The Pleasure Principle

July 22, 2023

Venus Retrograde 
(July 22 — Sept 3, 2023)

Venus, Goddess of Beauty and Pleasure was born of the dark waters and an even darker circumstance. According to legend, Gaia (Earth) was tired of getting impregnated by Ouranos (Uranus) and finally convinced one of her sons Kronos (Saturn) to do something. Kronos dismembered his father’s phallus and threw it in the sea. From the strange bubbling waters, a figure grew. The beautiful Aphrodite (Venus) was born.

As the planet Venus starts her 40 day retrograde today in the sunny sign of Leo, she puts a spotlight on the shadowy parts of our desire.

What is the origin story of your pleasure?

In my experience, pleasure is never uncomplicated. Beauty, sex, money, and food (to name a few of the most immediate pleasures), always seems to come at a personal price. We pay with self-respect, with trauma, with compromise and comparison. Societally our aggressive pursuit of immediate pleasure has created a burning world afloat in trash and crushed by consumerist consequences. At times we think we can escape into ignorance, but that turns out to be the dark king of all pleasures.

Why is our pleasure so often wrapped in guilt? Why does it unconsciously couple with pain? And how can we move through the murky waters of our past and into the bright light of future delight?

When I think of the antithesis of pleasure, the first word that comes to mind is ‘responsibility’. Perhaps it is possible that rather than opposing these two values, a pairing could in fact offer the boundless enjoyment and fulfillment we all seek, without the chains. 

Today I propose a new story of pleasure that is supported instead by authority and accountability. To self. To others. To our collective unbounded, beautiful and wild future, made possible by the most pleasurable of acts: sharing, not taking.