Venus in fire signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius)

Does Venus like fire? The answer is simple. No. Venus rules an earth sign (Taurus), an air sign (Libra) and is exalted in a water sign (Pisces). Earth is about the senses, while air and water, both being moist elements, are about connecting people, each one in its own manner. We could say that Venus, through the senses (Taurus), brings two opposites together in a relationship (Libra) which can result to the experience of love in the emotional sense (Pisces). Fire, I'm afraid, has nothing to do with all that.

Venus in Aries. This is the sign of Venus' arch-enemy, Mars. Mars represents the male view of life, to which Venus violently opposes. Mars competes, races and hates standing still. Mars sees life as a challenge and its moto is "it can be done". The Taurus self of Venus fails to see the point in all this, because there's always going to be another race, another challenge, another prize to win and this attitude prevents people from enjoying the pleasures life has to offer. For Venus, this is a waste of valuable time. Aries, however, finds the way of life Venus proposes as completely meaningless. Winning prizes is not simply fun, it is accomplishment. When you reach the end of your life, what will there be for you to show for? If the answer is nothing special, then your life was a failure. It's as simple as that.

Mars is very sexual and very passionate but doesn't understand relationships. As long as the passion lasts, everything is fine. When all of it is spent, there's no need for the relationship to continue. What on earth for? Venus is, therefore, very uncomfortable in Aries as this sign goes against everything it believes in. Women with this placement -particularly if the rest of the chart supports this testimony - very often display manly characteristics or their approach to relationships is what we would call masculine. They may show a dislike for other women when the latter ones become "too feminine" and constantly criticize them for not being honest and direct or for "playing tricks". They also accuse men of not being able to appreciate a "true woman" and cannot understand why they seem to show a preference for "silly and frivolous" women or "bimbos". They are often tomboys and dislike spending too much time in front of the mirror. The problem is - if other elements in the chart point to the opposite direction - that sometimes behind this agressiveness and apparent self-assuredness hides a feeling of inadequacy. The feeling of "I'm not woman enough", especially if other people marginalize them exactly because of this.

Venus in Leo. Leo receives a lot of bad press for being individualistic and egocentric. True, very true. When you are on the path of self-knowledge, however, there's no other way. Leo, ruled by the Sun, is the sign of self-knowledge and self-knowledge requires having yourself as your top priority. The problem with people with a heavy emphasis on the sign of Leo is that, unless they have some sort of talent to justify this self-centredness or simply be fun to hang around with, they can be extremely irritating. Relationships and other people in general are not appreciated by Leo, despite evidence to the contrary. There's often an insecurity in Leo whether or not they are on the right path. That's why they need other people, not because they actually appreciate their presence in their lives, but because if other people love them and admire them, then, yes, they are on the right path, they are doing something right.

Venus, however, is not about the self. When the self is all you care about, even when it is for all the right reasons, there's little room for anyone else. So, this is also a malfunctioning Venus. Remember, the Sun is in fall in Libra, Venus' sign. Venus in Leo can be very flirting, very likeable or even loveable, because it craves admiration from other people and does everything in its power to make the other person say: "I love you, you are the best". But that's all that it really wants.  It knows that if it gets involved in a relationship, it will have to make compromises that it is not prepared to make. The other person, however, feels betrayed because, quite naturally, mistook all this flirting for real love. This can be a very seductive Venus, but for all the wrong reasons.

Venus in Sagittarius. Out of the three fire signs, this is perhaps the best fiery Venus. Sagittarius is a sign ruled by Jupiter, which, together with Venus, are the two benefics.  They also share a common love for the sign of Pisces. Sagittarius, however, is a hot and dry sign, like all the fire signs and Venus cannot help but feel uncomfortable in it. Venus in Sagittarius views love as a learning experience. This may be true for most people as love affairs provide us with valuable lessons, but that is not the main reason we get involved with other people. Venus in Sagittarius doesn't really believe in "I want to love and be loved", but rather "Can you help me experience love?" It's like that famous Foreigner song "I wanna know what love is, I want you to show me". It's not the same as needing love. Venus in Sagittarius doesn't need love, it finds it interesting, there's a vast difference. Other people, however, object to this, because they feel they've been used.
Yes, it's passionate and exciting, after all it's a fiery Venus, and that can attract other people, but there's a restlessness in this Venus. Because love is an experience, these people want to experience everything that life as a couple can provide. It is not enough sitting on a couch and holding hands while watching TV. This is boring. The presence of a loved one is never enough. This Venus is always trying to find something new to do, but doesn't understand that this can push people away, not because they are against what this Venus proposes, but because pretty soon they begin to realize that Venus in Sagittarius rarely wants anything else.

Problems in horary - Different approaches

It is not only modern astrologers that have many differences of opinion, but traditional astrologers also have their own share. In horary astrology in particular, I have noted the following differences among the various authors:

1. Turning the chart. It seems it all depends how one views the chart. Frawley seems to treat it as the chart of the Querent and therefore turns the chart rather a lot, except in very few cases. Barbara Dunn regards the chart as belonging to the Question and avoids turning the chart as much as possible. According to her, the radical 5^th house for example, always has to do with pregnancy even if it is a third party question and also the 7^th house always has to do with relationships and should be checked, no matter which turned houses are involved.
2. Rulers of houses. Here we have three choices: The ruler of the sign on the cusp, the almuten of the degree on the cusp or a planet inside the house. Frawley is adamant and always uses the sign ruler. Lehman always checks the almuten and makes a choice between the two and Dunn favours strongly the planet inside the house, especially when the sign ruler doesn’t aspect the house in question. She also uses an intercepted sign ruler as co-significator of the house.
3. Sun and Venus in relationship questions. Frawley uses them as co-significators of the parties involved, but he seems to be the only one. Lehman doesn’t do it and Dunn, in case one of the significators is in strong Sun or Venus dignities, regards this as testimony that one of them is interested or involved with another person.
4. 10^th house and 6^th house for work. Dunn and Frawley always use the 10^th house, while Lehman is uncomfortable using the 10^th house for all professional matters, because the 10^th house is associated with Honours, Preferrment etc. and in some cases she uses the 6^th house. I think Lehman has a point. Yes, the 6^th house is the house of slavery, but what is the equivalent of slavery nowadays? A job that you hate, never wanted to do nor studied for, but have to do it for money, isn’t it quite close to slavery?
5. The “any other person” notion. Frawley uses the 7^th house for people you have no connection with, but Houlding in her houses book mentions that if the person asked about has no relation with the Querent nor is the Querent affected by them, this person should be given the 1^st house, except in cases when the Querent has a sort of emotional involvement in the Question. For example, in the Question “will the escaped murderer be caught?” the Querent feels threatened by another person (general enemy) and they should be given the 7^th house. If not, the 1^st house.
6. Outer planets. Frawley and Dunn hardly ever use them (Frawley uses them rarely and under certain circumstances), but Lehman, although of course she doesn’t use them for significators, checks the aspects they make with the primary significators.
7. The role of the Moon. Frawley and Dunn use it as co-significator of the Querent, but Dunn thinks the Moon is always important, even in third party questions. Lehman sees the Moon more as symbolizing the sequence of events.
8. Considerations before judgement. Frawley doesn’t even mention them, while Lehman and especially Dunn do and find that certain ones can be of value.