Arts and Culture

Aesthetics, good taste, refinement, and good manners take their cues from Venus, who rules Taurus and Libra. Playing her part in the planetary influences that urge class distinction, Venus looks after the so-called finer things in life.

Though creativity swims mostly in the 5th house and Neptune's subconscious domain, the arts created from the imagination belong to Venus. Painting, sculpture, classical music, dance, theater -- these can be touched, seen, heard. They are the end result, not the process -- imagination manifested.

Attraction is one of Venus' main forces -- what we're attracted to and what we attract applies to the arts as well as to romance. Gallery openings, symphony galas, a night at the theater are events where the upper classes socialize. Since Venus also rules money, the arts are a natural arena for people to congregate in. And those who can afford to buy tickets, purchase the paintings, and support the symphony with substantial donations gain prestige from helping the gifted and creative endeavors of a society.

Arts express a culture in an aesthetic way.

Movies from various places carry the stamp of the culture that made them and that appreciates them -- with a sense of humor, a flair for romance, a slower or faster pace.

When two cultures come together, as they did when Captain Cook "discovered" Australia and Christopher Columbus "found" the Americas, native culture is one of the first things the conqueror tries to destroy in order to have dominance on the land. The ancient Romans often allowed certain aspects of a conquered culture to continue unchecked, while still establishing Roman rule and law as supreme over the former hierarchy.

Blending two cultures together peacefully has rarely happened. Even attempts to meld cultures in contemporary situations like restaurants (Chinese-American or Thai-Chinese) often results in a cuisine that lacks the distinctive flavor and style of the original. It's as if to compromise, the chef has to give something up -- something that made the original food appetizing.

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