Astro4Business Intersections

Anonymous Flammarion woodcut (1888). (Source:Wikimedia Commons)

This week Mercury and Venus meet in the skies on Monday and, hand in hand all week, end the week entering Taurus.  Skipping along merrily and fast, they pass Jupiter mid-week and come within 3 degrees of Mars by the end of the week.  This line-up of planets is a beautiful event in the heavens which you should be able to view before sunrise each morning.

Mercury and Venus are the only planets inside the orbit of the earth.  In astrology they hold special significance as direct lieutenants of the Sun.  Never too distant from the center, they represent two primary tools we use as we negotiate in the world of business.

Mercury signifies our rational thinking processes, our speech and communication facilities.  In business Mercury rules all the memos, meetings, and telecommunications that allow us to carry out the interchange of commerce.

Venus represents our values and how we establish what holds meaning and significance to us.  She understands that no man is an island and that we need others, as well as harmony and beauty, in our interactions.  She is about attraction, cohesion, and metaphor.  In business she rules marketing, PR, and creativity.

Mercury is impersonal and precise; Venus is highly personal and concerned with relationships.  Mercury is about commerce, interchange; Venus is about customers and staff alignment.  Mercury communicates through numbers and facts; Venus communicates through images like “she shoulders a lot of responsibility” or “he has big shoes to fill.”  Venus is superb in advertising; Mercury is brilliant with text.

Often one or the other of these planets is more dominant, but this week they are hand in hand.  This is like a device that works well and is beautiful to look at. Or like when your best systems manager is also great with people.  Like when you can take your finance person with you anywhere because she always looks great and makes a good impression.  When your smartest IT guy understands conceptually what you’re trying to achieve, not just how to put it all together.  When your smartest analyst can create a presentation that really pops or when your marketing director never overpromises because she understands what it takes to deliver.

This is a week of learning, with Mercury and Venus traveling together and also meeting up with Jupiter.  It’s a good time to require both sets of qualities from your staff.  Sometimes people get so boxed into one way of doing things that the other side atrophies a little.  This is a great week to round things out.  For those who tend to be linear and analytical, ask them to present their ideas in images that customers will understand.  For those who tend to be all about relationships, ask them to explain to you the fine points of a product.  Both types can learn from each other or they can each learn from an advisor.  This is a super week to expose your staff to what other people do in the company, to break down divisions between the two types, and to broaden people’s appreciation for others’ talents.

Inadequacies may arise as each type ventures out of their comfort zone.  Mercury and Venus are competing as the morning star this week and you may see competition become a factor with your staff too.  But you could also uncover hidden talents as people get to display another side of their skills.

And of course this applies to those of us who are one-person shops.  Head into the far aside of your comfort zone; experiment with a more dormant facet of your personality.  I guarantee you’ll learn something new that will bring a new dimension to your enterprise.  Mercury and Venus equal clarity and pleasure.  What could be better?
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Have you seen my new blog? Discussing all things astrological, for anyone interested in real-life astrology, check out Ellen Longo’s Astrology Blog.

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For an overview of the month, see Astro4Business Month Ahead – May 2011

To read more about the business descriptions of the Mercury and Venus, see

Mercury

Venus

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