Now it’s Venus’ turn for the Cancer tour of duty as she heads up against the Capricorn heavyweights – Saturn later today, meets the Nodes tomorrow and then Pluto on Sunday.
Venus in Cancer always makes me think of Florence Nightingale, who had this placement in her natal chart. She was known as the “lady of the lamp” for her nightly rounds of the war hospitals that she helped to set up after being horrified at the state of injured soldiers during the Crimean War. Many soldiers were saved by her caring touch, empathetic ear and her focused drive to protect wounded men who had already suffered enough from the fighting they had seen. Her work, with a team of nurses, brought the death rate down by two thirds. Then she used what she learnt on that battlefield to set up what we now know as modern nursing.
And this is what this particular Venus in Cancer transit feels like, Florence Nightingale on the battlefield of Cancer witnessing the damage inflicted by the eclipses and the recent tour of Mercury, Mars and the Sun through here. She has the capacity to unify and heal, but her resources are limited by the harsh opposition from Capricorn. Bombs are dropping, there are more injured than she can handle, and the commanding officers are not taking her seriously enough to listen. Yet what she learns now will be put to good use once she returns to her Libran homeland in September.
If you’ve had realisations in recent days, or weeks, it’s time to bring together all the pieces and make resolutions. As a student reminded me last night, oppositions can bring decisions, so Venus is now asking us to make heart-based valuations from this new place of clarity. She can bind us to our resolutions in a soft gentle way that eases the harsh, cold reality Saturn, South Node and Pluto are serving up.
Today – Saturn is causing Venus to get serious and strategic about what she can cure and what she cannot. As in the process of triage, it’s all about priorities and reviewing the resources at hand to see just what can be done in a reasoned way. Heal who or what you can and then pray you can get to the rest, but don’t beat yourself up if you don’t. Perhaps healing can come in from elsewhere, or it wasn’t meant to be.
Thursday – Venus meets the North Node and supports efforts towards a future vision that aligns with recent understandings. It could be a day to unifying others to create healing, finding time for an important relationship or seeing yourself in a more valuable position to be able to negotiate what you deserve.
Friday/Saturday – As the Moon moves away from Saturn’s serious control into perceptive Pisces, Venus gets a lift from a rulership-exaltation mutuality. The next few days allow Venus to do what she does best – sensitive connections and healing relationships.
Sunday – Venus opposes Pluto which brings power and control to the table. Sometimes caring too much makes us vulnerable as we give over too much of our power. Then resentment builds and toxicity can swiftly follow. Pluto helps Venus see that casting pearls before swine is a wasteful use of her love, time and energy. Honour yourself by only giving to people who value and respect what you have to offer. A trine to the Moon in Pisces gives the sensitivity to handle this with grace, and easily slip free of whatever binds to the wrong place.
