Astrological Impact of Transit of Venus: 'A Whole Lot of Nothing?'

Disclaimer: I have no personal opinion regarding the accuracy of astrology, though I do read horoscopes in the newspaper from time to time. 

That being said, we're on the verge of a very : What does it mean, if anything? It's worth considering, so I looked around a bit. Our sister Patches in California (of course) were replete with glowing, purple prose assessments of the phenomenon, which one writer called "a proverbial dance of love."

"This pairing happened last in June 2004 and will not occur again for another 100 years. These transits occur in pairs which given the nature of the duos tango makes a lot of sense," wrote Debra Campbell, author of the "Vision Quest" column for the Laguna Niguel Patch. "Venus, long heralded as representative of the feminine aspect is a beacon of love, beauty and sensuality. The sun has a masculine aspect. Now you can begin to see that this transit is truly a dance."

The result of this "sensational waltz," Campbell said, is an interaction of both the male and female traits, with the purpose of bringing "love into the soul of each inhabitant of the earth as well as to merge the divine attributes of femininity and masculinity into a powerful cohesive force."

Flash to Minnesota. What's the verdict in our staid state? It's going to be mostly a wash, said Twin Cities Astrologist Kenneth Bowser. The reason: A partial lunar eclipse and a whole lot of credulity.

"Lunar eclipses are usually considered a very bad thing, but because the sun is conjoined to Venus (a positive) there were no horrific effects," said Bowser, who touts 42 years of astrological experience. "But really these things are very overblown: They're among the most exaggerated and questionable elements of astrology. It's mostly a lot of nothing and I say that as a longtime astrologer—not as someone who is trying to debunk it and throw rocks at it."

For believers, the result of the transit will depend on their personal astrological configuration, Bowser said. But in general, the transit of Venus bodes well—it's a good time to fall in love, find favorable resolution in a pending court case, or catch a much-needed break. Lunar eclipses, on the other hand, tend to compromise everything. In this circumstance, then, the power of both are muted and mitigated, Bowser concluded.

And don't even get Boswer started on the Mayan-Calendar-2012-Apocalypse thing.

I must say, it's a little anti-climactic, even for a skeptic.