Venus is in exile in Aries.

When the goddess of love, beauty and the arts is in exile, we could expect manifestations that are not very feminine.

Will she be the one wearing the trousers? A butch woman, a dominatrix, as a child a tomboy? These interpretations may be relevant in some cases, but…

How about Marilyn Monroe?

Her Venus in Aries is conjunct with her Venus-ruled Taurus MC, for everyone to see.

Of course, there is much more to read in Marilyn’s chart.

Still, if Venus in Aries means something, we need to understand ‘exile’ differently. Her femininity, beauty and love life were not exactly a desert island story.

When I organise classes, sometimes I show charts of famous people to participants and we play at ‘What kind of person could this be?’

With Marilyn’s chart and just a little bit of guidance, it’s possible to guess quickly that it’s her.

Guidance goes as: ‘It’s the chart of a famous woman of the twentieth century. To enter a chart, I alway start looking at the angles. Planets around them are big players. Forget about the rest, forget about the zodiac signs for now, don’t get distracted by the big amount of information, focus on the angles…’

We get Neptune, Venus and the Moon. With these three energies emphasised and amplified we can expect a very feminine, we could even say archetypically feminine woman. With Neptune on the Ascendant, she looks like a dream…

‘Is it Marilyn? - Yes!’

There is no grammar or syntax that could help us understand what planets in signs mean exactly.

Venus in Aries becomes a little bit like Mars, but what does ‘becoming like Mars’ mean?

We need to guess, let our mind wander, let ourselves be influenced by the context, by the present moment… It’s like fishing, it’s divination.

Then we’ll check what we get and sort out what to keep and what to give back to the waters….

Aries gets things started.

Venus in Aries gets herself started. She could claim, boldly:

‘let’s be Venus now!’ and dare.

It takes courage and energy. To cut the story short, Norma Jean Mortenson, a lonely, neglected child, stepped forward and here she was, Marilyn Monroe!

"First, I am trying to prove to myself that I am a person. Then maybe I’ll convince myself that I am an actress"

She was not naturally bold and daring. Her extremely difficult childhood had left her terribly insecure. Another Venus may have wrapped herself in shapeless clothing and disappeared into the wallpaper.

Aries doesn’t back down.

Susan Strasberg was Marilyn’s friend. One day they were walking in New York’s street, unnoticed. Marilyn wore sunglasses, a scarf, a coat, she was at the height of her fame but she was able to blend in. She asked Susan: ‘Do you want to see ‘her’?’ Marilyn made a subtle change, as if switching on a bulb inside. Passersby started to recognise her, there was a commotion and they had to flee in a taxi.

There is Gemini in this double-personality style indeed.

The Aries in this anecdote is in the ability to switch on the energy at will, on a whim, and appear suddenly as Marilyn in the midst of a crowd. Then deal with whatever happens!

Another famous quote from Marilyn is:

‘I don’t mind living in a men’s world as long as I can be a woman in it’

The story of the Nude scandal and how she handled it is also quite Arian.

In 1949 she was still unknown and struggling financially. She accepted to pose naked for fifty dollars. She would feature on this kind of calendar that mechanics hang on the garage’s wall.

In 1952 she had become famous eventually and the pictures leaked into the press. At the time, morality standards weren’t those of onlyfans. Her career was seriously threatened. Her managers advised her to deny. Instead, she admitted that it was her. She told journalists she needed the money…

She won over public opinion and changed perception of sex and nudity.

Aries is a spearhead!

We can also connect her unconventional attitude to her Aquarius Moon and Jupiter. The somewhat innocent and risk taking attitude is Aries’ signature.

This is what it is!

Now, if Venus in Aries can manifest as a powerful assertion of femininity, charm, sensuality and beauty, how could this placement be Venus’ exile?

The thing is… A powerful assertion - or a difficult fight for assertion - is not an efficient ‘me and you together’ catalyst.

Being a sex symbol may not be the quickest way to find harmony. Venus in Aries may be a little bit too strong. The girl becomes a trophy, not a partner. Many men want to go to heaven in bed with her but do they want to know who she is? They would rather abuse her for pleasure whilst she tries to find her Daddy.

Venus in Aries, I am not talking about Marilyn by now, let’s have a look at archetypal images, loves sex, power and rock and roll. She is bold, or pretends to be. She makes the first step and drags the shy one she fancies onto the floor. He can’t dance but she can lead… Let’s go boy!

Maybe she is a feminist. She fights for equality and justice. Venus in Aries is fighting because she wants Libra. Fighting and loving at the same time is not impossible but it’s a special challenge…

Strong independent women may scare men.

Who would approach a sexy female warrior in armour? In what way?

Love would be easier if the overall atmosphere was softer than that.

Venus in Aries is never alone in a chart. Coming back to Marilyn’s, Venus and Neptune are both dominant energies and connected by a trine.

Venus-Neptune together feel like a Pisces Venus. Moreover, her Venus is ruled by a Pisces Mars. Mars is in Venus’ sign of exaltation, in the eighth house…

I talked about mermaids in a post about Venus in Pisces. This doesn’t cancel the Aries vibe of course, placements are like striped shirts, you can have many colours together. Some mermaids are more assertive than others.

In Marilyn’s chart the Sun is in Gemini, the Ascendant in Leo and the Moon is with Jupiter in Aquarius. These three signs, like Aries, belong to the Masculine-Yang polarity. Air and Fire together stoke the flames!

I still feel the need to repeat again and again the importance of looking at the whole picture!

And again, I feel the need to repeat that every placement is a diamond with many facets, and a diamond is a girl’s best friend.

I have not said the last word about Venus in Aries. Symbols don’t allow last words about them. I hope the diamond shines anyway.