Venus-Saturn: A Beauty Queen
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My first post yay! It was originally on my website but I'm deleting that soon so I brought it here.
First things first:
I do not read charts professionally.
correlation ≠ causation
If you have any of the mentioned aspects and have experience in pageantry or even an interest in it, please please feel free to talk about it in the quotes or ask box!
tw: eating disorders
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This a veryy long post!! If you share please give me credit !!
While doing research for my Desire & Astrology project (now closed), I was reminded of something that deals with Venus but is rarely discussed, and that's beauty pageants.
Whether this is because of its declining popularity or lack of interest in something that is presumed to be shallow, beauty pageants display Venus's domain very well.
OG BEAUTY QUEEN
Let's go back, and I mean way back, to Aphrodite. She took part in a beauty contest herself. Since I will be referencing the original myth (The Judgement of Paris) that appears in the Cypria, Greek names will be used instead of Roman.
It all starts at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, all the gods were to attend except for one, Eris, the goddess of strife and discord.
She showed up anyway but was not allowed to attend. This makes her upset and to live up to her name, she causes discord by dropping an apple that was addressed to the most beautiful.
The three goddesses: Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena began to argue about who the fairest of them all was. As we can tell, Aphrodite won and became thee beauty queen of the millennium.
The Judgement of Paris -- Etienne Jeaurat (1699-1789)
prominence of venus-saturn aspect
I began looking up countries that had top-winning international titles (Miss World, Miss Universe, etc.) and/or had a strong pageantry culture. These countries are (most to least):
Venezuela
The Philippines
The United States
Puerto Rico
India
Australia
United Kingdom
Brazil
South Africa
Sweden
Mexico
While looking at these countries' natal charts, those who had an AA/A rating, there was a particular aspect that popped up, Venus-Saturn.
India: Venus Conjunct Saturn
United Kingdom: Venus Opposite Saturn
South Africa: Venus Square Saturn
Venezuela: Venus Opposite Saturn
It's a smaller list compared to the listed countries. So, I instead looked up the natal charts of documented beauty pageant winners.
I can't list all the women (and men!!) who have this placement it will just make the post even longer than it already is. But here are some (with AA/A rating!!):
Venessa Williams: Venus Conjunct Saturn
Michelle Pfeiffer: Venus Square Saturn
Jennifer Hosten: Venus Square Saturn
Zsa Zsa Gabor: Venus Opposite Saturn
Susan Powell: Venus Trine Saturn
Oprah Winfrey: Venus Square Saturn
Adriana Lima: Venus Square Saturn
I read 100+ charts (all had verified birth times btw), and though I'm focusing on Venus-Saturn I did notice some other aspects that appeared frequently:
Venus-North Node
Venus-Sun
Venus-MC
Why focus on the Venus-Saturn aspect? Well, I'm kind of tired of the same old description lol. But really, going through the natal charts was interesting, and of the amount that I read, over 40% had the aspect (I did the math), which made up the majority.
recap + commentary
First a recap of the planets Venus and Saturn. Venus is the planet of beauty, unity, and harmony, because of this influence this makes Venus a benefic.
On the other hand, Saturn is the planet of restriction, time, and rejection which means he is a malefic planet.
While watching these videos about the pageantry culture of many countries and the women who participated in them, I noticed the habits of these women and those who assist them.
These women were restrained. The restriction wasn't just self-imposed, it was also done by those around them (sometimes parents, other contestants, or even the public).
So, when Saturn communicates with Venus it may indicate that connecting with others, whether platonic or romantic, is difficult, strained, and restricted. And it's not just connecting with others, but also connecting with themselves.
This is more obvious with harsh aspects as the planets are in conflict. And to reach some sort of balance, you have to appease both planets.
Beauty pageants are one way to appease the conflict.
Through pageants, a person can explore the "Venusian" domain through fashion, glamor, being surrounded by women, and of course, receiving attention.
The "Saturnian" domain is explored through isolation from their families and friends, a restriction of their diet, and the development of the discipline needed to win the competition.
ATMOSPHERE OF BEAUTY PAGEANTS
I watched many documentaries and I gathered quotes that I felt showed the Venus-Saturn aspect perfectly from the preparation to the execution:
"The one who gets the crown, she has to be very disciplined, very well-centered. You have to polish the rough diamond and all the rough edges"
"Morning call at 5:30, curfew at 10 o'clock, no food outside the diet regime, no alcohol, no smoking in public. Every move is watched."
The woman given any beauty pageant title is the woman with the most discipline and shows it not only to the judges but the public.
While I watching one documentary there were two women, Neha and Gauahar, who were labeled as "stuck-up" and were given the nickname "ice-vaginas" by another contestant.
And this is a recurring assumption of those who have prominent Saturn placements. They're often seen as being aloof and cold when they are not.
While I don't have the natal charts of Neha and Gauahar, I can point out that the winner of the pageant, Neha, did display Saturn-like qualities the best.
She was strict with her diet, which included no smoking.
She was distant and focused on winning the competition only.
And while Neha didn't wish any ill or harm to the other contestants she still came off as rude or impolite.
Funnily enough, rudeness is often aligned with Saturn. Archetypically speaking, Saturn has no need for politeness or niceness, he is isolated and prefers to keep to himself.
Venus on the other hand is all about bonding, and to bond you have to be pleasant, polite, and aware of others.
BEAUTY QUEEN CONFESSIONS
Here's what some Beauty Queens had to say about their experience in pageantry:
"I had phenomenal moments as Miss America. But the reality is it is 24 hours a day every day of the week for the entirety of the year."
"Behind the scenes, there were rules like no men were allowed in your hotel, including your father."
"It's pressure to perform, pressure to produce, pressure to provide."
"The schedule was grueling. I remember having 3-5 appearances in one day. And a different city, every 18-36 hours, literally, it seems glamorous and yet it was very lonely, many times."
"It's really really hard because you are mentally drained, you are physically drained, you are isolated."
"I felt very alone, It's very isolating. It's just you and your tour manager all year."
And that's the thing, no matter how glamorous it may seem to be on stage in a glittering gown, the reality (Saturn) can be, and is, very lonely.
The rules and guidelines that used to be in place to compete were so strict, but the guidelines that followed the woman who won the title were even stricter.
No beauty pageant with beauty sounds silly, but a beauty pageant without discipline and pressure is comical.
Pressure to be graceful and composed. Pressure to have the best answer, the best smile, the best gown, the best walk, the perfect package.
As pressure makes diamonds. The pressure (Saturn) and stiffness (also Saturn) are honed into gracefulness (Venus).
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I previously mentioned how many beauty pageant participants restrict their diet. Below are two quotes from two different documentaries:
"When I competed in Miss America there were women who, unfortunately, were currently dealing with eating disorders. One woman would only eat baby food, so she just brought baby food jars with her, and that's all she would have."
"This is my lunch, and this is what I eat two hours after lunch. Spinach with chicken broccoli with fish. It tastes horrible. Nothing has seasoning, but this is the diet. One has to make sacrifices."
As starvation is aligned with Saturn, sadly, it's not surprising to hear and see many women restricting themselves to win.
I know this is about beauty pageants, but I see the same thing with models. In fact many people, from the models themselves to people who work alongside them, mention it.
Models express how the face pressure to avoid food to keep a thin appearance.
And this pressure doesn't just come from designers and casting directors, but it's self-imposed.
Many models describe the time they were their sickest and thinnest as also the time when they experienced a boost in their career, maybe even experiencing their prime.
They joke about being "hangers", since their job is to display clothes, and the focus should be on that, not the model's body.
It seems demeaning, another Saturn thing, but it's why they strive to be so skinny.
Saturn is the planet of rejection, and rejection can foster humility or humbleness, another thing he rules over.
When models address themselves as hangers they remind not only themselves but also those around them that the attention should not be on them, but the clothes. The message is clear:
"I don't matter, the clothes do."
wrapping it up
Though the way I read birth charts is heavily influenced by Hellenistic and medieval astrological techniques, I still believe that everything is up to the person.
The focus is the theme of Venus-Saturn: disciplined and restricted beauty/connection/and love. Though using beauty pageants is a dramatic example, I feel it makes the theme and archetype of the aspect obvious.
The Venus-Saturn native understands, or at least comes to understand, that joyful things take work; beauty can bring joy, and relationships--connecting with others--bring joy, but all take work, vulnerability, and some sacrifice.
It's like this, in this context, Saturn allows you to explore the "Venusian" domain: to show yourself, enjoy the fun of dressing up, and be around people.
But you have to sacrifice your time, the habits that you previously established (eating whatever you want, smoking, etc.), and the connections you already have.
Because Venus-Saturn natives are typically so used to being in situations where this theme is emphasized it should be no surprise that they often end up winning the crown, literally and metaphorically.
© 2024 starfruiity
Gif is Susmita Sen, winner of the Miss Universe 1994 title.
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The Direct Actors: A Baldur's Gate 3 "Adventure" pt. 10 live tonight at 6pm Pacific!
WE! ARE! SO! BACK! After a several months hiatus @caputvulpinum is back from wandering the earth as penance for its numerous crimes against me, the channel, and the sovereign nation of Venezuela. We can get the team together again! Join us for the return of our co op campaign of BG3, with @radiofreederry as Dhudlei Durite, @caputvulpinum as Micah Harper, my friends Nana and April as Leviathan, and me as Delilah "Mama D" Harper! See y'all then!
Art by @terrafey, recap under the cut
THE STORY SO FAR: On the way to a union rally, Delilah "Mama D" Harper and her grandson Micah were abducted and taken aboard an ilithid nautiloid, which they escaped with mysterious dancer Leviathan and self-proclaimed "Champion of Ilmater and Paladin of Good" Dhudlei Durite. Each infected by a mind flayer tadpole, but so far immune from transforming into mind flayers themselves, The Direct Actors, as the party have come to be known, now turn their attention to the Shadow-Cursed Lands, where Moonrise Towers, the lair of the Cult of the Absolute, awaits them...
LAST TIME: With Leviathan missing after falling off a cliff, the Direct Actors allowed Lae'zel to venture forth with them, and at her insistence headed into the mountains in search of a Githyanki creche. Along the way, the party killed a racist who was trying to steal a Githyanki egg, and met a blue jay who asked them to kill some eagles. At the creche, the Direct Actors were introduced to the finer points of Githyanki culture, including a brutal training regimen. Dhudlei was allowed to take an egg to raise with his girlfriend, and said girlfriend was subsequently nearly killed by the Zaith'isk, a supposed device for purifying those infected by mind flayers. As it turned out, the device was really meant to kill the infected as sacrifices to the lich queen Vlaakith. Initially in denial about her queen's sinister nature, Lae'zel insisted that the party seek the Githyanki inquisitor, and an audience with Vlaakith herself led the party to enter the Astral Prism, the Githyanki artifact they'd been carrying which had protected them from ceremorphosis. Vlaakith demanded they kill the Prism's occupant, but Dhudlei was more interested in getting some answers from this being which bore his mother's face. The Dream Visitor explained how Vlaakith had deceived her people and, her secret exposed, Vlaakith declared Lae'zel a traitor and ordered her death. Fighting their way out of the creche, the Direct Actors stopped to catch their breath at camp. They were visited by Kith'rak Voss, who declared his allegiance to the Githyanki Prince Orpheus, and called for Lae'zel to meet him in Baldur's Gate, as Micah chastised Dhudlei for his recklessness in the creche. The argument was interrupted by the sudden return of not only Leviathan, who had spent days wandering the Shadow-Cursed Lands, but New Gale, who had taken a new form as a gnome. Leviathan remembered little of his time in the shadowlands, but seemed shaken by it. The Direct Actors returned to the monetary which housed the creche, and Dhudlei guided Micah to claim the Blood of Lathander, a holy weapon, for his own. Afterwards, after a conversation with Mama D about choice and destiny, Micah received a surprising visit from Ilmater himself, who promised that they would meet again, and answers would be revealed...
Will Lae'zel leave her cult programming behind her, and will she and Micah be able to bond? What has Dhudlei figured out about the Dream Visitor? What - and who - did Leviathan see in his time in the Shadow-Cursed Lands? Will Ilmater reveal himself again? Find out in another exciting instalment of Baldur's Gate 3, starring the Direct Actors!
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