. venus and mars are joining in sacred marriage, ceres and saturn are joining for a grounded/wise mother energy, and lilith joins in bringing in the powerful kali/dark feminine energy whose acceptance is necessary for wholeness. with all of these in earth signs it brings it back to the level of embodiment and physical manifestation. we have celestial support in merging both the nurturing mother and the dark mother with the divine feminine and the divine masculine.
after i saw ceres and lilith involved i decided to look at the other aspects of the divine feminine- the moon, vesta, pallas athena and juno. in the hierosgamos chart vesta, the protector of the hearth and the goddess of sacred sexuality, is conjunct the sun- another aspect of the divine masculine- once again aligning the divine feminine with the divine masculine. pallas athena is in leo widely conjunct the south node, connecting feminine wisdom and independence to past life karma- to me symbolizing our need to connect to the feminine to right our past wrongs. juno is conjunct uranus, the great awakener, in pisces- which is awakening anyone who is willing to hear the call to soulmate partnership that involves both deep union and spaces in togetherness, so that fears of commitment cloaked as independence and fear of aloneness experienced as codependence are transcended and healthy interdependence is embraced. and then the moon is in airy, cerebral, detached gemini and is conjunct gemini’s ruler mercury. mercury is seen as asexual- neither masculine or feminine. so we have the moon, an aspect of the divine feminine, in an ‘asexual’ sign conjunct the planet that rules said sign. this shows the ability to detach from preconceived notions of masculine and feminine- and an ability to relate from a place of being simply human.
another thing i noted in the hierosgamos chart is that there are two fixed stars conjunct venus and mars. the first is almak, who has resonance with venus energy, and the second is menkar, who has resonance with saturn energy. the venus energy on the conjunction amplifies the sacred marriage and the empowering of the divine feminine. the saturn energy in menkar has a bit more ‘destructive’ energy to it- yet i see it as good. menkar is known to activate sudden emergence of deep unconscious issues and relates to throat trouble. taurus, the sign menkar, venus and mars are in, is connected to the throat. the throat is connected to the will, creative intelligence and communication. with menkar on the conjunction it is likely that any blocks to the unification of these energies- within and without- will result in unconscious material being activated. this is good as we need to bring to light that which needs to be healed. the throat trouble aspect of this fixed star points to the need to be honest, communicative and clear on what you say and what you desire. the tongue is a dangerous tool- and as we integrate and evolve we need to be sure we are creating that which we want with our thoughts and our words.
the last thing i will mention is the two ‘inharmonious’ aspects to the venus/mars conjunction. there is a semisquare from the sun, an aspect of the divine masculine, and a sesquiquadrate aspect from pluto, the lord of the underworld. the former shows that the masculine within and without may have a few things to say about the feminine rising in power. this can happen collectively or on a more personal, inward level. the sun in cancer is attached to past conditioning and to ‘the way things have always been’. yet to evolve we need to release aspects of the past to make room for the new. and with the later- pluto- there can be intense, powerful energies that are activated during this balancing act. for 2,000 years the feminine has not had an equal place in the world- and it is not likely that she will take her rightful place without the toxic waste of the past 2,000 years rising up to be purged. pluto does good work though- he brings up all that which needs to be healed. the process might not be pretty- but it is necessary. and it is only by doing this work that we can truly evolve. like the phoenix rising out of the ashes, pluto brings rebirth and profound transformation- both of which we need in our world today. yet there is no rebirth without death (i’m speaking symbolically)- so we need pluto to do this work.
as you can see this venus/mars conjunction has a lot riding on it! yet we each will experience it to different degrees depending upon where we are at and what we are ready for. some may have great sex, others may connected deeply with a soulmate, still others may connect deeply within themselves. whatever work we do on the individual level will permeate out into the greater world. so do your own work- find the sacred marriage within or in your own relationship- and then take that wholeness out into the world and be a beacon of light for others. as we each light our own light we can, one by one, light the whole world. and once illuminated there is nothing we cannot do.
xox
~harmony