Solve et Coagula - Surrender and Union
Venus as Evening Star and Mars as Morning Star
In Alchemy, Solve et Coagula is the spine of transformation, to dissolve what is false and unite what is true. In astrology, planetary phases describe how archetypal forces move through the collective psyche. This week, Mars as the Morning Star and Venus as the Evening Star give the Great Work a clear choreography:
Mars Morning Star brings the incision - clarity, initiation, the first honest move.
Venus Evening Star brings the seal - magnetic union, restoration, beauty that binds.
Together they describe the alchemy of steel first, velvet after.
The Archetypal Formula
Mars Morning Star (Solve) is the will that goes first, cutting through ambiguity.
Venus Evening Star (Coagula) is the value that draws, uniting what is worthy.
This is surrender as precision a time to release attachment to the old form so a truer form can appear.
Ritual: Incision, Release, Anointing
A 5-minute Solve et Coagula practice for relationships, values, and boundaries.
Opening Invocation
As above, so below.
May truth be clean. May love be real.
May what dissolves be released with grace,
and may what remains be worthy of union.
Step 1: SOLVE
The Incision of Mars (Clarity)
Place a hand on your solar plexus, breathe in and speak one sentence:
Choose one:
“I am no longer available for this pattern.”
“The truth is: ____.”
“My boundary is: ____.”
“What must change is: ____.”
Now name what you’re dissolving:
the fog-contract (unspoken rules)
silent scorekeeping
people-pleasing
reactive anger
avoidance
Release line:
“I surrender my attachment to keeping the old form.”
Step 2: DISSOLUTION
Surrender (Let it melt)
Ask yourself:
What have I been trying to control through a pattern?
What emotion have I been trying to avoid through a pattern?
What truth have I been asking someone else to say first?
Exhale slowly and imagine the old form loosening like salt in water.
Step 3: COAGULA
The Anointing of Venus (Union)
Soften the room, light a candle if you like and speak a second sentence:
Choose one:
“What I truly value is ____.”
“What would feel good and sustainable is ____.”
“How I want to repair and reconnect is ____.”
“The new agreement I will keep is ____.”
Now seal it with something tangible, pick one:
a clear agreement (time, behaviour, expectation)
a repair ritual (walk-and-talk, tea check-in, weekly reset)
a devotional act (consistency, care, a kept promise)
Seal line:
“I unite with what is worthy. I commit to what I can maintain.”
Journal Prompts
Mars / Solve - Where am I tolerating a pattern that quietly erodes my self-respect?
Venus / Coagula - What shared value do I want my relationships to be built on?
The Union - What boundary would protect love, not punish people?
The New Agreement Template
Copy and complete:
The standard is: ____
I will honour it by: ____
If it’s broken, the repair is: ____
The pleasure we’re building is: ____
Closing Blessing
Mars, make me clear.
Venus, make me true.
May truth and tenderness meet in one vessel.
