Kehinde Wiley “La Femme Piquée par un Serpent”

November 21 - December 15, 2020

This week, we set off with Venus on her journey of autumnal awakening. Leaving behind the comfort of her home sign, she finds herself thrust into a different and unfamiliar world. This new landscape is a stark departure from the floral meadows of Libra. The green pastures of Taurus are by now a distant memory, and are as far away as they will be all year. Her Scorpio transit is a time of initiation into the mysteries, a date with the ouroboros, a confrontation with the taboo. It is at times shocking, possibly dangerous, and strangely exciting. 

She sheds her innocence at the entrance to the underworld, trading romance for realism, exchanging euphemism for explicitness. Enveloped in her nighttime glamour, tinged by the red light glow, the goddess is transformed. Through the lustful eyes and intense focus of Mars and Pluto, Venus’s natural charms become lures, wiles, even weapons—unconscious reminders to the observer of the power of sex to transport, to intoxicate, to disarm, and to destroy. Her innate desire to connect becomes a hunger: your naked body is not enough—she wants you to bare your soul too. Her desire to relate deepens: she wants to penetrate the inner labyrinths of both mind and body, to explore all of your erogenous zones. Pain and pleasure are now inextricably linked. Stings and stabs, barbs and thorns, become the comfortable and familiar. Sex is survival. It is “L’Origine du Monde” as well as “la petite mort” (as the throes of passion and the throes of death look much the same). 

Venus’s time in Scorpio is an opportunity to brave the depths of intimacy; to confront issues around trust or shame; and to commit to authentic self-expression. To find beauty in the macabre, and value in deep emotional connection. To tune into the wisdom and authority of your sacral chakra. Venus in Scorpio brings out the provocateur: expect feather-ruffling and pearl-clutching, as well as thought-provoking conversation and daring new perspectives. Beware of jealousy, power plays and manipulation—this is a placement with a vengeful side. And last but not least, marvel at your own resiliency and inner strength.