Today, we’ll be looking at 10 different charts focusing on the waning and waxing conjunction, square, opposition, sextile, and trine aspects between Venus and Saturn. I’ll be showing how these aspects indicate how the dynamics between Venus and Saturn define, give form, and individualize values and self esteem, and vice versa. There is more to Venus Saturn contacts than finding the best sexual, or long term relationships with individuals who are significantly older or younger than themselves. Or, that the role of teacher is so significant in their lives, that it may pervade the love life, or that they will need to overcome a sense of reserve, or inhibition to deepen a spiritual connection with others. These dynamics do exist, but life is more complex and interesting.
Scratching the surface, on a general personal level, these people hold back free expression of their feelings, especially with regard to expressions of love. They are masters of compromise, duty, and responsibility to their partners, and it’s through this dedication that they do in fact express their love. Often, there is some form of deprivation in their childhood, associated with either mother, father, or both. Children always absorb something from their parents’ relationship. In this case it results in a deep sense of obligation towards their partner, and in their own emotional reserve. Fear of letting go, not enjoying the moment, and expressing love openly are strong impulses.
The connection between Venus and Saturn is traditionally associated with delayed marriage, or loneliness, which can be, but I see it much more frequently in the charts of people who “partner” early, and/or often, and who stick to a relationship through thick and thin. This exemplifies that relationships are the main road for their karmic lessons. Often, they’re lonely even though they are partnered, or they are happily insulated within their relationships. Commonly, they bend to a demanding partner much of their lives. There’s fear associated with love, and many people with this position struggle with a lack of confidence. Rejection is a great fear. Other reasons why they might remain loyal to a challenging marriage can be a fear of letting down family, and/or what he or she feels would be a blow to their reputation.
Sometimes, material concerns are connected with relationships. Some stick to relationships because they give them a sense of material security. Self-sacrifice is extremely common with this position. However, even though they crave more than anything to be loved unconditionally, their conviction that they won’t get the kind of love they want, keeps them from really trying to find it, or unconsciously self sabotage.
With Venus and Saturn, there can be a simultaneous fear of failure and fear of success that keeps people from feeling free or brave enough to go after what they truly want. They can have a somewhat detached manner, and many people with this aspect can come across as skeptical, matter-of-fact, and even superficial on a social level. They are masters at protecting their feelings, and do whatever they can to avoid showing their vulnerabilities. Of course, this kind of defense mechanism further prevents them from finding the happiness they crave. It is so very hard for them to let down their defenses. They’ll need to really know where they stand with another person before they can feel at least somewhat safe. Negative expectations in love must be handled in order to begin work on handling this aspect.
The good news with Saturn is that its impulse is handled better with time and maturity. There’s a tendency to constantly question their own values, and to be suspicious of love. This can be transformed to a careful and objective approach toward relationships. These people should make a conscious effort to evaluate their own behavior. If they admit to themselves that they do in fact want and need to be loved by a partner, they can slowly work on dropping their defenses. For example, keeping loved ones at an arm’s length and pretending that they are just fine on their own, isn’t going to encourage intimacy. Jumping to negative conclusions, or withdrawing emotionally when an expression of warmth is not received exactly as hoped, is not going to help either. It’s also a good idea to examine the choice of partners.
There can be an unconscious attraction to people who love you for all the wrong reasons–for superficial or material reasons. Maintaining “business-like” love relationships can keep people with these aspects feeling safe, but unfortunately, they perpetuate their own deep feelings of loneliness and unworthiness. Intimacy does not come easily to these people, and they may appear cold or unfeeling due to emotional reserve and caution because of previous trauma. Due to whatever past life karma and painful relationships and separations early in the current life, they do not trust others very easily and it takes a long time to take down their barriers and defenses.
There may be a feeling of having few caring friends or people in their lives, and a need to learn to value and love themselves more, and to openly express appreciation for others. With the conjunction, especially combined with supporting aspects from other planets, these people have every opportunity to advance in their chosen career. A business sense is strong, especially in the areas of finance and the arts. Commitment, whether to a pet project, a job, a business, or a person is characteristic. The bottom line is that how we define our identity and how we structure our lives are intrinsically connected to how we feel about ourselves, what values we hold, and what we attract and find attractive in the world.
Venus Conjunct Saturn
All in all, Venus/Saturn contacts show how we define ourselves and determine how we feel about ourselves, and what we value. And, vice versa; what we value aids in the formation of self-definition. The examples we’ll look at are focused on identity and values, and how the dynamics between Venus and Saturn have manifested in 10 people’s lives.
The two example charts I chose for Venus conjunct Saturn are of Bill Gates and Yoko Ono:
Bill has Venus in a waning conjunction aspect to Saturn in the 20th and 22nd degrees of Scorpio, respectively. His sense of self and his set of values that he brought from past lives, and developed during this life are completing a particular journey in relation to how he has defined himself. These dynamics are experienced very personally and instinctively taken as realities (1st house), and are being called to transform into values based on cosmic truths of what a human being is (Saturn). However, fears of loss of security and control(Saturn/Scorpio), holding onto his personal experience of what is important (Venus/Scorpio), and how he projects this to the world are the reasons for the need for transformation.
His powerful positive sense of purposefulness gives reason and structure for practical actions, while his self-centered and narrow vision is expressed defensively. The karmic question he faces is; to what degree his Saturnian definitions are softened by Venusian values and love, or whether his values continue to be shaped by his rigid materialistic definitions of the world and self. As an additional side tone, he and Melinda announced their divorce when Uranus (Taurus – ruled by Venus) was in opposition to his Sun, and coming into opposition to his Venus/Saturn conjunction.
Yoko Ono’s Venus is in a waxing conjunction aspect to Saturn, in the 14th and 10th degrees of Aquarius, respectively. Her sense of self —expressed through her particular aesthetics have started towards a new evolutionary purpose. She expresses herself in a unique instinctual, or unchecked way, in contradistinction to social norms. Out-of-the-ordinary as she is (Saturn/Aquarius), she is highly practical about her values. She has shown the ability to control and order events, in such a way that much of value comes to her, and is given to others—such as her arranging the relationship between John and their secretary. Most positively, her love leads her to a sense of purpose, which is expressed dramatically, in ways many consider to be odd, or just egotistic. As challenging as many perceive her and her art, she is quite at ease and enjoys what she does.
Venus square or opposition Saturn
Giving and receiving love are usually not flowing and natural for people born with Venus in hard aspect to Saturn. Blockages are experienced, and love relationships may be a source of frustration, until these people learn to love themselves, and to feel worthy of love from others. Duty is often associated with love, and some might find themselves stuck in a loveless marriage, for example. Especially in youth, these people might feel awkward in some social situations, unsure of how to express affections, and are fearful of rejection. Problematic Saturn positions often get better with age, experience, and practice.However, in its more negative expression, some people with this position learn to scheme in order to get what they want from a partner, or they might treat partnerships as if they were businesses or tools to an end, which is usually about controlling, or being controlled.
These aspects can make one especially sensitive to “cues” that suggest they are not loved or are rejected in some way. People with Venus & Saturn in so-called “hard” aspect often “expect” rejection in issues of love and care, whether they are conscious of this tendency or not. This can often lead to negative situations in relationships— a sense of bad timing, or the feeling of having “bad luck” in relationships. People with Venus in hard aspect to Saturn might either downplay their physical appearance, or pay excessive attention to it. Self-consciousness with adornments is not uncommon.
Often, people with this position sell themselves short. They’re not risk takers when it comes to relationships, often choosing a path that they feel is safe, even if it is an uncomfortable one. On another level, fear of giving can also express itself through being tight-fisted with money. The key to handling these aspects is to learn to loosen up and relax. One may be oversensitive to rejection—so there is a need to endeavor to gain objectivity when feeling love is not being satisfactorily returned. There could be expectations and a feeling of “heaviness” in relationships, perhaps taking love more seriously than others, or specifically a partner, and getting in the way of accepting love and affection.
Venus-Saturn people may have deep-seated feelings of being unworthy of love, even if they are able to rationalize and decide otherwise. Venus square or in opposition to Saturn finds it difficult to enjoy oneself in a lighthearted, open and playful way with others, or doing something purely for pleasure. They tend to being close-fisted and miserly with emotions and money. Perhaps due to painful separations in early life, one can be very cautious about becoming close to people and sharing feelings. Even though there is a craving for love and affection, intimacy is difficult. People with these aspects may become romantically involved with others who do not value or treat them well. They especially need to learn to love and value themselves before they find happiness in love.
The two example charts I chose for Venus square Saturn are for Charles Manson and Julia Child.
Manson’s Venus is in the 19th degree of Scorpio in waning square aspect to Saturn in the 22nd degree of Aquarius. This crisis in consciousness is focused on what Charles had perceived and learned about society, and how he was polarized in his experience of being a social being. In this case, I need to point out that the ruler of Aquarius—Uranus is in Aries, in the 12th house and in square aspect to Scorpio’s ruler,Pluto, which is in Cancer, and in opposition to the Moon which rules Cancer, and is also in Aquarius. This Uranus/Pluto waning square shows his fear of a future that is threatening to his sense of security and well-being and undermined his identity. His past life habitual way of maintaining security (SN) was connected to an aggrandizement of self identity (Leo), squaring Jupiter in Scorpio which squares the Aquarian Moon and NN, which magnified the intensity of his erratic(Aquarius) perceptions of self and society, which his sense of self and identity relied upon. These overarching elements became the basis of his calculating ways of controlling others, and his unstable and sudden compulsions.
Julia Child’s Venus in the 5th degree of Virgo is in waxing Square to her Saturn in the 4th degree of Gemini. She came into this last life to establish and internalize her values and self value in new ways she had previously defined for herself in the face of social restrictions and definitions. Her adjustment through discriminating (Virgo) to do something she loved to do—cooking with a certain traditional flair (Venus Virgo 4th h, Moon Libra 5th h). She created a basis for herself by learning and making new associations for the purpose of sharing (Gemini) French cooking to the American public and beyond, which led to personal security. What she broke away from, were discrimination towards her being a woman training as a chef, and as one having her own television show, and from attitudes that Americans can’t cook French food, as shown by Saturn in Gemini/12th h. This tension with societal norms of the time was necessary for her to actualize, and establish herself so she could move on in her evolutionary journey.
The two example charts for Venus opposition to Saturn are Luciano Pavarotti and Jimi Hendrix.
Pavarotti’s Venus in the 10th degree of Virgo is in waning opposition to his 5th degree in Pisces Saturn. Its easy to see Pavarotti’s personality and life work as an expression of the traditional Venusian qualities of harmony, beauty, art, and affection. Much of the world was attracted to him as he reached out to others with his aesthetics and ideals. Venus was in his 1st house, with a Leo ascendant—its ruler, Sun was in Libra-ruled by Venus, thus giving a strong Venusian purpose to project out into the world. The waning opposition to Saturn produces the evolutionary purpose to objectify what was defined by Saturn out into the world. Saturn in the 7th house shows the arena in which he magnanimously relates to others which magnifies his Venusian impulse. Saturn being in Pisces gave him a humanitarian intention, as shown by his charity work. Pisces mutability also showed when he was younger, in that he first wanted to be a farmer, then a football goalkeeper, and then an elementary school teacher. These experiences helped give him the sensitivity to be able to deeply relate to people, as he matured.It wasn’t until his first Lunar Nodal return that he began his serious study of music. The nodal cycle being the rhythm of pre-earthly soul intentions coming into consciousness and incarnation.
The waxing opposition between Venus in the 8th degree of Sagittarius, and Saturn in the 10th degree of Gemini, are in the 12th and 6th houses, respectively in the chart of Jimi Hendrix. His Venus is conjunct the Sun, giving strength and purpose to this equation. His source of will and purpose was expressed through music. Love and harmony were prominent qualities that he expressed in his deeper perspectives on life. His Sagittarian abstract mind kept freedom idealized, not only for himself, but for all people. This was intensified by bringing in the 12th house Piscean universal expression to his ideas. Some of his ideas and lyrics were highly imaginative, coming from unconscious and spacey depths.
His Saturnian principle towards definition of self was mainly inwardly focused (retrograde), and gave him both an inner security, even strength, yet he had weak defenses against the outer world. Saturn gave Hendrix the persistent focus on playing the guitar. Even as a child he played on a broomstick as if it were a guitar. Saturn is conjunct to Uranus, giving him the ability to uniquely express his imaginations as a musical artist. He expressed the combination of Sun, Venus, Uranus, and Saturn as an attractive, even beautiful, freedom loving individual who projected himself in a calm manner.
Venus sextile or trine Saturn
People with harmonious aspects between Venus and Saturn in their birth charts have a good sense of what is expected of them in personal relationships, and quite naturally do right by others. Cautious in love, they are careful of what they give, or promise to give, as they generally feel obligated to follow through. They don’t take connections with others lightly, and are more attracted to long-term, committed partnerships than casual relationships. They usually don’t expect too much from others, and take relationship problems in stride. They have an intuitive understanding that there’s always some bad with any good. It’s not easy to sweep them off their feet, and they’re unlikely to show affection on someone unless they’re certain the person will return the favor— they are not risk takers with their hearts. A similar attitude towards money is common as well–they’re generally practical and cautious.The trine aspect is the more dynamic of the two harmonious aspects. Those with the sextile can call upon these traits when needed, and those with the trine between the Venus and Saturn have the traits of the aspect incorporated into their personalities, expressing them naturally and consistently.
Venus sextile Saturn
Those with Venus sextile Saturn have a knack for handling pressures, stresses, and challenges of relationships. They take relationship problems in stride, knowing full well that they are part of life, taking the bad with the good.They can be the solid “rock” with the people they love. They tend to learn from the mistakes they make in relationships, and don’t run away when a problem presents itself. They have a sense to know how to make relationships last. Loyalty, fidelity, and security are very important to them.Their tastes are simple, maybe austere, or Zen-like, and do not appreciate frivolity. They are interested in someone’s character and inner qualities far more than their appearance. Casual or superficial relationships don’t interest them at all, for they are keenly aware that love gets deeper, richer and more satisfying over time. Their sense of duty makes them stable in difficult situations. Faithful completion of duties brings spiritual contentment into life, and they take pride in relationships that withstand the test of time.
Venus sextile Saturn has the ability to be disciplined in their efforts toward the crafting and cultivation of values and aesthetics in real tangible forms. Their passion about a vision to create something beautiful, motivates them toward manifesting it, seeking and finding the needed resources. This internal motivation supports finding a career path that is pleasurable. These people have a need to creatively express themselves in their work in some way. Otherwise, they feel stagnant and will end up losing the needed motivation. They’re able to successfully evolve a vocational path by listening to their feelings and desires. Rather than becoming fixated on one chosen path, they are at their best when they allow their inner desires to determine and give life to their goals and priorities. They remain engaged in work that brings joy. Their capacity to form supportive relationships enable them to succeed in times of transition from one job to another.
The two charts I chose for Venus Sextile Saturn are those of two actors: Cillian Murphy, and Hugo Weaving.
Cillian Murphy’s Venus is just 29 minutes from forming an exact Waning Sextile to Saturn, and Cillian’s Venus is in the 29th degree of Taurus in waning sextile aspect to Saturn in the 29th degree of Cancer, which intensifies the significance of their relationship. The two planets are in the 5th and 7th houses respectively. This dynamic shows that self worth in relation to self definition is given power to actualize their role in life through the productive use of new forms of consciousness (evolutionarily speaking). Cillian decided early at age 18 to be an actor. He had a strong impulse to be expressive in all the ways he was creative (5th house). Even though he had been in a rock band, and enjoyed playing rock, he was very practical (Taurus) when he decided to not do both acting and playing in a rock band, thinking that it would water down his chances of being recognized as a serious actor. He still plays music with friends.
He also shows his serious and practical approach to life (Saturn/Venus), by not giving too many interviews, staying out of the limelight, and not wanting to ever get over his challenge of feeling uncomfortable walking the red carpet. He has put his Saturn In Cancer identity with Venus in Taurus values into action when he campaigned for the homeless, became a patron of the UNESCO Child and Family Research Center, other family related associations, and supported protesting workers at a factory.
Hugo Weaving’s Venus at 23º 52´ of Pisces and is 5º 53´ waxing after an exact Sextile to Saturn in Capricorn. The birth time is not known, but this doesn’t significantly change these positions. When looking up examples of Venus waxing sextile to Saturn, I found it very interesting that so many actors and actresses had Venus waning to Saturn. Hugo’s strength of feelings and emotional awareness(Venus in Pisces) are given form and control (Saturn in Capricorn). Venus is in a waxing Sesquiquadrate relationship to its ruler, Neptune Rx. This gives him the ability to dissolve his personality to the degree that he can willfully express himself in creative ways, as he adjusts to taking on different characters. His Venus/Saturn waxing sextile is expressed in his statement,
“I think films have a limited ability to change the world, but that doesn’t mean you stop trying. You do what’s right for you, make the films you believe in, talk about the issues you believe in. The bigger the risk, the more chance you’re going to be crucified, but you have to execute your beliefs in anyway you can. In the end (referring to the movie, Cloud Atlas, in which he played 6 roles), the movie has something to say about love and hope, and believing in something. It wants to tell us that individual choice can come to mean something universal.”
Venus trine Saturn
Venus trine Saturn gives the talent for shaping the structures of life in a way that enables the expression of one’s creativity and aesthetics. Even moreso than the sextile, those with this aspect are at their best when they follow their heartfelt desires. Once they discover their art, craft, vocation, or role that brings them pleasure and captures their interest, they devote themselves to putting in the necessary time and effort to succeed in achieving their goals. They are natural leaders and are able to work well with others and to effectively delegate responsibilities as part of a team dynamic, depending on other elements in their chart. They tend to integrate a unique personal style into their lives, such as their dress, or in the way they decorate their homes, or create a recognizable branding.These people feel strongly responsible to the ones they love, which feels like a second nature to them. Generally, they exercise caution and good judgment in their relationships, and are understanding when others are in need.
They pride themselves on being responsible and trustworthy, but will do whatever they can to compromise when necessary, depending on other soul dynamics. In romantic matters, they tend to not rush headlong into affairs of the heart. They check out each potential partner carefully, assessing their good and bad qualities. Most importantly, they require that a partnership contains mutual respect and loyalty. They tend to feel more comfortable in a stable, long-term relationship. It is so natural to them to be responsible and concerned about the person they love, that they are completely surprised when they encounter people who aren’t the same way, or those who take relationships lightly! This can be a source for trauma and strong defensiveness.
Generally speaking, they’re good parents and benevolent disciplinarians. They expect their children to learn to respect others, and be conscious of the needs of others, and provide good examples for this. Instead of trying to mold them into being a carbon copy of themselves, they encourage their children to develop their own individuality.
They are disposed to be disciplined and effectively focus their efforts to achieve success. As they are capable of climbing their way to the top of their own ladder, they will not hesitate to offer a hand up to others. This quality of being sensitive to the needs of others is one of the main reasons for their success.To illustrate the dynamics of Venus trine Saturn I chose the charts of Lucille Ball, and David Oyelowo.
David’s Venus in the 22nd degree of Pisces is in waning trine to Saturn in the 27th degree of Cancer. He has reached an end of a particular evolutionary cycle of Venusian impulses(Pisces)that he is experiencing are manifesting in his expanding out into the world, and his overall development of his view of life.His values and sensitivity are a result of experiences in relationships accrued over time, and are given to the world (9th house) by giving the developed values over to Saturn, to which it is in a waning trine aspect. His parents were from Nigeria, he was born in Oxford, England, brought up in London as a Baptist. At age 6 he and his family moved back to Nigeria, where he went to a military-style school until he was 14, when the family moved back to London. His particular synthesis of value and identity is focused on the individualizing of these values, by giving them a structured and disciplined expression to the world, and making them most personal, and sensitively caring (Cancer), in a willful and purposeful intensification of personal expression (1st house/Mars in Cancer).
It was a teacher (Saturn) who suggested that David should become an actor. David’s values are strongly shaped by his being a devout Christian, and that he surrenders his values to a higher source(Pisces). He has said that he believes God called him to play Rev. Martin Luther King, in the film Selma.
He also said that, “I always knew that in order to play Dr. King, I had to have God flow through me, because when you see Dr. King giving those speeches, you see that he is moving in His anointing.”
To illustrate this point further, when he was working on the film Selma, he and his wife became naturalized US citizens, because he felt that, I’ve lived here for nearly 10 years now, and to be walking around and doing a film about voting rights, and telling people to vote, and you can’t vote yourself is a little hypocritical. “I decided it’s time to do it, and no time better than now.” A few years before, his Venus/Saturn connection showed itself when he addressed the fact that he was born as an Aboma, or prince of the kingdom of Awe, Nigeria, by saying that, “it was useful for getting dates, but probably not much else.”
Another facet of this trine manifested in his nominations and awards for acting, over the years, including the OBE, for services to drama.
Lucille Ball had Venus at 23º 51´ Virgo in a waxing trine to Saturn at 19º 35´ Taurus. Her Venus, Like David’s, is in the 9th house. However, unlike David’s dynamics of Venus in a mutable sign bringing itself to Saturn in a Cardinal sign, Lucille’s Venus is in a mutable sign in relation to Saturn in the fixed sign of Taurus, which Venus rules. In a evolutionary sense, this particular waxing trine makes it easy and natural for creative actualization of what she has developed as her identity, which she was consciously aware of and in control of. The evolutionary purpose of Venus waxing square to Pluto was gained through creative tension of moving forward with a new form of self value and esthetics. She often had to fight for her presence in her role as an actress and later as a producer, because of her gender. Bringing her personal expression out into the world made it easy for her to also break free from fixed social mores. When she was pregnant with her second child (Desi Arnaz jr.)she wanted to have her pregnancy be part of her show, I Love Lucy. At the time, it was demanded that pregnant women should not be shown on TV, nor could the word “pregnant” be spoken on air! Having a necessary and planned caesarean was scheduled for the same day that her television character gave birth. The official title of the episode was Lucy is Enceinte (French for pregnant). Episode titles were never shown on air, though. The episode aired, and 44 million viewers watched Lucy Ricardo welcome Little Ricky to the world. The upholding of the staunch 1950s values (Taurus) of family togetherness of the Ricardo family, along with Lucy’s popularity, because she was a character to be identified with, became the avenue to be able to break through certain societal barriers. Mars conjunct Saturn gave a particular strength and tenacity in getting things done, and that she spoke her mind. It also brings intensification to her Venus/Pluto contact, and indicates the tumultuous relationship she had with Desi Arnaz. Besides the numerous awards she received for her acting, she was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom From George H.W. Bush in 1989, and the Women’s International Center’s Living Legacy Award. There was a postal stamp in her honor, and was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame, for her contributions to the women’s movement, in 2001.
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