Venus entered the sign of Virgo at 8:27a PDT on Friday, 5th August 2016. When it did, it began drawing attention to the functionality (or the lack thereof) of the relationships in the everyday reality of our lives.

Venus is the ruler of the sign Libra, and it represents how we personally approach one-on-one relationships of all kinds. It also speaks to establishing and maintaining balance, fairness, justice, and equality in those relationships.

Virgo is the sign of pragmatism. It deals with day-to-day functionality and service, making sure that if something isn’t working, it’s repaired, healed, or restored…and if something is working, every avenue is explored to make it work more efficiently and/or effectively. In other words, Virgo is rarely satisfied with status quo. It believes that there’s always room for improvement – there’s always something that can be improved upon. This belief is also why Virgo gets a bad rap from being so critical and judgmental.

With Venus in Virgo, there is a belief that damaged relationships can be healed or repaired OR that healthy relationships can always be improved upon. Acting in alignment with this belief requires each of the partners to have equal interest and put equal effort into making the partnership the best it can be. Most importantly, both partners must be committed to the same process of healing and/or restoration, and both must be willing to take responsibility for their individual roles in their relationship.

Where this belief could become a challenge is 1) if and when the partners do not agree there is a problem in the first place; 2) if and when the partners do not agree on what is needed to improve the partnership; 3) if and when the partners cannot agree on a solution-finding process; or 4) when one or both partners refuses to hold themselves accountable or responsible for their part in the condition of the relationship. When one or more of those challenging conditions are present, working together doesn’t work, or at least not easily. This Venus in Virgo belief can quickly become a crusade to push our partners to change, to concede their position(s), or to simply care about the partnership the way we want them to.

Yet the key message for this 2016 Venus in Virgo is responsibility. We each get to be responsible for the roles we each play in our lives and in the lives of others. As result, we get to learn how we cannot force our partners change, but we can change ourselves and how we choose to perceive and experience our partnerships. As Venus in Virgo increases our awareness and abilities to take responsibility for our individual well-being and the pragmatic functionality of our lives, we find our experiences of our relationships are different.

We also learn that some of our one-on-one interactions encourage and/or challenge us in positive ways, nudging us to take steps to move forward on our current path or to move in an entirely different direction. Other partnerships will help us become aware of the ways we allow others to distract us from or sabotage our healing and well-being journeys and the fulfillment of our lifestyle needs. The more we take responsibility for the functionality of our individual lives, the more we begin to see the motivations behind our relationship choices.

The 2016 Venus in Virgo is certain to reveal how we can work together with our partners to address the individual and joint responsibilities of our everyday lives. It will reveal which of our relationships contribute to the healthy functionality of our individual everyday lives. It helps each of us recognize where and how we can take responsibility for healing, repairing, and restoring ourselves and our life conditions, and which people we can partner with in our lives to help us make those healing and repairing changes.

Most important, this 2016 Venus in Virgo helps us take responsibility for who and what we choose to have around us as we do the best we can to have our lives work in healthy and productive ways. This will be a first-hand experience of how your one-on-one relationships can affect your life.

Here are some of the upcoming transits for the 2016 Venus in Virgo so you can recognize how to make the most of its presence over these next few weeks:

Virgo Venus square Sagittarius Mars, most exact on 6th August – Everyday partnership responsibilities may require a reassessment of your personal growth activities. Is what you’re doing to grow and expand your place in the world conflicting with your relationship role?

Virgo Venus trine Taurus Ceres, most exact on 8th August – This transit could strengthen and solidify your relationship…if you and your partner are on the same page with your personal lifestyle values. Otherwise, you may have to face where your values are not in alignment and see if you can get them (and yourselves) on the same page.

Virgo Venus sextile Scorpio Juno, most exact on 9th August – This transit provides another opportunity to strengthen the connection between you and your partner. If you’re both emotionally invested in the same or similar things and your commitment to those things is unwavering, this may be a time for you to examine and strengthen your commitment to each other. Is it decision time?

Virgo Venus sextile Scorpio Black Moon Lilith, most exact on 12th August – Well, it’s “put up or shut up” time in some area of your partnership if not for the partnership itself. How much do you want the partnership to work, and how much work are you willing to put into making it so? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to make it work?

Virgo Venus square Sagittarius Saturn Rx, most exact on 13th August – Recognize how your partnership responsibilities either support or distract you from honoring your inner truth and your personal growth journey.

Virgo Venus opposite Pisces Neptune Rx, most exact on 14th August – Are you in your partnerships because they work…or are you in them because they help you avoid or escape responsibility for yourself & your life?

Virgo Venus trine Capricorn Pluto Rx, most exact on 17th August – Crumbling societal infrastructures and institutions may force you to seek new partnerships to empower you in your everyday life.

Venus enters its home sign of Libra on 29th August, 2016.

Thank you for reading and sharing Signs and Numbers. Until next post…

~ Light, Love, and Blessings,

Grace