Astrological attribution of Venus in Aquarius (5 of swords)
-
Well at the risk of being insulted i thought i would post again & see if anyone can explain to me the astrology of the planet Venus when it is in the sign of Aquarius & how these bring about the meaning of "Defeat" in the 5 of swords. I would like to get a fresh perspective instead of the same old explanation of Venus being to weak in the sephira of Geburah. Throw in some mythology if you need to.
-
@niveks said
"Well at the risk of being insulted i thought i would post again & see if anyone can explain to me the astrology of the planet Venus when it is in the sign of Aquarius"
This is a misnomer BTW. It isn't "Venus in Aquarius." It's "the Venus decanate of Aquarius." The three cards 5, 6, and 7 of Swords are attributed to Aquarius and the three decanates (10° segments) which, by the Chaldaic model used in Tarot's design, attributes the three decanates successively to Venus, Mercury, and Luna. Therefore, the 5 of Swords is attributed to the Venus part of Aquarius; the 6 of Swords to the Mercury part of Aquarius; and the 7 of Swords to the Lunar part of Aquarius.
I should add that this doesn't mean from the point of view of astrology that Aquarius actually has three parts that behave differently. Every large statistical study on the subject has shown no decanate relevance. But that doesn't matter. Tarot isn't about astrology actually; instead, it uses astrological symbols for its own purposes.
Continuing with your questions...
"& how these bring about the meaning of "Defeat" in the 5 of swords. I would like to get a fresh perspective instead of the same old explanation of Venus being to weak in the sephira of Geburah. Throw in some mythology if you need to."
"Weakness" is the main idea, though. You'll find that Crowley attributes weakness to most of the Minor Arcana that are attributed to a Venus decanate.
The main idea of "defeat" comes, I think, primarily from the more important symbol of the card: It is, first and formost, Geburah in Air. All of the 5s show severity and hardship in their corresponding element: 5 of Wands shows conflict of will, 5 of Cups shows severity and hardship emotionally, and 5 of Disks shows material-physical severity and hardship. (These then require strength in the same principle to voercome.) These are the root ideas of the cards. Correspondingly, we'd expect 5 of Swords to represent intellectual severity and hardship. I've always held, therefore, that "defeat" here is really having one's mind cracked, one's will broken in combat. The defeat is psychological, which can then lead to a defeat that is actual.
All by itself, Geburah in Air significes mental severity, pain, or anguish (requiring mental strength and resolve of character); defeat, loss, malice, spite, disruption, slander, evil-speaking, dishonor.
To supplement this, some blendings of the idea of Venus with the idea of Aquarius, with an eye to the essential nature of this card, include: failure, defaet, intellect weakened by sentiment, loss of competitive edge, etc. (There's a lot more, but I think this is the main point.)
Remember that the decanate (planet-sign pair) is not the primary meaning of the card: the main meaning is the Sephirah-in-Element. The decanate further colors this.
We can even blend the Mars idea of Geburah with the Venus idea of the decanate and get: Excitability, strong passions and emotional force, disharmonious, divisive, disruptive of relationships, enkindling enmity.
-
@niveks said
"Thanks for the info on the astrology i appreciate your explanation that was what i was looking for. Can you give the 7/swords a shot involving the lunar decan of Aquarius for me also?"
It's the same in principle...
The chief characteristic of the four 7s is that they show what is required, on their respective planes, to attain Victory. However, these degrade easily (a function of how desire works in most people, I suppose). What is required on the plane of Air to attain Victory is cleverness, adaptability, etc.; but these easily turn into "too much cleverness," adaptability to the point of dispersonal, etc. Especially when it is then blended with a passive planetary idea like the Moon, it goes for lowest common denominator in all of this more often than not.
Thus, the Netzach in Air idea by itself becomes calculating, clever, adaptable, or conniving, deceitful, unreliable, etc. Another trait is refusal or failure at confrontation.
Add a Moon + Aquarius idea and you get loss of energy, diffusion, uncertianty, doubt, vacillation, unstable effort, mentally distractible, incapable of sustained effort. These character traits lead to some of the traditional meanings such as "yielding when victory is within grasp." There is a love of abundance, fascination with display, tendency to betray confidences (not necessarily intentionally; often through inattentiveness or weakness).
If you add the Venus of the Sephirah and the Moon of the decanate, you good a double dose of passivity. Basic interpretation of the blend in the context of this card: Passive, emotional, desire for comfort, moodiness, snyness, easily influenced by others, good intentions but unrealistic assessment. However, if the card is well-dignified, it may add tenderness, emotional expressiveness, affectio, grace; but the quality of the suit of Swords seriously impedes these more desirable, tender, and feeling aspects of the Moon and Venus.
-
The original documents aren't in any format anyone else can read.
In any case, I'd rather restructure it before releasing it again. Some year I'll likely do that.