Venus-Mars Conjunction in Leo
The Venus-Mars conjunction is currently reflecting our desires, passions, and preferences from expressive, divinely creative Leo. The intensity of this conjunction will peak on the 11th, however they will stay close, dancing over and under each other for most of July. Two sides of a deeply-felt coin, two juxtaposed-but-necessarily-so archetypes that wouldn’t exist without the other.
Connecting and separating. Sometimes emotionally painful if it happens in that order. Physically pleasurable if done in repeating succession. Archetypes are funny like that, amirite? We all know what happens when we “horse around”; fun turns to not fun. “It’s all fun and games til someone loses an eye”, etc etc. So listen to your heart this month, but not at anyone’s expense. Our desires may be very strong this month, but we do not take what is not readily given. The balance of Aquarius and Leo, that of the head and the heart a focus of July.
Saturn in Aquarius
All of this interpersonal energy in Leo is opposed by Saturn in Aquarius, reflecting societal systems that determine/impede our ability to access this Venus-Mars transit in a pleasant way. Put differently: Let us take what we can get. I purposely recommend leaning into the small things that bring us joy or the small ways we can be creative and be our authentic selves. It might be hard to do everything *to the level* we want when our planets of Action/Assertion (Mars), Want/Attachment (Venus) are being opposed by the planet of Slow, Loss, and No (Saturn).
Cautions aside, we *can* benefit from this spicy transit! ‘Spice’ is my euphemistic descriptor for both sexy times and prickly moods, depending on context. Recommendations from my own life:
How to Manage Venus-Mars
Get yourself some nerf guns or water balloons. Have a pillow fight. Indulge in consensual play-fighting or playful banter. Tell jokes at no one’s expense. Try the new sexy thing (Uranus has his hand in this cookie jar, too, of course, calling for the novel or new). Don’t stay mad. Don’t take things personally despite every desire to do so. Feel the irritation and let it go, knowing it will look small in the rear view mirror. Avoid impulsive actions and have no regrets in the future. Do the physically loving thing like massages, hugs, or simply going with them to ‘that thing’ they like. Affirm how amazing you are. Affirm how amazing they are. Make something together. Give someone a nice whiskey. Lead by example and actions, not by pride or prescription.
One other way I look at this Saturn opposition to our passionate pair is that of balancing what we Want with what we Must. The crux of adulthood. Or looking at how to restructure a lifestyle to make more room for what we love and less room for what we don’t. Challenges usually feel better when we have a plan or are actively addressing it, instead of just ruminating about it. (Personal clues as to where this transit may show up in your life can be found in the house themes that accompany the signs of Leo and Aquarius in the birth chart.
Don’t Forget Uranus
Of course I can’t leave out Uranus. This is why I recommend embracing the new, the unfamiliar in how we approach this time in general. Uranus squaring both sides of this opposition demands change in how we engage or approach something/someone/someplace. The balance we seek might be found through the most unexpected means. If you feel things must happen a certain way, ask yourself why. Why can’t they happen in a different way?
Good luck navigating!
Image description: A song lyric “I want to be every button you press, and all the baths that surround you.” by the band ALT-J. “May your chronic Venus-Mars conjunction be more fun and sexy, and less fraught and surly.” An invocation of my hopes for this transit. Behind these words in bolded white block letters is a close up video of a fire with smoldering coals underneath.”