Mercury is no longer retrograde and will enter Aries on May 7th which will be the end, for approximately one year, of his debilitation. Since Mercury has an influence on neutral mind and logical thinking it stands to reason that he doesn’t do too well in the watery and emotional sign of Pisces. Aries is not a great sign for Pisces and can lead to people expressing anger (hard to believe that) and, more importantly, due to the rulership over the nervous system many can experience an increase in physical inflammation. Once he moves into Taurus on May 23rd he will urge us in the direction of peaceful discernment. In the meantime, just remember to take care of your nervous system and refrain from using words as a weapon.

Venus is an often-underestimated planet and seems to be important only around Valentine’s Day. This affiliation with love comes from the Greek mythological Goddess Venus and the large role that Greece has had on western civilization.
India and China both had astrological systems long before Greece. China’s started around 450 BCE while India’s started approximately at 1500 BCE. I’ve not studied the Chinese system though I do appreciate the qualities of the Animal designations that are commonly known. The full system is much more complex in its validity.

In my chosen system, Joytish, Venus is known as Shukra. The word itself is a Sanskrit word which can also be translated as “clear” or “bright.” Venus is, after the Sun and Moon, the brightest planet and the ancient Mayan calendar was based on the movement of Venus through the constellations of our galaxy.

Venus is much more than red roses and chocolate. He does, in the Vedic system, have an influence on love. Venus, however, is much more than “Rom-Com” love. Venus is known as the “Teacher of the Asuras” and the keeper of the “Shastras.”
Shastras are sacred books, and they are vast in number. Among the shastras are teachings on “dharma” or “law.” The Asuras can be defined as “demons” and Venus is the teacher of the Asuras. It is best if the desire to learn is there, of course. As with so much that comes from the ancient teachings of India there are many levels to the asuras. On one level the asuras are people filled with greed and desires to such a high level that they are criminals or people in power who live on their greed.

The other level to asuras would be the veils hiding our true being. Our true being is built on the positive qualities of love, community and a sense of being at one with all. Venus being in charge of this learning makes sense because Venus is the ruler of the 4th chakra which is the balance energetic located in the center of the chest. This chakra harbors the human heart as well as what is known as the “spiritual heart.” It represents the place where the upper chakras of spirituality and the lower chakras of earth-bound life meet. It is an important place of balance for human being navigating life on planet earth.

The last article talked about many of the planets meeting in Pisces and, at that time, both Venus and Mercury were retrograde in Pisces. Venus went forward on 4/13 and every day since then Mercury has moved farther away from Venus and the Sun is now in his best sign of Aries. Venus is left in a very tight conjunction with Rahu and Saturn.

Right after he resumed forward motion we had Harvard take a stand against this administration and even his pet Supreme Court is finally pushing back against this lawless administration. Harvard is older than our constitution and started out as a religious school in some way Harvard has stepped up to be the guardian of the sacred texts of America. Even the Supreme Court has finally remembered the sacred texts of law and appears to be willing to embrace the lower court’s decisions many of which have chosen to remember their own sacred texts regarding dharma and our constitution.

The fact that so many Americans are horrified at the lawless cruelty of this administration which is actually sending “American” babies to places like Honduras. It is encouraging to observe the push back, by regular Americans, against the abhorrent cruelty of the current administration. Of course, the price of eggs and tariffs are also causing push-back. Just as there are teachings on morality and the rule of law there are also economic shastras. If the sheer madness of this guy’s nonsensical approach to the economy is the reason for some people to wake-up I’ll take it.

Saturn and Venus in close conjunction are doing their job. The Sanskrit word for planet is “graha” which means “to grasp” and we all can grasp the qualities of Venus to wipe the grime off the windows of the American souls. Despite human chaos the planets move in patterns that can present us with order within the chaos.

Breathe deeply into your heart center during this time-period so that you don’t become bitter or filled with fear. For those who like rituals – Friday is the day of Venus and is a good day to bring in fresh flowers into the home or treat yourself and loved ones to something sweet. Klim (kleem) is the bija or seed sound for Venus and Yam (Yahm) is the seed sound for the 4th chakra. Chanting either bija/seed sound 108x’s on a Friday can help you grasp the higher loving energy of Venus. (There are many YouTube presentations of chanting these mantras.)

Venus is considered a benefic planet in Jyotish as is Jupiter. The next blog will talk about Jupiter who is getting ready to move during the month of May. In the meantime, take a few moments to feel the support of the universe at this time.