Shukra - Zukra
Zaukra - Amaraari - Asphujit - Surazatru - Asuraguru - Bha - Bharga - Daityaguru - Bhriguja - Bhriguputra - Bhaargavapriya - Bhrigunandana - Ekanayana - Ekekshana - Dhishnya - Ditisuta - Kavi - Sita - Maghabhava - Sodhazaamzu - Sodhazarcis - Sveta
Pasang (Tib.)
Venus
The morning star & the evening star = morgensteorra - æfensteorra (Old English)
"Guru of the Demons" - Attraction / Distraction
Marriage, spouse
Affection, attraction
Vehicles, airplanes
Sugar, sweet tastes, sensual pleasures
Shukra: interpreting some important Yogas
Patriotism
Music, Art, beauty, women
Sensual love; need-based love
VENUS:
O.E., from L. Venus (pl. veneres), in ancient Roman mythology, the goddess of beauty and love, especially sensual love,
from venus "love, sexual desire, loveliness, beauty, charm,"
from PIE base *wen- "to strive after, wish, desire, be satisfied"
cf. Skt. vanas- "desire," vanati "desires, loves, wins;"
cf. Avestan vanaiti "he wishes, is victorious"
cf. O.E. wynn "joy," wunian "to dwell," wenian "to accustom, train wean," wyscan (ween) "to wish"
Applied by the Romans to Gk. Aphrodite, Egyptian Hathor, etc.
Meaning "second planet from the sun" is attested from c.1290 (O.E. had morgensteorra and æfensteorra).
amarAri
- an enemy of the gods; an Asura
- Name of Shukra , the planet Venus
Asuraguru
- teacher of the Asuras
bha
- semblance , delusion , error
- appearance , resemblance , likeness
- a star , planet , asterism , lunar asterism or mansion (and so also the number 27 nakshatra)
- light or a beam of light , luster , splendor
bhRgu
- name of a mythical race of beings (closely connected with fire); they are also said to fabricate chariots
- Shukra or the planet Venus (called either Bhrigu or the son of Bhrigu [bhriguputra] ; his day is Friday)
- of Krishna or of Rudra
- a declivity , slope , precipice
bhArgava
- relating to or coming from Bhrigu
- descendants of Bhrigu
bhArgavapriya
- a diamond
ekekSaNa
- "one-eyed"; name of Shukra or Venus (the teacher of the Asuras)
maghAbhava
offspring of Magha
the planet Venus
Amusements, arts, beauty, pleasures, dance, attachments to things, attraction to the opposite sex, capacity to enjoy life, care for ones body, charm, feminine graces, clothes, comforts, enjoyments, conveyances, cultured, delightful, sociable, fortune, fame, generative system, happiness, harmony, health illusion, infatuation, passions, immortality, secret of intoxicating drinks, kidneys, love, lust, affairs, romance, making others happier, marriage, musicians, refined, polished, sex in all aspects, sexual & love happiness, wealth, prosperity, gems, wife, women, pink or rainbow, worldliness, not renunciation. (this list adapted from Das)
"Venus secures sexual delight & the society of fine women; the pleasures of pictorial art, fine apparel, wealth, cattle, vehicles, gems & precious stones, musical concerts, dancing parties, lordly magnificence, good fame, great liberality & association with the virtuous."
~~ Jataka Parijata, Ch. 17, Sloka 43
"All women in this world are forms of the goddess. "
~~ Devi Mahatmyam 11.6
"All the gods reside where women are worshipped. "
~~ Manu Smriti 3.56
Venus rules diamonds, ornaments, marriage, scents, friends, wreaths, females, cow dung, diagnosis. (Apart from meaning diagnosis also indicates end, purity, rope to tying up a calf etc.) Education, sexual enjoyment, & gold.
~~ Saravali, Ch. 7-13
Why pleasure-seeking sukha-graha Shukra = the source of certain ironic miseries:
Continuing to fill a pail after it is full, the water will be wasted. Continuing to grind an axe after it is sharp, will wear it away.
Excess of light blinds the eye. Excess of sound deafens the ear. Excess of condiments deadens the taste.
He who possesses moderation is lasting and enduring. Too much is always a curse, most of all in wealth.
~~ Lao-Tse
"Too much is already enough --- except in Texas." ~~ American saying
"To live consciously, you must have the courage to go inside yourself to find out who you really are, to understand that behind all of the masks of individual differences, you are a being of beauty, of love, of awareness.
Christ said, “The kingdom of heaven is within.” Buddha said, “each person is the Buddha.” Until you can allow your own beauty, your own dignity, your own being, you cannot free another.
Have compassion for yourself. Allow yourself to be beautiful and all the rest will follow."
Venus isn't really the Love planet, in the spiritual sense of Love.
All benefic graha provide positive loving support to human life, but Shukra's "love" is not divine - it's inter-human:
Venus rules attraction to pleasures & distraction by pleasures. Shukra provides human sensual experience that claims our profound devotion and attention. Shukra rules human-to-human contracts.
Moon rules pure & unconditional mother-love, shelter and protection. Chandra has profound needs and expectations, but the parent-child relationship is not equal-to-equal. Soma has no contracts.
Surya rules truth, which is the purest form of the supreme love of the divine. It is not possible to negotiate with the truth.
Guru is all-embracing, all-encompassing, and utterly non-discriminating; Guru has no contracts. The dharma includes all. Guru accepts all.
Venus= the karaka for marriage, sexual relationships, promises & agreements, exchanges of equal value, and understandings toward mutual benefit.
Marriage = the "ultimate contract". Marriage = attraction between two parties who expect each other to provide interactive interpersonal benefit. Marriage alliance is also a social contract. Affection in marriage is contractual, depending on multiple levels of agreement (private services provided in exchange for protection, fulfillment of public expectation, etc.)
The "love" of Shukra is not unconditional like mother-child love, nor transcendent like devotee-deity (sometimes, guru-sisya) love. Shukra's marital love is the result of attraction to sensual pleasures. As a result, Shukra is not really the "love" planet at all, but a rather misleading & even fraudulent substitute for pure love.
Sensual experience isn't really love. That is why Shukra is called "Guru of the Demons".
Venus is charming, has a splendorous physique, is excellent or great in disposition, has charming eyes, is a poet, is phlegmatic and windy, and has curly hair.
-- BPHS Ch. 3 [Planetary Characters and Description], Shloka 28
Shukra = the natural lord of yuvati bhava
Shukra = the kalatra-karaka = the main karaka for marriage
Venus is the planet responsible for much of our sexual & contractual interaction in this life. (Of course, Rahu plays His own part!)
Venus = women in general, with their unique culture of beauty and fashion. Shukra = art and music - the exalted feminine values of high civilization.
Venus always works in tandem with His worthy adversary, the planet Mars. In sexual communication, Venus represents the feminine, attractive, incoming energy. Mars shows the masculine, pursuing, outgoing energy.
Do not confuse the the Shukra-Mangala energies with anatomical male and female bodies! Within any person and within any relationship, there is a mix and balance of male and female energy. Women can pursue, and men can attract. Women can dominate, and men can accommodate. But in general, within a sexual partnership, Venus will tell us what love energy each partner is magnetically pulling in, whereas Mars describes what love energy one is athletically putting out.
Shukra = a benefic (Shubha) = positive planet
Shukra creates life experience of physical pleasure, luxury, and sensual indulgence.
Yet, spiritually, Venus has a bad reputation as "guru of the demons." The only spiritually useful fruits of Venusian desire are the tantric realizations...
What we call love, especially in its more base expressions, can be very distracting and even harmful to the spiritual life. Unless consciously managed -- ideally through proven tantric practice under supervision of a reputable guide -- sensual desires can totally enslave the person's consciousness.
An endless quest for greater and greater five-senses pleasure can form an infinite loop, that becomes a trap for consciousness. The sad reality for many is that Shukra's desires do not bring satisfaction or long-term happiness - but rather devastation, disappointment, fear of loss of pleasure, and chemical addictions.
The higher Love of cosmic-connectedness bliss or ananda is represented by Guru (Jupiter). Guru is not concerned with the physical & emotional senses, but rather with the social and spiritual senses.
However it is important to remember that Guru is absolutely inclusive. Guru does not judge, criticize, or punish any desire. Guru does not find anything "wrong" with the natural desires of Shukra!
Brihaspati simply waits, like a doting parent; His wisdom always available; until the student is ready for more satisfying fare...
The two benefic planets Venus & Jupiter give two different kinds of pleasure.
If Venus is stronger there is more pleasure through sensation and the arts, but also the danger of becoming so addicted to these feelings that one aspires to nothing further.
If Guru is stronger there is more pleasure through knowledge and religion, and the huge benefit of knowing that knowledge gained through Guru is portable across incarnations (while physical-body sensations acquired through Venus are quick forgot!)
There is a reason that spiritual aspirants have traditionally sought celibacy. Seeking to shorten the cycle of repeating birth and death, and to reduce the body's craving for constant pleasure sensations, they maximize Guru by minimizing Venus.
Shukra & Foreign Residence
Shukra drishti upon 12th-from-Lagnesha called "Vyaayapa" shows foreign residence, generally pleasant.
Vyaayapa itself shows type of lands you will visit.
When Vyaayapa is ruled or occupied by a shubha (benefic) graha, these lands are lovely and prosperous.
When Vyaayapa is ruled or occupied by a paapa (malefic) planet, the lands to which you travel will be poor and the journeying is stressful.
Shukra & Career
B.V. Raman:
Q. What makes one an actor or a singer?
Generally Venus will have to be strong in the horoscope before one can be a good actor or singer.
If this is to be adopted as profession, Venus must be intimately connected with the 10th bhava in some way or other.
E.g., if Venus occupies 4th or 10th Bhava or if Venus aspects the 10th house or if Venus is conjoined with the lord of the 10th, his means of livelihood will be singer and acting.
Q. What makes one an engineer?
A. If in a nativity,
Venus becomes the strongest planet with reference to the 10th Bhava,
and occupies powerful places
from Lagna and the Moon
and joins Mercury,
the native becomes an engineer.
[BP Lama notes: Shukra rules buildings & artistic or structural design, whilst Mars rules the Land]
- B. V. Raman, A Catechism of Astrology, p. 9 - part II page 2
"... the 7th from Shukra... stand for consideration respectively in respect of ... spouse...."
~~ BPHS Ch. 7, Shloka 39-43]
If Venus be posited in his own Rashi or in Mithuna, the native will be infatuated by love.
~~ Jatakalankara, Ch3 Shloka 20
Venus produces peril through such causes as
drink and diabetes,
arising from the diseases of the beloved women,
associated with a result induced by addiction to females,
endeared by excessive gallantry.
~~ Jataka Parijata Ch 2 Shloka 79
(not my translation! - BPL)
You know, music, art - these are not just little decorations to make life prettier. They're very deep necessities which people cannot live without.
~~ Pablo Picasso
Pleasure Karma - Internal Pleasure in Meditation
Karmas that are accumulated for the sake of internal pleasure, upon having overcome attraction for external pleasure and having become attached to the pleasure that arises with internal meditative stabilization [which is meritorious], are involved with the first three concentrations.
These are called unfluctuating karmas in that they bear their fruit only in those concentrations.
Neutrality Karmas
Then, karmas that are accumulated upon having turned away even from such pleasure of internal meditative stabilization and within seeking just neutral feeling are unfluctuating karmas associated with the fourth concentration and the four formless absorptions.
However, if, through understanding this presentation, you develop renunciation of all types of such cyclic existence, and accumulate karmas for the sake of permanent bliss, these karmas will bring about liberation from cyclic existence.
~~ H.H. Dalai Lama. (1989). The Dalai Lama at Harvard: Lectures on the Buddhist Path to Peace. Jeffrey Hopkins (Trans). (Ed). www.snowlionpub.com
Literary Author Audrey Lord: Erotic Power
"There are many kinds of power, used and unused, acknowledged or otherwise. The erotic is a resource within each of us that lies in a deeply female and spiritual plane, firmly rooted in the power of our unexpressed or unrecognized feeling . . .
As women, we have come to distrust that power which rises from our deepest and non-rational knowledge. We have been warned against it all our lives by the male world, which values this depth of feeling enough to keep women around in order to exercise it in service of men, but which fears this same depth too much to examine the possibilities of it within themselves . .
But the erotic offers a well of replenishing and provocative force to the woman who does not fear its revelation, nor succumb to the belief that sensation is enough . . .
When we begin to live from within outward, in touch with the power of the erotic within ourselves, and allowing that power to inform and illuminate our actions upon the world around us, then we begin to take responsibility to ourselves in the deepest sense.
For as we begin to recognize our deepest feelings, we begin to give up, of necessity, being satisfied with suffering and self-negation, and the numbness which so often seems like the only alternative in our society. Our acts against oppression become integral with self, motivated and empowered from within."
~~ Audre Lord
"The eagle never lost so much time, as when he submitted to learn of the crow."
~~ William Blake
Laziness will stop your progress in your spiritual practice.
One can be deceived by three types of laziness:
the laziness of indolence, which is the wish to procrastinate
the laziness of inferiority, which is doubting your capabilities
the laziness that is attachment to negative actions, or putting great effort into non-virtue.
~~ H.H. Dalai Lama and Renuka Singh. (2002). The Path to Tranquility. www.snowlionpub.com
"Once, during Prohibition, I was forced to live for days on nothing but food and water."
~~ W. C. Fields
updated: 02 March 2010
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