Tapestry of the Gods
Volume III
by Michael D. Robbins

Astro-Rayology
in progress

Interpretations of Famous People by Ray, Sign and Life Emphasis
With Explanations of All Astrological and Rayological Elements

Venus in Scorpio

Venus in Scorpio or Venus in Relation to Scorpio

1. Venus Partially Related to the Intellect, Which is Released into Full Governing Activity in Scorpio:
   “…the intellect has become more and more dominant and an increasingly potent factor. In Scorpio the mind is released into full governing activity. This release takes place in two stages:
   Stage 1—Wherein the intellect becomes dominant and powerful and controls eventually the emotional nature.
   Stage 2— Wherein the intellect is illumined by the light of the soul.” (EA 179-180)
   
   
2. Venus is in Detriment in Scorpio:
   “Venus, the intelligent mind, has its power lessened in this sign because the intellect—having been developed and used—must now be subordinated to a higher power of the soul, the spiritual intuition. The Son of Mind, the solar Angel, must now manifest as a Son of God. This solar Angel, when in control, must give place eventually to the Presence. This it has hitherto veiled or hidden. Venus must wane and the Sun—as a symbol of Deity—must wax in influence and finally take its place. Such are the symbolic and esoteric significances.” (EA 225)
   
   
3. Venus—Behind the Scene of a Triangle Involving two Rulers of Scorpio:
   “You will note that Pluto and not Mars is here mentioned by me as a non-sacred Planet, ruling Scorpio. The reason for this is that there is a relation between Mars and Pluto analogous to that between Venus and the Earth. Esoterically speaking, Mars is the alter ego of Pluto; the activity of Pluto at this time and in this lesser world cycle is very important on account of its esoteric approach to the Earth, impelled thereto by the vivification of its life by a display of Martian energy. The Earth, Mars and Pluto form an interesting triangle with Venus behind the scene acting as the impelling soul acts towards a rapidly integrating personality.” (EA 507-508)
   
   
4. Venus in Scorpio—Love of Death:
   With the combination, Venus in Scorpio, the planet of love is found in the pre-eminent sign of death. In the consideration of most, love and death are considered opposites, for death is all that most human beings love least. Combining these two influences, therefore, is likely to produce an unusual result. For some, this may mean a morbid, unnatural, life-denying love of death, or of those unhealthy, destructive ways of ‘living’ which lead to death. For others, there may come the realization that love (Venus) leads to death (Scorpio). This was graphically the case in pre-scientific days, due to the high incidence of death in child-birth. Venus in Taurus (the sign opposite to Scorpio) represents a love of all that is natural, vital and alive.
   
   
5. Venus in Scorpio—Morbidity in Love:
   Occasionally in literature, one meets the figure of “Death” as a lover. Those who are weary of the world and its disappointments, are sometimes attracted to the apparent peace which death may bring. They are lured by the darkly attractive image of death’s embrace. This is vividly portrayed in Schubert’s song, “Death and the Maiden”. Death approaches the maiden as a lover, and promises her that she shall sleep peacefully in his arms.
   
   
6. Venus in Scorpio—Vampiristic Love:
   Love is considered an act of giving and sharing. Scorpio, however, is the pre-eminent sign of vampirism, which is a theft of vitality from others. Venus is magnetic, and can be, in early days, selfishly magnetic. With this combination, one may find that so-called ‘love’, takes from him everything he has; or he may be such a person—exercising a negative, devitalizing magnetism upon others.
   
   
7. Venus in Scorpio—Loss of Love through Death:
   Voluntary death is rare, except upon initiates. Usually, death is involuntary, and when Venus is found in Scorpio, people may find themselves deprived (Scorpio) of that which they love (Venus). This, of course, can serve the purpose of developing detachment.
   
   
8. Venus in Scorpio—Obscuration of the Soul through Attachment:
   Venus is the soul of light and love, plunged into the obscuration of the lower worlds. In these worlds the magnetic power of the soul attracts matter and lower forms. These attractions prevent the light of the soul from shining and the love of the soul from radiating. Lower attraction is a preoccupation, and preoccupation is a method of stabilizing a lower vibratory state which is resistant to the influence of a higher state. With the lower state stabilized, the higher state cannot influence and express. To a greater or lesser extent this is true of Venus in every sign during the early days of evolution, but it is especially so in those signs which particularly represent the darkness of the material sphere—of which Scorpio is one, Virgo and Capricorn being others
   
   
9. Venus in Scorpio—Seduction:
   Venus is the planet particularly associated with magnetism; when that magnetism is negative (i.e., leading into attachment to the worlds of form) we call the magnetism “allure”, or more emphatically, “wrong allure”. Scorpio, too, in an astrological influence associated with negative magnetism, and also with stealth and ‘coversion’. Venus and Scorpio, together, are seductive, rendering falsely attractive that which leads only into vice and bondage. The truth, however, does not appear until the bitter-sweetness, has done its work and the unwitting subject is trapped.
   
   
10. Venus in Scorpio—Obsessive Love:
    When desire repeats itself without cessation, it is called “obsession”. Scorpio (like Taurus—both on the Fixed Cross) is a sign conferring great persistence (whether for good or for ill). Negative desires acquire a vitality of their own. Add the magnetism of Venus, and a situation is created in which attachment to negative energy patterns is greatly strengthened. It becomes almost impossible for the subject to rid himself of the objects of ‘love’ or desire to which he is compulsively attracted. He is obsessed by ‘love’.
    
    
11. Venus in Scorpio—“Fatal Attraction” to Negativity and the “Dark Side”:
    Within the last decade there appeared an interesting film called “Fatal Attraction”. It emphasized morbid, obsessive love and death. Venus in Scorpio leads into such fatal attractions, which end with the death of the ones attracted, or of the love which attracted them (a preferable conclusion). Once in the clutches of such an attraction, release is extraordinarily difficult. The alluring magnetism must be broken and it is extremely resistant. Sometimes “fatal attractions” are really “fated attractions”, having to do with the expiation of karma. The apparently negative situations which result are actually staging a release from some vice—often a release through the medium of pain.
     Orthodoxly ‑ an attraction to that which is low and which should be rejected.
    
    
12. Venus in Scorpio—Temptation (Seduction, “Wrong Allure”):
    Under the seductiveness of glamour, the attracting object looks so appealing. The unsuspecting ‘lover’ hears the sirens singing, little suspecting that they are luring him to his doom. (Perhaps Venus in any of the water signs suggests the thought of surrendering to sensuous life, but in Scorpio the allure becomes almost irresistible because the magnetism becomes so intense. Oscar Wilde, a Libran with Venus in Scorpio, “I can resist anything except temptation”, which is equivalent to saying, “I can resist nothing.” His unfortunate end proved this to be the case. Under this combination (especially upon the Fixed Cross) the will can be seduced;  the power of the will is overcome by an allurement; thus wrong magnetism triumphs over the will. Venus in Scorpio sets up those magnetic conditions which should be rejected, but they are rarely rejected until there is sufficient experience upon the Fixed Cross.
    
    
13. Venus in Scorpio—the Reign of Lower Values; Vice:
    Venus is the planet of values, and Scorpio represents the power of the Hydra to hold the consciousness in maya, glamor and illusion. Upon the Mutable Cross, soul values are completely overwhelmed, and the magnetism of Venus is made to serve the threefold negative forces. One values all that is lowest.
    
    
14. Venus in Scorpio—Compulsive Sexuality:
    Venus in Scorpio will stimulate intense intimate relationships of a compulsive kind. Scorpio is ruled by Mars and Pluto, two planets with strong sexual connotations. Mars stimulates sexual desire, and Pluto renders desires compulsive, irresistible. Add Venus to the picture, and a vision of the beauty of sexual life arises. In the worst extremes we may have nymphomania and satyriasis; the sexual appetite is, then, completely in control.
    
    
15. Venus is Scorpio—Animal Magnetism:
    The physical elemental has its own natural, animal attractiveness. Venus in both Scorpio and Taurus strengthen this magnetism, but other astrological factors, such as Earth and Mars, also make their contribution.
    
    
16. Venus in Scorpio—the Ability to Accumulate Resources:
    Venus is associated with the money and material resources through its rulership of Taurus and its dignity within in the second house. Taurus and Scorpio are both financial signs, as is Libra (“Law, Sex, and Money”) over which Venus rules, exoterically. Scorpio is a sign of investment, conferring the ability to gain power over resources and selfishly “corner the market”; negatively, Scorpio is one of the signs of greed,(with Cancer and Capricorn also contributing). Venus placed in Scorpio, adds to the magnetic ability to accumulate resources, and sometimes to suddenly lose them, for Scorpio takes away at length what, for a term, it gives, just as death does.
    
    
17. Venus in Scorpio—Issues of Love and Power:
    Scorpio is a power sign. Upon the Mutable Cross the subject seeks to gain power over others, and, upon the Fixed Cross, power over himself. Venus, upon the Mutable Cross, is the planet of love and affection. Ideally, relationship, is based upon mutuality, with neither partner seeking to overpower the other. This is not true of Scorpio, in which the destructive use of power is often found in the field of relationships. “Power games” are frequently played to see who will “come out on top”. Often, in Scorpio, it is the female force which dominates. We have the example in the insect world, of the black widow spider killing her mate after the mating ritual. This is typical of Venus in Scorpio. The destructive goddess, Kali, can also be associated with this sign. Venus in Scorpio brings forward negative femininity, or what we might call ‘feminine evil’. Under its influence such power games as are played may also be subtle, using sexual attraction and allure as weapons of power.
    
    
18. Venus in Scorpio—Jealousy, Hatred and Possessiveness in the Field of ‘Love’ and Desire: For the average or undeveloped man, Venus contributes to love and sexuality. But Scorpio, like Taurus, is a field in which owning and possessing are highly valued. With this combination, there may be a refusal to share love, and a desire to “corner the market” in terms of affection, just as the Scorpio subject sought to do this in the area of finance. The love aroused by Venus may be intense in this combination, but the lethal tendencies of Mars and Pluto are always lying in wait, ready to emerge and take control.
    
    
19. Venus in Scorpio—the Use of ‘Love’ for Negative Purposes:
    Today’s films are full of characters who use sex and natural attraction to “get what they want”. Scorpio (a triple sign) is associated with the power of manipulation. Manipulation and attractiveness together can be extremely effective in overcoming the opposition.. An archetype for this position could be the spy who uses her (or his) sex appeal (Venus) to obtain the necessary secrets (Scorpio).
    
    
20. Venus in Scorpio—Distorted ‘Loves’
    Whereas Venus in Taurus gives a love of that which is natural, Venus placed in the opposite sign, Scorpio (an sign in which Uranus—planet of deviation—is exalted) may render all that is unnatural, artificial and perverted strangely attracted. Upon the Mutable Cross, and even for the advanced man (before spirituality has been established) there may be a distorted sense of aesthetics and strange fascinations. It becomes clear that the repulsive perversion known as “necrophilia” (the love {Venus} of dead bodies {Scorpio}) can be indicated by this position. All this, of course, depends upon aspects and other placements.
    
    
21. Venus in Scorpio—the Gain which Comes from Being Beautiful:
    Both Taurus and Scorpio are signs of gain, though for Scorpio, typically, it is gain before loss. Venus, the symbol of that which is of value (for instance money) is magnetically attracted to those with these two placements. There is often a fascinating beauty associated with these two positions. Venus in Scorpio is, if anything, more covert and seductive. The subject can capitalize upon being beautiful, and many gifts will come. Venus in Libra offers something of the same, but without the negative consequences, because Venus in Scorpio often suggests that energy is being used negatively (if subtly and even unconsciously) to secure the gain. Many good things come to the beautiful, but there is often a price to pay.
    
    
22. Venus in Scorpio—Buried Treasure:
    Traditionally one has to dig to find buried treasure. If pirates have not hidden it, then nature has. This is a combination which suggests that something valuable can be found in the depths. It can suggest thievery and hiding the stolen objects or, later, it can suggest a psychological process through which the subject descends into hell (Scorpio—the unconscious mind) to redeem soul values which may be there hidden.

Specific Expressions of Venus in ScorpioVenus in Scorpio for the Average or Undeveloped Man

1. Venus in Scorpio—a Light-Filled Mind Controlling the Astral Vehicle:
   Venus is the planet of the intellect. For the Scorpionic individual, the mind becomes powerful in two ways—first as the instrument for the control of the emotions, and, secondly, as an organ of illumination. Venus, a planet of light and tranquility, can contribute to the control of the emotions through the illumination and tranquilization of the astral nature.

2. Venus in Scorpio—a Transformation of Values:
   In Libra (under Uranus) the “reversal of the wheel occurs” and the orientation to the soul is established. Scorpio ensures that the values of the soul are established, and are tested against the prevailing values of the personality. Venus, is the planet of values, or of ideal desires. Under Scorpio (and finally at the second initiation, ruled to a great extent by Scorpio) the subject “dies” to old desires and old values, and replaces them with desires and values which have been transformed by the light and love of the soul. For the advanced man, there is simply the realization that there are higher, better and more beautiful things worth striving for.

3. Venus in Scorpio—Attraction to That which must be Relinquished:
   Venus in Scorpio always attracts to that which must be relinquished. For the advanced man, the value of this dynamic begins to be understood, and the meaning of the inevitable loss is more readily accepted. There is, perhaps, more understanding and less resentment in relation to the process of privation. It is realized that a change for the better is necessary , and that loss is a prelude to that change.

4. Venus in Scorpio—Harmonizing Conflict:
   Scorpio is a sign full of conflict—inner and outer. Venus is a planet of harmonization (though in its usual ray complement, it does not seem to transmit the fourth ray). Perhaps we can think of the second ray (which is definitely associated with Venus) as the higher aspect of the fourth ray. When Venus is found in Scorpio, its power of harmonization can be applied to the conflict aspect of Scorpio; further, it can draw forth the harmony aspect of the ray of Harmony through Conflict which is so powerfully transmitted through Scorpio. This combination can, at least, help the subject bring the light of the intellect to bear upon emotionally difficult positions. It would be a good position for a psychologist who must bring light into dark places.

5. Venus in Scorpio—the Pulls Between Higher and Lower Magnetism:
   For the advanced man, Venus is Scorpio will begin to make the contrast between the higher and lower magnetisms more evident. It is no longer only lower magnetisms which make their appeal. The normal lower attractions will now be opposed by higher attractions stimulated by the soul (though the individual may not yet be a conscious aspirant or disciple).

6. Venus in Scorpio-Deeply Felt Artistic Expression:
   Venus represents the arts and artistic expression; Scorpio represents the depths of human experience. With this combination there may well be artistic expression through themes which portray humanity’s deep struggles, attractions and repulsions. The beauty of the darker side of life is understood and expressed, as well as the possibility of redemption in the light.

7. Venus in Scorpio—Relationship Reveals the Need for Redemption:
   Through Venus (the principal planet of relationship) and Scorpio (a sign of sexuality and of absorbing psychological struggles), relationship proves to be great testing ground. The compulsive magnetism between the sexes leads to a perpetual “battle of the sexes”, and brings to light much which must be redeemed by the soul, or at least, by sound psychological understanding.

8. Venus in Scorpio—Beauty Revealed in Ugliness; “Beauty and the Beast”:
   Scorpio is the sign of the “monster” (EA 333), of that that which is abnormal and deviates widely (and frighteningly) from the design of Nature. Venus is the planet of beauty. Together, they give the capacity to discern beauty in ugliness. Though the surface expression be repulsive, Venus can see beneath it and into the soul, discovering beauty in the deeper recesses of the self. To sense and cultivate the beauty within the beast, of course, transforms and redeems the beast.

9. Venus in Scorpio—Investment:
   Venus is the planet of accrual and appreciation (financially defined). Scorpio is a sign of initial loss followed by gain (on a higher turn of the spiral). Venus (representing the ‘treasures’ of the causal body) is definitely a planet of gain. With this combination comes the realization that if one wants something of value, one must be ready to make initial sacrifices; value, benefit and gain will emerge after the sacrifice. Every investor understanding this. Venus in Scorpio enhances benefit from investment (whether monetary or psychological). 

10. Venus in Scorpio—Unhappiness and ‘Profit’ in the Relationship Life:
    This is not an especially happy position for relationship life (unless there is considerable psychological security) because (in this sign of struggle) harmony is never easy to sustain. It is, however, a potentially, profitable combination—psychologically.  Always some new depth of love is revealed, demanding that some lesser value within the relationship be relinquished for a greater value. This can be painful. Love is tested here, and the illusions surrounding the relationship life are challenged by the demands of higher light and truer love.

Venus in Scorpio for the Disciple/Initiate 

(example of Libra with Venus in Scorpio: Gandhi): Iron will, but quiet about it. Basically - If you don't do what I want you to do. I will starve myself to death. He eventually became a brahma charya, which is the path of total abstinence. He tried four times it didn't work out, finally the fifth time he succeeded

1. Venus in Scorpio—the Soul Enters the Darkness of the Astral-Emotional World, the “Underworld”: Under this combination, the soul (Venus) deliberately enters the “Underworld”, Hades, the lower astral plane, where lower desire makes its home and unresolved complexes (“hidden enemies”)  lurk in the darkness. Venus represents the light and love which must be carried into these depths, if the quality of energy is to change.

2. Venus in Scorpio—“Lead us from…”
   The prayer of the disciple (to the soul and the Master) is to be led “from darkness to light”, “from the unreal to the real”, from “death to immortality” and “and from chaos to beauty”. Lower Scorpio represents darkness, unreality, death and chaos. Venus is the light, the reality, the immortality and the beauty of the soul. Venus represents the magnetic attraction of the higher worlds which draws the disciple out of the lower magnetic conditions, and into the higher mental plane where the soul finds its habitation. From a certain perspective, Venus represent the “light at the end of the tunnel”—the tunnel of being the passage through the illusion, glamor and maya of the lower three worlds. The disciple also prays to be led “from the individual to the universal”, but it is the task of planets other than Venus to accomplish this.

3. Venus in Scorpio—Appreciation Leads to Transformation and Redemption:
   Appreciation can be defined as the capacity to recognize quality. Quality is often well hidden within normal circumstances; the personality is visible, but not the soul. Venus, however,  (in the disciple or initiate) is the power to see behind and within the obvious to the core. When soul quality is recognized, it can be strengthened and drawn into expression. Further, this placement helps the subject draw to himself all that must be transformed and uplifted—especially within the realm of the emotions, to which the energy of Scorpio is so related.

4. Venus in Scorpio—the Muse as Guide in the World of the Unconscious:
   When Dante descended into Hell, he needed the guidance of Beatrice—the “Lady with the lamp”. In this image, the symbolism of Venus is easily recognized. The “Lady” represented the realm of the soul. She could see within the lower worlds; he could not. Venus in Scorpio also represents the artist’s muse, who guides and inspires him as he seeks to work with and within the depths of himself. There is much to be learned within the lower worlds, but it is only safe (and creative) to enter this ‘Hell’ under the guidance of the soul—or of the psychological mentor who represents the soul.

5. Venus in Scorpio—Useful at the Second Initiation:
   Scorpio is active at the first three initiations and especially at the second: “In this sign, the disciple undergoes those tests which will enable him to take the second initiation and demonstrate that the desire nature is subdued and conquered, and that the lower nature is (by being lifted up in the air, i.e. into heaven) capable of reaching the goal for this world period,…” (EA 143). “After the third initiation, its peculiar testing potency is no longer felt.” (EA 199) The second initiation requires that the emotional nature be subdued, and that personality desire ‘die’. Venus, Jupiter and Neptune (planets with a strong second ray) are all active at this initiation, as are the testing influences of Mars and Pluto (two of the rulers of Scorpio). For this initiation to transpire, the light and love of the soul must penetrate the astral sphere, subduing Martian selfishness (Venus can do this), and reorienting the desire nature entirely towards the world of the soul. Venus represents this light and love, and Scorpio, the astral vehicle. From the time of the second initiation, the emotional vehicle becomes a more reliable transmitter of soul light (Venus), and of the love—not only of the soul—but of the buddhic plane.

6. Venus in Scorpio—the Crisis of Light:
   During the process of integrating soul and personality, a fivefold psycho-spiritual process is experienced. It consists of Alignment, Crisis, Light, Revelation and Integration. The soul reveals the personality to itself. This revelation arises following the crisis induced by alignment with the soul; subsequently, the revealed light becomes, itself, a cause of further crisis. If  1)the challenges of alignment, 2) the crisis of personal adjustment to that alignment, and 3) the revelation of the faults of the personality nature are understood, the soul goes on to reveal the nature of the Divine Plan, and the role which the disciple may play within it. The light-bearing, light-shedding quality of Venus is clearly associated with the revelation of personality faults and bonds represented by Scorpio. 

7. Venus in Scorpio—the Expression of Beauty:
   Artistic tendencies certainly manifest early in the process of evolution. One need not be a disciple or initiate to be an artist. But when the disciple or initiate does express himself through art, the art will reflect the life of the soul rather than the contents of the personality vehicles only. Venus is the planet of art and Scorpio the pre-eminent sign of discipleship. In the following statement, the Tibetan gives an excellent idea of the creative life in Scorpio: “In Scorpio, the man who has mastered his lessons in Taurus must demonstrate that creativity which will work under the inspiration of aspiration and vision and constructively attempt to express the beauty which all forms intrinsically veil, thus bringing to all revelation of that underlying purpose which motivates all events and forms.” (EA 398) Here we have the idea of creative expression and the idea of the beauty veiled by the form. Scorpio confers the power to penetrate the veil of form, and Venus gives the appreciation of beauty. Together, they can fulfill the requirements of which the Tibetan speaks.

8. Venus in Scorpio—Useful in the Field of Esoteric Psychology:
   Venus is the distributor of the fifth ray (the ray which rules the practice and teaching of esoteric Psychology—the “science of the soul”). Scorpio, in its own right, is a sign deeply related to psychological inquiry. One can readily see how this combination (Venus in Scorpio) can help esoteric psychology to fulfill its purpose—the liberation of the soul (Venus) from bondage (Scorpio).

9. Venus in Scorpio—a Harmony Through Conflict Position:
   At this time, Scorpio is the most potent distributor of the ray of Harmony through Conflict. Venus is a planet of which reconciles conflict. Venus represents harmony and beauty rising out of the turmoil of Scorpio. Venus is the light after the Scorpionic ‘dark’. Under this influence, the disciple (under the guidance of the soul) passes through “the valley of the shadow of death” and is liberated into soul life. Scorpio, too, has its own quality of light—the “Light of Day”, entered after victory upon the battlefield.

10. Venus in Scorpio—Victory through Illumination, Release from the Coils of the Serpent:
    If the disciple is to be released from the “coils of the serpent”, mental illumination is required. Venus (with Mercury) is a planet which contributes to the illumination of the mind. Venus confers the power to bring mental illumination and soul values to bear upon the normal conflicts of the paths of aspiration and discipleship, as well as the struggles incident to the initiations of the threshold. These conflicts and struggles arise from the human predicament for humanity is the “middle kingdom” and its soul is ruled by the fourth ray.
    
    Thus, humanity is caught between the “pairs of opposites”—soul and form, spirit and matter. Humanity’s personality is, at this time,  ruled by the fifth ray—though a change of soul and personality rays is expected at the climax of human evolution. We see from the combination of the fourth and fifth rays how closely related is the combination of Venus (fifth ray) and Scorpio (fourth ray) to humanity’s ray structure, and why this combination of influences is so archetypally related to its struggle for liberation.  A victory is required—a victory of light and love. Venus has its role to play in this victory, but it is certainly not the only planet involved. Venus represents the light, love and beauty of the soul brought to bear upon the whole sordid expression of normal, undeveloped human living. Mars and Pluto have sword in hand; they certainly make their contribution to the victory of the incarnated human soul, but alone they cannot triumph. The illumination and understanding contributed by Venus and Mercury are also needed. Knowledge and love-wisdom are united in Venus; these two help the human soul extricate itself from the normal pushes and pulls of the bi-polar Scorpionic experience, for the soul (Venus) stands “midway”, and offers a path which is neither of the pairs of opposites.
    
    One of the reasons that the “coils of the serpent of illusion” are so powerful is because they are largely invisible. Venus (and Mercury) end this invisibility, and invite the human soul into the lighted world of higher mind and intuition. In this elevated atmosphere the serpent cannot breathe, and dies. Thus, is consciousness released from the weakened coils of the dying serpent.

11. Venus in Scorpio—the Death of all Lower Values:
    Just as lower values (Venus) were pursued by the undeveloped or average man, so the testing, death-dealing ‘atmosphere’ of Scorpio kills the lower magnetisms, ensuring that only the higher values survive. The Scorpio experience de-glamorizes lower values and desires, revealing them for what they really are. Disillusioned, the human soul drops its attraction for such things. This is the “death of desire”.

12. Venus in Scorpio—Privation for the Sake of Redemption:
    Under Venus in Scorpio one “falls in love” with the things of the lower worlds—with the things which one cannot “have and hold” (as Venus in Cancer would wish) for the soul will take them away. This combination demonstrates to the evolving consciousness the impossibility of holding in the bonds of ‘love’-desire that which must be taken away for the sake of the greater radiance of the soul. From the soul’s perspective, the personality, through loss and pain, is finally forced to find wanting that which it previously found attractive. Personal loss becomes spiritual salvation. The fusion of soul and personality is promoted through privation and disappointment. Through the agency of this combination, the Solar Angel is “turned free” (at least, in part—for Venus in Capricorn looms ahead) of its attachment to and submersion in form. Venus in Scorpio brings the value of privation home to the soul in incarnation. As the process continues, there arises in the consciousness of the human soul a love of being free from the attachments of form. Apparent material loss begins to be seen and understood as spiritual gain. Values are entirely transformed, and the Law of Repulse can become effective. This fourth law of the soul is really an aspect of the Law of Love. It is not so much that one “hates the lower worlds”; it is simply that one loves (Venus) the higher worlds more.

13. Venus in Scorpio—the War Against Sex:
    Upon the Mutable Cross, Venus represents human desire-love (on the emotional plane), and sexuality (on the physical). For long, the wrong use of these two result in attachment to the lower worlds and retarded spiritual progress. In Scorpio the disciple realizes that he has, for ages, been ‘dying of attachment’. This realization may cause a violent compensatory reaction, and he may seek to stamp out all desire for the lower worlds and its sources of gratification. Mars and Pluto are certainly involved in this often fanatical response, but Venus can play its role as well. Venus in Scorpio need not represent sexual indulgence; it can represent  exactly the opposite. The normal sexual magnetism is denied, reoriented and, to the degree possible, sublimated. Usually indulgence has preceded such a sublimation and taught the futility and bondage of powerful, prolonged sexual desire.

14. Venus in Scorpio—“Fatal Attraction” as “Fateful Attraction”:
    The “fatal attractions” engineered by this position have been discussed above. For the disciple/initiate, these “fatal attractions” are fated and fateful attractions, giving the opportunity to confront karma and extract a harvest of love and light from the pain of detachment and destruction. “Fatal attractions” are far from fatal—for the soul.

15. Venus in Scorpio—Understanding the Detriment in a Positive Light:
    The detriment of Venus in Scorpio represents the fact that the intelligent mind must be replaced by the soul and, eventually, by the Presence, itself. Of course, the intelligent mind is used in Scorpio, and powerfully so. It is only in the early and later stages of development that the intelligent mind is ‘detrimented’—first because it is obscured and suffocated by the lower worlds, and later in the evolutionary period, because it is transcended by buddhi and atma. When Venus represents the light of the soul, the Scorpionic ‘atmosphere’ may actually be conducive to its expression. From another perspective, the lower magnetisms of Venus are ‘detrimented’ as desire gives way to aspiration and soul-values are established. The lower nature of Venus—superficially attractive, loving only what is pleasant, agreeable and appealing, etc.—is detrimented, as the light and love of the soul become firmly established in the consciousness. If the disciple triumphs in Scorpio, the soul (which guides him and which is symbolized by Venus) can hardly be considered as weakened. The entire area of “falls” and “detriments” is most interesting because of what we might call the ‘principle of reversibility’. Exaltations and rulerships are not necessary “good”; falls and detriments are not necessarily “bad”.

16. Venus in Scorpio—Release of the Incarnated Soul through Death:
    The incarnated soul must rise-up, out of matter-form, and merge with the overshadowing soul. This process occurs naturally at the close of every life cycle, and, to a certain extent, whenever one sleeps. Scorpio stages those circumstances which bring about the death of the form and with it, the release of consciousness to the higher worlds. Assuming the truth of the words of Master Morya—“the worse, the better”—Venus in Scorpio is a combination leading to liberation through death.

17. Venus in Scorpio—the Solar Angel as Warrior:
    The soul shows itself in many guises—illuminator, nurturer, lover, but it is also the “warrior”. Venus in Scorpio can be seen as the soul (Venus) standing above the fray, and supervising the battle by means of which its reflection in the lower worlds (the soul in incarnation) is liberated. Venus is never aggressive, and thus, is not a warrior in the conventional sense, but the power of its radiant magnetism makes a conflict in the three worlds inevitable as the human soul, inspired by the higher Venusian beauty it sees, fights its way into the worlds which Venus rules.

18. Venus in Scorpio—the Beauty of Detachment:
    Upon the Mutable Cross, beauty is recognized only in form. Detachment from form, then, seems to deprive one of beauty. But as detachment proceeds, a higher beauty is revealed—a beauty long obscured by the beauty of the outer world. Venus has its strong association with the heart center: “Venus corresponds to the heart centre in the body logoic, and has an inter-relationship therefore with all the other centres in the solar system wherein the heart aspect is the one of greater prominence.” (TCF 182) There is a kind of inner beauty related to the heart more than to form. This is the beauty of love, which is revealed as one is released (through Scorpionic detachment and destruction) from preoccupying attraction to the beauties of the outer world. We must remember that Scorpio, too, has its close association with beauty because it so powerfully transmits the fourth ray of “Harmony, Beauty and Art”.

19. Venus in Scorpio—in the Battle of the Personality Against the Soul—“Love Conquers All”: The victory of soul over personality is not merely a victory of mind and will, both of which, of course, play their roles. Rather, it can be said, that “love is the conqueror” and that “love conquers all”. The soul of love triumphs as, after the great battle, buddhi is established in the consciousness of the triumphant disciple.

20. Venus in Scorpio—the Triumphant Disciple (through Love-Wisdom):
    The triumph of the disciple (Scorpio) is the triumph of love-wisdom (Venus). Venus is “pure love-wisdom”. (EA 282)

21. Venus in Scorpio—Death of Normal Relationship; Polar Union Emerges:
    Venus in both Taurus and Libra promotes the normal union of the polarities—male and female. Venus in Scorpio (the detriment position for Venus) works to put this normal interplay to an end—at least the relationship between the sexes no longer has the same attractive potency after Venus in Scorpio has fulfilled its mission. Bi-polarity is neutralized and “Polar Union” (the second law of the soul) supervenes. Soul-personality, or soul-soul relationships take the place of the normal male-female relationships.

22. Venus in Scorpio—the Death of Peace Between Soul and Personality:
    Venus in Libra represents “peaceful co-existence” between personality and soul. Venus in Scorpio represents the death of this peace. The polarities (soul and form)  struggle for the capture of the human. At last the soul (long patient) becomes beneficently impatient, knowing that the time for its victory is near. The soul now “wants it all”, and “50/50” is no longer an acceptable ratio. Venus in Scorpio (like Venus in Capricorn) is a combination indicated the triumph of the soul, even if Venus is normally considered detrimented in this sign. It should be remembered that the fall and detriment of the Moon in Scorpio and Capricorn, respectively, is important for the success of the soul-spirit, and not at all a spiritual problem—though it is a problem to the suffering personality. 

Individuals with Venus in Scorpio

John Adams
Marie Antoinette
Isaac Asimov
Niels Bohr
Benvenuto Cellini
Nicholas Culpeper
Marie Curie
Father Joseph Damien
Benjamin Disraeli
Enrico Fermi
Mohandas K. Gandhi
Bill Gates
Uri Geller
George Gershwin
Billy Graham
Edwin Hubble
Pope John XXIII
Dr. Samuel Johnson
Marc Edmund Jones
John Keats
Genghis Khan
Timothy Leary
Bruce Lee
Anton van Leeuwenhoek
Franz Liszt
Martin Luther
A. A. Michelson
Carl Sagan
Girolamo Savonarola
Jean Sibelius
Steven Spielberg
Giuseppe Verdi
Voltaire
Ralph Vaughn Williams