Venus, archetype of love, beauty and relationship, has a dual nature:  one side of her is the sultry sensualist (hedonistic and self-indulgent at the worst) and the other side is the cool, unapproachable beauty (or ice princess at the worst).  How can one archetype have two such different sides?

Every sign of the zodiac has a planet that rules it.  But there are twelve signs and only ten planets,* so that two of those planets have rulership over two signs each.  Venus is one that has two signs, those being Libra and Taurus.

These two signs aptly illustrate the two sides of Venus’ personality.  Libra is more intellectual and distant, the cool, remote beauty, the lovely statue on the pedestal, the unattainable ideal.  Libra is also highly sensitive to beauty, but as an air sign, Libra is more interested in the abstract than the actual; to the Libran mind, a pure, beautiful, balanced idea is a perfect idea.  It doesn’t matter whether the idea can ever manifest in a real, physical form—Libra treasures the idea itself.

Taurus on the other hand, represents the earthier and more sensual side of Venus’ nature.  Taurus is the part of us that lives in the realm of the senses that takes pleasure in hedonistic desire that magnetizes our desire to us.  Taurus is drawn toward objects of beauty, toward fine, well-made objects, and wishes to possess them.  Taurus luxuriates in all things beautiful and delicious.

Libra is also the sign associated with agreements, promises and contracts.  Libra appreciates the rules of a relationship, whereas Taurus appreciates the sensations of being in contact with another person.  Taurus loves physical affection and comfort.

Both signs have their negative side:  Taurus overindulges, becoming a hedonist or gourmand, while Libra becomes a temptress:  cold and unapproachable, standoffish and teasing.  At Libra’s worst, there is the promise of love with no satisfaction; at Taurus’ worst, there is consumption with no satisfaction.  Libra can be the siren, luring sailors to their deaths, while Taurus can be like Tantalus, with the grapes forever dangling above his mouth, perpetually unable to reach them.

A Venusian “type” (someone whose chart shows a strong, centrally placed Venus) may identify with both sides of Venus over time.  This is so whether the native is a woman or a man.  Such a person will struggle with overindulgence as they embrace embodied experience and may at times fall in love with the idea of love.  But the Venusians among us also live lives rich in relationship, both to others, and to themselves.

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* Holding all arguments about Pluto’s status as a planet aside, that is.  Astrologers have not abandoned Pluto just because it’s been demoted by astronomy.  Pluto may be small, but its effects are potent.

Libra is one of the Cardinal signs.  Cardinal means active, motivated, driven.  Cardinality is the quality of beginnings.  This means that Libra is a motion-oriented leader, a sign that starts things.  But how can that be?  Everyone who knows something about Libra knows that Librans are famous for their inability to make decisions.  It’s hard to move forward on something when you feel the need to carefully think through every possible argument for and against it before you take action.  Why on earth is such an inherently indecisive sign also a Cardinal sign?

Libra is all about what’s fair.  This sign, above all others, is motivated to create balance and to give in measure equal to what is received.  Libra is highly sensitive to imbalance.  But it is not really possible for one human being to see into every level of both their soul and the soul of another person and to see what really, truly is fair.  Thus the dilemma:  Libra cannot truly judge what is fair and must deliberate for a long time, asking herself what is the right thing, the fair thing?

So Librans get paralyzed in indecision, unable to make a choice because they are longing for that still point of perfect balance to be struck.  But perfect balance, even if it is reached, cannot be maintained for long.  And here we find the answer to our question, because what Libra excels at is not static balance (the noun), but the act of balancing (the verb).  Balance is not a static state to be achieved, but an action, continually in progress.  If you think balancing is not active, just try the yoga “tree” pose right now and notice how active and busy your muscles are.

Since Libra is both a Cardinal and an Air sign, the (cardinal) action takes place in the (airy) mental realm.  Libra loves debate, a favorite phrase being “but on the other hand . . .”  The continual search for ideas, arguments and perspectives that will bring a discussion into balance is consummately Libran, very active and very Cardinal.

When Venus, goddess of love and beauty, claimed Librans for her own, did she curse them to give too much and perpetually be taken advantage of in relationship?

It’s true that Librans are relaters.  It’s true that someone with strong Libran influence would rather be in a relationship than not.  It’s true that a Venus-kissed individual can lose themselves in love.  But why?

Libra loves the sensation of being in love.  For Libra, falling in love and being in love is never having to worry about what’s fair.  People in love are inherently generous and thoughtful when those happy chemicals are swimming around in their brains.  Fairness is not an issue when you’re in love.  This solves a lot of problems for the Libran individual, who can be over-generous and too thoughtful all the time, whether they are in love or not.

Libra has a strong sense of fairness and balance to begin with.  A Libran type will often give too much in order to correct a perceived imbalance.  In doing so, the Libran can violate their own boundaries and drain away their energy, all in the name of doing the “right” thing, or being kind or being nice.  If Librans are continually drawn to relationship, but then lose themselves in it, what to do?  Librans are at their best when in relationship (whether romance or friendship) with people who give and take in fairly equal measure.  They also do well with people who are inherently generous because the Libran themselves will balance the situation by giving back.

The best thing for Librans to do is to be selective about who they relate with and to keep an eye on their own boundaries.  If that best friend keeps taking advantage or that boyfriend keeps crossing your boundaries, think again.  It may not be love or friendship operating there and you may need to hold a stronger line.  And knowing that you go into the situation with a tendency toward giving and a fascination for romance can equip you to keep taking care of yourself even when the hormones are raging.  And when you give to others, don’t forget to give to yourself too.