Do you have a connection between Venus and Uranus in your birth chart—or are you interested in someone who does?  Of course you’re interested!  People with Venus-Uranus aspects or Venus in Aquarius dazzle and delight us with their unusual styles of living and loving. They begin by shocking us, then wind up setting trends that we rush to emulate. In almost all the entertainment fields, they dominate.

For instance, among musicians with Venus in aspect to Uranus, we find Celine Dion, Elton John, Michael Jackson, Prince, Queen Latifah, and the enduring legend, Elvis Presley.  Leading men with these aspects include Robert Redford, Sean Connery, and Denzel Washington, while leading ladies include Angelina Jolie, Susan Sarandon, and Sharon Stone.

Venus involves such important issues as whom or what is loved, how freely we love, how we express affection, how we attract love, our sense of beauty and style, our capacity to compromise and cooperate, and how we seek harmony. Venusian or Libran types tend to go to any length to please and to gain approval and love. They may be artistic or merely decorative, they charm, they mediate, they seek consensus and are seldom comfortable rocking the boat.

While Librans have a hard time rocking the boat, Aquarians delight in it—the rockier, the more of a ball they have. Uranus and its sign Aquarius can be personable but far from personal and don’t like to blend, merge, or commit. Both Venus and Uranus end with US, so both have to do with connections between people, but of very different sorts. Uranus’ functions include: how we break from the past, how we depart from the norm, how we claim our independence, how we shake up the status quo, how we declare our uniqueness, how we break new ground, and how we continually reinvent ourselves.

Typical Uranian or Aquarian types are often rebellious, even iconoclastic, in their modernistic, visionary perspectives on life. Depending on which sensibility these freethinking gadflies are tweaking today, you may find them modern, trendy, inventive, and charismatic, or you may find them shocking, outlandish, socially beyond the pale, and unsettling. You’ll seldom find them boring. No doubt you’ve already begun to suspect some difficulties with a Venus-Uranus aspect—like the fact that a Venusian would never pronounce it Your-Anus, while the hide-bound Uranian delights in doing so.

The blend of qualities of Venus and those of Uranus  leads to fairly wild combinations—some wonderful, others simply odd. It tends to universal love, instant connections, visionary harmony, intermittent cooperation, unconventional relationships, and on-again, off-again commitments. Other match-ups include innovative style, eccentric charm, unusual beauty, charismatic appeal, shocking indulgence, futuristic arts, and trend-setting fashions.

Glitterati is a good term for Venus-Uranus folks, as they so often have a dazzling style all their own. Unconventional, mildly to moderately shocking, they attract notice and stir up controversy, but may wind up being trend setters, once the buzz they’ve created dies down. They shake up the status quo but get away with it, because they do so with a unique brand of charm other Uranians may lack. As their hormones calm down, some of them go out of style, having enjoyed their 15 minutes of fame. Others with this aspect have the genius to keep reinventing themselves and remain on top—Sean Connery, Robin Williams, and Robert Redford are still big names because their talents keep evolving in ways that capture the public imagination. Then there are the few—Elvis Presley, Liz Taylor, Angelina Jolie, and Princess Diana—who are such unforgettable, one-of-a-kind luminaries that they remain legendary long after their time.

Like Elvis and Sean Connery, some are “bad boys,” adored because they’re so relentlessly naughty that they act out our own wishes to defy authority. It’s the US in it, the way these delightful reprobates wink and invite us to join them in misbehaving. Women still don’t have permission to be “bad girls,” so they often incur more disapproval for it than men do.

You may be thinking that this is a bad aspect. It isn’t—it’s marvelous, though it’s in no sense traditional. If you have it and your mother was an astrologer or went to one, she probably quaked when she found it in your chart—that is, if she’d already planned your wedding and was dreaming of grandchildren. It’s not that these fond hopes would never materialize, but most likely not in ways she would choose, and doubtlessly not in ways her ladies club would approve. And, remember, you need take all aspects to Venus and 7th house plus planets in the sign Libra into account, not just this single factor—because this aspect is just one piece of the complex puzzle of love.

We’ve only been able to skim the surface of Venus-Uranus aspects here. How the relationship patterns connected with them arise and how to use them in more constructive ways are very complex questions.

©2009 by Donna Cunningham, MSW

Note: This is an excerpt from Donna Cunningham’s ebook, Outer Planet Aspects to Venus and Mars: The Outer Planets and Inner Life, Volume 2, available at http://www.moonmavenpublications.com/astrologybooks.html. It appears here with permission of the author. Contact her before reprinting.

About the Author:  Donna Cunningham, MSW, is internationally-respected for her many books, articles, and columns on astrology, flower essences, and other metaphysical topics.  She now teaches writing by teleseminar and correspondence course, as well as teleseminars and a correspondence course on astrology. Order her books at http://www.moonmavenpublications.com/astrologybooks.html and visit her blog at http://skywriter.wordpress.com

The statement does sound like Venus in Fire (Leo is a Fire sign) to some degree, but it also has a Venus in a Fixed sign (Leo is a Fixed sign) tone as well. For example, Venus in the two other Fire signs, Venus in Aries and Venus in Sagittarius, would probably put more effort into the initial stages of a relationship. But all Venus in Fire signs want to keep a relationship “alive” if they’re going to be part of it; and by “alive” I mean vital, exciting, and dynamic. Because Leo is a Fixed sign (so are Taurus, Scorpio, and Aquarius), the idea of keeping a relationship exciting over the course of time comes into play, since Fixed signs are very much concerned with things that last. They don’t like to make sweeping changes too often, if ever!

With these thoughts in mind, it occurred to me just how challenging Leo’s quest can be. Venus in Leo prefers not to change partners often, or ever, ideally. Yet, Venus in Leo requires that a relationship keeps its spark over time. Never mind the challenge of the Leo Venus person–imagine the kind of pressure that Venus in Leo’s partner is under! A Leo Venus generally doesn’t want to go the cheating route to keep the romantic spark glowing inside, as some may decide to do. He/she looks to a partner to fulfill these considerable needs. However, once a relationship develops and both parties get comfortable with one another, it is quite natural that certain elements of the partnership settle down. I don’t think a Leo Venus person ever truly accepts that idea!

So, which Venus sign would work best with a Venus in Leo? What’s a “good” match? First thoughts could be another Venus in Fire sign–traditionally, astrology says we should look to the other signs in the same element. Another Venus in Leo person could be too much. Do we really need two stars in the household? How about a Venus in Aries? The relationship would probably be very exciting at first, but when the interest levels of the Aries Venus person begin to dwindle, Venus in Leo will probably begin to lose it. Similarly, I am pretty sure a Venus in Sagittarius person would excite Venus in Leo, at least for a while, but what happens when Venus in Leo is still considering his/her relationship as the greatest adventure of all, but Venus in Sagittarius is perhaps thinking of other adventures altogether?

What if we search for compatibility with other Fixed signs, generally considered a no-no in astrology because these signs are naturally “square” or “opposing” each other? We’ll take Venus in Taurus as an example. Both Leo and Taurus would have the “long term” in mind, that’s for certain. In fact, if other compatibility factors are fair, these two would likely stay together longer than most. But what about the excitement factor? Would Venus in Leo ever get used to the “settling down” that Venus in Taurus would invariably do? Would Venus in Taurus ever grow accustomed to the displays and appeals for attention that Venus in Leo, tired of “taking things slowly”, would inevitably turn to? Similar scenarios are likely with Venus in Scorpio and Venus in Aquarius, but with different challenges.

What about Leo’s “neighbors”? Cancer and Virgo are right next door in the astrological neighborhood. Side-by-side signs typically don’t find much in common with each other at all, and we’re going to have to agree in this case. Cancer might be equivalent to a wet blanket to Leo’s fire, and in turn, Leo’s self-centeredness could certainly tick off Cancer. There isn’t a whole lot of understanding between Virgo and Leo either. Virgo may never feel he/she could satisfy what seems to be the gargantuan needs of Leo’s romantic appetite. Signs that are “quincunx” are similar (astrological neighbors of Leo’s opposite sign, Aquarius). These would be Capricorn and Pisces.

Searching for compatibility within the Air signs seems like a much better prospect. We’ve already discussed one of the Air signs, Aquarius. However, Gemini and Libra each form a “sextile” to Leo and are traditionally considered compatible with Leo. Gemini would probably intrigue Leo very much, and would certainly keep Leo on his/her toes. Still, there is the eye to the future element that is missing here. Relationships are central to Libra’s existence, and this would please Leo very much. I think we’ve found our best match, in theory anyway!

Although traditional “rules” of sign compatibility have some merit, we can’t overlook actual comparisons of the individual signs involved, nor can we forget the nature of the planets we are comparing.

Does your Astrological element express the real romantic you? Read on to see if you’re living and playing Venus in your element:

The sign position of Venus in your chart shows how you express yourself on a romantic level.

The Air signs:

Gemini, Libra and Aquarius are:

•    Intellectuals- the world is interesting to an air sign and they’ve got all the data right here to prove it!
•    Communication – they’ll always have an interesting way to explain that strange object they just invented.
•    Humanitarian- Air people really want to make the world a better place for everyone.

The Earth signs:

Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn signs are:

•    Grounded- it sounds cliché, but it’s true, these people are the salt of the earth. Earth signs are dependable and practical.
•    Collectors- worldly possessions are important to the Earthy ones.
•    Foodies- they just adore a good meal and a great wine.

The Water signs:

If you are a Cancer, Scorpio or Pisces, you are likely seen as:

•    Intuitive- water feels things intensely and actions are based more on senses then logic.
•    Nurturing- these folks are compassionate and understanding.
•    Perceptive- it’s uncanny how they can process your feelings and offer a solution that will work for everyone involved.

The Fire signs:

Aries, Leo and Sagittarius people tend to be:

•    Enthusiastic- these lively spirits can get anyone going!
•    Fun- it’s hard not to enjoy their zest for life.
•    Courageous- that fiery courage makes for a self-sufficient, larger than life persona.