Douglas Kløvedal Lannark: Venus Rules — Love

Is love just a basic sensual instinct in youth which after apparent fulfillment or disappointment gradually transforms into a personal psychological never–ending fantasy–chase throughout the rest of a lifetime or is there really "a higher love," a cosmic archetype of love equally valid for all? Astrologers believe so and attribute this cosmic archetype to Venus, the most beautiful star in the heavens. Venus rules not only love, but furthermore all characteristics derived from love: peace, harmony, grace, satisfaction and compassion that thus evoke creativity, aesthetic appreciation and civilized social behavior.

This archetype of love is bestowed at birth to every human being in various individualistic combinations. Venus may rule love, yet love has its own rules and through personal experience each individual must find and integrate these rules for themselves — a life–long task, not only for individuals but also for society itself! The classic anti–pole of love is not hate, but death. Thus on the highest spiritual level the goal of love is redemption; not just saving a beloved’s or one’s own soul but by creating a devoted army of lovers transcending death and delivering that sacred soul common to all.

This is a cosmic task and requires a cosmic revelation. Such revelations do not occur on a daily, monthly or annually basis; they are few and far between yet the time is once again ripe. On June 8, 2004 from shortly after seven in the morning until almost one–thirty in the afternoon CEDT (Central European Daylight Time) a unique, rare, peculiar and potentially prophetic event will unfold in the sky: Venus, known in astrology as the planet of love and to reverend astrologers as "the Goddess of Love," will pass across the disk of the Sun in broad daylight. This phenomenon is termed The Transit of Venus and will be visible in its entirety only in Europe, Africa and the western half of the Middle East.

The Transit of Venus was initially discovered in 1627 by the legendary astronomer/astrologer, Johannes Kepler, the most avid and talented student of the royal Danish astronomer/astrologer, Tycho Brahe. Kepler calculated that the transit in 1631 would only be visible in the New World and sent out an appeal to learned men and mariners to be on the lookout. Unfortunately no one took heed and as far as recorded history goes, the first predicted transit passed by without known observation. Adhering to Kepler’s calculations two young enthusiastic English astronomers, Jeremiah Horrocks and William Crabtree, were thus the first recorded humans to observe this event eight years later on December 4, 1639 — simultaneously from fifteen miles north of Liverpool and thirty–five miles east of Manchester.

Their documented observations, sketches and notes lead to perhaps the most legendary Transit of Venus until now — the transit of June 6, 1761. During the previous 121.5 years civilization had made great scientific and cultural advances which gave rise to both the "Age of Enlightenment" and to intense hostile rivalry between the European courts, all vying in their way for dominance. The Seven Year Wars between France and England was at its height; Holland, Austria, Spain and Russia were also all involved in various disputes with one another. Nevertheless, perhaps due to the power of Venus, diplomacy ruled, combats were halted and temporary peace treaties were signed allowing "scientists" (i.e., astronomers) to cross hostile borders. Under the auspicious of Venus this most certainly was the first true act of international co–operation between opposing nations. On a spiritual–humanistic level it was noticed and reported from Cape Town that the Dutch population began talking to their slaves, became interested in their music and for the course of the winter there were few, if any, beatings! Where love rules, peace follows!!

In this current cycle since 1631 the transit occurs only every 121.5 years followed by a second transit eight years later, after which more than 100 years will elapse and no one of the current generation will be around to observe the following transit. Whole generations born between the two transit cycles will never have the lifetime opportunity to observe, experience or internalize even one of the transits. It’s sort of like the Goddess of Love making herself scarce, only offering her true message in full naked beauty to a single Generation at a selected time, or as Thomas Pynchon wrote in Mason & Dixon: "as if the Creation’s Dark Engineer had purposedly arranged the Intervals thus, to provoke a certain Instruction, upon the limits to human grandeur imposed by Mortality" (p.97).

" . . . to provoke a certain instruction upon the limits to human grandeur imposed by mortality:"
What a lyrically fantastic and rather existentially frightening deduction — a warning from above to heed the instructions of "the Goddess of Love" during our lifetime! In the next eight years civilization will twice be given the opportunity to experience and internalize this cosmic message, or revelation from above: June 8, 2004 and June 6, 2012. A chance for future mankind? A chance that "peace and love" will once again return to their just throne? Can we apply the example of the first international peace treaty for scientific reasons or the sudden compassionate treatment of the Dutch towards their slaves in South Africa in 1761 to our present day? A paradoxical turning of the Soul? Love once again able — and allowed — to cross hostile borders, be they psychological, ethnic–national, material or secular religious?

Many questions, few answers, yet still hope. During the recent decade a few far–sighted socially concerned scholars have voiced the fear for a "Clash of Civilizations" in the near future. Perhaps not without reason! As an astrologer with almost forty years of experience and whose own nativity stands under the rule of Venus, I truly feel that love, after a brief resurgence in the 1960s, has been on a continued downspin since the early 1980s and is presently approaching an all time current low — especially on a collective global level in our generation.

To me it is as if the forces in power, or more precisely the forces behind those in power, fear nothing as much as an army of loving people and these forces, for the primary basis of self–preservation, undertake everything in their power to suppress such a movement at its very beginnings. Using refined tactics of "divide and conquer," love has become either so perversely degraded or put on such an unattainable pedestal that for many people the word means nothing at all after an initial disappointment. Thus brother is put up against brother, nation against nation and culture against culture. It has been almost 121.5 years since Venus last manifested herself in full divine grandeur — the time is more than ripe to begin a new cycle!