© 2012 by
Joyce Mason
All Rights
Reserved
When the
Sun is in Libra, our thoughts turn to love and relationships. I’m glad I get a
little dose of Libran friendship—and sunshine—any time of year. Here’s what I
mean:
The other
morning, I reached up and grabbed one of my favorite coffee mugs. It has a big,
bright sunflower on it and it holds enough wake-up juice for a real caffiend. (Guilty.)
I’m a slow starter in the morning without a stimulant jumpstart. The mug was a
gift from my dear friend, Dana.
Over 31
years of friendship, Dana has given me many gifts from small to large, some of
them breathtaking in the generosity they reflect. However, it’s this
inexpensive but cheery mug that probably brings me the most joy of all of them.
It reminds me not only of the Sun outside, which I work too hard to see often
enough, but also my astrological Sun in the 5th house of creativity.
I live and breathe to be creative. How well she knows me. Every morning it
isn’t in the dishwasher, that mug wakes us both up—my creativity and me. (“We
be mates,” to quote Crocodile Dundee.) My sunflower mug warms my heart with
rays of friendship. What a fabulous way to start the day.
What’s so
great about this mug is how well my friend gets my essence and reflects it back
to me in her choice of gifts. She knows what cheers me up and on. Just using
her coffee mug reminds me of her support ongoing.
We’re
rounding the corner of the time of year when we start to think about what to
get our loved ones for Christmas, Chanukah, Winter Solstice—or whatever winter
holidays you celebrate. I started out talking about what people give me, but I’m
told my own talent for giving gifts is A+. How can astrology help turn you into
a gift-giving genius? Giving gifts engages our Venus. This being Venus’s time
of year, what a perfect time to wake up your love planet before you have to
take her to the mall—or out on a Google gift search.
Venusian Qualities – Their Gift for
Gifts
Venus as a
planet is about our one-on-one connections with others, so the art of gift
giving has to do with observing those we care for and making mental and
physical notes of their needs. If it doesn’t come second nature to you—and it
doesn’t for everyone—here’s a trip around the Venus signs with tips on how to
polish yours to gift-giving perfection. Apply the suggestions, with minor
modifications, to relationships of all kinds.
Don’t know or forgot your Venus sign? Go to this link on astro.com to generate your free natal astrology chart.
Venus in Aries. You’re passionate and showy in love
and probably the spontaneous gesture is easier for you than the planned Christmas
or Chanukah present. Ideas: Start with the loved one whose affection matters
most to you. For a week or more, focus on the things he or she casually
mentions or admires. “Wow, look at that great gray sweater she’s wearing. I’d
love to have one like that.” Look at what she looks at while window shopping.
Notice his comments on certain TV commercials. “The new iPhone looks
fantastic.” Take notes, and set a reminder in your computer now to review and
buy from your ongoing list you’ve been making. (Works for birthdays, too.) Use
the Aries quality of getting there first to shop as early as possible and snag
bargains. By Halloween, you need to be on it! The skills you develop in this
practice are likely to make you lucky in love! With Venus in a Mars-ruled sign,
I know you won’t mind if the results are a frisky recipient.
Venus in Taurus. You probably enjoy receiving gifts as
much as giving them. Still, sitting in the lap of luxury is no fun alone! As
long as your beloved is even a dash as sensuous as you are, aim your gift cards
toward tactile pleasures you can enjoy together like couple’s massage or a special
dinner at a gourmet restaurant. (There’s always Stone Cold Creamery or Baskin
and Robbins cards for stocking stuffers. Or See’s candy.) Along with Venus in
Libra, Venus is in one of its own signs in Taurus. Thinking of others is easy
for you, especially if there’s mutual enjoyment involved. Notice what rings your
bells together, and make note. Does she gasp when you’re together at an art
gallery? Does he love movies so much; “first run” in his case refers more to
how fast he sprints to get to the latest release? Buy that painting or theatre
gift card.) The best part? You’ll be giving yourself a gift, too.
Venus in Gemini. You
like your gismos and gadgets. So many things catch your eye—so many interests.
The issue is to capture them in the notes section of your smartphone or on your
digital recorder. Set a reminder to start observing your beloved’s “wants
mentions” starting this month. Make it recur once a week so you don’t get
side-tracked. Make a “drop dead date” to go shopping, whether in a store or on
your keyboard. The drill is the same for every sign—observe, record, and shop
from the list. Some signs have a little more trouble with focus and
follow-through. That (ahem) might be you. Since there’s a little trickster in
every Gem, try involving them in one of those circulating notes on Facebook.
Make it up, for example, 10 Things I’d Most Love to Have and What They Say about
Me. These exercises to get to know our FB friends better are routine. They’ll
never suspect your fishing for gift ideas till they unwrap something on their
list.
Venus in Cancer. Since you love the home version of just about
anything, fix a special dinner for your honey and just happen to mention your
concern about what to get for several people this holiday season. Get his or
her ideas. People often think in terms of what they’d like themselves, so take
mental notes to write on a recipe card when your unsuspecting loved one leaves
the room. (Everyone has to go to the bathroom sometime.) Mention the wonderful
gift catalogs you’ve gotten lately. Ask your beloved to take a look at some of
them after dinner. It’ll be fun to each look at different ones and share your
favorite finds over coffee and a platter of still warm chocolate chip cookies. Now,
as your guy or gal hits those pictured pages, make note of any comments,
especially enthusiastic responses like I
just love this! He
or she won’t know what hit, and being the innate nurturer you are, you’ll have
discovered several fabulous ideas that will come as a big surprise when
fulfilled a couple months later. The love of your life will have long forgotten
the night of catalog and cookies—well, maybe not the cookies.
Venus in Leo. The king or queen of showy gestures,
your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to find something that will make
your loved one gasp at your generosity or creative genius—preferably both. You
sometimes have trouble putting down your mirror long enough to look at someone
else, but I’m telling you—same as Aries—this will pay off! One caution: You need to gauge your tendency
toward big gestures to the individuals in question. If they’re on the shy side
and you’re the one who plays the social one between you, don’t send a singing
Santa to their office. What will mean the most is that you focused on their
needs by taking the time to observe their wants and what delights them. Since
you are a kid at heart, you’ll have more fun if you can bring their inner child
out to play with you. (Everyone has one. Everyone needs to express it, usually more
than they do.) Show them how lucky they are to have a pro Big Kid in their
lives. You can buy gift cards for Disneyland at the grocery store, and since
you know how to play, think up a perfect weekend road trip that’s chock full of
amusement parks, carnivals, food festivals, etc. And since you love the Sun, a shared
gift trip somewhere sunny will recharge you and leave you less concerned about
the charge on your credit card.
Venus in Virgo. I don’t have to tell you about keeping lists. I
do have to remind you that you have to give up from the get-go the idea that
there is one perfect present. You’ll
have plenty of holidays for gifting those you love. Aim for the
possible—something they’d really enjoy—not the illusive ideal. Take a tip from
a Virgo Sun about organization. I make a file with the list of all my gift
recipients. It has columns with their name, gift ideas, places I’d buy them and
a place to check off—done! I put a shortcut on my desktop in fall, and I add
ideas to it as the weeks inch toward December. In a good year, I’ve got all my
shopping done by Thanksgiving so I can relax and enjoy the festivities, rather
than having shopping still hanging over my head. The great part is that I have
a record of what I gave people in years past so I don’t duplicate. I can just
copy last year’s file, delete the content and rename it Christmas List 2012. I trust this tip will keep you from making
yourself sick with worry about getting just the right thing!
Observe, record and buy from your list are the words that make their dreams come true, regardless of your Venus sign or theirs.
