The Energy of Venus
Divine and Diabolic
The etheric form of the human being forms the basis for the dense physical form. In the involutionary process we descend from the etheric state into the physical. In this the body anchors to earth and the soul gets into the bondage of the form. Matter encloses us more and more, like a tomb, and it becomes more difficult for us to come again out of it. In this process of involution individualisation happens where consciousness separates into individual units of consciousness. In the evolutionary process we reach again the etheric state. Through spiritual practice we shift our emphasis from the dense physical and material-conditioned existence to the subtle, liberated existence.
Venus rules both paths; it has the key to individual as well as to group consciousness, which further leads to universal consciousness. The Venus principle is regarded as divine and as diabolic – diabolic, because it causes separativeness of consciousness into individual units of consciousness, and divine, because, by the reversal of the process, it leads to the consciousness of group responsibility. Venus makes us feel the other beings in our own being and thus experience our unity with creation.
Woman and Man
In individualisation the Venus principle leads to the creation of bodies through the act of procreation and thus enables the experiences of mundane life. Through the influence of Venus the ego joins the sperm for its descent into the physical world. The physical attraction of the sexes and the descent of the sperm are ruled by Mars, the planet of activity.
Woman in general stands for the energy of Venus and man for the energy of Mars. Venus is called “the beautiful woman” or “the virgin”, Mars “the warrior”. The qualities form a seeming opposition which, however, is complementary. Also in the zodiac the two signs ruled by Mars – Aries and Scorpio – have as their opposites the signs ruled by Venus, Libra and Taurus.
On our Earth Venus presides over love, beauty and balance. With a major part of humanity the love of Venus is clouded by the emotion of Mars. In connection with Mars Venus can on the one hand cause the descent and on the other the ascent, for Mars gives fiery aspiration and determination. In the divine path the energy of the sperm is transformed into the power of ascent. Venus enables the transformation and the ascent through an intelligent use of the creative forces for a higher purpose.
To neutralise the lower influences of the polarity of sexes the Vedic ritual of the sacrament of marriage has been carefully formed by the Hierarchy. When man and woman live together in marriage, through the interaction between the two the Venusian influence makes Mars softer and the being-together with Mars makes Venus powerful. Thus woman gradually gains power and man becomes softer.
On the higher planes Venus helps us to rise from the bondage of forms to the level of concept through the power of beauty. Beauty is then a soul quality and exists in us as the equilibrium of consciousness. Here the role of woman serves the mission of Venus: it raises man from the bondage in matter to the subtle planes and to the realisation of his soul-consciousness.
From the beauty in the form we gradually realise the beauty without form. A young man sees a young woman; through the influence of Venus he sees the beauty and develops love. When they live together, they no longer care for the form, but for the beauty of understanding and belonging together, which is felt but not seen. The beauty of behaviour is more attractive than the beauty of the form.
Thus we begin to see besides the form the hidden things and to experience pure love. Venus gives us the ability to get focused on beauty; its magnetic currents result in the transformation of our base nature. This happens particularly in the presence of an initiate and also in the presence of a beautiful divine form or beautiful images which we can worship.
When Venus falls, there is a misbehaviour relating to sex because people have a wrong understanding of sex. Woman then is seen as the source of sin or as a play-thing and not seen in her spiritual dimension. The position of women in creation is very sublime. There is a curse on every society where woman is despised and abused.
Beauty and Colour
When we imagine beauty and connect inwardly with it, we obtain equilibrium in the etheric. This contains the secret of immortality. It bestows vital force and is called in Sanskrit “ojas”, meaning vital force and splendour.
Venus governs the colour sense in us, whereas the receptivity to light is coming through the Sun. On the subtle planes beauty shines in more radiant forms because the burden of the material form falls away. The manifestation of colour is on account of the interaction of light with matter. Only where light interacts with matter, colour appears. Colour manifests due to the resistance of matter to the flow of light. Without resistance of matter there is not colour. “Colour brings light down to objectivity. Venus thus steals light from heavens to Earth”, it says in Spiritual Astrology.
Contemplation upon brilliant colours strengthens and tightens the etheric web and thus shuts the door to the entry of the emotional feelings through the emotional body. When cleavages exist in the etheric web, the stimulants of the objective world activate the emotional body and permit entry to the entities from the emotional plane. Gradually the physical body turns sick. Disease, decay and death thus occur to the physical body when the etheric web is weak. By strengthening the etheric body Venus gives us the key for life beyond death. It gives us immortality and the entire esoteric wisdom. The rice grain is a symbol of the Venus principle; rice came to us from Venus. Therefore in all Vedic rituals the blessing is given through grains of rice. The thought is that those who have gone through the ritual might gain immortality.
Venus represents the three shades of colour of violet, blue and white. Esoterically, violet is white and white is violet. So also, blue is white and white is blue. Lord Krishna, the “blue boy”, is said to have descended upon our Earth via Venus. It is also said that Sanat Kumara, the Logos and ruler of our planet, has descended from there and made an abode on this planet for the benefit of the planetary beings. They link up to the higher self in us and give us the necessary inspiration to come out of our tombs of matter. The expectation that a Messiah will come and raise the dead from the tombs is more symbolic than a planetary fact.
The Elder Sister of the Earth
Venus is the higher aspect of our Earth. It directs its energies towards us to raise the Earth into sublime states. This is why it is called the elder sister of our Earth. Its link to the Earth is the North Pole. The vibration of Venusian matter is more subtle, so that it forms the first and second ether of our Earth. The beings that visit our Earth from Venus permeate in the ether of the Earth. It is for that reason it is said that Sanat Kumara is in the second ether of the Earth and cannot descend further. In fact, from time to time, there are intelligences visiting our planet from Venus to give the required inspiration for the planetary beings.
Master E.K. used to wake up people sometimes during the midnight hours and ask them to join him in meditation. The meditation used to be of 2 to 3 hours duration, in utter silence. When inquired, he told his workers: “Certain great beings are descending on to the planet via the moon rays. They are Venusian beings. They come to assist the Divine Plan and help in lifting up this humanity. The Hierarchy is receiving them with utmost veneration. I chose to wake you up for I do not want you to sleep during such sublime times”.
The symbol of Venus is a globe over the cross ♀, meaning that Venus has transcended matter. The angel of Venus is Padmini, the Mother holding lotus flowers in her hands – symbols of unfoldment. The mantram of Venus is “Srim Amalayai Namah”. Amala means purity, and this sound key helps to free ourselves from the limitations of the dense planes and to unfold divine beauty.
Sources: K.P. Kumar: Venus. The Path to Immortality / On Healing / notes from seminars / E. Krishnamacharya: Spiritual Astrology. The World Teacher Trust - Dhanishta, Visakhapatnam, India.