The Birth of Venus & the Venus Star — Part I
- Daniela Mazoni
- Jun 28
- 6 min read
If you, as myself, adore art history — you are invited to travel in time with me to Firenze, Italia — around the 15th and 16th centuries. The Renaissance was about to enlighten Europe in many ways, from politics to culture and religion. Classical Greek and Roman culture were back in vogue.
The ancient mythological story of our beloved Goddess Venus floating to the shore of Cyprus on a scallop shell went on to immortality through Sandro Botticelli's painting — "The Birth of Venus". This artwork may be the quintessence of the Florentine Renaissance. The expressive qualities of the mythological figures, the emotions they evoke, and the rhythm of the lines transcend the idealised scene into our psyche. It is truly a masterpiece, and I hope you have the opportunity to see it with your own eyes as well.
According to my research, by the time Botticelli painted this epic work on canvas, the planet Venus was making her conjunctions with the Sun in the same five areas of the heavens that she is currently making. Therefore, the Renaissance era had the same Venus Star that we have today — it had the same five signs/archetypes active — Leo, Gemini, Aries, Capricorn, and Scorpio. So, I thought it would be interesting to explore how the Venus Star could have influenced the collective cultural shift of that time and, dare I say — how it could influence our present time, too.
The Venus Star
As I wrote in previous articles, Venus has a sophisticated and well-choreographed cycle. She aligns with Sun and Earth in the same areas of the heavens, from our perspective on Earth, shaping a five-pointed star — that my beloved mentor and talented astrologer Arielle Guttman coined as the Venus Star Point®. Over 8 years, Venus completes five cycles with the Sun that we can observe in our zodiacal wheel. Each one of us has a personal Venus Star — a Venusian signature — and here we are not talking about one's personal natal Venus in the birth chart. They might share the same sign, but the Venus Star is a different signature, and it transpires differently in one's life. In the image below, you can observe the five signs active both during the Renaissance and presently.
Right, but how does the Venus Star transpire in our society? — you shall ask.
At its core, as a personal planet, Venus represents our individual values, which in turn reflect our collective values — either through influence, community bonding, social conditioning, and so on. Venus' magnetism shapes the culture we value as a group and as a society. After all, we are talking about Venus. Unison is her domain. In the book "Venus & Aphrodite" the archaeologist Bettany Hughes wrote: "But the brilliant thing about Aphrodite is that she is not just a creature of imagination. Follow her material trail down time, and she acts as a barometer for the way the world has viewed desire and lust and the pleasures, purpose and preoccupations of flesh-and-blood women and men (...)". Isn't that interesting?
The artistic Renaissance. Art as a form of power.
The Renaissance evoked a whole new attitude towards the way people perceived life, creating a movement that came to be known as Humanism, which focused on our human goodness rather than our so-called sinfulness. It was not about being anti-Christian but a revival of moral philosophy and the value of one's own gifts and capacities. And that shift of perspective made people comprehend that the best way to honour God was to recognise their innate talents — and put them into use.
Painters, artists, and poets rediscovered ancient philosophical texts and artworks, infusing their work with them. Scientists were exploring the human body and nature in greater depth. In politics, the Renaissance gave rise to principles of democracy. In economics, merchants were creating banks and lending money — which brought wealth to the newly established Italian city-states. Firenze was a prosperous city, and its patronage of arts under de'Medici family unleashed a cultural explosion. By the early 16th century, the Renaissance in art was in full bloom.
Botticelli's heightened awareness of Beauty and detail allured Firenze's court. He found inspiration in the forms of classical Greco-Roman statues that he could study as a member of the Medici circle. His patron was Lorenzo de'Medici — well known as Lorenzo the Magnificent. The wealthy Medici family governed Firenze's artistic and political spheres not through an official government but through social influence, pulling strings, financing audacious architectural projects, and commissioning and supporting art. I believe that for the Medici, art was a means to achieve power and become kings. Art was a way to govern. Lorenzo il Magnifico was a skilful politician as well as a poet. No wonder the dynamic of pleasure and money is so latent in their family legacy.
The Leo, Gemini, Aries, Capricorn, and Scorpio Venus Star flow of energy could be correlated with the fact that powerful families/siblings were creating empires, and they would go to extremes to get it. For instance, for two generations, the Medici 'head of the family' had to endure the loss of a sibling in the name of preserving the family legacy — The Medici Bank. They created financial systems that exist to this day. Their legacy, by being patrons of arts and architecture, is outstanding, as well as their branding, I shall say — as you can find their family coat of arms all around the city.
And so Botticelli had the opportunity to use his talents to create a series of paintings that, for the first time in centuries, were non-religious. He had a storytelling sophistication in the way he depicted mythological scenes. In Part II of this article, we will delve deeper into the details of "The Birth of Venus" and its mythology. However, I would like to highlight the context in which this painting, in particular, was revealed to society. This huge and gorgeous canvas of Venus naked was presented around the year 1485 — Venus took centre stage, whereas people were used to looking at the Holy Virgin Mary instead. Imagine that. It was revolutionary. It was the birth of a new way to observe the harmony of the human body. Nudity with no shame but grace. Venus symbolised the bright outlook of that time. The celebration of human form. Botticelli saw art as a way to connect with the Divine — Beauty as a representation of God. And talking about Beauty — with capital letter — the active Venus Star archetypes can easily be found throughout Botticelli's greatest paintings of that time — let me show you what I mean.
Scorpio, the life after death / Gemini, Hermes on the left side of the scene keeping the clouds away
Aries, the passion and the madness of love
Leo, Venus at the centre stage, with touches of gold in her hair; in this picture you can sense the scale of it
Shall we summarise the five archetypes of the Venus Star?
LEO
Venus at centre stage
bright outlook
the arts to the world
GEMINI
trade, cross-cultural interaction
dialogues between cultures
ARIES
Humanism, the individuation
the birth of a new perspective
the cultural explosion
CAPRICORN
renewed interest in classical cultures
consolidation of city-states with a hierarchy of social class systems
family legacies
capitalism
SCORPIO
a rebirth was needed (Renaissance is the French word for rebirth)
allegory of riches and power
pleasure and money dynamics
But what is the relevance of acknowledging the Venus Star cycle?
Every stellar movement reflects in our collective world. As Arielle Guttman says: "The Venus Star functions as a celestial heartbeat for Earth and the human race." By recognising the energetics that Venus weaves into our lives to align us with our core values and, thus, to our true essence — we shall be better capable of mastering our gifts and sharing them with the world. Something rather paramount in this life, too, is being okay with our vulnerabilities. To know our human Heart. So that we shall live a fulfilled life. Our current Venus Star is on the cusp of two signs — Venus conjunctions with the Sun in Scorpio will shift to Libra in 2030 (we had the first one in 2022), and with it, we will have another air element, but this time ruled by Venus. And the fiery Aries will shift to Pisces by 2041 — bringing its elemental waters and boundless Love to us. We have some years to come to experience this complete energy shift, but it is already underway. And with it, there is hope that unconditional Love, empathy, harmony, and community will bring forth a rebirth of our moral values. A world where war is out of the question. A world blessed by the power of Love.
High on the spirit of the Renaissance, I can't help but wonder...
¿ What if the power of Love could be a form of government ?
The essence of the Renaissance is to celebrate human goodness. Human Beauty. To recognise that Beauty brings us closer to the Divine. To recognise that the Divine is within us all. To celebrate our innate gifts. And that is precisely what our own Venus Star signature guides us to.
Celebrate the essence of who you are. Honour your Heart.
Alla prossima, Daniela
