Venus is the brightest planet visible from Earth. It is our nearest planetary neighbour and appears either as a morning ‘star’ or an evening ‘star’, often for several months at a time. For a long while, people believed the morning star and the evening star were two separate objects, until astronomers realised they were, in fact, the very same planet.

The Goddess of Love
Across different civilisations, the bright, captivating object in the sky was regarded as particularly significant. It was associated with love, beauty, and feminine energy.

Because of its radiant beauty, the Romans associated it with their most striking goddess: Venus – the goddess of love, beauty, and desire. The Greeks named it after their equivalent, Aphrodite, and before them, the Babylonians linked it to Ishtar, the goddess of love and war.

Venus and Element of Metal
Taoism and Chinese astrology place their own qualities on the planets, and thus on Venus. Both traditions view the planetary world as the world of the soul, with the Sun as the middle point or core of the field of consciousness. They see the planets as expressions of the Five Elements, the purest symbols of the personality and emotional and social behaviours.

We all have the Five Elements within us, arranged slightly differently. They are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. Each element is associated with its own particular season, emotion, and organ system.

The Autumn Season
Venus is associated with Metal. Metal correlates with autumn and the lungs. In autumn, life withdraws and contracts, which Taoism considers male energy – as opposed to the spring energy, which gives birth to new life and is considered female. Therefore, Taoists see Venus as a male planet.

Autumn is the time when leaves fall and return to the earth, energy begins to contract inward, and the air becomes cool, dry, and clear. The element of Metal acts as the transition from outward growth (spring and summer, governed by Wood and Fire) to inward conservation (the essence of the winter season, governed by Water). Autumn often brings introspection or melancholy – this is seen as the natural movement of Metal energy.

The Sword of Discernment
Metal energy is about distilling what is essential and releasing what is no longer needed, much like trees shedding their leaves and returning their energy to their roots. Metal governs the principle of letting go and returning to what is essential in our lives.

To be able to let go of anything that no longer serves us, we need the energy of the element of Metal. See it as a sharp sword (metal!) with which to cut ties with, for example, an old way of thinking, unwholesome behaviour, a house, a job, or a relationship.

To be able to let go, you need both courage and discernment – these are exactly the ‘positive emotions’ that belong to the element of Metal.

Sometimes we may be in charge of the Sword of Discernment, and at other times life has different plans from those we thought or wanted, and cuts ties for us. For example, when a loved one dies, when we develop a disease, or when we lose our job. Whether we are in charge of the sword or life cuts through our certainties, we will most likely enter the ‘negative emotions’ associated with the element of Metal: sadness, grief, and mourning –or even depression.

When we need to let go of an old anchor in our life, we shed tears, for it can feel as though we die a little inside. After the necessary period of grief and mourning, we can rise again – just as spring follows autumn, with the inward-looking phase of winter in between, where we gather the inner wisdom that any process of letting go has to offer.

The Element of Metal gives us Courage
The element of Metal gives us courage. It is the courage to discern what is essential for us in life and to choose our integrity and what is in alignment with our soul – our gold within. The Chinese character that is often used for Metal essentially means gold, something of great value. And this is what happens in every phase of parting and mourning that we pass through successfully: the deep, intangible within remains alive and becomes even stronger and more present in our lives.

The art of life is to uncover the gold within and not to remain stuck in shame, guilt, fear, grief, or hatred.

When your Metal chi is sufficient and balanced, you are aware of your own identity and self-worth in connection with your surroundings. You are able to adapt and transform without losing your sense of self or integrity. You recognise your connection to a world rich in meaning and value – one that gives you a reason for being.

The Venus Essence Vibration
As mentioned before, Venus is associated with Metal. Its white light nourishes the element of Metal.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, our internal Metal chi governs the lungs and large intestine. These organs are concerned with taking in what is pure and essential (breath, chi), and letting go of waste (both physical and emotional).

The Essence Vibration of the planet Venus can be taken for many goals, especially to:

– Support you with any letting go process
– Support you in finding self-worth
– Reconnect you with your integrity
– Help you uncover your deepest gold

In other words, the Essence Vibration of the planet Venus is useful in any situation where you are in need of courage:

– The courage to overcome the loss of an anchor in your life
– The courage to delve deeply within your consciousness, to let go of the ego and surrender to the essence of who you are
– The courage to surrender to the great flow of life, where change is the only constant

With all my love,
Harriët