For most of us Venus is the planet of pleasure of relationships of love and intimacy. The most brilliant in the skies the, “morning star”, very conspicuous and beautiful. But for Sanatan Dharm/Hinduism he is the Daityaguru Shukracharya, the strictest teacher of the most difficult students.

Then let me tell you a story now. There was a sage Angiras who had a Gurukul/school and taught the best and his students were the most renown. He had a son Bruhaspati. And his most brilliant student was Shukra. The Devatas are entities inclined to Satvic and Rajassic energies. So these Devatas went to Angiras and asked him to refer his best student to be their Devguru. Angiras knew that the best was Shukra but fatherly interest intervened and he instead sent Bruhaspati to be the Devguru. This hurt Shukra deeply and on a rebound, went and offered his services to the Daityas (enemies of the Devatas) and became known as Daityaguru Shukrachayra.

Now Shukra knows that his students are the Daityas, more inclined towards Tamasic and Rajasic energies and not all of them are eligible to know the deepest knowledge. So the best teacher of them all has the worst students. And he being the best teacher obviously teaches his lessons the best.

• Satvic energies pull you towards your real self/Parabrahma
• Rajasic energies pull you towards the affairs of the manifested works, the domain of Mahamaya, the creative aspect of Parabrahma
• Tamasic energies are heavy and don’t move, they are still, depends on what use you make of them. Most normal persons channelize them for attainment of worldly pleasures.

Shukra’s teaching methods are not really straightforward. He allows you everything that seems to give you pleasure but slowly and surely spikes that experience with “something  missing”. You then search and search some more trying to find that relationship which gives you continual pleasure. Then finally you realise that this relationship can only with your own self. The ultimate pleasure is being with your own self as nothing outside you can ever satisfy you completely. Then the real teaching begins.

Odin, the God of the Vikings is modelled after Shukra. Shukra has one eye and had done a highly difficult tapa/penance hanging upside down from a tree, praying to Shiva. Indra, the chief of the Devatas, got scared and sent his daughter Jayanti to disturb Shukra. She lit fires around the meditating Shukra and despite the discomfort he continued his tapa with singleminded concentration. Thus ashamed Jayanti begged his forgiveness and later married him. Shiva too was pleased and granted Shukra the most esoteric Sanjeevini vidya, the ‘intelligence or the essence of the most highest Life’.

In a horoscope Shukra, Venus is the determinant for relationships at all levels, from business partners to life partners, of beauty, harmony, brilliance and also the ultimate knowledge or moksha. He is also the agent for addictions, from alcohol to gambling, sexuality, to utter moral ruin.

It would seem strange that the agent of moksha, Shukra is also the agent of worldly pleasures and debauchery too. But do understand that these worldly pleasures are the tests. If you are going to be satisfied with a beautiful wife and a lovely home, Shukra will just go with it. Then at some point of time you will get disillusioned with your wife, you will desire the deepest knowledge not just superficial stuff. This time if you go to Shukra again, if you pass his test, and ask for the ultimate knowledge he just may give it to you. Shukra is the strictest teacher of them all, hiding his strictness under an enchanting brilliant beauty. If you can pass his tests he is most generous with his knowledge. But his tests are the most difficult as they don’t even look like tests. Unlike Saturn, who looks like the strict teacher he is, Shukra hides his true nature under a garb of beauty.

In a horoscope if you want to find how spiritually inclined a person is check out the placement of Shukra and the axis that it makes with Bruhaspati and Ketu. If these planets are either with each other or 180 degrees from each other, then the person has a very high potential for spirituality. If this axis involves houses number 5, 9, 11 then it will be even more pronounced.

If you want to sit for Shukra’s exams and ace them, on a Friday light a small ghee lamp with the folllowing mantra ॐ हिमकुन्दमृणालाभं दैत्यानां परमं गुरुम् सर्व शास्त्रप्रवक्तारं भार्ग्गवं प्रणमाम्यहम् ॐ |

You can also do a 108 times recitation of Shukra beej mantra ॐ द्रां द्रीं द्रौं सः शुक्राय नमः |”Om Draang Dreeng Droung Sah Shukraya Namah” if saying for your own self. Or if doing it for someone else then “Om Draam Dreem Droum Sah Shukraya Namah” If you are interested in doing a small homam you can use this same mantra replacing the namah by swaha. You will need a pyramidal copper kunda, desi cowdung cakes, desi cow milk ghee.

Now for the thing that has been really worrying me. “Diamonds are forever” has managed to brainwash an entire generation of unfortunate young women who have insisted upon a diamond wedding ring and managed to poison their married lives. A diamond is the stone that resonates with Shukra’s energies and should be treated with that same amount of caution as you would a blue sapphire. It can be downright dangerous to continually wear a diamond in your ring finger without giving thought to whether it suits your horoscope and whether that particular stone resonates with your personal energies. Then you need to do an initial puja on it, charge it before wearing it and continually keep on recharging it. Young women, please wear a heavy gold ring for a wedding ring rather than experimenting with a diamond. Because if it does not suit, it will slowly but gradually, almost imperceptibly poison your relationships, drag down your moral compass and later you will have a “something missing” vague feeling about everything.

But then for young women, if you really are attracted to diamonds, only place where you should wear it is, in a nose pin in your right nostril. It then helps in regulating the function of the pingala naadi and resolves problems related to the menstrual cycle, helps your mindset and also increases your self confidence. Try if if you have your right nostril pierced.