VENUS out of bounds

If you are new to out of bounds planets and using declination in astrology I recommend first reading this article to get a concisely thorough introduction to the astronomical context and history of this weird little astro-niche. There you can also find instructions on how to see if Venus or any other planets are out of bounds in your chart. If you prefer a webinar-style introduction instead, check out this video here.

Venus energy includes values of all kinds, self, material and philosophical – how and what we value about ourselves, tangibles (including that old devil money,) plus ethics and morals (including the use of power; thereby, the potential for complete corruption).

Beyond the Solstice by Declination page 53

Patterns

Venus’ astrological significations include beauty, harmony, sensuality, relationships, values and valuables¹. Her relation to beauty makes perfect sense to anyone who has ever observed the radiant planet in the sky, especially at greatest elongation, when she is most dazzling². Inherent in that beauty we also find another Venus signification: patterns.

Much to the chagrin of our estranged astronomical twin, astrology’s framework of operation is geocentric. Rather than discarding all other possible frameworks for observing the universe, the study of the correlation³ of celestial phenomena with earthly events, however, repeatedly emphasizes that without the most important planet in astrology, Earth, we have nothing⁴. The primary point of a chart, the Ascendant, is represented by the meeting of Earth and sky at the eastern horizon. The houses, representative of the entirety of our existence, are also a product of Earth’s right ascension as it rotates on its axis. Eclipses of the Sun and Moon only happen from Earth; even the tropical zodiac itself is a product of the Earth and its obliquity.

From the perspective of our little blue marble another visual phenomena that has held the attention of stargazers for thousands of years⁵ is the near-perfect pentagram⁶ that Venus traces in the sky as it and our planet revolve around the Sun. Over the course of eight years, Venus will station retrograde at basically the same five points in the sky⁷ because the eccentricity of its orbit around the Sun at 0.0068⁸ is almost a perfect circle. This celestial pentagram phenomena is exclusive to our perspective on Earth and illustrates the planets relation to beauty and patterns. The distance between each star point has also been related to the golden ratio⁹ and its pervasive reflection all over our planet from broccoli¹⁰ to Star Trek¹¹.

This eight-year synodic period is reflective of the eight phases of the Moon; a declination-based octagon across the globe including the tropics, arctic, and antarctic circles; and is also related to Venus’ out of bounds cycle¹².

Venus out of bounds cycle

Venus goes out of bounds between zero to three times per year, usually twice. It can remain beyond the max ecliptic limit anywhere from one day to 67 days¹³. Venus has been found as far as 28° north or south of the celestial equator like the Moon, but in recent years hasn’t reached beyond about 27°49′. Among the most commonly used objects in our solar system for astrological purposes, only Ceres and Pallas (and centuries ago, Pluto) exceed 28°. This encompasses quite a bit of the sky (as above) and human experience (so below) compared to Juno, asteroid goddess of commitment, who never goes out of bounds and only ever reaches about 18° north or south¹⁴. Thus we begin to see how themes of betrayal¹⁵ also fall under the significations of Venus while Juno’s remain more specific and close to the heart literally and figuratively.

Because Venus is the second planet from the Sun, the two can only ever be found within 48° of each other along the ecliptic. Like with Mercury, this limits how much of the zodiac Venus can be found out of bounds in. But because Venus can get a bit farther away from the Sun than Mercury (and Venus’ proximity to Earth/the inclination of it’s orbit¹⁶), we have two extra signs that Venus can be found out of bounds in that Mercury can’t be: the fixed-sign axis of Taurus and Scorpio.

Leigh Westin explains in Beyond the Solstice by Declination that the pattern to how often Venus goes out of bounds in the non-bordering solstice signs of Taurus or Scorpio is directly related to Venus’ five-point retrograde cycle. Whenever Venus went out of bounds in either Taurus or Scorpio, a Venus retrograde period followed. Below you will see three images showing the declination for Venus and the Sun for three eight-year periods. Notice how all three images are almost the same.

Table 8 in Westin’s Beyond the Solstice By Declination gives the following pattern: For a period of 96 years Venus will go out of bounds in Taurus (but not Scorpio) every eight years, nearly to the same day and degree. After this is a 47-year period where Venus will switch between going out of bounds in Scorpio the following year, Taurus seven years later, Scorpio the next year, Taurus seven years later, etc. A 104-year period of Venus out of bounds in Scorpio (but not Taurus) every eight years follows that. One year later another 96-year Taurus-cycle begins again.

At the time of this writing in 2022 we are in a Taurus-cycle that began in 1996 and wraps up in 2092. Within this time Venus will be going out of bounds in Taurus every eight years, but not in Scorpio at all until 2093 when a 47-year Scorpio-Taurus switch-period begins. The previous Scorpio-cycle spanned 1890 to 1994 where Venus went out of bounds every eight years in Scorpio, but not once in Taurus. This essentially gives us mini eras of Venus OOB.

Venus out of bounds by sign

Venus can go out of bounds in Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Scorpio, Sagittarius, and Capricorn. Venus cannot be found out of bounds in Aries, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Aquarius, or Pisces. This makes a balance of two cardinal, fixed, and mutable signs. By element Venus can be found out of bounds in two earth and two water signs, but only one air and one fire sign; a 2:1 nocturnal-diurnal ratio which makes sense for the benefic of the nocturnal sect.

Most recently Venus went out of bounds in Taurus at the beginning of April 2020, less than a month after the Moon began it’s 10-year out of bounds cycle. This was a time of toilet paper hilarity in the US that manifested both as hoarding resources¹⁷ as well as creative works of art^18,19. The day after Venus went out of bounds in Taurus in 1889 George Eastman began selling Kodak rolled film for the first time²⁰. The next time Venus goes out of bounds in Taurus will be April 1st 2028.

The last time Venus was out of bounds in Scorpio was October 1994. This was when Korn released their debut self-titled album²¹. The following week NASA lost contact with Magellan spacecraft that was sent to map the surface of Venus²². Venus OOB in Scorpio 1962 is when the first Bond film Dr. No was released in the UK²³ and when the Beatles released their first single Love Me Do²⁴. The next time Venus goes out of bounds in Scorpio wont be until October 5th 2093!

Venus out of bounds in Taurus people include: Charlie Chaplin and Theo Van Gogh with Venus conjunct Mars, Nick LaRocca with Venus square Saturn, and Charles P Steinmetz with Venus ruling his Moon and IC.

Venus out of bounds in Gemini people include: Carmen Electra with Venus ruling the midheaven and conjunct Mars (also out of bounds), Sue Grafton with Venus conjunct Mars (also out of bounds), Alan Turing with Venus conjunct Pluto, Immanuel Kant with Venus trine Jupiter, Erik Satie and Vince Offer with Venus in mutual reception with Mercury, and Harvey Milk with Venus conjunct Jupiter.

Venus out of bounds in Cancer people include: Pete Conrad with Venus ruling the ascendant conjunct Pluto, Robert McNamara with Venus conjunct Saturn, James Stewart with Venus conjunct Neptune and the north node, Don Bragg with Venus in mutual reception with the Moon, Stevie Nicks with Venus in an angular cardinal grand cross involving Neptune and the Moon (also out of bounds),

Venus out of bounds in Scorpio people include: Mike Judge with Venus ruling and square his Sun, Nia Long with Venus in mutual reception with Mars, Drake with Venus receiving an applying trine from his Moon (also out of bounds), Emilia Clarke with Venus ruling her Sun, Susan Sarandon with Venus on the midheaven sextile out of bounds Moon rising, Harry Curtis with Venus rising in a helluva grand water trine, Jodelle Ferland with Venus conjunct Jupiter, Matt Damon with Venus parallel and sextile Moon (also out of bounds), Xie Jun and Ben Bailey both with Venus opposite Saturn, and Anthony Kiedis with Venus ruling the Ascendant.

Venus out of bounds in Sagittarius people include: Bela Lugosi with Venus on the midheaven ruling the Sun, Clifford Irving with Venus ruling the ascendant and 8th house, Jonas Salk with Venus sextile Jupiter/Uranus, Robert Louis Stevenson and Charubel both with Venus in mutual reception with Jupiter, Sun Yat-Sen with Venus at the bendings ruling the ascendant, Cheiro with Venus rising ruling the midheaven, Nan Burket with Venus in a grand fire trine involving Mars rising and Uranus on the midheaven, and Kurt Vonnegut with Venus in a grand cross involving the angles and Uranus.

Venus out of bounds in Capricorn people include: Frank Sinatra and John Densmore both with Venus ruling the ascendant and opposite Saturn, Ivan Tugenev with Venus ruling the IC, Louisa May Alcott with Venus square Pluto, Robert Goulet with Venus opposite Pluto, Patrick Bissell with Venus ruling the ascendant square Jupiter rising, and Fyodor Dostoevsky with Venus conjunct Uranus and Neptune.

Conclusion

Like the Moon, Venus’ out of bounds cycle has its own distinct rhythm involving an on-off period. This rhythm can be a curiously helpful tool for studying history and forecasting the future. Out of bounds Venus in fixed-sign people have an especially unique signature in their charts so if you are one of these people I highly encourage you to write about your experiences. This includes many people born in April of 1996, 2004, 2012, 2020 (Taurus) and October of 1994, 1986, 1978, 1970, 1962, 1954, 1946, 1938, and 1930 (Scorpio).

Regardless of sign, out of bounds Venus people are full of talent and devotion. Because of the prevalence of Venus (uniting) being in mutual reception to Mercury (details) I often see Venus in general show up through pattern recognition and when Venus is out of bounds this seems to be emphasized. The “beyond ordinary”²⁵ manifestation of this placement can show up in everything from music, writing, and the arts to politics or even game shows. The challenge however, can correlate with overindulgence or substance abuse issues, especially when Venus is in its traditional sign of detriment, Scorpio.

Further things to consider with Venus out of bounds include: proximity to fixed stars – especially if in Taurus because Venus OOB in Taurus will often fall on or near Algol; whether Venus progresses out of bounds if it isn’t already out natally; if Venus is the ruler of the ascendant, angles, or luminaries; if Venus is the benefic of sect; or if Venus is the time lord by profection, zodiacal releasing, or other timing technique. Because Venus is one of the seven traditional planets, when it goes OOB it affects much more of the chart so it is an important detail to check.

Do you have an out of bounds Venus in your natal chart or by progression? Was a previous fixed-sign Venus transit especially significant for you? Feel free to share by commenting below or click here to book a consultation where we can explore this placement in depth as it relates to your personal chart. To learn more about out of bounds planets and declination in astrology in general, click here.

Sources

¹The Astrology Podcast #315 Venus in Astrology: Meanings and Significations
²Venus before sunrise: Greatest elongation October 23, 2023 EarthSky
³The Definition of Astrology Chris Brennan
⁴The Astrology of Hellier – Phenomenacon 3 live presentation February 2022 Maighdlin M Kelly
⁵Venus tablet of Ammisaduqua Wikipedia
⁶The 5 petals of Venus and its 8-year cycle Guy Ottewell
⁷Venus Cycle and Venus Calculator Guide Pallas Augustine
⁸Venus Fact Sheet NASA
⁹The Fractal Nature of Astrology with the Venus Star Julija Simas
¹⁰Math Behind the Beauty of Romanesco Broccoli Explained The Science Times
¹¹Phi in the 23rd Century: Design of Star Trek’s USS Enterprise Gary Meisner
¹²Beyond the Solstice by Declination Leigh Westin
¹³Beyond the Solstice by Declination Leigh Westin
¹⁴Planetary significations through declination Maighdlin M Kelly
¹⁵Venus and the Eight-Year Synodic Cycle Nick Dagan Best
¹⁶Beyond the Solstice by Declination Leigh Westin
¹⁷Why Are Stores Running Low on Toilet Paper? It’s Not Just Hoarding NPR Apr 3, 2022
¹⁸Beaded toilet paper earrings Tristan Benson
¹⁹Recreating Ariana Grande’s Met Gala Dress, But With Toilet Paper Bernadette Banner
²⁰Historical Events in April 1889 On This Day
²¹Korn (album) Wikipedia
²²Magellan (spacecraft) Wikipedia
²³Dr. No (film) Wikipedia
²⁴Love Me Do – Wikipedia
²⁵Declination: The Other Dimension KT Boehrer

Maighdlin M Kelly 2022

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