Venus is about to enter Libra and love is on my mind. I wanted to share how each planetary archetype can show up in your love life. Venus and the Moon are the primary focus when starting to delineate what a chart has to say about romantic relationships. And that is completely fair, as the Moon and Venus tend to show up quite loudly in interpersonal relationships. But each of the planets can play a key function in describing the quality of your relationships, how you show up in them, what you desire, etc. You have all of the planets in your chart, after all, and you are bringing ALL of who you are into a relationship too. This archetypal briefer is also good for getting a grapple on the sign these planets happen to be in for you. For example, do you have Venus in Gemini? Then the archetypes of Mercury can play a large role in your romantic relationships, as Mercury rules Gemini. Even more, we all have a 7th house in our charts, the house that describes one-on-one relationships. If you have Saturn in the 7th house, looking only to the placements of your Moon or Venus, which may not be in your 7th house, can keep from you crucial information about how Saturn shows up in love. Let’s get into each planet, the traditional 7 first, rounded out with our 3 modern planets.
Sun: The Sun describes how we can feel seen in relationships. The Sun in your love life may ask that your relationships allow independent growth, that your partner even encourage this growth. These relationships provide and require nourishment for both individuals to go off and be their most authentic selves. In relationship, the Sun plays a role in understanding the self through the other and incorporating all that you experience into the refinement of your character. The Sun wants you to find someone who spotlights your spark.
Moon: The Moon describes our inner most and sometimes subconscious needs for comfort and security. The Moon in your love life shows up as automatic impulses to protect and nourish the feeling body and foster emotional wellbeing. In relationship, the Moon seeks to get these foundational needs met through the other, and through the bond of the relationship itself. The Moon also describes the instinct we have about others, and the sometimes-magical leap of logic it takes it fall in love or get swept off your feet. The Moon wants you to find someone who sees the true you, and who nourishes it.
Mercury: Mercury describes our cerebral processing, our communication style, and how we mentally organize our way through life. Mercury in your love life can show communication style, the topics that matter to you, and the most basic perceptual way you see the world. In relationship, Mercury wants to plan, to bounce ideas off of people, to feel understood and uniquely intelligent, and to banter in ways that support conflict-resolution and connection. Mercury wants you to find someone who can meet your mind.
Venus: Venus describes what we find attractive, what we value, the style of relating we have, and the temperament behind your social self. Venus in your love life obviously shows you what you love, not only in another person, but what you love in a relationship, in courting, in flirting, etc. Venus also shows what you love in yourself, what needs to be valued and cherished by the other person. In relationship, Venus describes how we relate to others—if we need space, if we need gifts or if we need physical affection. Venus wants you to find someone who truly loves and values exactly what you bring to the table.
Mars: Mars describes passion, how we actually put action behind what we value and desire, how we find it. Mars in your love life can show what activates you, what triggers a need to chase or be around a person. Maybe it is their mind, maybe it is how they interact with children, maybe it’s purely sexual. Mars galvanizes us into action. In relationship, it can show us why excitement waxes or wanes, what angers someone, our comfort-level with danger or spontaneity, and/or the physical component of attraction. Mars wants you to find someone who makes you feel alive.
Jupiter: Jupiter describes our high mind, faith systems and beliefs. It also shows us where we like to feel expanded, perhaps where we have a talent, or what we need in order to stoke joy and awe. In relationship, Jupiter wants to grow, to take up space, to share worldviews and culture. Jupiter as a planet associated with philosophy can also show us the worldviews we vibe with in another, and Jupiter as a planet of academia can show up as partners who share a similar educational background. Jupiter seeks wisdom through partnerships and requires a teachability in us. Jupiter wants you to find someone who you can learn from and with.
Saturn: Saturn describes our relationship to discipline, long-term planning, and the ability to withstand challenge and lack. In relationship, Saturn seeks reliability. Saturn is called relationship glue. It is a planet that enjoys firm foundations, of which no relationship worth its salt is ever without. Saturn is also the planet of boundaries and respect, of long-term viability, and monogamy. Saturn wants you to find someone who sticks with you through thick and thin, and respect your needs.
Uranus: Uranus describes excitability and fascination with the other. Uranus is akin to Cupid’s bow—out of nowhere, you have become lovestruck. Conversely, Uranus can also describe our desire for space, autonomy, and cooler more informal bonds. In relationship, Uranus requires a long leash, either in physical spaces, or in mental ones—Uranus loves a radical idea and the forward momentum of thought. Uranus wants you to find someone that lets you color outside the lines.
Neptune: Neptune describes our ideals, our imagination, and our personal fairytale and fantasy. If you relate, Neptune is the planet that dreams of marriage far before it’s ever a viable option. Neptune is a planet that dissolves, requiring a sense of merging and devotion in relationships, whether sexually, emotionally, or spiritually. Neptune heals and can look for healing in others which is sublime when it works out. Other times, Neptune enters in as a sense of distorted reality, or as the victim-savior complex. This is where those Saturn boundaries act as antidote. Neptune wants you to find someone who reminds you of the magic in the world.
Pluto: Pluto is a planet of control, transformative experiences, and crisis-induced regeneration. In relationship, Pluto is first and foremost looking for intensity, the kind that penetrates the soul, the bone marrow. Pluto brings in a type of all-or-nothing attitude that can both acquaint the relationship to its own strength or destroy the relationship all-together. Pluto requires unapologetic honesty and tends to draw out the ugly parts of the individuals in the relationship. Those focused and willing to transform these ugly bits together are rewarded with life-changing intimacy. Pluto wants you to find someone who will hold your hand to hell and back.