Venus Report, Third Chakra Gateway
First Explosion, Salvador Dali
Exploring the Frequency
The Fire of the Solar Plexus provides useful fodder for the ultimate kind of transformation. For here at her Altar is where the seeds of our identity lie. When we lay our identity upon her, a boon of invincibility rises in it’s place. You may feel called to sacrifice cherished pieces of yourself. Pieces that kept you safe and hidden. You may be asked to take off your masks, and actually be seen. You may be called to release your armor and your sword, and expose your tender heart. You may be asked to expose your soul, and feel the intoxicating nectar that bleeds from being truly beheld. For to truly be seen is worth the weight of our Sun in gold. When we surrender the fire of our anger and the rage that fiercely burns inside us a spiritual fire comes in to take its place. It is here at our inner hearth that we do our alchemical work this month.
Located at our sternum, the solar plexus chakra governs themes of self-worth, identity, and persona. It helps us feel confident, decisive and in control. It can reveal how we form conscious attachment to others outside of our primary relationships. And it rules linear time. If it becomes weak we will find ourselves perceptible to the influences of others, submissive, and disempowered.
The Solar Plexus Chakra is the embodiment of the Masculine Will. Just as last month we dealt with the Sacral Chakra being the embodiment of our Feminine Desire. Each Venus Gateway holds an essential question that clues us into how we are relating to that area of our lives. In it’s healthiest form the Solar Plexus Chakra asks, is our will/ego acting to fuel our life force? Or In it’s toxic form, that is turned on its head and the question becomes is our energetic life force being extracted to serve the will/ego?
I’ve spent over a decade studying within feminine containers. Seeking to come in contact with, and serve the feminine in all of her 10,000 faces. I realized long ago, when Oprah was interviewing Ekhart Tolle, that the Ego/ masculine structures were dominating my life. I was dangerously out of balance. I spent each day trying to push and grip my way through life. Exerting my power to get my way. So in true masculine form, I set out to “destroy” my ego. As is true with most evolutionary feats, I probably over corrected when I began my journey towards balance. So when I say that this is one of the more challenging Gateway’s for me to capture personally, I mean it.
Because of my overpowering masculine, I found myself signing up for every Goddess related course, workshop, or container I could find. Admittedly there were very few at the beginning. And most of those teachers were instructing from the, up and out, heart chakra through crown, transcendence doctrine. Which through further exploration I’ve come to discover is the quintessence of masculine spirituality. It was about transcending the body, my raw emotion, negating my desire, and bypassing. Only because I did it adorned in beautiful fabrics, with gorgeous music playing in the background and labeled it feminine. Then I found a teacher who taught about embodiment. I spent several years exploring the descent, the shadow and reconnecting with my body. I found myself in the underworld being ravished by the primordial goddess of all life. Traversing the depths with soulful gargoyles as my guides. But if you stay in the borderless, uncontained landscapes for too long, it becomes difficult to birth anything with density into existence. It’s the most stunning of all the paradoxes I’ve found on my journey.
Face of Aphrodite Salvador Dali
So for the past few years I consciously embarked on the poetic process of what is called the Inner Marriage. Essentially bringing both my inner masculine and inner feminine into a working partnership. Only based on my life experiences and the energetic soup I grew up in, my religious, and patriarchal conditioning, I had no real concept of what healthy masculine energy looked like. I definitely knew what it was NOT. Years prior I had read Riane Eisler’s book “The Cauldron and the Blade”. In it he characterizes the Cauldron (the feminine) as a partnership paradigm, and the blade (masculine) as the dominator paradigm. In her work she outlines four core characteristics of each system that help us understand what a balanced masculine/feminine dynamic is and what happens when masculine energy diverges towards inharmonious and unjust. This formed the basis of my own exploration into how these frequencies have not only colonized our society, but also my mind and body. So I decided to use it as my guide and apply it towards an inner revolution.
The First core principle of the Dominator System is; rigid top down rankings, hierarchies of domination, maintained through physical, psychological, and economic control in familial, religious, and political institutions. Second: ranking of one form of humanity over another. Third; the cultural acceptance of abuse. And Fourth; that the rankings of domination are inevitable. She says “In cultures and subcultures that lean towards the domination system we find teachings and myths telling that it is honorable to kill and enslave members of other societies, stone women to death or maim them with acid, stand by while supposedly “inferior” people are put in ovens or gassed, or eat children to impose adult control through physical force.'“
*I want to note that this is a representation of an out of balance masculine paradigm. We are not speaking here of men. Conflating these two, Dominator/Patriarchal systems with actual human men does damage to our brothers. So it’s best to apply nuance around this topic. We are exploring the expression of this energy in it’s healthy and unhealthy forms.
Salvador Dali
In Balance or “Partnership” as Eisler calls it, we find the expression of energy is balanced. With all parts of society using their gifts in harmony thereby each person feels they are making a meaningful contribution. She outlines these four core components of this kind of system as follows: First; the society is democratic and egalitarian that is manifested through social practices, values, and institutions. Second is equal partnership between women and men. With this comes high valuing of qualities and behaviors such as caregiving and nonviolence that are denigrated as “feminine” in dominator systems. Third; the cultural rejection of abuse and violence. That isn’t to say that there is never any violence within society, only that it is not systemically built into society's values, traditions, and social institutions. And fourth; beliefs about human nature that support empathic and mutually respectful relations. Again I’ve brought in Eisler’s work as a way to conceptualize the essence of a balanced energetic system. Not as a commentary on Men or smashing the patriarchy. I do not qualify myself as a femininst’. I see myself as a partnerist. This read helped me scan my environment and come into a more evolved understanding of my own interpersonal and transpersonal dynamics. So I am hoping having this lens will do the same for you. At the bottom I will link three of her books that have been integral to my break from the patriarchal matrix, both in society, and my own internalized misogyny. *Core tenets of each system was adapted from her book “Nurturing our humanity”
While I’ve provided great scholarly information, I’m still sitting here trying to figure out how to channel this particular gateway in a meaningful way, while at the same time waxing poetic about my ineptitude to do it from a place of real mastery. Though I’ve been working to transform the way I relate to the “masculine”, I’ve found a funny little paradox. I don’t yet have the capacity to relate to the healthy form of masculine power at all times because of my own conditionings, while simultaneously I find that this chakra is my most activated one. Recently, I’ve had the realization that I am not only interested in transforming the “toxic masculine energy” out there. But that I myself have an internalized toxic masculine that needs healing. So the following are some of the things I have focused on in my quest to bring myself into a greater sense of balance. Plus, I do all of the things in “The Work” section regularly.
So what does that say for me? Well, I hope it says that I’m actively working to reshape how I identify with and then transmit from this particular energy center. Ideally we’d all be able to harness the enormous wealth of power found here and have that translate into meaningful projects that shape our world and where society is headed. Without the Solar Plexus being in alignment we wouldn’t have such beneficial technology such as an MRI machine, we wouldn’t be able to tune into the Olympics, or even enjoy the view from a bridge or the breathtaking beauty of the Pyramids. The masculine helps to give form to our creativity. It brings chaos into order. It is the quintessential “I am that I am”. So let’s get into the weeds a bit about how one might experience themselves through the lens of the Solar Plexus Chakra.
“I am, indeed, a king, because I know how to rule myself.”
― Pietro Aretino
The Solar Plexus Chakra is an especially important one. It’s the center from which we interface with the outside world. It governs the interchange at play when we relate to other people. Our identity and ego are housed here. It is the home of our boundaries, the gateway between what we take in, and what we keep out. It is the place in which we generate our masks. The different persona’s we wear into each and every situation. It is the place where we exert our personal will to “get what we want” out in the world. In the Pantheon of Planets, the Solar Plexus is paired with Mars, God of War. .
It’s the center we come from when we are attempting to cover up our true motivations. And we are acting out of our conditionings. We feel it activated in the midst of persecution, extraction, and collapse. Further, our inner sanctum of rage lives here. Which can either be, a brooding, pent up aggression from feeling slighted or disempowered. A toxic stew of seedy emotion. Or it’s counterpart; sacred rage. The anger we feel at injustice. The knife in the belly kind of eruption that happens in moments of true violation and injustice. That is the feeling we get when we hear about children being abused, and women being raped. Or when another story of corruption and greed by the powerful comes our way. Many of us feel the sensation of anxiety/excitement right in the heart of this energy center. And often this chakra is activated when we are attempting to extract something from another person. Even if it’s just a “good deal” on a pair of shoes that we want
Some of the Shadow aspects of the Solar Plexus can be; anytime we find ourselves locked in certainty, rigidity, and dogmatic views, refusing to accept suggestion.
Both domination and submission can be viewed as shadow elements when done under the wrong circumstances.
Judging others for how well they fit in, or obsessing about that for ourselves.
Aggression, manipulation, and control. This can be towards ourselves or others.
Hubris and conceit in all forms are signs of an imbalanced solar plexus chakra.
When our ego is extracting from our own life force, we spend our time scanning our environments to see if we are “doing it right”. When we wonder if we look the part, or if we are acceptable to others. And because we expend an enormous amount of energy doing this, we expect the same from those around us. In its most distilled form, this is a function of projection. Psychology Today has this to say about projection “ Projecting a threatening trait onto others is a byproduct of the mechanism that defends the ego. Trying to suppress a thought pushes it to the mental foreground, and turns it into a chronically accessible filter through which one views the world. If we feel unworthy of the things we want, we often attract situations which mirror that back to us. If this isn’t altered, it will continually diminish our self esteem.”
Approval and Validation Seeking are examples. We may go chasing the myth that love and approval are just around the corner and all we have to do is change something, or be better at something and the love we crave will be ours. This both destroys the person doing the approval seeking and their relationships.
Living a highly ordered overly disciplined lifestyle is also a shadow. We need flow in our lives in order to be feel a sense of true well being. Being wound tight around any theme can cause our body to shut down.
This energy center feels especially activated when we feel we’ve been overly exposed.
I always get a burst of excitement here just before I publish an article. I cycle through all of the relative fears around vulnerability and self-worth. Will they like it, am I being relatable, is it going to be useful, and well received, did I make grammatical or editing mistakes?
Perfectionism is another shadow element here. And much of the aforementioned inquiry centers around our society's relationship to perfection. Thanks in no small part to the advertising industry.
Siegfried Zademack
Throughout my own journey bringing this center into balance, I have found a raw beauty that exists in the authentic expression of this energy. When people show up to be seen as their biggest, most genuine self. When it’s pure, and true, there is no bigger turn on. I now crave the real. And through alignment here, I can sense and feel when I am in its presence. Another healthy aspect that I’m enthralled by is the people who can say “oops, my bad, I’ve made a mistake, what can I do to make it better”. They take full responsibility for their human. Every one of the people who possess this skill are on my list of heroes. I’ve worked hard to bring this trait into my own life, and the lives of my children. I’ve also come into the awareness that my organic humanity is my greatest gift. That gift is the offering I lay on the altar. And one of my sister’s just reminded me that when you make an altar offering, you expect nothing in return. Not love, acceptance, validation or approval. Nothing. I love what a freeing concept that is. And it definitely creates space in my own Solar Plexus in relation to being seen in the world.
Lastly, a word about power. I’ve recently had the opportunity to be in conversations around power. And for me, the new framework that is emerging has been the most transformative aspect of balancing my own Solar Plexus. This is a really important piece, so try this on and see if it resonates for you. There are some schools that equate power to the Solar Plexus Chakra. And I can definitely see where this association comes from when I put it through my own filters of what I think genuine power is. In fact, I may go so far as to say, that if we were to distill this Chakra down to it’s most rarefied frequency, it is all about Power and where we fall on the spectrum. So I just want to succinctly unpack it so you can track your relationship with personal power as we move through this portal. Real power does not come from the “power over” dynamic that we are accustomed to in the dominator paradigm. It is not exerting pressure to meet our goals. There are a plethora of ways to get things done. Real power is “power with”. It is the ability to authentically be with whatever is arising. And I don’t mean in a “mature way”. Or in a way that you are perfectly composed in the face of the unknown. But in the way that in the face of your greatest fears, you don’t abandon yourself. It is the ability to meet yourself moment to moment. The ability to maintain your connection to what is true for you despite what the circumstances are. That is real power.
Salvador Dali
The Astrology
This month, the astrology is coming in to support our Solar Plexus Chakra work in a huge way. Today, on the opening of the Portal, not only are the Moon and Venus Conjunct, but Mars is with them. So let’s take it from the top...
July 12th at 7:13 am, Venus meets the Moon at the threshold of the 3rd Chakra Gateway at 18 degrees Leo. Venus in Leo is the The Pure Hearted Carnal Empress. A seductive feral beast, she is wild and free. She is the Priestess of Presence, highly attuned to this moment. She will not be tamed or possessed. She reminds us that our mess is our blessing and our raw, naked, humanity is our gift. She is shakti fire, dancing at the altar. She is the throbbing, pulsation, of our big, juicy heart. Unmanifested lust circulates through her veins. A lust she holds onto, and milks for its power. She bows before us, drenched in the nectar of our thorns. Alchemizing each cut with a Cheshire Cat like grin. She is organic revelation, speaking in tongues we do not understand. Her hips sway us into hypnotic longing. Her reverent roar empties the oceans. Drawing us down into density. She wears a Sun Disk on her head and holds a scepter in her hands. From the Throne of the Real, she commands The Nations. She will not be denied or cast out. For she is the one who leads us into the battle with the things we turn away from. She is the armor plate that protects our tender heart, and she holds her sword against shadowy figures that rise from the deep. She governs her people with a crazy, rapturous, compassion. Wisdom streams through her as she rides bareback on the Lion of the Savannah. From THIS place she orchestrates the movement of the stars. Her message is simple; “Sometimes there is meaning, and sometimes just Empty Chaos. Don’t get stuck in the weeds of the meaning making mind. The body is the vessel that channels the Divine.”
On the day the Venus Moon portal opens they are in an applying conjunction to Mars at 19 degrees Leo. It will be exact on July 13th at 8:56 am. I couldn’t love that we have this transit here anymore if I tried. For is the embodiment of the Sacred Marriage. Highlighting the ways our inner masculine and inner feminine work together. This transit will show you whether or not these two are in balance, or if one is overpowering the other.
It is the shakti flame of passion. The face of the Primal Goddess. Mars ignites the spark of our passionate sensual nature. Bringing out our inner seductress. Here in Leo, the foreplay turns to roleplay as Mars turns up the heat on an already drama soaked Venus. Sacral and Solar Plexus Chakras unite in waves of bliss.
Bringing us a deeper understanding of this transit, is the Inside Degrees Transmission by Elias Lonsdale…
A black pearl hidden in an oyster.
Working very hard to find again what is lost, to get at what is conspicuously missing, it takes tremendous inner forces to restore the pearl. But most of all, you must vanquish your pride and acknowledge from the core of your being that going through this world without your deep soul intact is hell. If you seek, you shall find. If you ache, you shall come to a restored wholeness. But not without the suffering, the grief, and the facing of the void; initiation in the depths. It is a superb path if you have the courage and stamina for it. But midstream it is cauterizing, corrosive, and deadly; appearances are deceptive; nothing is as it might seem for a while. What matters supremely is guts and integrity.
July 15th the Sun at 23 degrees Leo makes the first of a few significant alignments when he trines Neptune at 23 degrees Pisces. As the Sun passes over Neptune, he forces a break in the fancy free days of Venus/Mars. We take a pause to reflect on whether or not our system and moral code feels aligned. Doing this gives us self-assurance and makes others feel safe in our presence.
June 17th. Sun at 25 degrees Cancer is opposite Pluto at 25 degrees Capricorn. This transit can produce intense feelings as we struggle to safely express ourselves. Often, the ego comes in to save the day, pushing our will on to other people who perceive us as trying to dominate them. Issues around self-security and perfectionism should be examined. We may find that as we try and tamp down any perceived inadequacies that what we are actually doing is attempting to cover for shameful emotions. Acknowledge that you are feeling vulnerable and sit with the emotions until you feel you can move forward in a more constructive and empowering way. When we act out of feelings of shame, the results often end up being a distorted version of what we initially intended.
July 20th Mercury at degrees Cancer sextile Uranus at 14 degrees Taurus. This is a stimulating and exciting transit. It brings fresh ideas, and exciting changes. Areas of stagnancy finally experience a breakthrough. Creative downloads seem to come out of thin air. There is a lightness in your step and your stream-of-consciousness communication is crystal clear. This is a great day to present your ideas to panel of people who are in a position to make your dreams come true. If you’ve been feeling tongue tied and guarded around necessary conversations, it’s also a good time to have conversations that will move life towards more freedom and abundance.
July 22 Venus at 0 degrees Virgo is opposite Jupiter at 0 degrees Pisces. This transit is the perfect time to indulge yourself. All of the restrictive practices you have embraced. All of your conditionings around worth can be transformed under this transit if you’ll give yourself full permission to have the things you crave. All of the “I can’t have”, “I shouldn’t eat” etc. are just dying to be re-scripted. Give yourself total approval to lean into your desires so long as you don’t tip out of balance into excess. Excess is definitely something we want to watch for here. Your inner self knows the difference. So check in there.
July 24th Mercury at 22 degrees Cancer trine Neptune at 22 degrees Pisces. This transit allows you to embody a mystical allure, and dive into topics that ordinarily only inhabit your dream world. It also is the transit of the honey’d tongue. People are naturally drawn to your mesmerizing character. So drawing people to your side will come with ease. This is a great time to host a gathering. If you’ve been wanting to launch something that has you front and center, consider creating a promo on this day. There is likewise a strong imaginative quality about this transit. Not only are your powers of imagination heightened, but so are your powers of intuition. Giving you an edge to know just what the collective is longing for. So plan to crawl into your creative cave and work if you are in the middle of birthing a new project.
July 25 Mercury 25 Cancer is opposite Pluto at 25 Capricorn. This transit can make communication feel more tricky. You may feel like you are having trouble with how to organize your thoughts around the concepts you are trying to relay. Deeply psychological on this day, it may be better spent in quiet reflection, getting in touch with your sensual nature, instead of brooding, or trying to “make” something happen. Curl up with a good book or zone out to some beautiful music if overwhelm sets in. If not, congratulations you are human. Navigate the day with present moment awareness. Tune into that power we discussed earlier. The power to be with everything that arises. See if you are able to stay connected to your truth without abandoning yourself if things get heavy.
Michael Cheval
The Practices
The two Archetypes being explored at this gateway are the Servant and the Warrioress.
The Dysfunctional Archetype
The Servant can be recognized as someone who undervalues themselves, and doesn’t value their basic, underlying, human, self-worth. They aren’t awarded properly for a job well done. Instead of taking appropriate action, they sense they deserve to be short changed. They are satisfied with the scraps of love and attention they receive from people who may be taking advantage of them. They found themselves lingering in the background, papering the walls.
The Functional Archetype
The Warrioress. This is the archetype of radical self-responsibility. Where we show up fully for our own life, and advocate on our behalf. When we embody this archetype we know how to make a stand for our conviction in nuanced, and tactful ways. Without the use of force, or exerting power over people we know how to advance and when to retreat, all while holding our center and not abandoning our truth. This warrioress lives in the present moment, and is agile when moving through her life. They are careful not to get lost in the weeds of the mind. They don’t waste time brooding, they take action. Closely attuned to their both their primal, instinctual self, and adept at using their cunning to slay the disempowering thoughts clouding the mind.
Patron Goddesses
Athena (Greek) - A great battle strategist however disliked pointless wars and preferred to use her wisdom to settle disputes. She also sponsored many of the heroes in Greek mythology.
Bast (Egyptian) - The war Goddess of the Lower Niles, she protected the Pharaoh and his warriors during battle. As the cat Goddess she is also very protective of the young.
Durga (Hindu) – Fierce demon fighting Goddess and protector.
Freya (Norse) – As the Goddess of war she was entitled to the souls of half of the bravest warriors. They spent the afterlife with her in the land of Folkvangr.
Kali (Hindu) – Dark Goddess of death, destruction and time. She is depicted with four arms, in one she carries a sword and another the head of a demon. She wears jewellery made from skulls and blood adorns her breasts.
Pele (Hawiian) – Jealous, volcano goddess of destruction and violence.
Sekhmet (Egyptian) – The lioness headed Goddess of Upper Egypt her name means “powerful one.” Also known as the “lady of slaughter” because in her aspect as the “eye of Ra” she stained the battlefields red with the blood of humans.
THe Work
First I want to say, if you a experience any areas in which your confidence wavers, the answer is not in transcendence work. It is not a matter of needing to meditate more, or have more faith. It is very difficult to move beyond confidence and feelings of disempowerment with affirmations, or with any type of coping tool that asks you to bypass it. Find an embodiment or shadow integration course. Even ours. Work on this chakra requires you to feel. And to feel, you must fully inhabit your body. But you also must be able to hold yourself inside the work.
The anecdote to ground as inflamed solar plexus chakra, one that either pulses with overwhelm at too much exposure, or one that harbors and eruption, with feelings of overpowering anger; the remedy is the same. See yourself through the eyes of innocence. Through the eyes of compassion for your glorious messy human. Remember who you really are. You are the holy innocent child. The ember of an sacred flame just waiting to be stoked. Keep the still, small, violet flame alit at your inner hearth.
Chakra Key Elements
Location: Above your navel and below your sternum, in the solar plexus area
Color: Yellow
Element: Fire
Interconnection with body: Digestive system, pancreas
Solar plexus chakra healing stones: Citrine, tiger’s eye, yellow tourmaline
Essential oils: Chamomile, bergamot, cedarwood, rosemary are amongst the most popular soothing oils
Ways to strengthen your Solar Plexus Chakra
Agree to do something outside of your comfort zone. Dancing, singing, a thrill sport are jus some ideas.
Learn and work with the element of fire.
Keep a journal awareness. Notice when the chakra gets activated and journal about it. In the moments you felt disempowered what did you do. Were you assertive or aggressive.
If your digestive system is sluggish, get your metabolism up by eating spicy foods and doing cardio.
Try tai chi. It is wonderful for solar plexus work especially.
Wear something that makes you feel confident. Document your experience.
Listen to exhilarating music. Dance to it in front of a mirror.
Try this chant to activate your solar plexus
* Riane Eisler has written three books that I feel have greatly contributed to my education around myself and my world view. I wanted to add them here as additional research should you be interested in hearing more for yourself.
The Chalice and the Blade
Sacred Pleasure
Nurturing Our Humanity
She also writes a book called “A Caring Economy” that I have not yet read.
Here is where you can get them, and explore more of her concepts around making partnersim a reality. https://rianeeisler.com/authored/
