Aries III and the Four of Wands
April 9, 2025, 10:50 AM – April 19, 2025, 3:56 PM
The Alchemical Wedding/ Hierosgamos
Venus stations direct on April 12, during the Sun’s passage through Aries III—a Venus-ruled decan in a Mars-ruled sign. This is no ordinary station. It arrives under a Full Moon in Libra, the sign Venus rules—a moment of cosmic connection. And it comes in the shadow of a retrograde cycle that has burned, dissolved, and refined. We are no longer where we began.
This is a fiery threshold—a culmination zone, vibrating with clarity and ceremony. A decan of celebration and sacred union. A place where what was separate now seeks to bond, stabilize, and sing. This is not the forced fusion of opposites—but the joyful reconciliation of them.
We find ourselves at the gates of the alchemical wedding—the sacred union of Venus and Mars, of yin and yang, of effort and ease, soul and spark. What has been illuminated is not just the nature of desire, but the dance between connection and assertion, eros and will, love and individuation.
This third decan of Aries corresponds to the Four of Wands, a card that embodies union, homecoming, and heartfelt celebration. The Golden Dawn called it the Lord of Completion, and it does feel as though we have arrived. At least for a moment. Enough to exhale, hang the floral swag, to dance beneath the canopy.
Venus’ Journey Through Fire and Water
To fully understand what we’re stepping into, we need to retrace Venus' path:
January 28 – enters pre-retrograde shadow at Pisces 24°37′
February 4 – enters Aries
March 1 – stations retrograde at Aries 10°50′
March 22 – cazimi (conjunct the Sun), the heart of the retrograde
March 27 – re-enters Pisces while still retrograde
April 12 – stations direct at Pisces 24°37′
April 30 – re-enters Aries
May 16 – exits post-retrograde shadow at Aries 10°50′
Venus has traversed a liminal corridor: from yang Aries I (fire), to yin Pisces III (water), and soon back to Aries I again. All Mars-ruled decans. Her retrograde has unfolded entirely within the domain of assertion, individuation, and fire.
So much Martian energy—and yet it is Venus who rules this moment.
She has been softened by Pisces, scorched by Aries, submerged in feeling, and now she is rising—sobered, clarified, and sovereign. She turns forward again as the Sun moves through her decan, inviting us into the final act of the retrograde drama: integration and celebration.
This isn’t the Venus of silk and sweetness. Aries III holds a yang Venus—the Venus of truth, proportion, and harmonized tension. She moves from the depths not just with emotion, but with wisdom. She is the Empress, wielding discernment and justified beauty. She is the principle of attraction, not just as pleasure, but as a five-pointed pattern, presence, and power.
Venus and Mars: The Sacred Marriage
The mythic undercurrent of this retrograde has been about Venus and Mars.
The journey began in Aries I, the place of raw drive and instinct. From there, Venus walked backward into Pisces III, the place of soul longing, surrender, and dissolution. The story? One of eros and disintegration. Of desire tested by confusion. Of longing burned clean.
And now, as the Sun walks through Aries III, a Venus-ruled decan, the lovers (decanically, not spectrally) find one another again—this time with clarity. This is the hierosgamos: the sacred wedding of divine masculine and divine feminine. Not romantic fluff, but initiatory fire. Not passivity, but a forged convergence.
This retrograde likely asked: Where do I pursue love or connection out of compulsion, not clarity? What do I truly desire—now that the illusions have fallen away? How do I integrate fire (assertion) with water (feeling) in how I relate?
This has not been an easy Venus retrograde. It covered tender, unspoken, vulnerable terrain. But now, integration is possible. Venus emerges not as she entered, but as a queen who has tasted the underworld and is ready to rise reborn.
The Four of Wands: Celebration, Belonging, and Beauty Forged
In Tarot, Aries III corresponds to the Four of Wands—a card that glows with joy, community, and relief. It is the moment after the hard push, when you catch your breath and realize: You’re not alone. You’re in community.
In the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, the image is unmistakably festive: a flower-laced canopy strung between four wands, figures in the distance dancing. The energy is welcoming, but also earned.
It’s not just about weddings or parties. It’s about recognizing what’s been forged within and around you. It’s the card of arrival, of foundation laid, of a sacred pause to honor the journey. The suit of Wands moves from spark to embodiment—and here, we find the first real stability. Passion has taken root.
The number four in numerology signals structure, security, home, and grounding. In Aries III, it’s a pause in the flames. The moment when celebration becomes part of survival. When a circle of friends, a body healed, and a hard truth accepted become the reason to toast.
Venus as Principle: Beyond Pleasure
Venus is not only love and beauty—she is pattern, harmony, and the magnetic force that brings cohesion to chaos.
In Aries III, this Venus is discerning and clear. She is not just connection, but right relationship. She says no to what is misaligned. She has forged her desire and dignity.
Where Mars (The Tower) disrupts and burns, Venus (The Empress) gracefully rebuilds. She reframes. She gathers the ruins. She weaves them into beauty.
The Alchemical Wedding + The Full Moon in Libra
Venus stations direct on April 12, the same day as the Full Moon in Libra—the sign of equilibrium, beauty, and relational truth. Venus rules Libra. This moon is her mirror. She stations in Pisces, the sign of spiritual love, surrender, and closure.
This is a moment of cosmic poetry. A Venus who has wandered through the wilderness of want and longing turns forward in the sign of compassion, just as her light is reflected back to her in Libra’s lunar glow.
It’s as if she’s whispering:
I’ve seen your shadows.
I’ve felt the ache.
Now return—with grace.
Celebrate what was severed—now, hierosgamos.
This is the alchemical wedding—within you. The sacred union of all your parts. Fire and water. Past and present. Grief and joy. To celebrate now is not to ignore what’s been hard—it’s to honor it through beauty.
Tarot Activity: Reflect + Draw
Take out your Four of Wands card. Sit with its imagery. Let your gaze soften. What draws your attention first? The floral canopy? The feeling of celebration? The sense of arriving somewhere meaningful?
Let whatever arises—memories, emotions, insights—be part of your ritual.
Now, shuffle your deck and pull three cards. Let them reveal where you are on the other side of Venus retrograde, and how to honor what is ready to root and bloom.
Use these questions to guide your draw:
Let the answers greet you like a welcome committee to the next cycle. Write them down. Draw them out. Speak them aloud.
There is celebration here—of becoming, of belonging, of beauty revealed through transformation.
Heather Marie Morse is an esoteric writer and yoga teacher who blends the wisdom of lunar astrology with the practice of yoga through her Substack newsletter, The Light Today. Her work mainly focuses on the subtle influences of light and the moon's phases on our daily lives, aiming to harmonize our inner rhythms with the universe's natural cycles.