Venus & Neptune in Aries at Beltane & Taurus Season: New Beginnings In Love!

One of the ways to put Astrology and the Cosmos to work for you is to connect systems---Beltane is a Pagan holiday that coincides with May 1---all I’ve ever known about is the maypole and ‘relaxed’ rules about playful mating within your chosen community.  I’ve connected it to the beginning of summer in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).  Summer is the fire element, the eyes and heart.

Okay, let's expand on how the archetypal energies of Venus, Neptune, and Aries—passionate and transcendent warrior energies—might manifest through each of the 12 zodiac signs and then connect those expressions to the symbolism of Beltane.

(Please read your Big Three---Sun (how to concentrate your spirit during Taurus Season & Venus/Neptune in Aries) Moon sign (how to access your conditioning and reaction/response about holidays and celebrations) & Rising sign for how you’re likely to be seen how you enter into these celebrations (which comes first---the role assigned by the group or you playing to that assignment?) Read all three to combine an effective way to access your loyalty to your inner truth.

I’ve often said you learn your astrological chart in order to transcend (trance-end) your chart. Neptune is a major agent of ending the trance of our ego’s attachment to separation---to the binary. Neptune’s energy dissolves; it is fluid. Fluid in its manifestation of chosen sexual behaviors and roles too.

Feel free to comment on how your inner work has you questioning traditional (and often phallocentric) gender roles. All beings born with and after Neptune in Scorpio (1956-1970) have a potential fluidity in how they experience and express gender. Venus activates a personal awareness and/or value to do so. The addition to the pagan holidays simply mirror our connection to nature’s energies as our Earth moves around the Sun---

Connecting TCM, Pagan Holidays, and my favorite passion project with Tavish Carduff called Our Raw Material (ORM) has helped me transcend most of my excessive attachment to astrological knowledge. The practice of law has been called a ‘jealous mistress’, the same can be said for the practice of astrology. Without heart, symbolism, myth and now, ORM---where ego/soul balance inspires integration of body and soul.

Venus, Neptune, and Aries Through the 12 Signs with Beltane Influences

Here's a reminder of the core archetypal energies:

• Venus: Love, beauty, values, ideals, connection, self-worth, joy, equilibrium, justice

• Neptune: Idealism, spirituality, transcendence, surrender, conscious sacrifice, wholeness, illusion

• Aries: Initiative, passion, courage, individuality, attaining clarity, directness, simplicity, integrity

And here's how these energies might express themselves in each sign, with a nod to Beltane:

• Aries: The core energy is amplified, with Beltane's themes of fertility and fire adding extra intensity.

• Potential: A fiercely independent and idealistic lover, fighting for their ideals in relationships and art. A pioneer in expressing a unique, passionate aesthetic. At Beltane, this could manifest as a celebration of individual passion and the fire of creativity---staying present moment focused, consciously releasing the past wounds and triggers.

• Shadow: Reckless impulsivity in love, self-centeredness in pursuing ideals, a tendency towards fanaticism or self-righteousness. There can be a short sightedness refusing to take responsibility for your actions and resisting any constructive feedback. At Beltane, this might be seen in excessive competition or a disregard for the community in the pursuit of personal desire.

• Taurus: The warrior energy is grounded and sensualized, aligning with Taurus's connection to Beltane.

• Potential: A passionate advocate for beauty and art, expressing values through creative endeavors. A desire for a love that is both sensual and spiritually fulfilling. There’s grace in action where your outer magnetism is precisely aligned with your inner values, modestly, simply and uniquely. At Beltane, this manifests as a deep appreciation for the beauty of the natural world and the sensuality of the season.

• Shadow: Possessiveness and stubbornness in relationships, a materialistic or overly indulgent approach to beauty, resistance to change in matters of the heart. Ego resentments and engaging in ‘recreational criticism’ because you’re out of alignment and malcontent, you exude an atmosphere of being difficult souring everyone else’s celebratory mood. At Beltane, this could be a reluctance to embrace the change and growth that the festival celebrates.

• Gemini: The warrior's passion is expressed through intellect and communication, with Beltane's social energy adding a layer of festive expression.

• Potential: A charismatic communicator of ideals, a champion of artistic expression, a lover who is both intellectually stimulating and spiritually connected. Your observational skills can ensure everyone’s included in activities that are important to them. Your lack of judge-ment and curiosity is welcomed as your investigate each person’s desires and/or needs. At Beltane, this could be expressed in storytelling, poetry, and sharing knowledge about the season's traditions.

• Shadow: A tendency to intellectualize emotions, inconsistency in love, spreading oneself too thin in the pursuit of ideals, deceptive communication. You walk a fine line between the intentions behind communication and keeping to the ‘facts’. You behave passively with ‘necessary’ truths leaning into what could be considered ‘lying by omission’. At Beltane, this might manifest as superficial engagement with the festivities or a lack of genuine connection.

• Cancer: The passionate warrior energy is filtered through emotions and the need for security, with Beltane's emphasis on community and nurturing resonating.

• Potential: A deeply caring and protective lover, passionately defending their loved ones and their emotional ideals. Creative expression is fueled by deep feeling and a yearning for belonging. You treat everyone as a revered family member. No one goes unnoticed in your presence. At Beltane, this is expressed in nurturing loved ones, celebrating family ties, and creating a sense of emotional security within the community.

• Shadow: Overly sensitive and defensive in relationships, clinging to idealized images of family or the past, emotional manipulation, martyrdom. Your cup is overflowing with the past and/or you compete for attention in ways that are difficult to pin down, however, felt by others who withdraw from the celebration (or your participation). At Beltane, this could manifest as excessive sentimentality or difficulty in letting go of past hurts.

• Leo: The warrior's passion takes on a dramatic and expressive flair, amplified by Beltane's fiery energy.

• Potential: A courageous and romantic lover, expressing their values and ideals with flair and generosity. A creative force with a unique and inspiring artistic vision. When you trust the celebratory groups, you radiate an inclusiveness making everyone feel welcome. At Beltane, this is the energy of the May Queen and King, shining brightly and celebrating the peak of spring.

• Shadow: A tendency towards grandiosity and self-dramatization in love, a need for constant admiration, a dictatorial or self-centered approach to creative expression. When you don’t feel or look your best, you can drag everyone down to your level of excessive attention seeking or constant needing reassurance. Know when enough attention is enough or at least when to share the spotlight. At Beltane, this might be seen as dominating the celebrations or seeking attention at the expense of community participation.

• Virgo: The passionate energy is channeled into service, analysis, and refinement, with Beltane's focus on practical preparations for summer aligning with Virgoan energy.

• Potential: A dedicated and idealistic advocate for social justice or healing, expressing their values through meticulous work and service to others. A lover who strives for a perfected process of coming together in relationships. Giving to others with a discerning and pure motive makes us feel special. At Beltane, this could be expressed in the careful gathering of herbs for rituals, the preparation of food for the feast, and the dedication to ensuring the well-being of the community. Your love is in the little things, the kind acts of service

• Shadow: A critical and judgmental approach to love, a tendency to overanalyze and nitpick, a self-sacrificing complex that leads to burnout or resentment. You keep score at all the things you do for others, making us feel that all you give is done in a quid pro quo. This can be blatantly manipulative. Relax (or be up front about your expectations and this shadow goes away. At Beltane, this might manifest as excessive worry about the details of the celebration or a failure to fully participate in the joy of the moment.

• Libra: The warrior's passion seeks balance, harmony, and partnership, mirroring Beltane's theme of union.

• Potential: A courageous advocate for fairness and equality in relationships and society, expressing their values through diplomacy and artistic collaboration. A lover who seeks an ideal balance of passion and harmony, ego needs and soul communion. You reach out to everyone to include them in their chosen rituals, and possibly creating new forms of relationships, ethically, of course. At Beltane, this is the energy of couples joining together, celebrating the sacred marriage of the God and Goddess, and fostering harmonious relationships within the community.

• Shadow: A tendency to avoid conflict at all costs, a difficulty in asserting their own needs in relationships, a superficial or overly idealistic approach to beauty and harmony. You can at times easily force your ideals onto others in a way that repels us. Your criticism is often felt no matter graciously said. Once you own your own disappointment, you can cease expecting us to know what you want without communicating. At Beltane, this could be a reluctance to express one's true desires for fear of disrupting the harmony of the celebration.

• Scorpio: The passionate energy is intensified, becoming more intense and transformative, aligning with the potent energy of Beltane. (After all, this season is as far away as it can be from yours of Samhain/Day of the Dead/Halloween). Beltane builds spirited and physical connections, while your season transforms and deepens bonds to last (marriage vows ‘til death do us part’. 

• Potential: A fiercely loyal and passionate lover, willing to delve into the depths of emotional experience. A creative force that explores taboo subjects and transforms societal values. Often seeing where your closest others have blocked energy, you possess a storehouse of healing energies. It’s important you recognize and generate your own resources so others continue to trust your often ‘surreal’ advice or ‘knowing. At Beltane, this manifests as a deep exploration of the mysteries of life, death, and rebirth, and a willingness to embrace the transformative power of the season.

• Shadow: A tendency towards possessiveness, jealousy, and manipulation in love, a destructive or self-destructive expression of passion, a fascination with the dark side of beauty. You must choose to consciously go into the dark and taboo areas and illuminate where transformation and surrendering of your ego and its shenanigans can be seen by you and others. Otherwise, the way you use power repels even your most devoted of partners, friends and lovers, no matter what celebrations may entail. At Beltane, this could be expressed as an unhealthy obsession with power dynamics or a misuse of the festival's potent energy.

• Sagittarius: The warrior's passion seeks higher meaning and expansive ideals, aligning with Beltane's celebration of life's abundance and potential.

• Potential: A philosophical and adventurous lover, seeking a connection that is both passionate and spiritually expansive. A visionary artist or advocate, expressing their ideals with optimism and courage. You can easily project a ‘more the merrier’ vibration which includes all and excludes no one. Your confidence, fire and enthusiasm are infectious. At Beltane, this is the energy of celebrating the journey of life, seeking wisdom in the blossoming world, and sharing one's vision for the future with the community.

• Shadow: A tendency towards fanaticism or self-righteousness, a restless and inconsistent approach to love, an inability to commit to the mundane realities of relationships. Commitment and its inherent limitations can too easily present ethical problems. You have a tendency to know exactly what being asked of you, so you parse your words accordingly holding to emotional half truths instead of the facts. At Beltane, this might be seen as an overly dogmatic approach to the festival's traditions or a failure to ground one's spiritual experiences in the present moment.

• Capricorn: The passionate energy is tempered by discipline, responsibility, and long-term goals, providing a counterpoint to Beltane's exuberance.

• Potential: A dedicated and responsible lover, expressing their values through commitment and building a lasting relationship. You make sure others are pleased first. You excel in communal settings ensuring that everyone knows their assigned role(s). A disciplined artist or advocate, working tirelessly to achieve their goals. At Beltane, this could be expressed in a commitment to the long-term well-being of the community, a responsible approach to celebrating the earth's fertility, and a dedication to preserving traditions.

• Shadow: A tendency towards coldness, detachment, and emotional repression in love, a rigid or overly pragmatic approach to beauty and values, a fear of vulnerability. You can embody ‘resting bitch face’ or ‘mansplaining’. It is as if you sense precisely what will douse these passionate fires and you enact scenarios where everyone is brought back to realities they wanted to elevate into a safe space. At Beltane, this might manifest as a reluctance to participate in the joyful abandon of the festival or an overly serious approach to the celebrations.

• Aquarius: The warrior's passion is expressed through innovation, social justice, and a vision for the future, aligning with Beltane's themes of community and progress.

• Potential: A revolutionary and idealistic lover, seeking a connection that is both intellectually stimulating and socially progressive. A visionary artist or advocate, championing radical new ideas and fighting for a better world. You usually are an expert ‘gift giver’ with your power of observation and listening skills you can easily make everyone feel wanted no matter what challenges they’ve had to overcome to participate in the celebration. You’re an ‘all for one and one for all’ which can make any time feel otherworldly. At Beltane, this is expressed in celebrating the interconnectedness of the community, embracing new ways of fostering growth and abundance, and envisioning a more just and equitable future.

• Shadow: A tendency towards detachment and emotional distance in relationships, a rebellious or contrarian approach to values, an unrealistic or utopian vision. Your ability to ‘flip your emotional switch on or off’ quickly can cause some members to not trust your words. You may live in an ideal world that we sense we’re simply players in your drama. Or your trying to connect to everyone too quickly can leave you seeming insincere and/or needing quantity over quality connections. At Beltane, this might be seen as a rejection of tradition for the sake of novelty or a disregard for the emotional needs of the community.

• Pisces: The passionate energy is dissolved (hello, Neptune the Cosmic Dissolution Agent) into compassion, transcendence, and unconditional love, mirroring Beltane's emphasis on spiritual union and connection.

• Potential: A compassionate and empathetic lover, expressing their values through selfless service and unconditional love. A visionary artist, creating works that inspire spiritual transcendence and universal connection. You have an innate ability to sense what we need even before we know we need it. These celebrations can inspire your empathy and healing capacities while simultaneously surrendering to joy shared expression that borders upon rapturous releases had by all. At Beltane, this is the energy of merging with the divine, experiencing a sense of oneness with nature, and celebrating the interconnectedness of all beings.

• Shadow: A tendency towards escapism, self-sacrifice, and blurred boundaries in love, a disillusionment with the material world, a loss of self in the pursuit of spiritual ideals. Because of your capacity to merge with others and experience pleasure/pain, you can too easily go to excess. You can be a walking ‘party foul’---pushing your boundaries where others are left to clean up your visible and invisible (emotional/spiritual) messes. At Beltane, this might manifest as a withdrawal from the festivities, a difficulty in grounding spiritual experiences, or a susceptibility to illusion and deception.