Venus in Scorpio: Passion and Pain

A Man and A Woman (1966)

Venus is the planet of love and money; two things it's good to at least try and get right. And two ways in which we fall into horrible, relentlessly repeating patterns. After a certain time, we can look back at our lives and discern these themes and variations that repeat and overlap. And it's one of the ways in which astrology is truly effective and helpful.

What are the themes that repeat in your life? What gets you into trouble over and over again?

Is it a soft spot for sailors? Or red shoes? Or bad, bad girls? Or is it your roving eye and devilish charm? Or, lending money to the wrong people (again)? Sponging, lying (to be kind), just walking out the door, falling in love too fast, realizing too late…?

Every 18 months, Venus' retrograde periods give us a chance to review our loves and our bank balances.

Right now Venus is retrograding through Scorpio, one of the signs of her detriment (the other is Aries where she retrograded last year). Scorpio is about deep, true emotion. It's about passion. It's about jealousy. It's about loyalty and deep devotion. This is not about letting go. This is about hanging on, digging deeper, scratching the scab, turning over the rock.

Why is Venus in trouble here? Because Scorpio asks her to tear away her accustomed veil of charm and beauty and be raw and dirty and real. Venus is not all that comfortable with real, she likes everything to be "nice": polite, well-mannered, pretty. In Scorpio, sweet nothings won't swing it any more. In Scorpio, Venus has to tell the bold, bald truth.

But the gritty truth can set you free: tell her you can't live without her; tell him you hate him and you're leaving. What is it you really feel? Act on the deep truth of your emotions.

Real passion brings the possibility of real pain. That is why Scorpio is so very dangerous for Venus.

And if you're not a lover? Does money make you mad? Are you telling yourself the truth about your debt? People I've known with Venus in Scorpio natally have often found it hard to spend money. I guess stingy is the word I'm looking for or possibly tight-fisted, mean or even miserly. But times are hard now and maybe those people who scrimped and saved and held back in the good times will have more to fall back on now. On the other hand, planning doesn't seem to have helped anyone.

Old love affairs, old debts. Which is it? Look at the Venus cycle to find out a pattern

Over the course of eight years, Venus, the planet of love, traces a five-pointed star in the sky. How does she do this?

She goes retrograde every 18 months or so. If you plot the exact degree at which she appears to turn and move backwards, you will trace out a pentacle. 

See for yourself

2009, she turned at 15° Aries

This year, 2010, she turned at 13° Scorpio just a few weeks ago

2012 - 23° Gemini

2013 -21° Cap

2015 - 0° Virgo

So what were you doing in October and November 2002? That was the last time Venus went retrograde in Scorpio (15°). 

Think hard, because that will tell you what to look at now. 

Me - I was rekindling an old passion that I thought had gone right out. It turned out OK.