Venus: Object and Observer

Of course, I am writing this during a Venus retrograde, with Venus in her sign of exaltation — a perfect time to reflect on the Venusian archetype.

Venus represents the principle of connection.

According to sociologist George Herbert Mead, the human mind and the social self emerge as a result of interaction with others, coming through reflection and communication.

People's inner worlds and self-concepts are shaped by the other people and cultural forces around us. We must respond in some manner to those projections and expectations, and those responses in turn create reactions… an endless feedback loop, a hall of mirrors.

In the inner experience, people may observe themselves as others would. The concept of the "looking-glass self" was developed by Charles Horton Cooley. A common adage encapsulating this is “I am who I think you think I am.”

The Mirror of Venus, Walter Crane, ca. 1890

The gesture of the adoring attendant displays possessing or protecting her. Perhaps it is because he unconsciously sees her as an extension of himself. Her attention is on the mirror - seeing herself through his perspective, enjoying the beauty he sees in her — in essence, they're both engaging with themselves through one another as much as they're engaging with each other through the Self.

We are, in the Venusian nature, the beholders of beauty and the beauty itself.

The theatre masks in the above piece may imply a parallel between being observed and playing a role, or suggest that in endless mutual reflections, people each wear many faces.

Those with the loudest inner critics tend to have experienced great criticism from others in their past. It's a symptom of viewing the self too often from the wrong mirrors.

Discernment about company kept and perspectives internalized is crucial. Engaging closely with those whose reflections are distorted, we may internalize that warped image, and it could become our reality…

A perfect image can create impossible standards and be as destructive as a reductive, diminished image. (In other words, beware the sycophants as well as the haters!)

While it's impossible to control others’ perceptions, we can control which ones we give attention to. It us up to each person to surround ourselves with those whose reflections both celebrate our beauty and help us grow. In turn, we can choose to reflect back to others the best we see in them, and create a positive feedback loop.

In the words of the late Jerry Springer, “take care of yourselves, and each other!”