VENUS-SUN OCCULTATIONS:
VENUS AS SPIRITUAL REVOLUTIONARY

Talk originally given May 10, 2004,
for the Aquarian Organization of Astrologers
of Kansas City, Missouri

I gave this talk prior to the Venus-sun occultation on June 8, 2004, the first of a pair - the second will occur on June 6, 2012.  In 2008, midway between the two occultations, Pluto entered Capricorn, echoing a pattern which occured prior to the American Revolution.  Indeed, there are numerous astrological echoes between that era and our own.

I now believe that we are passing through an era paralleling Revolutionary times but on a higher rung of the spiral.  This time, I believe we must displace the forces of fear and fascism with freedom and self-determination for all peoples worldwide.  I believe that the influxes of spiritual energy from the Venus-sun occultations and other transits provide vital support and empowerment for global political and societal evolution.

But the era we've entered appears to present even more profound possibilities.  I believe that visionaries such as Sri Aurobindo and the Mother may be correct in predicting a quantum leap in consciousness in this era whose metamorphosis will extend even to the cellular level of ourselves and the earth.

Original description of talk:

On June 8, 2004, Venus will make one of its rare passages across the face of the sun, called an occultation.  (Venus would eclipse the sun if it were larger.)  These occultations usually come in eight-year pairs which are either 105.5 or 121.5 years apart and which in this era alternate between Gemini and Sagittarius.

Venus, as we know, correlates with beauty, the arts, community, and the art of relationship (its Libran side) and values and finances (its Taurean side).  In some cultures, Venus denotes war (perhaps as the breakdown/transformation of relationships).  But Venus-sun occultations, when Venus forms a direct link between the sun and earth, have at times correlated with the emergence of powerful spiritual revolutions prompting us to reexamine and reforge our relationship with the Divine.  These revolutions have also resulted in major shifts in political and economic life.

In this talk, we will examine the Venus occultation cycle and its historical correlations with spiritual revolutions.  We will then focus on the role of Venus' 1761 and 1769 occultations (the last Gemini pair) and Pluto's 1762 ingress into Capricorn in the birthing of the American Revolution as well as the parallels with the upcoming 2004 and 2012 Venus occultations in Gemini, Pluto's 2008 ingress into Capricorn, and the U.S.'s first Pluto return in Capricorn in 2022.  Are we at the door of a second American revolution?  If so, how might we learn from and build on the first?

MP3 audio file of talk:

Length:  1:27:57

Note:  We were unexpectedly put in a long, narrow room where I had to strain to project to the folks in the back without a PA system.

Links to images accompanying talk:

I am providing links rather than posting the images here to honor copyrights.  Each page will open in a new window.  Note:  My linking to these sites does not imply endorsement of the entirety of their contents.

Venus-sun occultation dates are per Fred Espenak of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.  Dates are per the Julian calendar through 10/4/1582 AD and per the Gregorian calendar thereafter.

Astronomical diagrams of Venus-sun occultations by Nick Anthony Fiorenza of The Lunar Planner

Photo of the constellation Orion by Matthew Spinelli

Gautama Buddha (birth and death dates disputed)
Venus-sun occultations:  11/22/549 BC and 11/19/541 BC
If lived 563-483 BC:  14 and 22 years old
If lived 575-493 BC:  26 and 34 years old
Attained enlightenment at age 35

Pythagoras (birth and death dates disputed)
Venus-sun occultations:  11/22/549 BC and 11/19/541 BC
If born 569 BC:  20 and 28 years old
If born 580 BC:  31 and 39 years old
If born 582 BC:  33 and 41 years old
Philosopher, mystic, mathematician
Founded mystery school in Crotona, Italy, in 530 BC

Confucius (551-479 BC)
Venus-sun occultations:  11/22/549 BC (age 2) and 11/19/541 BC (age 10)
Government official, philosopher, teacher

Socrates (469-399 BC)
Venus-sun occultation:  5/22/427 BC (age 42)
Philosopher, mystic

Plato (5/21/427 BC-348 BC)
Venus-sun occultation:  5/22/427 BC (the DAY AFTER his birth)
Philosopher, mystic

Julius Firmicus Maternus (ca. 280-360 AD)
(I inadvertently omitted his name while discussing him)
Venus-sun occultation:  4/25/303 AD (age 23)
Lawyer, astrologer, Neoplatonist, author

Sir Thomas More (2/7/1477 or 1478-7/6/1535)
Venus-sun occultations:  5/26/1518 (age 40 or 41) and 5/23/1526 (age 48 or 49)
Scholar, philosopher, visionary, statesman, lawyer, martyr
Sketch by Hans Holbein the Younger

Michel de Nostradame (Nostradamus) (12/14/1503-7/2/1566)
Venus-sun occultations:  5/26/1518 (age 15) and 5/23/1526 (age 23)
Medical doctor, astrologer, prophet

During the talk, I highly recommended David Ovason's The Secret Architecture of Our Nation's Capital:  The Masons and the Building of Washington, D.C. (New York:  HarperCollins, 1999).  It is a fabulous book.  Ovason is also a Nostradamus scholar and has written The Secrets of Nostradamus:  A Radical New Interpretation of the Master's Prophecies (New York:  HarperCollins, 2001) and Nostradamus:  Prophecies for America (New York:  HarperCollins/Avon, 2001).  I have read a little of the latter two books and did not find myself in agreement with everything I read, but check them out for yourself.

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543)
Venus-sun occultations:  5/26/1518 (age 45) and 5/23/1526 (age 53)
Astronomer/astrologer, mathematician, philosopher, student of canon law and medicine, Latin translator
Chief proponent of heliocentric theory in the modern era
Painting by Jan Matejko - late 19th century

Benjamin Franklin (1/17/1706-4/17/1790)
Venus-sun occultations:  6/6/1761 (age 55) and 6/3/1769 (age 63)
Printer, philosopher, astrologer, scientist, patriot, diplomat, Mason (Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Philadelphia)

George Washington (2/22/1732-12/14/1799)
Venus-sun occultations:  6/6/1761 (age 29) and 6/3/1769 (age 37)
Surveyor, farmer, soldier, general, patriot, Mason (Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Virginia), President of Constitutional Convention, first U.S. President

Samuel Adams (9/27/1722-10/2/1803)
Venus-sun occultations:  6/6/1761 (age 38) and 6/3/1769 (age 46)
Patriot, a leader of the Sons of Liberty, proposed formation of the Continental Congress, Father of the American Revolution, Governor of Massachusetts

Joseph Warren (6/11/1741-6/17/1775)
Venus-sun occultations:  6/6/1761 (age 20) and 6/3/1769 (age 28)
Medical doctor, patriot, Mason (Grand Master of the Massachusetts Provincial Grand Lodge)
Died in the Battle of Bunker Hill (age 34)

John Hancock (1/12/1737-10/8/1793)
Venus-sun occultations:  6/6/1761 (age 24) and 6/3/1769 (age 32)
Merchant, patriot, a leader of the Sons of Liberty, President of the Continental Congress, first signer of the Declaration of Independence, Governor of Massachusetts

Paul Revere (1/8/1735-5/10/1818)
Venus-sun occultations:  6/6/1761 (age 26) and 6/3/1769 (age 34)
Silversmith, patriot, Mason (Grand Master of Massachusetts)

John Adams (10/30/1735-7/4/1826)
Venus-sun occultations:  6/6/1761 (age 25) and 6/3/1769 (age 33)
Lawyer, patriot, member of the Continental Congress committee to draft the Declaration of Independence, first U.S. Vice President, second U.S. President

Thomas Jefferson (4/13/1743-7/4/1826)
Venus-sun occultations:  6/6/1761 (age 18) and 6/3/1769 (age 26)
Farmer, scientist, inventor, philosopher, historian, author of the Declaration of Independence and Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, Governor of Virginia, Minister to France, first U.S. Secretary of State, second U.S. Vice President, third U.S. President, founder of the University of Virginia

James Madison (3/16/1757-6/28/1836)
Venus-sun occultations:  6/6/1761 (age 4) and 6/3/1769 (age 12)
Father of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, member of Congress, fifth U.S. Secretary of State, fourth U.S. President

Sri Ramakrishna (2/18/1833-8/16/1886)
(I recently found this more accurate birthdate)
Venus-sun occultations:  12/9/1874 (age 41) and 12/6/1882 (age 49)
Mystic, spiritual teacher, devotee of the Divine Mother, saw truth in all religions

Swami Vivekananda (1/12/1863-7/4/1902)
Venus-sun occultations:  12/9/1874 (age 11) and 12/6/1882 (age 19)
Mystic, spiritual teacher, philosopher, chief disciple of Ramakrishna, introduced Vedanta to the West
Addressed the World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893 (age 30)

Helena Blavatsky (8/12/1831-5/8/1891)
Venus-sun occultations:  12/9/1874 (age 43) and 12/6/1882 (age 51)
Mystic, writer; emphasized common ground of Eastern and Western spirituality and of religion and science
Founded the Theosophical Society in 1875 (age 44); published Isis Unveiled in 1877 (age 46) and The Secret Doctrine in 1888 (age 57)

Rudolf Steiner (2/2/1861-3/30/1925)
Venus-sun occultations:  12/9/1874 (age 13) and 12/6/1882 (age 21)
Philosopher, mystic, Goethe scholar, educator, architect, writer
Founder of Anthroposophy, Eurythmy, Waldorf education, biodynamic farming, and Anthroposophical medicine

Alice Bailey (6/16/1880-12/15/1949)
Venus-sun occultation:  12/6/1882 (age 2)
Mystic, writer; co-founder of the Arcane School in 1923 (age 43);
among the first to use the term "New Age"

Nicholas Roerich (10/9/1874-12/13/1947)
Venus-sun occultations:  12/9/1874 (2 months old) and 12/6/1882 (age 8)
Mystic, painter, philosopher, writer
Co-founder of the Agni Yoga Society in 1920 (age 46)
Author of the Roerich Pact (treaty first signed in 1935) to preserve cultural institutions from decimation in war

Helena Roerich (2/12/1879-10/5/1955)
Venus-sun occultation:  12/6/1882 (age 3-1/2)
Mystic, writer; co-founder of the Agni Yoga Society in 1920 (age 41)
The Agni Yoga books are now available online - I highly recommend them

Sri Aurobindo (8/15/1872-12/5/1950)
Venus-sun occultations:  12/9/1874 (age 2) and 12/6/1882 (age 10)
Mystic, philosopher, educator, political activist, writer, poet
Co-founder of Integral Yoga

Mirra Alfassa, a/k/a The Mother (2/21/1878-11/17/1973)
Venus-sun occultation:  12/6/1882 (age 4-1/2)
Mystic, teacher; co-founder of Integral Yoga

William James (1/11/1842-8/26/1910)
Venus-sun occultations:  12/9/1874 (age 32) and 12/6/1882 (age 40)
Philosopher, psychologist, investigator of psychic phenomena
Wrote The Varieties of Religious Experience in 1902 (age 60)

John Dewey (10/20/1859-6/1/1952)
Venus-sun occultations:  12/9/1874 (age 15) and 12/6/1882 (age 23)
Philosopher, psychologist, educational theorist, progressive

During the talk, I highly recommended Eugene Taylor's Shadow Culture:  Psychology and Spirituality in America (Counterpoint, 1999).  In this book, Taylor shows that the counterculture has been alive and well in the United States since colonial times and is not just a recent phenomenon.  Taylor has also written extensively on William James.

Jane Addams (9/6/1860-5/21/1935)
Venus-sun occultations:  12/9/1874 (age 14) and 12/6/1882 (age 22)
Progressive, writer, speaker, organizer, pacifist, internationalist
Founder of Hull House, pioneer in settlement house movement

Mary Follett (9/3/1868-12/18/1933)
Venus-sun occultations:  12/9/1874 (age 6) and 12/6/1882 (age 14)
Political theorist, community center organizer, champion of grassroots democracy, writer, modern management pioneer
Wrote The New State - Group Organization, the Solution for Popular Government in 1918 (age 50) and Creative Experience in 1924 (age 56)

Adding one more:  Maria Montessori (8/31/1870-5/6/1952)
Venus-sun occultations:  12/9/1874 (age 4) and 12/6/1882 (age 12)
Physician, educational pioneer; founded what became known as the Montessori method

I mentioned Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone (New York:  Simon & Schuster, 2000), a groundbreaking work about the erosion of social capital in the U.S. and the urgent need for its healing.

I also mentioned having met Benjamin Barber, an eloquent political scientist and democratic activist who has written numerous books on what he terms "strong democracy."

Here are the charts of the 2004 and 2012 Venus-sun occultations paired with the U.S. chart (Rudhyar).