Venus Reborn

We all know that the planet Venus, orbiting within the orbit of the Earth and therefore never too far from the Sun, is observed as either a morning or evening star. The ancient Mesoamericans considered Venus the most important planet, next to the Sun, and they plotted its 584-day synodic cycle precisely, creating tables that allowed for accurate predictions about its phases. For them, the Venus cycle began at its inferior conjunction with the Sun, the conjunction that occurs when Venus passes between the Earth and Sun. A few days after this event, Venus becomes visible in the early morning, just before sunrise. This first appearance as a morning star is called its heliacal rising, which means "rising before the sun." This event occurs when Venus is moving retrograde, about two weeks before it stations and then moves direct.

There was much lore concerning this first appearance of Venus in Mesoamerica. Venus, called "wasp star" or "spearing star," was said to be malefic and dangerous -- people would stop up their chimneys to prevent its rays from entering their houses. Even gazing on it was risky. The priests would make sacrifices and throw blood toward it. The general consensus was that this was a time when certain groups within the culture could be struck down or harmed. Even the rain was not safe from its rays. Exactly who or what was the target was determined by the 13-day period that was in effect when this event occurred. So Venus' conjunction with the Sun and its first appearance about 4 or 5 days later was judged by the time-sign it was in, in this case, a "sign" lasting 13 days. An old manuscript written shortly after the Spanish Conquest lists some of the victims of Venus according to the 13-day period or sign in effect. For example, if the sign 1-Reed was happening, then the great Lords would suffer, if 1-Earthquake then youths and maidens.

An examination of news events around the times of Venus' heliacal rising seems to confirm this ancient Mesoamerican notion about its destructive nature. Plane crashes are common, usually caused by impulsive decisions. Frequently, leaders are discredited or leveled in some way. Here are some examples:

The Watergate break-in and the Iran-Contragate scandal occurred at the heliacal rising of Venus. With the Inferior conjunction of Sun and Venus in late January 1990, the mayor of Washington D.C. was caught in a drug bust, oat bran was discredited as a magic health bullet, and the Avianca airliner crashed on Long Island. Other Venus/Sun inferior conjunctions, followed a few days later by Venus' heliacal rise are the disposing of Mikhail Gorbachev (August 1991), the Waco, Texas Dravidian disaster (April 1993), the Republican landslide in congress (November 1994), and very recently, President Clinton's testimonies about his alleged sexual conduct (January 1997).

Mesoamerican astrology divides the Venus cycle into four periods, each of which correlates with a portion of the Quetzalcoatl myth. At the Inferior Conjunction/heliacal rising period, the first of the four, Quetzalcoatl is reborn as a god and descends to Earth. He is soon overcome by his emotions and commits a sexual sin. This phase of the Venus cycle is one of powerful feelings and emotions that may lead one astray and up against reality or the laws of the land. Society, held together by the control of sexual urges and anti-social feelings, crumbles under its influence. Persons born during this period are particularly intense, Jack Nicholson and Tonya Harding, being good examples.

After its morning star phase, Venus moves into the long superior conjunction with the Sun. In the Quetzalcoatl myth this is the time of judgment by the gods. Next comes the evening star phase when Quetzalcoatl walks the earth as a humble mortal. As the inferior conjunction begins again, he is sacrificed and, once again, made a god.

Experience has also demonstrated to me that Venus' heliacal rising has effects on natal charts. It strongly effects people with Taurus or Libra emphasized in some way (Sun, Moon, or Ascendant). Also, where in your chart you have either Taurus or Libra on a cusp, expect that house to experience some shocks or rather intense developments. Things may happen faster and you may be pressed into making decisions faster than you may want to.

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