Exalted Venus Conjoining Formalhaut

This is an especially powerful Venus election. Venus is exalted in Pisces. The evening star culminates on the Midheaven, in the day and hour of Venus.  She is conjoining the fixed star Formalhaut, at 03°52′ Pisces, in exactly three degrees.

Who Is This For?

This a fantastic choice for anyone who wants to experience the spiritual blessings of Venus.  According to Picatrix, Book 4, Chapter 4, "Ask from Venus the desire for copulation, the virtue of causing loves and enthusiasms and expelling sorrow and sloth, invigorating the appetite, increasing generation, multiplying children...." 

Venus embodies pleasure, whether it is sensual, intellectual or spiritual.  She is the force in the human mind that appreciates beauty. When you're happy to see a beautiful place in nature or admire a work of art, Venus is at work within you.  She is the part of creation at work when you appreciate the taste of your food, hear music or enjoy having sex.  A Venus talisman is suitable for anyone who wants to add beauty, friendship, love and happiness to their lives.

Election Standard

Formalhaut, the “Mouth of the Fish” is the Watcher of the South, one of the Four Royal Stars of Persia that marked the Winter Solstice five thousand years ago.  Each of the four stars is associated with an archangel; Gabriel is the archangel of Formalhaut, Watcher of the South. According to Claudius Ptolemy, Formalhaut is of the nature of Venus and Mercury. In Book 4, Chapter 4 of Picatrix, 45 aphorisms are selected from an ancient Hermetic text called Secret of Secrets. The thirteenth aphorism states that the combination of a planet with a fixed star of its own nature is especially valuable:

“13. If you do a planetary working with the aid of some fixed star of the same nature, it will be more complete and more perfect because it will have the vigor of the planet and the endurance of the fixed star.”

Furthermore, the first face of Pisces has unique benefits according to Picatrix:

“In the hour of Venus, Venus rising in the first face of Pisces, make an image to heal women from infirmities of the genitals and to gladden the sadness of men, and cure melancholy, and to take away bad thoughts and to have vigor and strengthen in sex.” (Picatrix Book 2, Chapter 10, page 111)

Likewise, Marsilio Ficino in Book 3 of “Three Books on Life” page 337 (Kaske & Clark) says:

“For gaiety and strength of body, a young Venus holding apples and flowers in her hand, dressed in yellow and white, made in the hour of Venus, when the first face of Libra, or of Pisces, or of Taurus, was ascending with her.”

The moon is fast and in the 11th house, applying to sextile Venus. Most medieval sources do not consider this a strength as the aspect doesn’t perfect for another two and a half degrees, while older Hellenistic sources would consider it an immense strength. The Moon’s sign ruler, Mars, is in a cadent house but the Moon is co-present with two strong benefics, Jupiter and the North Node. The Lord of the First, Mercury, is peregrine but is conjoining Vega, a compatible fixed star, providing a bit of strength. Mercury has just entered the 7th but is well out of range of the Descendant. Overall, this was an especially nice Venus election.

How They Were Made

Aquamarine was an excellent choice for this election, considering the watery nature of Pisces and Formalhaut. Quartz, copper and brass were also chosen, widely known to be good materials for Venus.  Blue lotus was chosen as the herbal component because of it’s hypnotic quality and history as a dream-enhancing spiritual plant in ancient Egypt.

The Chart

2:10 - 2:30 PM, 27 January 2023