Embodying Venus: Cutting To The Heart of Desire
In eight days we will be entering Taurus season, which is also the sign of our next New Moon and solar eclipse on April 30. There will more about that and how to focus the energy in two weeks but in preparation we need to once again turn our gaze towards Taurus’ governing planet: Venus, the Goddess of Love and Pleasure.
To be perfectly honest I had another entire blog planned around this subject but as I was walking this morning suddenly I knew how to cut to the heart of the matter.
Think about the last time you fell in love or deep lust. In my experience, this always feels as though I am profoundly compelled towards someone. I am fascinated, enchanted, enthralled and it feels fabulous! Life becomes technicolor and it is as though my life has been completely taken over by some powerful outside force that is irresistible. This overwhelming, embodied sensual experience is always, always beyond our control on some level which is why it is so delicious. We are impelled to move past our fears. We feel fully alive in its presence. We are magnetically drawn in, sometimes even to situations that we previously we sure we would never ever consider: Love and desire, in all of its juiciness, can be messy.
My point is that love, desire, is not logical, it is embodied. And that embodiment is a powerful force. Love moves us. Sometimes to places we never expected to traverse. And most certainly at first blush love, at least in its infatuation stage, it is larger than life. Our bodies, our ‘hearts’ are essentially pointing us in the magnetic direction of true north towards something we may not have even consciously known that we wanted. Understanding this, experiencing this is the core of Venus. As the archetypal force of love she rules what we own and want to own, what we give value, desire, where we find pleasure. At the heart of this lies what really matters to us under the surface, the things and people that truly give us life. She is fecund. Fruitful.
All of these things, all of these experiences, go beyond our logic or thoughts. They are simply felt.
Becoming embodied, which many, many of us need to work at because we have been so very conditioned to live in our heads, is key to this. Exploring what we truly want isn’t about logic. It’s isn’t about probability. And many times we have unconsciously become so guarded against hurt that by middle age at the very least we no longer even allow ourselves to truly dream and yearn. We have allowed ourselves to become cynical and resigned and hide behind invisible walls even from ourselves. Instead of running towards life as we did in our youth we find ourselves coming up with very ‘mature’ excuses and wonder “Is all there is?” because we instinctively know in our hearts that life is about much more .
Taurus season, Venus season, takes place in the height of spring when everything is blooming, bursting at the seams. The songbirds joyously sing. Flowers bloom and we can feel life surging everywhere.
Where Aries, our last New Moon, is about the seeding of desire, Taurus is about the fertilization of that seed.
Over the next two weeks as we move toward both a New Moon and a Solar Eclipse in Taurus (Solar Eclipses are always about new beginnings), Take the time to feel into what you want. Make time to slow down, simply to experience being immersed in the tactile side of life. Consciously cultivate familiarity with your innate sensuality by activating all of your senses. Be intentional and cultivate embodiment by being in the moment. Get outdoors if you can and stand on the earth barefoot, close your eyes and feel the breeze wash over you whilst you listen to the birds. Walk in the rain, take long slow baths by candlelight, be fully present when you eat or make love. In the immortal words of the spiritual teacher Ram Dass “Be here now.”
