Acid Love

Chapter 11 from "Astrological Repair Manual" by Alexander M Zoltai

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It's been said by some astrologers that the Moon we just left behind has much to do with feelings. If it does, it's only in the sense of being the style of expression of the feelings. The Feelings themselves and the Values behind them belong to Venus.

We're approaching the planet that's been called Earth's sister, mostly because it's near enough to have a somewhat similar cycle around the Sun and it's just about the same size. If Earth and Venus are sisters, Venus is the "nasty" one. If the atmospheric pressure doesn't collapse your lungs, the acid in the air will eat your skin away, and the insufferable heat will fry your brains. If you somehow protect yourself from those dangers, you still have to contend with an extremely long day-243 Earth-days-and the disorienting way the Sun has of rising in the West! Yes, Venus rotates the other direction from Earth, and it takes a long time to do it. Also, this is the planet whose cycle has been associated with Love...

Notwithstanding its mythology, I wouldn't necessarily call Venus the planet of love.

If there were ever proof that the physical characteristics of the planets don't give them the meanings we should use in astrology, Venus is it. Certainly, there can be nasty things within the bounds of what we call a love-relationship. However, those less than nice things are not love.

Venus' cycle relates to how we Evaluate our experience. Whether we love something or not comes from the way we invest it with our values. We can't have love without values, but we can have values without love. Love itself is an expression of at least four of the planets' functions operating together-Venus, Moon, Sun and Mercury. Venus is the value, the Moon is the style of expressing it, the Sun is the purpose or reason for the evaluation, and Mercury is the rational side of the situation (if that's being used in the equation...).

Many of our "higher" functions, like love, are expressions of more than one planet's cycle. Motherhood, for instance, isn't just the provenance of the Moon. Thinking isn't just the job of Mercury. Action isn't done only by Mars. What you can learn from the system of interpretation in The Instructions is what you might call the basic vocabulary and grammar of astrology. Being able to converse fluently will take more than this book. It will take much time and effort. Still, if you were in France (actually, you might be...) and had to go to the bathroom, being able to utter a simple, basic phrase is just fine! Much meaning can be transmitted with simple, basic words. So, using the system at the end of this book (while referring back, every so often, to these more lyric chapters on the basic perceptions we need) will get you far, yet there's always more. Some folks don't like unending potential; I love it!

Our Values and Feelings give our lives much of its meaning. Meaning is what astrology can predict, and it's a basic indicator of the Venus cycle-about 225 Earth-days long. Notice how close the Venus day year are? In fact, the day is longer than the year. This durational quality of Venus (just imagine waking up, going through a day, and realizing a year's also slipped by) is central to the kind of meaning I mean. Oh, the tricks words play... I just checked Google and it actually has an entry for "the meaning of meaning"! To clear the air just a bit: Astrology defines many meanings, many functions of life. Venus is what we use, as a specific function, to give value to all those meanings. Hang in there, o.k.? Once you've done a little checking with the interpretive system in The Instructions, you'll begin to separate these meanings with ease. In fact, astrology's ability to contain and reveal so much meaning is its chief value...

Another important part of why Venus helps us see our values and the important meanings in our lives is that it is the first of the "Inner" planets. When we were way out with Pluto, Neptune, and Uranus, we were talking about deep unconscious functions shared by everyone and useful in gauging large social trends. Saturn and Jupiter cycles were also fairly social in their functions but due to the cyclic lengths involved-30 and 12 years-they're more personal-social functions-we have more personal control over how we use them. Mars is the first planet outside the Earth's orbit but is relatively near. It came to symbolize our personal reaching out to the social realm.

Then there is the Moon and Earth-the Place we live.

Now, we enter the very personal realm of functions, those which we "own" sooner and more fully. With the first of these inner functions, I want to introduce you to one way of seeing a Planet's Function operating in the various Houses' Fields of Activity. We'll start at the traditional beginning, the First House and see what having Venus in each of them could mean.

Venus operating in the First House:

With this placement, a person has their evaluating function operating through activities that focus on their own individual perception of reality. Their frame-of-reference for life will include a strong dose of personal values. They'll use their feelings about situations as their first line of approach.

Venus operating in the Second House:

Having the function of valuing in the activity of finding your personal resources makes for a rather focused placement. These people put their feelings to work finding what they most value in themselves and their personal history.

Venus operating in the Third House:

Values applied toward communicating with the "local" environment. Evaluation as the primary tool for learning. Evaluation used primarily for connecting with others.

Venus operating in the Fourth House:

This person's feelings are grounded in what can anchor them. Evaluations are used to make situations more stable.

Venus operating in the Fifth House:

Feelings become projected, and evaluation is used to gauge the effect of personal choices on others.

Venus operating in the Sixth House:

Here is where values and feelings are put to the task of improving things and people. Self-evaluation could be the strongest suit.

Those were all extremely personal uses for this inner function. Now we'll look at this personal function working itself out in the social realm.

Venus operating in the Seventh House:

Here is a placement of evaluation right at the spot where a person is most aware of others. Feeling is used as the primary function for bonding with people.

Venus operating in the Eighth House:

This is where Venus' function of valuing is taken deeper to bring relationships to a stable state based on mutual feelings.

Venus operating in the Ninth House:

This area of activity gives Venus' function of evaluation a lot of room to soar. Feelings broaden out and encompass more "territory".

Venus operating in the Tenth House:

Here is where evaluation becomes the prime determinant in the affairs of society. Feelings are used in career and business environments.

Venus operating in the Eleventh House:

Values operating in this activity field are used to bring bonding to social groups. Appreciations grow toward consensus.

Venus operating in the Twelfth House:

Evaluation blends with contemplation. Values are used to plumb the depths of all matters.

So, there's a brief look at Venus in the Houses. The Instructions will give you a chance to add the Sign to an interpretation. This is certainly nowhere near what could be said about Venus. But I think you've noticed by now:

I'm giving you just a taste of what the Functions of the Planets' cycles can mean, along with other basic astrological information. This is all aiming toward the end of the book where you'll receive a method that will let you be your own astrologer-distill your own Meanings from your own chart (or, others...).

I don't think we should get too attached to hanging out around Venus so, let's get much closer to the Sun and go visit Mercury.

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Read more chapters from this book:

The Voyage

Chapter 1: Xena and the Hordes
Chapter 2: The River of Death
Chapter 3: Idealism Abounds
Chapter 4: Venus and Her Father's Penis
Chapter 5: Transpersonal Awareness
Chapter 6: Father-Time Is All Spaced-Out
Chapter 7: Promiscuous Gods
Chapter 8: Chaos
Chapter 9: The Ancient Warrior
Chapter 10: Home Sweet Home and Lunacy
Chapter 11: Acid Love
Chapter 12: Messenger of the Gods
Chapter 13: Plasma Love
Chapter 14: Galactic Visitors