Venus by Sign – How You Express Love, What You Need, and the Shadow You Carry

What EVERYONE NEEDS:

1) TAURUS - Security - constancy, pleasure and comfort, to be patient and to take the time to create safety
2) LIBRA - Intimacy - to relate, to engage, to engage, for beauty, harmony, balance

Venus in Aries – The Bold Lover Expresses love: Directly, forward, boldly, energetically, innocently, childlike, unpretentious, enthusiastic, energetically, fresh, spontaneous
Needs: Excitement, initiation, passion, honesty, the thrill of pursuit and response
Shadow: Self-centeredness, impatience, conflict-driven relating, burnout in love, quick to love, quick to leave

Venus in Taurus – The Sensual Stabilizer Expresses love: Slowly, comfortably, indulgently, through touch, relaxation, material pleasure, soothing, easy going possessively, attaching
Needs: Physical affection, stability, loyalty, beauty, and creature comforts
Shadow: Possessiveness, stagnation, resistance to change, confusing love with material security, overindulgence

Venus in Gemini – The Curious Communicator Expresses love: Verbally, intellectually, playfully, inquisitively, flirtatiously, charmingly, often through conversation, wants information, learning, gossipping aquire knowledge, inquisitively, superficially, can be fickle

Needs: Mental stimulation, lively dialogue, lightness, shared curiosity
Shadow: Superficiality, inconsistency, boredom in commitment, talking instead of feeling, flirtation without depth

Venus in Cancer – The Nurturing Soul Expresses love: Tenderly, protectively, sentimentally, domestically, through home-cooked meals, memories,  caring, mothering, protecting, entertaining at home
Needs: Emotional closeness, family, belonging, caregiving and receiving
Shadow: Smothering, emotional manipulation, overattachment, defensiveness, fear of abandonment

Venus in Leo – The Romantic Performer Expresses love: Warmly, dramatically, playfully, enthusiastically, adoringly, with flair and grand gestures, romantically, warmly, dramatically, fun and games, doing something creative, enjoys performance, enthusiastically

Needs: Admiration, romance, appreciation, to feel special and center-stage in love
Shadow: Pride, vanity, need for validation, drama addiction, performing instead of connecting authentically

Venus in Virgo – The Devoted Perfectionist Expresses love: Helpfully, modestly, discriminatingly, through acts of service, detailed, reliability, conscientiously
Needs: Mutual respect, practical affection, being appreciated for what one does
Shadow: Overcritical, emotionally reserved, overly focused on flaws, perfectionism blocking intimacy

Venus in Libra – The Harmonizer Expresses love: Graciously, charmingly, lovingly, fairly, cooperatively, with social grace and aesthetic awareness, pleasantly, mentally engaging, communicatively, asking questions, listening attentively
Needs: Beauty, fairness, balanced partnership, mutual engagement and kindness
Shadow: People-pleasing, indecision, superficiality, fear of conflict, overly focused on appearances

Venus in Scorpio – The Intense Transformer Expresses love: Passionately, deeply, magnetically, secretively, all-or-nothing, with emotional intensity, depth and mystery, alluringly, provatively, sexy  
Needs: Total intimacy, loyalty, trust, soul-merging, deep emotional truth
Shadow: Jealousy, control, obsession, power games, paranoid, fear of betrayal, compulsive, emotional manipulation

Venus in Sagittarius – The Adventurous Free Spirit Expresses love: Optimistically, humorously, enthusiastically, inspiringly, generously, philosophically, through shared ideals and journeys
Needs: Freedom, adventure, open-mindedness, shared exploration, truth-seeking, and truth-telling, wants a pal, a fellow traveler
Shadow: Restlessness, inconsistency, avoidance of emotional depth, preachiness, commitment-phobia

Venus in Capricorn – The Structured Lover Expresses love: Cautiously, responsibly, reservedly, ambitiously, with loyalty and practical concern
Needs: Respect, stability, commitment, love that grows over time and proves itself
Shadow: Emotional inhibition, conditional affection, love tied to status, control through withholding, calculating, perfectionistic

Venus in Aquarius – The Detached Visionary Expresses love: Unconventionally, coolly, detached, casually, freely, intellectually, friendly, unpredictably, often through shared ideals or causes, experimentally
Needs: Friendship, freedom, authenticity, mental rapport, space in relationship, agape
Shadow: Aloofness, avoidance of intimacy, erratic behavior, fear of dependency, love as rebellion, unstable

Venus in Pisces – The Mystic Romantic Expresses love: Tenderly, dreamily, compassionately, idealistically, delicately, with spiritual longing, romantically, imaginatively with artistic flair
Needs: Emotional and spiritual union, romantic fantasy, empathy, unconditional love
Shadow: Idealization, martyrdom, lack of boundaries, escapism, self-deception, merging without discernment, needing to be rescued, sacrificing, unclear, evasive