Venus is the second planet from the sun. Since it moves inside of Earth's orbit, we see it as following the sun around the Zodiac - never more than 48° from it.
     In the horoscope Venus represents pleasure, desire, and therefore also your erotic taste and actions. It is also the planet of creativity, showing in what field and to what extent you are talented. It is a beneficial planet, often doing good and very rarely causing problems. When too stimulated or enforced, it can make you overindulge in something - but you probably would not complain about it.

Keywords
Here are the twelve Zodiac signs, and keywords for the character they give to Venus, i.e. your pleasurous desires:
    Aries   daring
    Taurus   basic
    Gemini   humorous
    Cancer   caring
    Leo   parading
    Virgo   working
    Libra   ordering
    Scorpio   mystifying
    Sagittarius   adventurous
    Capricorn   constructive
    Aquarius   experimental
    Pisces   sacrifice

Venus also shows within what field you are the most creative. Here are the twelve Zodiac signs, and examples of talents when Venus are in them:
    Aries   military
    Taurus   farming
    Gemini   writing
    Cancer   medicine
    Leo   leadership
    Virgo   crafts
    Libra   law
    Scorpio   acting
    Sagittarius   travel
    Capricorn   construction
    Aquarius   university
    Pisces   religion


Venus and its traits. Woodcut by Hans Sebald Beham, from the 1530's.

Ruler
Venus rules over both Libra and Taurus, which means that it tends to be the most obvious and enforced in those signs. It may be regarded as exalting in Cancer and Virgo, but there is no astrological consensus about that. It is not really weakened in any Zodiac sign, because of its own beneficial capacity, but it might be sligthly less suited for Aries and Sagittarius, maybe also for Pisces.


The birth of Venus, by Botticelli c. 1482-1486.

Planet age
Each of the heavenly bodies represents a period in your life of about seven years. In the case of Venus it is the yearsa of puberty, because of its connection to love and the erotic aspects. That's approximately from 14 to 21 years of age. The position of Venus in your horoscope reveals what that period of your life is like, generally speaking. This also means that the erotic experiences you have at that age to a large extent form your sexual and erotic preferences for life.

© Stefan Stenudd, 2008