Upasika
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« Reply #208 on: Jun 07, 2013, 07:38 AM » |
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Hi Rad,
Why Venus is in the 3rd house in Aries
As Venus in Darwin’s chart is the ruler of the Moon’s South Node, Venus has a dual application in the chart …
i) a past lives application, and ii) a current life application
Along with Pluto, it is a hinge in the chart to the Soul’s recent past.
******* Darwin’s evolutionary intentions and past lives have already been extensively covered. However we can briefly revisit the role of Venus as it applies to Darwin’s immediate past life – that of William Dampier. Venus being in the 3rd house in Aries describes two basic characteristics of Dampier – an innate restlessness combined with a persistent desire for close observation of his environment, people and nature (3rd house) and a pioneering temperament, happiest when he could be independent and unencumbered with commitment to others (Aries). Dampier married in his twenties so he obviously had an urge to partner, but that was about it. He was extremely hungry for world exploration from a very young age, leaving soon after on one sea voyage after another. And although he arranged for money to be sent to his wife, he only ever saw her briefly between his almost constant trips around various parts of the globe.
As Venus is in a Balsamic semi-sextile to the Moon’s SN (in Taurus 5th) we can see that a long series of lives based on (at varying times) hedonism, sensual stimuli, creative purpose, recreational endeavours, children, enjoyment and study of nature, wilful determination to survive, and withdrawal and consolidation, are coming to a close, a culmination. As a result the Soul (even as Dampier) would have felt a new cycle was on the horizon, and had some conceptions and ideas regarding what that might involve. This would have induced some introspection in Dampier, causing him to reflect on his past history regarding his Soul’s evolutionary intentions – to develop his mind through observation, questioning, deduction and induction, a search for more meaning in his world (Venus) and in life itself (Venus FQ trine to it’s higher octave, Neptune in Sag 12th). Dampier would have felt the need to bring this long history of past development to a completion, in order to release energy and focus for the new cycle that was waiting in the wings – whatever it was. This introspection would have prompted him to separate out from others (SN Taurus/inner Venus withdrawal) to distance himself from the prevailing consensus opinions and beliefs (3rd Indiv), so that his new ideas and feelings could more easily arise and become clearer to him (Balsamic phase).
Another cause for Dampier to be somewhat introspective was the Gibbous quincunx from Venus (as SN ruler) to the NN/Uranus New conjunction. We know this Soul has activated these energies/location in the chart in recent lives (caused by any planet conjunct the Moon’s NN), but despite that the 11th house (trauma, groups and liberation) would have been something Dampier would have been generally wary of (Gibb quincunx –keeping a moderate to low profile being the best policy generally- from an Aries Venus to the NN conj Uranus in Scorpio in the 11th house: experienced by a 3rd indiv Soul) and thus he would have tended to watch his general social situations carefully, reducing attention to himself where possible – introspection, with limited desire for group involvement on a mainstream level.
We additionally know that the Moon’s NN has been activated prior to this life -and also the PPP for the same reason- because a planet is squaring the Nodal axis (in this case it's Chiron).
However, although Dampier would have been introspective, the Uranus new conj Moon’s NN in the 11th meant he would have been relatively aware of his individuality, and would have had questions about what reality really was beyond society’s view of it. But rather than engage randomly with others, he would have channelled his questioning inwardly (Scorpio), preferring to direct his inquiry internally with himself (Moon in Capricorn 2nd, Venus in Aries).
Venus is also quintile its own SN in Capricorn 2nd, and this SN of Venus is also conj the SNs of Pluto, Saturn, Vesta & Mercury. This means the lives of both Dampier and Darwin were linked to the 2nd house experiences the Soul had in distant lives (that have been dealt with previously), where a great deal of trauma deposited (Chiron) as a result of challenging the status quo, survival struggles, family hardships and loss, and wrestling with his own inner discontent and anguish. And all these SNs are conjunct the Moon in Capricorn 2nd. In this way Venus is a link from the life of Darwin back through the life of Dampier and then deep into the Soul’s roots. And with Venus also being in a direct Cresc sextile with Chiron, we know Dampier and Darwin were both linked in to the Soul’s health issues stemming from all this unresolved trauma that had accumulated over time. Indeed, in Dampier’s early life, he was struck by a mystery illness out of the blue which flattened him, taking approx. 9 months to overcome. Here we see the precedent for the kind of health issues Darwin also had, the same “uncaused” illness that Darwin suffered so much from, manifesting in the life of Dampier before him. Even back then, the Soul was already starting to purge the unresolved trauma out directly through the body.
So, instead of following what would normally be a natural tendency — indiscriminately socialising (Venus in 3rd) — Dampier would have known clearly what he needed to do … the SN is in a close FQ trine to the PPP (Virgo 9th). And this would probably not have been the first life where the Soul felt full and confident (trine), with an inner demand for actualisation of its pregnant potential (Mercury bals conj Pluto new conj Jupiter). For lives this Soul has been developing its mental faculties, and building its understanding of what natural and biological life really was. Now in the life of Dampier, this potential needed to be actualised through being released. Thus Dampier would have had a desire for a life of Virgo 9th house experiences (PPP) — global exploration, refined mental order, and development and eventual fulfilment of his higher mind. This would also have been a way of dealing with the many questions he would have had about life (3rd house stellium). And he would have realised the route to the 9th house was through discipline of the lower mind (Mercury FQ square Saturn). It was these kinds of activities that he would have preferred to focus his time and energy on. So for example, Dampier became an expert on ocean currents and winds, and this valuable acquired knowledge was still being appreciated a century after he died.
The Soul would have clearly known what needed to be completed, to be culminated in the life of Dampier, in order to become prepared for the new cycle visible on the horizon (Venus Balsamic semi-sextile Moon’s SN), and to be ready to usher it in when it arrived (when it becomes a New Conjunction). Dampier used buccaneering (basically pirating) as a vehicle to get him around the world so he could be exposed to as much of nature as possible. But instead of actively joining in the pirating activity he largely ignored that whole aspect of his environment, only ever doing what he felt necessary to maintain the goodwill of the ship crew he was currently involved with at any time (but never shirking it either, he always did his share of the fighting — generically Venus in Aries 3rd ruled by Mars in the 10th is not too concerned about being assertive if it’s really required to be). And that meant that unless he was required to fight for the group (this 11th house arena that he liked to keep at arm’s length) he could retreat (SN in Taurus, ruler Venus in Aries) to his own company and pursuits -.which was focusing on the scientific and religious enquiries he had (even as Dampier this was already the Soul’s favourite pastime).
So via all the above, as the Moon’s SN ruler Venus in Aries 3rd shows us that like Darwin, Dampier also had a deep inner conviction (Venus balsamic conj to Vesta Aries 4th — Venus also new conj to Jupiter, which is new conj to Pluto both in Pisces 3rd) that he had a special purpose to fulfil (SN in 5th, ruler Venus in Fire sign, large 3rd house stellium, the Uranus/NN & Saturn/Neptune conjunctions, SN Disseminating biSeptile Moon, NN LQ Septile PPP), and he would have been very self-focussed (Venus in Aries) in attracting (Venus) conditions conducive to fulfilling that purpose into his life. So briefly that’s how and where Venus has been operating in Darwin’s most recent lives. The Soul as Darwin is in the 5th primary lifetime following the bottom line desire of Pisces 3rd house. Darwin’s immediately previous life of Dampier was little different in many ways to his life as Darwin. Clearly the purpose and mission were the same. However Dampier could only start/develop things, leaving behind him a great deal still to be done.
Where Venus has it’s roots is shown by the SN of Venus, in Capricorn 2nd, part of a stellium of distant lives (South Nodes) all in the 1st and 2nd house and mostly conjunct the Moon in Cap 2nd. Venus may be in Aries in the 3rd (simple, direct and breezy) but it’s come from many lives of grim hard graft and struggle, and has grown out of an unyielding focus on results (SN Venus close conj SN Saturn, and the ruler of SN Venus also being Saturn). And this has been carried through into the life of Dampier, as described above – he was clearly focussed on his career and his personal achievements his whole life, never took time out to play as such. So via Venus, the SN ruler, we come into the current life of Darwin, briefly knowing his Soul’s history regarding its relationship to itself and others. Thus as a young man Darwin felt his desires and needs were already fully formed (Pluto in Pisces, Neptune in 12th). However because of the stellium in Pisces containing Pluto, ruled by Neptune in Sagittarius, he had no clear definitions of what he actually wanted to do — he just knew it was something specific yet undefined (consciously to himself anyway), that he was unconsciously attracted to. In the gap of not knowing (stellium in Pisces) he mostly followed his intuition — Jupiter new conj Pluto, ruled by (Saturn bals conj to) Nep in Sag 12th — in gravitating towards what he felt naturally attracted to doing, and in this manner gradually but steadily revealing to himself and others his ardent enthusiasm for observation, and his remarkable gifts as a naturalist.
**********
Venus describes how we listen, and how we experience ourselves and others objectively. To do this we listen both internally and externally, in an attempt to achieve balance between ourselves and others. Our attempts to achieve balance can resemble a juggling act, as our survival needs and feelings interact within us, at the same time as we engage with all the people in our life. Venus is the natural ruler of Taurus and Libra — describing the inner and outer operation of Venus. In the inner functioning Venus is concerned with survival, values and feelings, and the creation of meaning. In the outer functioning Venus is concerned with initiating relationships based on the need for both sex and resources (Taurus), and for ideals regarding transcendence, love and bliss to be realised (Pisces).
An evaluation of Venus therefore involves the 2nd, 7th and 12th houses, and their ruler locations and aspects: and where Taurus, Libra and Pisces are in the chart, and the location and aspects of Venus and Neptune.
Resources: Sign on 2nd house cusp and its ruler location & aspects, Taurus & Venus locations, Venus aspects
Darwin’s core survival instinct (2nd) would have been one of self-determination (Cap), based on deep introspection (3rd indiv, Cap) that would have fostered a natural perception into the structural nature of society (Cap), his parental conditions (10th house being the natural house related to Cap, and by extension also the 4th house as it’s the polarity to the 10th), and the reality of the world (Cap) as far as it was conceived in upper class English society. This would have engendered an understanding of how English (and extrapolated from that, also Western) society was constructed and “worked”, and at the same time a sense of how and where he fitted in with it. This would have amounted to feeling fundamentally aligned with English society’s basic tenets — democracy, the social class system & capitalism (because he chose such a society to be born into, combined with Cap on 2nd house cusp).
However Darwin would also have felt his uniqueness keenly (3rd indiv), and one way his survival instinct would have expressed would have been through wanting to preserve his innate sense of personal right to be “different” in whichever way he felt to be (Aquarius beginning in the 2nd house). Given his deepest desire in this life — to culminate his long-running intellectual and intuitional growth (shown by the karmic axis in all the ways already discussed) — this instinct would have then equated to aligning with the socially condoned scientific community of the time (Aquarius within 2ndhouse, also reflected in his Sun being in Aquarius), and the more elite the scientific groups he was a member of the better (SN Moon in 5th). With Cap on the 2nd house cusp Darwin would have based his survival on manoeuvring himself into the best place to take advantage of the “system”. His primary way of doing this was initially via his choice of family to be born into (wealthy British upper class), but as a youth he also did his best to comply with his father’s wishes (despite his heart not being in any of his father’s ideas for his future), so as not to diminish his chances of family support. He also connected whenever possible with well-placed individuals in his local scientific community, and ending up becoming actual genuine friends with some of these. In short, Darwin’s instinct for survival was to balance his innate sense of how the system worked (Capricorn) with his need to retain his individual status and independence of mind (Aquarius).
With the 2nd house ruler Saturn located in the 12th house it would have taken him a while to gain clarity about his survival situation, the resources he had, and those he lacked which needed to be procured externally. With Saturn being in Sag and the Sun in the 2nd being in Aquarius, he would have felt it important to protect both his freedom of choice and the freedom to accept or reject offers of resources and/or opportunity on his own terms, as clarity about his survival situation became more established within him. With Saturn balsamic conj to Neptune both in Sag 12th, Darwin felt the need for resources that could help make the intangible real, resources to travel out into nature (Sag), out into the unknown (12th) — to explore wild oceans and far away continents.
Saturn, the ruler of the 2nd house, is also in a FQ trine to Venus, the natural ruler of the 2nd. So resources needed also relate to Aries 3rd house concerns — a way to make experiments, study, discussion and learning — so Darwin needed a laboratory, an office or study, and colleagues to talk and learn with. Saturn is also quincunx the Moon’s SN in the 5th house, so Darwin would have unconsciously realised his family pedigree was one of his best resources, and made sure he stayed compliant enough (quincunx) that his eligibility for family assistance was never compromised (Moon in Cap 2nd). With Saturn ruling his 2nd and FQ square Mercury he would have known it was critical to support his need for independent observation and thinking in order to fulfil his deepest desires (Merc bals conj Pluto Pisces 3rd). Therefore he would have networked with individuals he thought could help him find or simply give him the resources and career opportunities he needed: Mercury (communication) FQ trine (confidence) 11th house (networking) Uranus conj NN in Scorpio – a very resourceful sign.
With Taurus on his 6th house cusp, not having adequate resources would have always represented a crisis of some kind, with a constant potential for anxiety. His preference would have been to work (6th) in seclusion or in some withdrawn setting (Taurus), which would have implied a workspace in a private residence. His ability to determine for himself what he needed would have been significantly enhanced by having the Sun in Aquarius in the 2nd, with a creative and objective approach to resources, and indeed to himself as well. With the Sun conjunct Pallas, also in Aquarius, and both in disseminating trine to Mars in Libra in the 10th, it would almost have been a case of just thinking of what he needed, and then simply waiting for it to turn up via somebody perfectly placed and willing to provide for that particular need.
For Darwin all these things gave meaning to his life, and he never warmed to anything that didn’t involve these particular factors, prompting his father to despair that his most significant achievement in life was destined to be nothing more than a bird shooter. But Darwin intrinsically knew what it was that he wanted to do, and what he needed to do it – an even mix of opportunity and resources to explore nature, on as big a scale as possible. This was what gave his life meaning, that in conjunction with the opportunity to use his mind to maximum effect. It was these values that also conditioned his beliefs to some extent too. His passion for being a naturalist and the meaning it gave his life gradually eroded his unverified beliefs in Christianity, and then even in God to an extent.
With Venus in the 3rd he would have had no trouble making connections with anybody he thought could help him acquire what he needed, often assuming, in a naïve kind of way (Venus in Aries) that such help was his by right (SN in 5th). With Venus in Aries 3rd in Gibbous quincunx to Uranus conj NN in Scorpio in the 11th, he would have intrinsically known to avoid pretence or airs of any kind in his dealings with people, in order to fruit resources from others, thus maximising his chances for material and intangible assistance from a variety of sources. He would have listened to his own self regarding his needs from an independent position (Venus in Aries), felt confident he would be able to attract (Venus) what he needed to himself (Venus is conj its own NN — meaning, as was the case with Mercury conjunct its own NN, Venus would operate with less concerns about the future, and instead a naturally intensified focus in the present).
Although shy, sensitive and very reasoned by nature, in his own quiet way Darwin would have been an instinctively passionate man, in some part due to his feeling he was special with a special destiny he needed to fulfil (Venus in Aries), thus needing to maintain a fundamental independence in order to actualise it. He would have created relationships instinctively based on whether another had something that he needed, whether that was a resource or an opportunity, or in his teenage and early years of youth, whether a sexual attraction was present. His predominate focus would have instinctively been on his own needs, particularly concerning his sense of undefined special destiny (Venus in a Fire sign). Until he identified what exactly that destiny was Darwin would have been non-committal with situations he found himself in, and others in general. Once he did discover what it was that he felt a deep connection to, and a desire to do, he would become very keenly interested in forming relationships if doing that would assist that destiny. In Darwin’s case his destiny was to be a dedicated naturalist, and he established passionate relationships with anyone who could help that situation advance. Darwin initially viewed everything and everyone as representing one of two possibilities a) being or having something he needed, or b) being of no use to him (Cap on 2nd house cusp) — and this view was also applied to a potential future wife(!)
And he didn’t care how the situation representing his special destiny developed, only that it did. Just as Dampier had done his whole life, initially Darwin totally ignored (Venus in Aries) anything and anyone that was not going to help him fulfil his deep desire and his special destiny — to be a naturalist. Underneath his open minded yet reserved demeanour (Sun in Aquarius, Moon in Cap), he had an inner ruthlessness (Cap on 2nd) combined with an innate selfishness (Venus in Aries), and a buoyant optimism towards his ability to get what he needed (Venus new conj Jupiter 3rd house). He instinctively felt his “divine right” to be given all that he needed, a sense of entitlement (Moon SN in 5th, ruler Venus in Aries FQ trine Saturn/Neptune in Sag 12th) which made him lazy/complacent, and indifferent to/withdrawn from general social expectations (Taurus on 6th house). This attitude was encapsulated in his endless bird shooting activity when he was a young man, engaged simply because the opportunity and resources to pursue exactly what he wanted to do hadn’t manifested at that point in time.
But that’s all it was, a matter of timing. In a most essential way Darwin identified himself as his greatest asset or resource (Sun and Moon in 2nd, 3rd individuated). He also had enough inner past life momentum and a good mixture of personal confidence and humility (all as previously described) and the optimum social situation from which to operate. He was restless, and also industrious in his search, and as a result it wasn't long before he found his feet in the world, and from that his path in life (Cap 2nd house containing Sun. Moon and Chiron, ruler Saturn in 12th conj Neptune both in Sag).
Relationships: Sign on 7nd house cusp and its ruler location & aspects, Libra & Venus
At any point in time we are assessing/re-assessing what we need in the way of resources, and determining which resources we already possess and which we need to obtain from outside ourselves, which leads to our specific needs including the need for certain kinds of one-to-one relationships (7th house, the Descendent). Darwin’s one-to-one relationships would have been based predominately on a mental connection (Gemini on 7th and the ruler of Gemini, Mercury, is in the 3rd – the natural Gemini house). However there would always have been a significant feeling component in his relationships as the 7th house ruler (Mercury) is in Pisces conjunct Ceres, Pluto, Juno & Jupiter - all also in Pisces (as well as being in the 3rd). Additionally the DESC is square to Pluto, Ceres and Mercury and quincunx to Uranus and the NN (all in water signs). So his relationships would have usually been initiated via a mental process (Gemini, 3rd) in order to establish a connection that he could trust (Pisces, Scorpio), that would supply the tangible and intangible resources he needed but didn’t have himself. And as we have seen basically all of Darwin’s needs were related to his special destiny that was now so ripe for manifestation and culmination, which would have included all his needs for things, people and opportunity. That’s what drove him and he was interested in little else.
Darwin made the initial connections to significant people in his local scientific community that got a few doors opening to opportunities that enabled him to expand his geological and naturalist activities (his passions). He also presented himself as a keen student to those whom he thought could teach him something worthwhile, and obtained many books to boost his self-study. He expected people to be receptive to his questions, and his need to discuss his newly forming ideas. He was however very open (Gemini on 7th, Mercury ruler of 7th in Pisces) to anybody who displayed an intelligent viewpoint, for example highly valuing his relationship with John Edmonstone, a freed black slave whom he learnt taxidermy from. By putting himself in as much scientific milieu as he possibly could, he was also expecting to capitalise (Cap 2nd) on any stray opportunities to enhance his learning or be exposed to new scientific material, and that is exactly what happened. For example, he was able to assist Robert Edmond Grant's investigations of marine invertebrates. And he became a close friend and follower of botany professor John Stevens Henslow and met other leading naturalists who saw scientific work as religious natural theology, such ideas giving a definition to his innate passion, helping him further identify what his needs were. He also joined Adam Sedgwick's geology course, and travelled with him to map strata in Wales. Darwin would have had expectations that not only would he be learning valuable knowledge and skills, but this “shoulder-rubbing” would be an investment in his professional network and future opportunities.
And indeed eventually this exposure did lead to him being offered a position on the Beagle as a naturalist. At this point we can see how the personal relationships he initially initiated and cultivated (Gemini 7th, Mercury in 3rd, and Venus in Aries 3rd) resulted in him subsequently gaining access to a larger professional network (Venus rules the 10th and is ruled by Mars which itself is in the 10th in Libra). This was a direct result of Darwin’s choice of people to initiate relationships with, which was directly based on his perception of resources he lacked. The offer of a place on the Beagle was a result of the relationship network he created and energised (Uranus conj NN in 11th Scorpio, Sun in Aquarius), showing that his instinctive and intuitional sense of who would be beneficial to connect with proved to be very accurate, and ultimately fruitful.
So on the Beagle he went. By the time he returned he had significantly impressed the British scientific community with his work, so much so that his father decided to create an investment fund for him so that he could become a self-funded “gentleman-scientist”, meaning he could focus exclusively on his scientific passions and not worry about having to earn a living any more. At this point Darwin had attracted with a singular focus (Venus in Aries) two primary things he needed into his life — scientific facilities and opportunity (Cap on 2nd, 10th house), and the funding (2nd house) to pursue his scientific work (Mercury/Pluto/Jupiter Pisces 3rd, Saturn/Neptune Sag 12th, and NN/Uranus Scorpio 11th).
He now settled into his newly secured career with great determination, and quickly became embroiled in a heavy workload, which in turn led to his health deteriorating. As a result he went to stay with relatives where his cousin Emma lived, who he was reminded of via his attraction to her, which in turn led him a little while later to consider the issue of marriage, and whether or not that was his last primary need (Cap on 2nd). And in typical fashion he subjected such a possibility to his general all purpose “needs analysis” process, which amounted to compiling a detailed and exhaustive list of all the pros and cons regarding doing so, and letting the resulting analysis of these factors produce the decision for him (Mercury in 3rd FQ square Saturn in Sag). This analysis determined that it was by far in his best interests to marry. It had taken him 3 years from the time he first met Emma until he decided he wanted to marry her. But once he had made his decision he approached her with the aim of sounding her out more regarding his ideas to see if a partnership would be possible, and fortunately it was.
This was first and foremost because Emma was from a free thinking background with significant intellectual abilities, who readily appreciated Darwin’s intellect and scientific ideas, even if she didn’t always agree with them because of her religious views. No doubt other factors such as physical attraction, and an emotional and spiritual connection were present too, but they were secondary. And in this way Darwin secured his last primary need – someone compatible with whom to have companionship and a family. And not only that, it came with a bonus — her father was very rich and the money they inherited when he died significantly boosted his funds. That having a family was a need can be seen with the Moon in the 2nd house, and Venus almost exactly on the 4th house cusp, with Vesta in the 4th, also with the ruler of the 4th house (Mars) being in the 10th —also with Mars in Libra Darwin would have enjoyed to have a partner in his life to share his professional struggles and successes with.
Reflecting back at this point to the life Dampier had … where he lived a life as devoid of family as one could be, the Soul was on one of it’s last extended “escape efforts”. These involved desperate attempts to get away from the inner psychological trauma that was unconscious and unresolved in the soul (Chiron in Aquarius 2nd square the Nodal axis), causing a feeling of anguish, suppressed pain, stagnation and deep frustration. This has driven the Soul to extreme measures as it has tried to grab hold of its destiny and shake this trauma loose. And a life almost permanently at sea certainly was an extreme effort in this direction. But despite furthering the expansion and development of his mind in spectacular fashion Dampier died just as poor and alone as he had been most of his life.
It dawned on him during his last days that “enough was enough”, and that he could no longer avoid facing his wounds, continue resisting healing them. And not only would facing them start the massively overdue healing process, but it would also allow him to settle down and have a richer more rounded experience of his life. It had finally become clear that while racing all around the world in pirate ships all his life did facilitate his genuine desire to explore nature, it was also latching onto only one aspect of himself, while at a deeper level running away from the totality of his reality.
Thus the Soul in the life of Darwin made new choices in the face of the same old dynamics, dynamics that still had vestiges of previous life primitiveness in them (a “pro” for a wife on his list was that a wife “would be better than a dog”). It was this dawning awareness of his split nature (such an advanced mind at the expense of emotional health) that caused him to realise he needed to turn his back on another single life, and enter into the fullness and commitment to emotional involvement that a family life entailed. The imminent need for this is shown by Venus in the 3rd being exactly combust the 4th house cusp. Darwin was ready to enter the 4th house in this life for the first time, in what would be a new cycle of relating based on emotional values involving family bonds and nourishment, and the development of inner emotional security. That's another reason why it was essential for Darwin to make these new choices regarding emotions and family in his lifetime.
This was why the Soul created this life with Venus in Aries in the 3rd house — but exactly on the cusp of the 4th house (only a few minutes away from it). Venus being the SN ruler meant that through his listening to himself and to the other people in his life he would be able to access the entire dynamics of his recent past lives, pulling his past feeling=>emotional issues into similar circumstances in his life as Darwin, so they could be relived, re-experienced in a different time but in similar circumstances and situations. And through the reliving of them have the chance to make new, different choices. It was through re-living such dynamics in his relationship with himself, and from that to everyone else, that he could start to address the emotional content in his deeply wounded nature (Chiron in Aquarius 2nd squaring the Nodal axis). Venus in Aries as the SN ruler gave him this link to the past - that Aries/freedom orientated side of himself, so that he could relive his past life issues through his relationships, but in his next steps as part of being an equal with others (the Libra lesson) shown by ...
a) Venus is poised on entering the 4th — family members are generically bonded as equals helping each other to survive. On a personal level (4th house is a personal experience of oneself) Darwin had maintained his full independence in relationships in the past up to this point ... but the Soul has decided (from deep need / the time had come) that in this life its independence needed to be surrendered to a family situation... the family situation that he was inevitably destined to create. b) Venus being ruled by Mars in Libra — showing that in its most recent life already the Soul had started to move away from the Aries vibration, at least in its dealings with people in the world — if not quite yet personally (see above). At least in its visible dealings in public however, the Soul was learning equality, to act (Mars) in a co-operative manner (Libra) with others.
So this life was a transition life emotionally, Venus exactly on the cusp of the IC (4th house). It would also have been a transitional life sexually as well. His sexual issues have been extensively discussed by everyone already, but briefly in summary ... as Rad pointed out Darwin was a hypersensitive person (all the planets in Pisces, the close balsamic Saturn/Neptune conjunction in the 12th house -Neptune's home- along with Mars in Libra and the Moon in Capricorn). Combined with the Sun, Moon & Chiron, plus the SN Venus and a whole host of other SNs in the 2nd, creating a packed 2nd house emphasizing the physical side of sex (especially with earthy Capricorn on the 2nd house cusp), as opposed to the 8th house where all the non-physical aspects of sex, emotions & soul, are experienced (which would be especially so for Darwin with watery Cancer on the 8th house cusp). And because 2nd house sex can be achieved on one's own masturbation is always an option. Regardless of whether Darwin was having sex by masturbating, or by having intercourse with Emma, much of the time he would be using sex as a grounding phenomena, to ground his consciousness back into his body. He would need to do this to counter-balance the extreme intensity of his daily thinking, a process that would draw energy and conscious focus from his physical body up into his brain, day after day, leaving him distinctly ungrounded. Obviously Emma participated with him, she also being strongly intellectual.
Yet with Venus at the beginning of the 4th house, and Vesta already in the 4th, during his life there would be a transition to sex based more on physical and emotional vulnerability (Cancer on the 8th house cusp, activated by the Moon, the natural ruler of the 4th house). This would progressively occur once Darwin's professional success (Mars in 10th) ensured financial security (Capricorn 2nd house via Taurus on 6th) for them as a family (the 4th house, where the final net effect of such success would be felt), and they could relax more deeply into their personal (4th house) and shared emotional energies (8th house). And naturally this would then slowly and gradually be reflected in their ongoing sexual experience with each other. A slow progression like this would not cause a problem for Darwin's inherent shyness (Mars in Libra, Saturn in the 12th, Moon in Capricorn), thus allowing him to safely move into the transition.
Ideals: Sign on 12th house cusp and its ruler location & aspects, Pisces & Neptune locations, Neptune aspects
With Scorpio on the 12th house cusp, Darwin’s ideals would have concerned the deep mysteries of life on Earth; experiencing, understanding, and merging with/becoming them. Deep down he would probably have tended to be agnostic, needing tangible proof that divinity was real, even if intellectually he harboured conditioned religious beliefs in God. And a guaranteed collision would occur whenever beliefs he did have didn’t stand up to his actual life experience – producing powerful (Scorpio) disillusionment (12th). It would be through this disillusionment process that his beliefs would be tested and reshaped on a periodic basis. As a result he would have certain strong ideals, for example, that everybody needed to be ready to see their false beliefs, that transformation through experience was good, that life was more than simply material in nature and material in process.
Additionally Pisces is intercepted in the 3rd house (and thus Virgo in the 9th is too). Both these archetypes have been worked upon extensively in past lives (as their rulers have many aspects) and are not needing a lot of work in this life. Plus the ruler of the 12th house cusp (Scorpio) being Pluto in Pisces also restates this. So we know that the Soul’s ideals in this life originate from past lives and are thus ancient ideals the Soul has brought along with it. In a Soul in consensus evolutionary condition it would be most likely that these ideals would therefore be unconsciously projected onto all its relationships, but as Darwin was well into the 3rd individuated evolutionary state this is less likely.
Probably he tended to select people he wanted to be close to who he sensed imbibed the same ideals more or less, and maintained his connections with others more on an acquaintance basis. However inevitably he certainly did project some idealistic notions onto his close relationships (Sat/Nep in 12th full opposition… , Mer/Pluto cres square… , Moon gibb sesquiquadrate and Uranus/NN full quincunx.. : all to the 7th house cusp) and would have had a hard time reconciling his feelings when those he was relating to failed to live up to his idealistic expectations — particularly if they weren’t prepared to discuss the resulting issues he was concerned about in order to reach a mutual understanding (ruler of 12th, Pluto, in 3rd conj Mercury and Jupiter).
Ultimately in the end though, Darwin may have been fairly philosophical and accepting about his idealistic differences with others (Neptune, natural ruler of the 12th, in the 12th in Sag conj Saturn and on the ASC), especially as he has been pursuing these ideals for many lives and has had many, many battles in past lives on behalf of his religious beliefs, which has encouraged him further into science as a way of finding the actual truth, validating those very same beliefs and the ideals they are based on.
The Soul as Darwin intrinsically knew that these ideals were to be experienced from within rather than vicariously experienced from outside through other people’s experience and behavior, or in the form of his relationships (ruler of 12th Pluto is in Pisces, which is ruled by Neptune/Saturn in Sag 12th, which is ruled by Jupiter in Pisces which is ruled by Neptune in the 12th so the buck for manifesting the ideals comes to rest “back home”, back where they originated from, back in the 12th house — and hence the innate sense Darwin had that he needed to find his own transcendence from within).
Darwin's marriage wasn't perfect by any means, and while he may not have projected his ideals onto it in a significant way, it may have often been co-dependent at times (Moon in 2nd square Mars in 10th). Darwin often collapsed under the strain of his terrible ill-health and effectively needed Emma to be his mother and in her fulfilling that role she helped prop up his professional life, while in turn she would have drawn self-esteem. prestige and security from his professional success. However, this arrangement suited them both very well, and the result was that Darwin’s marriage was generally supportive, good and loving, lasting his whole life, and he raised many children who overall were happy, many of whom went on to be very successful in their own right.
He was well regarded in scientific circles and by the public alike, and appeared to only ever suffer from one enemy in his whole life, and even that was really only an on-going professional “disagreement” founded on a genuine mistake made by Darwin near the end of a highly distinguished career, but which he handled with grace and equanimity. Certainly from well before the end of his life, Darwin’s relating displayed a “Venus in Libra” quality as the result of him reaching for the growth potential of the polarity point of Venus. And in doing so transforming the inner Aries relating vibration he was born with, into one of listening to himself in a more balanced way, with consideration for the needs and feelings of others, resulting in more equality of giving and receiving. Also in a reduction of extremes leading to generally more balance in his relating and his life itself, and the ability to attract people into his life who were themselves well meaning, considerate and highly supportive of him as a person, and as one of the greatest scientists in our history to date.
blessings Upasika
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