In this gentle allegory of peace by Louis Jean François Lagrenée, created around 1770, Mars, the Roman god of War, gently pulls back the rich green bed curtains that frame the scene. As the drapery parts, the morning light spills in to reveal the form of the sleeping Venus, the Roman goddess of love. Mars gazes at her, tenderly and utterly captivated by her beauty. Her love has tempered his fierce character, and his shield and sword lie abandoned on the floor. Echoing the lovers’ bliss, a pair of white doves, symbolizing peace, build a nest in Mars’s helmet.
As I shared with you previously in The Higher Purpose of Venus, in the context of astrology and relationships, Venus is about reciprocity. If you have a water Venus, it isn’t merely about you being attracted to water signs, but rather it is about: are you bringing water to the relationship; or are you just there to collect water for yourself? If you have a fire Venus, do you encourage, inspire and raise others, or do you seek to take the fire and adoration for yourself and fall into selfishness? How do you nurture other people’s flames? If you are an earth Venus, how do you bring stability and support other’s need for stability; if air, how do you bring clarity and kind wisdom of words, what kind of air do others breathe around you? Venus will always ask you, how do you love? And wherever she is in your natal chart, as I’ll share you today, she is giving you an opportunity to self reflect.
This is why Venus rules relationships, because everything we wish to receive we must give to others first; this is the higher spiritual truth. In relationship dynamics, there will always be balance in the energies. If one partner goes to one extreme, the other will inevitably go to the opposite extreme; this is why if you seek to change something in the relationship, you need to look within, self reflect and see what within you you may change. I’ve talked about this with some examples in The Secrets of Feminine Energy within Relationships.
If one seeks to understand the depth of astrology, one needs to understand that it is a spiritual study and carries within itself esoteric symbolism and ancient spiritual teachings. The higher purpose of astrology is to allow you an opportunity for a deepening into your self knowledge, so that hopefully you may choose the higher dharma path your soul intended in this life for its growth and evolution of consciousness.
With this beautiful art today, we will unveil the wisdom that seeks our knowing – into the deeper understanding of both Mars and Venus, the eternal lovers, the inner beloved in your chart and the sacred marriage, and the relationship dynamics between the masculine and the feminine energy. The allegory of peace essentially shows the higher purpose, dharma and higher expression of both Mars and Venus, and how peace may come upon us, both individually and as society and people.
The sleeping Venus is part of the feminine mysteries, often portrayed in paintings and myth also, where the see the goddess of love sleeping gently in a garden, or in this painting too she is sleeping. This shows the essence of what Venus actually is.
Venus is like a body in a dream state, which is constantly moving to put itself into balance – into the right position while sleeping, into more harmony and comfort. Venus is that which puts into balance all that isn’s yet. Her wisdom and essence reminds us that balance is not static, it is dynamic; it is ever moving to adjust, never extreme, it is the meeting place of trust and faith and virtue and truth, it is the the sunrise and the sunset, when the sun kisses the lips of dawn and the moon kisses the hands of dusk.
There is a higher consciousness to Venus, the love consciousness; and as this is a feminine energy that she moves through, so it adapts to her surrounding.
The sleeping Venus in esoteric teachings often refers to remembering, illuminating, forgetting of the intellect, and learning the importance of the immaterial and unspoken. There are also secrets that are shared that should never be spoken between lovers.
Venus gets her full realization in formlessness, in the complete dissolution of everything, showing us that the real beauty is the internal beauty, and the importance of knowing ourselves through the inner pathway; the path begins in the heart always, and it seeks our inner vision and inner exploration.
Our entire experience is constructed by the dance of opposites, the dance between the masculine and the feminine; when one holds is when the other opens to be held, when one pulls is when the other comes forth, when one opens is when the other retreats, to speak the other needs to listen.
Without the kiss of the masculine, we’ll be in a forever sleep state. So the lover’s dance between the masculine and the feminine is that which becomes us, and allows us to understand and to experience. In astrology too, to understand a sign or a house, you need to understand its opposite.
The feminine is the keeper of secrets and mystical wisdom – but with this comes a responsibility, and a woman needs to know herself. This is why in mystical schools the first thing a priestess had to learn is know herself and know the earth. Unfortunately in our world today many women don’t know themselves truly, and we just don’t have the tools to do so – the brand “women’s empowerment” has become something that actually isn’t true empowerment, it is a way of further separation in our world and women’s exploitation.
It is up to feminine to discern the beautiful qualities of a man and then inspire him to embody this – is he a teacher, a guide, a protector, a warrior; it is up to the feminine to raise your boys well to be honourable, courageous, truthful and fair and emotionally intelligence, and to inspire them on their unique dharmic paths. And it’s not just the children, it is your brothers, fathers, friends, lovers, husbands. And – it is also your inner beloved self carrying the masculine energy.
In a woman’s chart, i.e. someone who was born a woman with female genitals, Venus represents her feminine expression in love, while Mars represents her inner beloved, and what she needs to integrate within herself. Once integrated in love and harmony, this Venus with Mars in her chart becomes the sacred marriage – the space within her in love, from where she may see more love externally also in its higher manifestation.
In a man’s chart, i.e. someone born a man with male genitals, Venus becomes his inner beloved while he moves through the expression of his Mars. He will always seek Venus, his inner beloved, in his external world, because Mars always seeks Venus – but he himself needs to integrate his inner beloved first, otherwise he may be going after shadows, which serve the purpose to mirror to him what he needs to integrate and work within himself first.
What about same sex couples? It doesn’t matter what gender you are attracted to – if you were born with male genitals, you will always seek Venus, regardless of whether that Venus comes in a male or female body for you etc. The reason why it matters the body within which you were born is that it shows the primary incarnation initiation, and whether you came through the masculine or feminine; because even though we carry both energies within, one will always remain the more dominant and that’s purposeful as it relates to our overall growth and evolution for its specific reasons.
As I shared in the beginning Venus for all of us is about reciprocity; so while we all need to integrate the shadows of our inner beloved in order to come into the sacred marriage, we also need to learn the art of loving through our Venus, because we are meant to learn to love. To love means to know reciprocity, and to understand the interdependence; knowing that everything we wish to receive we must give to others first; knowing selflessness and generosity and giving; knowing how our actions and inactions essentially change, shift and influence our surroundings also; and if we don’t pour of our water to others, then the lands will dry, no fruits will be, and we too will suffer.
In your natal chart, wherever your Venus is, she is giving you an additional opportunity to show love and express it; do you know how to love, how do you love?
For natives especially whose natal Venus is in a shadow house, such as their 7th house, they need to pay close attention to their self worth and self value, because they usually seek others to feel loved and worthy. In this case, Venus is giving them an opportunity to reflect on how much they love themselves by the kind of partners and friends and close circles they choose.
If someone has their natal Venus in the 3rd house, it is about letting love flowing through their words, creativity – because this shows many talents and gifts usually, and the love within their words and writing moves people’s hearts and may even be healing, if in connection with the 2nd lord, Moon, Mercury, Jupiter or atmakaraka.
Mars is a warrior. Within us all, he is that which moves us forward – he is how we go after what we desire; and what Mars desires always is Venus. Venus is how he is tamed and transforms into his higher purpose and dharma – which is to protect those he loves and all people who are more vulnerable. Mars protects and guards that which needs our protection; his higher manifestation is integrity, virtues, and a higher sense of purpose.
This is why he is also a karaka of the forth house of home and family, and part of the higher karmic purpose of a marriage, because you are meant to protect the privacy and honour of your family and loved ones. We are meant to protect their privacy and honour at all times; we are meant to protect and honour their names and inner worlds and hearts, and stand up for them even when they can’t see it nor hear it – because that’s the right thing to do, not because we’ll get validation.
Mars has values and integrity on his higher manifestation; and yes, he is a warrior, but he is also a lover.
At his higher manifestation he knows to take off his armour and unveil his heart to his beloved – because an armour can’t fall in love; intimacy requires the courage to take off our armours, show our heart, bare our love and emotions, and have the courage of vulnerability.
Venus is about truth, intimacy and love, and she is about self value also – so she will not suffice for a man who acts in boy psychology. She seeks truth because love is truth, and the only way that Mars can “get her”, is through the path of taking off his armour.
This is why in fairytales too you will often see the symbolism of the knight in shining armour – he goes into the forest to fight dragons or witches, but this is symbolic of his maturation and facing his inner shadows, so that he grows emotionally mature and able to love. And after that, he takes off his armour for a chance in love. The armour is symbolic of his armoured heart and unwillingness or fear of opening up and being vulnerable, exposed to being hurt. But love is a kingdom we enter only when we are brave and sacrificed our own pride, ego and we are willing to give it our all.
Through Venus, Mars enters into the sacred marriage – the yin with the yang, the eternal lovers dancing in the sky. With facing Venus he realizes he needs to mature – he knows it isn’t about impulsivity anymore, or just fighting, it is now about the real thing, the real love, it is now about fighting for those he loves, protecting them and their privacy and having integrity.
Integrity is what matures Mars. And it is now only for his Venus that he firstly takes off his armour to unveil his beating heart; and it is through this vulnerability that he learns to love and they merge. He now is a lover, not just a warrior. He now is a man.
The dharma of Mars is loyalty, integrity, alignment to higher values, courage of soul, self discipline and self control, and channeled fire towards the higher purpose of being in service to others, protecting the vulnerable and protecting the integrity of his loved ones.
Venus rules the high heart, and the so called holy emotions of love; and it is love, and only love, for which all kneel.
In her essence, Venus is also about freedom – she is that which frees us; which softens us, opens us, opens hearts and minds and palms, and we move in our flow and creativity, because we are free.
Venus’ association with freedom is often portrayed through the paintings of her being naked – because Venus is nature, the soil and earth, the water and air and fires of suns and stars and mysteries, she is everything. She is the sunrise and sunset, the quietness and songs, the waves and lakes, she is the moonhold and dark moist wells hidden in the forests.
We become her when we walk barefoot on the cobblestone streets, have stars and salts on our skins, lovers’ winds in our hair, and thousands of constellations in our eyes full of wonder, inspiration and joy. It is this freedom that births creativity, because creativity needs freedom to breathe and thrive, and the wisdom and discernment of a true heart.
Venus is also that which makes forms round – which is why she is often shown with rounder feminine shapes, and why she rules fruits such as cherries – because they are round. Venus is also that which softens things – she is the sea waves whose hands soften the roughest edges of rocks and stones on shore.
When we are in her higher expression, we become soften in speech, in touch, and allow the flow of life to move us. Soft movements, kind gestures, patience of rhythm. She doesn’t criticize nor judge, she sees the beauty within each and everything, and serves the temple of god within each and everything. She choose to raise people by showing them the good and telling them what good they are doing and how this inspires her or has helped her; she uplifts through love and kindness.
Venus softens skins, which softens hearts and minds and opens our heart. This is why sometimes even moisturizing your skin, or taking a long nice bath can serve to nourish her energy within you.
This is what I love about this painting – it clearly shows all these esoteric secrets and spiritual wisdom, and essentially, the higher dharmic paths of both Mars and Venus, who will always, and inevitably, be together – they are the eternal lovers, and this is the allegory of peace.
When we understand that Mars is about integrity, intention, higher purpose, discipline, self control, and knowing when and for whom to take the armour off in order to build true intimacy; and when we understand that Venus is about self realization, inner development, harmony and trust of natural flow, as well as expressing love and kindness through our lips, hands and gestures; that’s when peace comes upon us, and upon society, and upon humanity.
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Cover art: Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée, Mars and Venus, Allegory of Peace, 1770.
