In Beauty and Harmony- For Better and For Worse?
I wanted to talk allll about the Venusian astrological influence of the tarot and I was thinking of all the cards that Venus finds herself in. My eyeballs were here and there and everywhere wanting to fit in all of the cards she influences in this one blog and realized damn, what a lofty idea huh? (Smiling nervously and sweaty at the thought of it) The prize in my eyes was the Four of Wands where Venus hangs with Aries. Words for the Empress were dripping on the screen and then I was like, how can I unwrap this gift without also talking about the Emperor, the astrological trump of Aries??
DUH! You will also see that I will interchange Aries and Mars because Mars is the planet that rules Aries and I’m making a point here! I’ve been working on uniting the opposites within myself and exploring shadow work for the past 4 years, so I’ll share with you why I find this tarot card so important to be in this kind of harmonious union found in the card! The stability of the square formed out of the 4 of Wands and creates this beauty and harmony of uniting both of these opposites. There’s the feeling into the pleasure and letting things unfold once the work has been done.
That’s why I love this Four of Wands with Venus and Aries energy infused. There is something about the 4 because let’s think about it; the 1, is the one, the 2 is one and one coming together, the 3 is that trine effect, the triangle, but the 4? The four is the stabilizing aspect, creating the square, the platform, the building block, something to build off of. My wish for my shares are for you to be able to create a life that is full of tenacity, unity, effort, creativity, structure, fulfillment; so many words when I imagine Venus and Mars-Aries together.
Hello Venus, Hello Mars
The planet Venus herself is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty and she is the second planet from the Sun making her the hottest planet. The planet Mars is also named after a Roman God and is known for being a God of War. Mars is the fourth planet from the sun and being red you would think he burns hot but no he is cold. So right away we have this cool, calm, and collected hottie and then this brash, ballsy and bombastic frigid front, with two distinct and different representations. We can think of Venus as pleasant.
And Mars is, well, a little more aggressive. Where Venus is most likely to sit with you at a meeting in a fancy hall, providing some refreshments and snacks, you know, all mediator like and wanting the best for everyone Mars would have a tent set up caring little for the aesthetics and furniture, with his guests seated on unfinished wood barely sanded with lots of jarring conversation, opinions, and lots of head-butting. You can say, less accommodating, more end result.
When I think of Venus, it’s someone who enjoys life, who enjoys the luxury of life, who enjoys the fullness of life. There’s wanting to experience with the senses, so speaking in poetry, hearing in melodies, listening to the subtlety that vibrates off of trees and people and objects. Pairing together delicious ingredients and herbs and spices with different kinds of liquids to quench your thirst. Mars too loves experience. I think of Mars as a warrior, full of confidence and expressing oneself in the most obvious ways to garner attention. I think of expression in a way that is wanting to be seen.
Mars is driven, with a purpose to carve his way through the world, a pleased smile set on his face as the results of his efforts drip like sparkling water off his brow. With all of these pleasantries and redeeming qualities let’s also understand that Venus can find herself over committing and getting carried away and Mars playing out a shoot first and asking questions later scenario.
Let’s Talk Empress
We can think of Venus as the hub, the grand overlord mistress, the holder of the energy and all-encompassing and the Empress herself as the one who soaks up and pulls from this endless and infinite pool of existence. When I look at the array of Empress cards from multiple decks in front of me I think of the word plenty; plenty to go around, plenty to see and take in and plenty to have.
The inspiration that Venus feeds through the Empress is one of naturalness, and you see her there in the way she sits with grace, moving in fluidity with the ebbing and flow of life, and holding the space for fertile flourishing. I can feel and hear the whispers of excitement that sing through her being, so willing to add her imprinting to what is gestating within her.
The empress is often associated with fertility and so when you think about a baby in the womb and how it grows and develop for 9 months, and how expecting moms are encouraged to care for themselves, to take it easy, to not stress, eat right, take care of their body, you can see how any small or large thing can throw off the delicacy of what is being shaped and molded inside.
Another significant quality of the Empress is to experience sensation through the senses and creative artistic expression. This is an embrace within the self of mirth and joy that seeks out beauty in ways that flush the skin and induce goosebumps on the flesh. A pleasure incarnate, felt with as much gusto, love and happiness that can be produced. The Empress says yes, many times over, and lives with a smile plastered on her face that even in the dark can be felt.
Exploring The Emperor
There’s an excitement that bubbles up and builds within the Emperor that feels like, what can I create next? How can I build next? What can I put my effort into? As the representative of Mars energy, Aries flavors the Emperor with an instinctual drive that wants to move into the world. Aries is a fire sign and in the Western hemisphere it’s the first zodiac that marks the beginning of the spring equinox so with that youthful vibe comes with its flurry of quickening, of wanting to explore and be of the world far and wide.
Aries energy of wanting to be first and of being really gung-ho about putting its plans to work helps move the Emperor energy outward to be molded in the environment. There’s a strategic mapping out that becomes necessary in the logistics of choosing where to land, here or there, and that helps build out the integral structure of the end goal. And that is one of the Emperors expertise, is the blueprint, of figuring out what it wants to work out and growing it with strength by implementing the ideas onto the earth through habit and a drive to succeed.
If Emperor had a motto it would be “I’m the Boss!” He has the tenacity, of moving forward, of getting it done because of his willingness to stick things out to the end, taking calculated risks to be a mighty creator. The emperor with an air of authority and spirit of an entrepreneur says, “Let’s do thisss” and sets about the motion to shift reality and create from nothing, something, anything, everything.
It seems like he has unlimited sources to build from and does so to drive the stirrings and gestation that came from the Empress energy before him.
Four of Wands: The Value of Opposites in Harmony
My mission of this harmony of opposites, encompassing the good the bad and terrible beauty in a way that brings a wholeness- both flower, stem, and thorn- is the highlight in the beautiful stability found in the Four of Wands. Equilibrium and utilizing the qualities of both the Empress and Emperor are vital to creating a life that feels integrated, matching a vibration that feels thriving and full of health so you can go about crafting a life of your choosing.
It’s taking these divisions, and these scattered pieces and getting them working together towards a commonality, and in a sense a utopia that is felt, a bliss grounded to Earth. We step in sync with a cycle that decides not to negate one character for the other, one way of being, thinking, seeing for the another. The completion I see, the joy, the celebration in the Four of Wands only comes after these two forces, these very two different but powerful forces decide to be with one another and hang out with one another and be in harmony with one another, adjusting here and there when needed to cater to both weaknesses and strengths.
I mentioned above the turning of spring in the western hemisphere for the during equinox and want to bring up this theme of emergence that I felt when I was sitting with these thoughts of mine and love the progression of shaking off the winter and the coldness and of things starting to heat up again and start cooking. Bringing the stark qualities of temperature of the planets themselves, the cold for Mars and heat for Venus. And you might be wondering, so what? Why is this union of opposites so important?! Because I said so hahaha.
But no, looking at some of these depictions of the Empress and Emperor across my decks I see a stark contrast represented. In the Wild Unknown tarot they are both shown as trees, the Emperors mostly black and white and the Empress with a pink and purple glow around the bush of leaves. So on the former, a directness and strength and the latter, a calling in and a softness. I’m even reminded of the left and right sides of the brain and the benefit of having the ability to tap into both intelligences, the logic, and the creativity and how much more can be accomplished when these two sides work in synchronistic union. Working only with Venus and Empress energy sounds like it would be so lovely but what happens when shit really needs to get done?
We can find ourselves daydreaming and never really planting any of these seeds, open to experiencing it all, but not ever really striving to do anything with it in the material world. And then the Emperor… getting locked down in details and what we gotta do and this and that and totally forgetting about and taking the enjoyment piece completely out of it all. One of the images of the Four of Wands that really strikes me comes from the Bonestone and Earthflesh Tarot deck. The card shows a seated maiden in a blue dress surrounded by wildflowers around her feet, getting her hair done up for her big day by an older woman in a green shirt which stirs up the associations to the throat and heart chakra and reminding me of the need for constant communication. Because the conversations between them creates choices, to be made over and over again, to see, feel, acknowledge, and grow the potential and produce something aesthetically pleasing to the soul.
In the Thoth Tarot deck the keyword for the Four of Wands is completion and it is shown as a wheel, with Venus doves and Aries rams in union with one another. And the literal thought of what a wheel is, something that rotates and how any kind of imbalance or disharmony from the union of the opposites can make things go haywire and not circulate properly. If you bend the rim of a bicycle tire, you aren’t going anywhere! But with work we can hit our mark at the center like a bullseye and work on doing our best to share space and common ground with the differing energies of Venus and Mars/Aries. Know that this is not about being perfectly centered and balanced all the time, but to practice your approach of life with loving action because who the hell wants to try to stand on a tightrope all day long right?!
With the good and bad of Venus combined with the good and bad of Mars, the four is created, the square that forms the building block to start from. The maiden and mother in the Bonestone and Earthflesh deck reminds me of Mars, accepting the hand of the Empress, both of them deciding in that moment, that although they lead different lives, although they find themselves with different experiences in life, maybe one is wiser than the other, that despite all of that they both are willing to watch the flowers, petal by petal unfurling into experience and deciding together to celebrate life step by step.
Tips for Merging and Applying The Energies Above
I wanted to offer up tips and ways we can have the archetypes of the Empress and Emperor work for us come together in a harmonizing presence. First though let’s start with how you can recognize when you’re leaning more to one side than the other. When you are too much in your emperor mode there could be an attitude of just pushing through and getting things done with very little enjoyment for the sake of producing a finished product.
So when you recognize these harsh lines and parameters starting to wreak havoc in your life, you can in that moment choose to stop, pause, and reflect right before you even plan to do or push yourself to the next thing. You can make inquiries of yourself and ask:
What is it that I can savor in my life right now?
How can I bask in celebration of what I have already accomplished thus far?
How can I infuse love and pleasure into what I am doing?
What are the ingredients I can add in that will make what I’m creating that much sweeter?
And in becoming curious in this way and allowing the answers to come to you, you become infused with this kind of naturalness and remembrance of like, huh, yes, wow, how interesting and it breaks the cycle of routine and plugging along and permits you to build your momentum again slowly, savoring the moments of your next outward expression.
Now when you find yourself too much in your Empress and not enough of the Emperor it can feel like you have all of these ideas, and you want to make this and that manifest and have all these things experiences but nothing is actually happening. A never-ending consumption without any kind of production or effect. When you find yourself here you can ask yourself:
What is one thing I can do right now and express outwardly?
What actionable quality can I draw upon now to bring my creations forward?
With whom can I share my creation with?
What are the steps I can take to take my idea from start to finish?
And from here you can start to feel the potential give rise to the swirling energy inside and start to form from within and begin to surface around you. Remember to give yourself as much credit as you can because wisdom is gained through trial and error and all the insights and wisdom you’ll gain from playing the game. And it is all a learning game.
As you continue to excel and become better versed with how the Empress, Emperor and Four of Wands shows up for you, you become your own mentor and your own wise one and you will just keep unlocking more and more doors with the keys you’ve gained. Let your spirit guide you. As natural as the bees, knowing the natural cycles of push and pull, give, and take, do, and digest, with the sweet reward of honey waiting to be devoured.
In beauty and harmony.
P.S. With Love
Everything that I talk about and speak about is for you to take with you and consider. If it offers you a different outlook on life, or further solidifies a belief that differs from my own, I will always consider that a win. I like to think about outcomes, probabilities, possibilities, and when I share I am offering you a way to see the world from my own lens. What you take or don’t take from my shares are your gifts to be had. Consider life, remember to choose, and decide to dream.
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