Ingress occurs when a point moves out of one sign and into another sign. This transition results in a change in tone and meaning for the point, which is an energy shift designed to promote and continue growth on a regular and ongoing basis. Each point moves at a different speed, so the ingress for Mercury, which is faster than Mars, happens more frequently (mostly every 3 to 4 weeks) while the ingress for Pluto happens much more slowly (after a decade has passed).
This article will look at the ingress of Venus as it leaves Sagittarius and enters Capricorn. The change in tone involves leaving the mutable fire sign to enter the cardinal earth sign of the Zodiac. Energetically, it will be like leaving monkhood/nunnery to start your business as a merchant.
Changing the Tone, Changing the Meaning
On November 25th Venus will leave Sagittarius and enter Capricorn at 7:28 pm eastern standard time. In Sagittarius, the “tone” was tied to how we think “philosophically” and psychologically about love and relationships. Venus, an air/earth sign (Libra and Taurus rulership), works well in all signs because it will either share the same element or complimentary the element. In Capricorn, it will be more ambitious, goal-oriented, and pragmatic about relating.
Venus in Capricorn
In Capricorn, Venus finds itself in the goal-oriented and achievement-driven energy of relating. Perhaps the best examples of Venus in Capricorn are the power couple or a successful tag team. The relating energy taps into what we can achieve with highly successful partners, whether we are talking about romance or business partnerships. Venus in Capricorn wants to get to the top of the mountain with the help of another person. This drive can involve two capable people working together or one person in the lead and the other as support. Venus in Capricorn seeks the synergy for success.
As Venus moves through Capricorn our choices in a relationship will tend to want to know what value a person offers to and wants from us; “what can you do for me and what can I do for you, so we are both more successful?” The energy of Venus in Capricorn stays active in the space between our throat and third-eye chakras, just as it did while it was in Sagittarius.
The ingress moment of entry in a Whole Sign astrology chart is always the 1st Sabian Symbol of the sign. In this case, our point of relating will enter Capricorn 1, which is “an Indian chief demanding recognition”. In the Sabian Symbols book, by Mark Edmund Jones, he writes, “This is a symbol of the extreme fidelity of the normal individual to the everyday or accepted values of life, and of his uncompromising inner integrity when it comes to meeting any situation of the moment. The keyword is INFLEXIBILITY.”
“When positive, the degree is an ever-effective authority following from a single eye of vision and a consistent dignity of character, and when negative, idle pompousness and a senseless raising of minor issues” (241). This energy is stirring up our sense of conditional love. We want our relationships to do something to forward our progress and success in the world.
At the Personal Level
Understanding the movement of points at the most personal level does require knowledge of your natal astrology chart. With your chart in hand and a solid, basic understanding of astrology, such as knowing the symbols for the signs of the Zodiac and the astronomical and calculated points that make up the layout of the solar system when you were born, you can learn your own flow with points as they leave one sign and enter another.
Based on the date, time, and location of my birth, my chart wheel begins with Scorpio and ends with Libra. The wheel is made up of 12 segments (pie pieces) called Houses. Capricorn rules my 3rd House of Communication and Sagittarius rules my 2nd House of Security and Resources. On November 25th transiting Venus will enter my 3rd House of Communication, so I can expect the time between November 25th and December 20th to be a period of connecting with the relationships that can help me achieve my ambitions and get my messages out to the wider world.
Interestingly, I have no points in Capricorn, so this transit will not directly cross over any points in that sign for me. However, I have 6 points in Aries, which will all get square (challenging growth) energy when Venus hits the degrees between 0 and 25 (Chiron at 0 degrees of Aries and the Sun at 23 degrees of Aries). This will be an intense period of work and striving to get to a higher level in my career.
When points move through our houses, they bring their unique energy to bear on that area of our lives, both as an emphasis in our own inner development and with external triggers. This particular transit of Venus will be less personal for me, in general, in the area of my chart that it passes through, but it will act as a trigger for my 6th and 10th Houses where I do have points.
For you, it might be doing its work in the area of your career (10th House), or family (4th House), or community (11th House). Wherever it is entering that sign in your chart, you can expect some more demanding thoughts about your relationships and how they improve or limit your life.
What Have You Done for Me Lately?
In their book Astrology, the Divine Science, Marcia Moore, and Mark Douglas give Venus in Capricorn the following keynote: “affections are serious but restrained” and the symbol is: “a beautiful woman buttons herself into an old-fashioned dress”. During this time everyone will be concerned with the status of their relationship (157).
Expect yourself to be more interested in how your relationships look and work in the world. How do they “measure up”? Capricorn is ruled by Saturn, so Venus here looks to Saturn for guidance about proper behavior and how to follow the rules to achieve the most stability and gain through relationships. Doing the hard work of relationship, especially in long-lasting ones, can reap significant rewards while Venus is in Capricorn.
