Watching Venus and Mars Transits

Back when Grace and I first had to take time apart, I became obsessed with tracking Venus and Mars transits, both mundane and in association with our natal placements. Since Hellenistic astrology, Venus and Mars have been associated with their deities' namesakes, which makes their relationship unique among all of the planets'. There are some traditions, for example, who hold that no planet gets along with Mars excepting Venus. Some astrologers today use the two to predict on a mass scale how cisheterosexual couples relate to one another.

Obviously, Grace and I are no longer cis nor hetero, but I had some success with my observations back when I thought we were. For instance, when transiting Venus opposed Grace's Mars and Moon and my stellium two years back, that was the first time I ever heard her voice. Now, as a trans4trans couple with a masc and femme, I guess we flipped roles and I'm Mars now. However, there are some astrologers such as Rowan Oliver who are discovering ways to track queer couples using Venus, who is the traditional signifier of all love and relationships on her own.

Most recently, Venus and Mars just completed an opposition to one another with Mars in Leo and Venus in Aquarius, the latter being extremely close to the degree where the two last conjuncted. So it's like they're still having some sort of continuing conversation in that area of Aquarius.

That conversation is going to look different for everyone based on where the Leo/Aquarius opposition falls in their natal charts as well as what their relationships look like. Opposition is considered one of the two "hard" aspects, bringing along friction. Although, as someone who is quite familiar with opposition in these particular signs, I can find that friction to be quite fruitful.

For me and Grace, our relationship overcame a bump that correlated with Mars stationing retrograde right before this opposition and we were awkwardly trying to make up and figure out how to move forward. So the feeling was close and loving, but with some tenseness underneath. We also both have important placements in this area so these recent transits are having us see some new challenges and try to figure out where our values as a partnership must be re-examined or newly applied.

The next places where Venus and Mars aspect reveals an interesting narrative! First, it's important to note that Mars is in this retrograde cycle for months and it's going to take him back to the water cardinal sign Cancer, where he is in his Fall. When he's most of the way through that, Venus will be coming through her sign of exaltation in the water sign Pisces and trine (the easiest aspect) him exactly. So whatever trouble Mars will be kicking up in the Cancer region of your chart will be somewhat ameliorated by the Pisces section of your chart as Venus heals Mars with this trine.

Then, March begins with Venus in the cardinal fire sign Aries. As Mars in the first week of this month finishes his retrograde and goes direct, Venus starts her own retrograde.

So what we see here is the two of them squaring (aka the harshest aspect) by sign, but it never perfects by degree. This essentially means that those of us in romantic relationships may experience a feeling of distance and/or irritation with their partner(s). Like we are trying really hard to connect on something, but just can't get there. It's unfortunately likely to get worse as Venus is already in her detriment in Aries and Venus retrograde traditionally represents review of relationships and relating/cooperation/collaboration style. Life also stinks a little more because the planet of beauty, music, and joy is afflicted. It may have been Abu Ma'ashar who called Venus' retrograde the worst of them all.

This particular Venus retrograde has a saving grace, however, and it's that it brings her back to Pisces so we get a little more time with her at her exaltation. While she's there, she and Mars trine exactly again as Mars finishes up his transit in Cancer. There's more company than just those two this time, though. Because this trine happens right on top of Saturn.

So the Saturn presence... There's a definite weight to this. My instinct as the astrologer who reads Saturn as the planet of narrative is that there's a "get real" conversation that's going to happen. This is additionally bolstered by the Sun being in his sign of exaltation in Aries, providing a lot of clarity, and lending that trait to the Moon who on the same day is going through the Sun sign of Leo and about to apply to him in a trine. Basically, our ideas and feelings are aligned on what we want to do that day, and with some real fire power behind them.

I think Venus is still in a good place, surrounded by all her favorite things in Pisces. And it's fortunate that she is because she knows something with Mars is not working and she has plenty of tools/space to help figure it out. Additionally, although Saturn has her characteristic harshness, there's a sense that her practicality is going to help out, like the best friend in a romcom. It's as if she's saying, "Look, girl, I have been traveling through this place since March of 2023. I see everything everyone has been going through. I have been writing the story you set out since prior to then*, but soon I am going to ingress into Aries for the first time and fuck some shit up** so I would like us to start thinking about how we want to write the ending."

Meanwhile, Mars is over in Cancer like, "I have so many feelings :((( Thanks for helping me through them tho :)))"

Very soon afterward, Venus stations direct on 24 Pisces so it feels like we are actually going to move through some pretty heavy obstacles. Hooray! She then trines with her silly little short king boyfriend again on May 8th when she's in Aries and he's in Leo, both of them clearing the shadow degrees of their retrograde cycles and therefore finishing up some frustrations. Aw, cute.

Until next time that is. When? I don't know, I haven't gotten that far.

*This was a delineation provided on Twitter via some currently working astrologers that Venus transiting Pisces in January 2023 would foreshadow and set up Saturn's 3-year transit in the same sign. I wish I could remember which astrologers stated this—as it proved accurate for myself and Grace, who have since hit every point in our brief conversation during that Venus transit—but all those accounts are deleted now. Thanks a ton, billionaire!

**Sorry to everyone who I told life would be easier with Saturn in Aries. I was extremely wrong, thinking the planet of obstacles would have her obstacles weakened. Turns out, putting the planet of structure in her fall means the structures fall apart. In my defense, though, last time she was in Aries I was in kindergarten and global circumstances were not like this at all!