This week saw a rare astronomical event - the transit of Venus across the face of our Sun.  This transit occurs in pairs of eight years, the last one being in 2004.  There will not be another transit like this until December 2117; the transits of Venus have a century between them.  Venus is the brightest star in our universe apart from the Sun, and it is the planet that passes closest to us, apart from our Moon which passes closer. 

Astrologically why is this transit important? Looking at the meanings of the two planets, we have Venus the planet of love and relationships. In art you will often see Venus accompanied by her son Cupid. Venus is our values and self worth, sociability, female charm, harmony and beauty. It’s our desires and our ability to love and be loved and intimacy. The Sun is our identity, our life force, power and consciousness. It’s our potential, our self-expression and recognition, the Sun is the Father. 

This transit reminds me of an eclipse as Venus tracks across the Sun’s surface, Venus taking up the Sun’s energy and power. A time of renewal when we can look at ourselves and relationships from a different perspective. Reminding us all of the importance of love, not only for ourselves but for each other. I also believe that this can be a time when we feel a deeper sense of our own individuality within a relationship.   With our busy and hectic lives we don’t always have the time to search within ourselves, reflect and look to see who we truly are. We can lose our sense of identity; this can happen in our close relationships we become part of a pair, a couple sometimes reflecting each other.  Perhaps this transit reminds us that we can live an individual life within a close relationship, retaining our identity and we still can achieve a harmonious relationship without losing the true individuality that makes us the person we are. I feel Venus takes up the energy and power from the Sun renewing itself and in turn revitalising us. This is a great time for all of us to return some of the love we have received from the people around us. A time of tolerance and understanding towards those who are closest to us, a time to treasure the people who love us, renewing the love we feel for them.