Sexuality in the Birth Chart: Venus, Mars and Pluto
September 22, 2009 by Lynn Hayes
As with most things in life, sexuality is a complex creature with multiple layers of experience, and that complexity is mirrored in the variety of sexual expressions that we see in the astrological chart. The sexual experience encompasses a wide variety of motivations and feelings, and the astrological signatures for these feelings help us to understand more about how we approach sexuality in our own life.
Typically, astrologers look to Mars for the expression of the sexual drive. Mars rules our drive and desire, and therefore it rules sexual desire along with our desire for ice cream or a new car. Any desire is fueled by the energy of Mars to activate something in the individual, and sexuality is no exception.
Mars also describes the way we pursue what we want; it shows what kind of sexuality we prefer and how we go about attracting a partner. The placement and aspects of Mars describe the sexual techniques and feelings that are most comfortable to us. For example, an airy Mars is more likely to be stimulated by the energy of sex, or to be drawn to sexual fantasies and ideas. An earthy Mars will require lots of physical contact. Watery Mars prefers powerful emotional content to the sexual experience, and fiery Mars is all about desire and the scratching of an itch. The aspects that other planets make to Mars help to color the sexual experience as well. Saturn conjunct Mars may inhibit our sexuality; Jupiter square Mars could signify a large number of sexual conquests.
Mars is the ancient ruler of Scorpio, and Scorpio is well-known for its sexy qualities. To the ancients, Scorpio embodied the drive of Mars – the fire that burns deep within the soul to achieve release and ecstasy. Scorpio’s modern ruler Pluto opens the door to a new understanding of sexuality that was well known to the ancient Tantric sages of Eastern mysticism — that sexuality is interwoven with power and magic, and holds within it the seeds of spiritual transformation. So with Pluto and Scorpio, as well as the Eighth House, we have another level of sexuality: the intimacy of soul connection and the power of passion.
The Fifth House is often associated with love affairs, but these affairs and romantic experiences have more to do with the expression of the self and the Ego than a true experience of sexuality. Fifth House affairs are purely for fun and for feeling good about ourselves rather than for the deep emotional bonding that would take place in the Eighth House.
And finally, Venus, that delicious goddess of love, is typically less concerned with sex than with the connection of the lives that two people share. Venus (Aphrodite) used the power of her sexuality to attract but appeared to have had little interest in the sexual act itself. In fact, she rejected all of her suitors and it wasn’t until she fell into a relationship with Mars (Ares), the god of war and desire, that she appears to have lost some of the control for which she was famous.
When we are looking for sexual compatibility, it is Mars and Pluto that will reveal the secrets!
About the Author
Lynn Hayes has been a practicing astrologer for 25 years, with a clientele all over the world. She can be found on the web at www.astrodynamics.net.
Related posts:
Image:Venus and Mars by Sandro Botticelli
Subscribe to Sasstrology for the latest articles by email or RSS.
Become a fan of Sasstrology at Facebook.
Follow Sasstrology at Twitter.
Follow Sasstrology on Google buzz.
I’m a Libra sun, Scorpio rising with Aries moon,…When Autumn starts each year I get restless…..and other things happen to me, I begin to feel attracted to a lot of guys…. Does a persons sign effect your seasonal lust?
I also get just as crazy in the Spring…..
How about Mars in Aries in the 8th house? Look out.
Hi Mar,
LOL thats a lot of fire……..
So, what about a Mars-Venus-Pluto conjunction, then? Combining the cookbook interpretations hasn’t worked too well for me.
Cookbook interpretations are good as a starting point but they can never complete the picture. Mars/Venus/Pluto in Scorpio is going to behave very differently than in Leo. The Mars/Venus combination is nearly always going to have a strong sexual component, but when you add Pluto you can get compulsive sexuality, you can get sometimes abusive situations, you can get repression. But you always have to look at the whole chart to get the whole picture.
I have Mars in Aqua square sun in Scorpio.. sextile Uranus in Sag. How does this play out? I also have Venus conjunct Pluto in Scorpio. I can definitely be quite withdrawn physically. I get frustrated that there is certain limitations in regards to the sexual act as well.
Thanks, Lynn! Since this conjunction hits everything in my chart, I’ve been trying to figure out how it ticks for a while now. I think you just gave me a new heading.
I’m wondering how these planets relate to the choice of waiting; For me, I feel that my Virgo Venus and Mars are preventing me from having sex when I’m not ready physically and emotionally (which I believe is a good thing), and Mars in the 8th house as well as my Scorpio Pluto are urging me to seek a partner who can fulfill my wish to reach a new level of emotional feeling (and giving me a reason to be so picky)!
My 5th house is devoid of planets though… What would occur when the 5th, 8th or both houses are empty?
I have Mars Sag in 11th , Pluto Leo in 7th, Venues Aires in 2nd in Grand Fire Trine.
Jupiter is in 5th. But I’m always putting my energy into the Big Mission and and missing out on sex and love. What’s up with that? Maybe I need to stop going out on dangerous missions.
I have Pluto in scorpio, Mars in pisces and Venus in cancer.
Venus (Pisces), Mars (Gemini), Pluto (Scorpio)… I’m a big bowl of hot steam if you ask me hehe
Venus in Cancer, Mars in Capricorn, Pluto in Scorpio. Physically and emotionally powerful combination indeed. Throw in Sun in Gemini and Moon in Sag for a dynamic bomb of speed and fire.I had to do my fair share of sexual healing this lifetime though in order to enjoy truly fulfilling and intense sex.