Venus enters Cancer on July 31 this month! Venus is the plant of love, creativity, and pleasure, and Cancer is the sign of deep emotions, of motherly love, and of “home” — this is a placement with lots of love to give! The tarot cards that correspond to Venus and Cancer are III – The Empress and VII – The Chariot. Look at these two! Both are looking the viewer directly in the eyes, with their bodies slightly oriented towards the future. The Empress is crowned by a spray of wheat, the Charioteer a star-spangled curtain and orange clouds of creative ambition: Venus in Cancer means relaxing into new ideas, letting love quell any lingering fears, deciding to let hope take the reins and guide you! Venus will stay in Cancer until it moves into Leo on August 26.

The following reading is a look at how to make the best use of the energy of Venus in Cancer. This “one-card” reading is an example of what’s included in the $35 Planetary Transit Reading tier on my Patreon page, which also includes a one-card Monthly Kick-off Reading, a 5-card reading every time the Sun sign changes, and 3-card readings at the New and Full Moons. For this reading I drew from the Housewives Tarot, Everything I Need to Know about Love I Learned from a Little Golden Book,  and the Mother Mary Oracle. The little camel statue is actually a box with a pearl inside (Cancer’s power stone), and the golden dragon is holding an aventurine sphere for Venus’s heart-centeredness ❤

43. Our Lady of Comfort + “Love gives us a voice,/ but it needs no words” + 3 of Cups reversed

Looking at all these pink/blue pairs, it appears that Venus in Cancer will be all about looking at the “two sides” of yourself, and turning to your closest support systems — siblings, parents, pets, and of course, partners — to find the beauty in these differences, to see them as uniquenesses. Allow yourself to relax and have fun with your favourite people, getting back to “you” before the Fall rolls around and we’re back to work and school, with new projects and responsibilities to take us away from being able to go as “deep” as we can now. No, it goes without saying, nothing compares to these sweaty, sticky, deliciously muggy days of high summer, when all you can do is flop down and relax! Have no mind for anyone who would try to turn your fun on its head — don’t waste your summer time on them. You know who makes you feel good — seek them out and spread the love!

Yes, love is in the air, love of just about every kind — in such a way that it’s clearer than ever what you don’t need in your life as well! This is the perfect time to focus on the people who make you feel strong, who would do anything for you no matter what, and also to forgive and let go of the people who you know only hold you back. the divide is clear: who can you just “be” with, without the need for any extra effort? Who makes you feel like You, and who do you need to put on a mask for? Venus in Cancer will be filled with happy opportunities to determine your team and keep moving forward!

Everything I Need to Know About Love I Learned from a Little Golden Book. Diane Muldrow. New York: Golden Books, 2014.

The Housewives Tarot. Paul Kepple and Jude Buffum. Quirk Books, 2004.

Mother Mary Oracle. Alana Fairchild. Artwork by Shiloh Sophia McCloud. Victoria, Australia: Blue Angel Publishing, 2014.

Tarot Mucha. LWB: Lunaea Weatherstone. Artwork: Giulia F. Massaglia. Torino, Italy: Lo Scarabeo, 2014. © Lo Scarabeo Italy.