There are two Venus placements that answer to Zeus in astrology—Venus in Pisces and Venus in Sagittarius. Venus in Pisces is exalted. Venus in Sagittarius, unless between 12—17º, is peregrine.
A Zeus ruled Venus is the man who carries a big stick. It’s the polyamorist who turns himself into a swan, into a bull, into anything under the sun just to ensnare someone or something. A Zeus ruled Venus wants to push its largeness out into the world until its generosity is unavoidable to witness.
But Venus does not exalt in Sagittarius. It’s peregrine. This largeness of spirit does not culminate into an exclamation but remains a pure question.
Venus in Sagittarius is just as much Don Juan or Edmund White as Venus in Pisces is. Venus is Sagittarius is the one who arrives, buzzing with all that it can witness, and dazzles everyone with charisma. But the charisma of Venus in Sagittarius is the traveler’s charisma. This is a Venus that knows exclusion, knows ill belonging. It's Venus it feels, perpetually, as though it must dazzle because it is a perpetual visitor.
Loving Venus in Sagittarius is loving someone who often feels as though they are just visiting. It’s loving someone who makes candid observations about the who’s, the where’s, and the when’s. “How come everyone here has the same movie taste?”they ask as though they are not “everyone.” “Why does everyone in this neighborhood shop at the same store?”
Venus in Sagittarius gives you the impression that they’ve already seen it all. They notice things that those who look too closely miss. They see the broad strokes of a scene and they’ll let you know about it if they like you enough.
Susan Sontag writes that “The photographer is an armed version of the solitary walker reconnoitering, stalking, cruising the urban inferno, the voyeuristic stroller who discovers the city as a landscape of voluptuous extremes. Adept of the joys of watching, connoisseur of empathy, the flâneur finds the world "picturesque."”
Victor Fournel writes that “This man is a roving and impassioned daguerreotype that preserves the least traces, and on which are reproduced, with their changing reflections, the course of things, the movement of the city, the multiple physiognomy of the public spirit, the confessions, antipathies, and admirations of the crowd.”
This is Venus in Sagittarius. Venus in Sagittarius, used to being temporary, is the connoisseur of empathy and the roving daguerreotype. It knows several kinds of empathy. It knows the generosity of strangers and it knows the defensiveness of intimacy. It has a palette for all of it even when it lacks appetite. Often, Venus in Sagittarius is not overly social. It’s a Venus that is often more interested in seeing more than in engaging deeper.
Loving Venus in Sagittarius is loving someone who is unused to staying in one place. Staying in one place makes Venus in Sagittarius freak out sometimes. It’s an identity crisis. They can stay ten years in a place, with you, and they’ll still think that they are from elsewhere. Sometimes, loving Venus in Sagittarius is loving someone who has to be reminded that they choose to stay, that it’s always been a choice, and that this choice can never be taken away from them.
Loving Venus in Sagittarius is loving someone who chooses to stay everyday—someone who considers this choice an active one.
Venus in Sagittarius can very well tell what everyone else seems to like, dislike, and kick against. But Venus in Sagittarius, being a peregrine Venus, is not interested in joining everyone else. It’s interested in observation, a smart remark, and then it moves on. This is a Venus that is in love with change. To love a Venus in Sagittarius, one must change with the times.
And, so, there is no staying in one place when loving a Venus in Sagittarius. This is a Venus that wanders, that strolls, that looks—that is going somewhere. To love Venus in Sagittarius, you must be willing to go too.
This is a Venus that loves through movement. It stands up without knowing where it will go when it suspects that it is being kept in one place.
Loving Venus in Sagittarius is loving someone who wants to give you the world. This is one of the most generous Venuses out there. They’ll give you everything and forget that they’ve done so. But Venus in Sagittarius wants to give you the world when they love you. They know that, to give someone the world, you must show them the world. This is why Venus in Sagittarius, unsatisfied with sameness, invites you to walk with them. Movement is the only home that Venus in Sagittarius knows.
Loving Venus in Sagittarius is loving a flaneur. It’s loving someone who takes you away, someone who changes you. It’s loving someone with whom you will never remain the same.
