Hi everyone,

Which significators would you assign to the topic of sex work, or to people who are/were engaged with such a thing?

I remember watching a student showcase presentation on the Kepler college channel, in which a student named Christopher Funk did a small research. His results were that people who are engaged in sex work, were more likely to have Venus in Virgo (Venus in fall). Also, if I remember, other weak Venus placements were prominent (Ven in Ari/Sco).
I have the presentation on my Google Drive, and the info I'm referring to is presented from min 52 to min 70 (Credit: Kepler College):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByPo_z ... TZxa3l2dDA

Other than that, from a modern perspective, maybe Pluto. And probably, when it's in contacts with Venus. Maybe we could flip that Pluto with Saturn, from a traditional perspective.
Or the 8th house as a factor (in contrast to the 5th).
12th could also play a role, as for people who are on the sideline of society, and have to keep their business secret.
From a traditional perspective, the 7th house may be somehow active (multiple partners, or the 7th as a business transaction).
Neptune, I'm not sure. It could be delusion, but I somehow doubt it could lead to sex work intentionally. Maybe only as a victim, something like sex trafficking.
Also things should probably be somehow tied to the 10th/ L-10/ part of vocation/ etc.

It seems that astro-databank have a corresponding category on their site:
https://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Ca ... tute/_Pimp

Lastly, I want to admit that this is a sensitive topic, but despite this fact I don't think it should be rubbed under the carpet. It's part of our world, and astrology should correspond to worldly affairs, including ones we don't usually deal with.

It would be interesting to hear others on the subject.

I thought of the 6th house immediately (“service”, maybe because of your somewhat euphemistic term), the only signification you did not mention.

I doubt that there is a simple answer to this question, given the great differences in the social realities of prostitution/sex work across countries/cultures and historical periods, not to mention the frequent social gap between prostitutes and clients (if I understood your question correctly, it included both). But if you are interested in traditional perspectives, there are relevant sections in both Rhetorius and Abū Bakr (and other sources, I'm sure, but those are two that spring to mind).

The factors usually associated with deviant, immoral, or despicable sexual practices, as perceived in the author's cultural setting, tend to involve configurations of Venus, typically with the malefics and/or in their signs. Interestingly, Virgo is not usually grouped with the lecherous signs, whereas Pisces is. (Also, Aries and Scorpio may be relevant as domiciles of Mars, but there is no real doctrine of detriment in the early sources.)

As an aside, I have never had a sex-worker consult me (to my knowledge), but I do remember a client who, among many other traumatic experiences, had once been abducted and held as a sex slave for a brief period before managing to escape. She had Venus and both the malefics in the 6th (quadrant) house, with the Moon separating from Venus and applying to Saturn by square (translation of light).

Everything you mention DimaGur seems to be right.
As Martin mentions, many interpretations are rooted in ancient moral and cultural norms and often carried biases or judgments. Traditional texts often reflected the conservative morals of their time, viewing sex work as a sign of downfall, misfortune or moral weakness. However, not all readings were purely judgmental, some acknowledged it as a result of poverty, coercion or societal constraints.
In Uranian astrology, it can be a combination of VE+HA (Hades)-MA which reads as Illicit, purchaseable sex unions. And Apollon, relations with many and polygamy.
The Nodal axis also linked to relationships.
Some Fixed stars seem to be related to sexual scandals like Castor (Venusian nature) and Pollux (Mars nature) in the Gemini constellation. Some examples.
Jeffrey Dahmer, Roman Polansky, Monica Lewinsky (MC), Charles Manson (POF), Bill Cosby (SU), Jim Jones (MA), Johnny Depp, Marquis de Sade, Hugh Hefner, Marilyn Monroe (NN)

I agree that this is a complex issue because generally speaking, people will have different reasons for being involved in this industry. It could stem from poverty, being trafficked, early childhood trauma, etc. It is not usually someone's dream. There are also different types of sex trades, whether it is someone in p*ornos, online via Onlyfans, or on the street, etc. Obviously, Neptune is often involved with film, but Mercury could easily be internet. An example that comes to mind is Denise Richards, who has Venus lording her chart in the 8th, trine her 10th lord Saturn in the 12th via mutual reception, but she also has Mercury in the 10th conjunct the PoF and she makes good money via her OnlyFans ($2 million a month). For her, I think she is relatively well adjusted and seems to use sex in a positive way for her career but many women might have a different experience, such as p*orno stars who have unlived themselves, such as August Ames (who had a very nice Venus in Libra, btw, as she was very beautiful)..

I don't think you will be able to look at a chart and predict this, nor would I want to imagine why someone would really want to, but you might see overall issues involving sex being out of the norm in some way (which is really what Venus debilitated is a lot of the time, among other things, tbh) but also financial indicators being connected to Venus. I would expect in many cases the chart indicates trauma too. I have heard of Venus debilitated aspecting Pluto in the 10th house of vocation tying into one's career but I can tell you from experience it is more likely to just describe early life conditioning that lead to Venus being out of the norm. That doesn't mean someone will even work in a Venusian vocation. 4th/10th axis is heavily tied into parental upbringing/roots as well and is angular so can just play out into one's personality as a whole really. I have Venus in Aries in the 10th opp Pluto and my vocation is in no real way Venusian that I can make out but it is Plutonian, as it involves death and danger in some ways.

You might find Kim Farnell’s study of interest to this
https://www.skyscript.co.uk/love.html

I echo the caution about how subjective this can be, and how affected by different circumstances and social norms. Issues of debauchery and victimisation attach to this profession, but don’t necessarily define it. Venus has got to be highly significant, I would agree, but not necessarily a debilitated Venus. I’d say the opposite, since the only sex worker I knew was a woman with a strikingly strong and dignified Venus. She wasn’t beautiful so much as ‘comely’ and very rounded in her eyes and features. It was after I remarked on this that she explained she was a professional escort/sex worker. She was never embarrassed about what she did for a living – a single mother, her 11 year old son and everyone around him (son’s teachers, etc) knew about her work and were expected to treat her with the same respect as any other hard working, tax-paying citizen who had a job to take care of. Every week she travelled to London for 2 days, and she claimed that she loved her work, which she had done for years, and the man we would think of as her pimp, she viewed as a valuable colleague. She was politically active in campaigning to get her profession more recognition and more rights; e.g., she was challenging government policy to deny the furlough scheme to sex workers during Covid, arguing that she paid taxes and ran a legitimate business, and her work was undeniably affected by lockdown restrictions. She isn’t featured in this BBC article but she was involved in the group that contributed to the issues: BBC: Coronavirus: Sex workers 'should have access to support fund'

I mention this only because she opened my eyes to realising that modern prostitution is a hard-to-define issue which might not fit easily to historical, or even modern generalisations.

Thank you for that very interesting chart note, Deb. Without revealing the data or otherwise compromising client confidentiality, is it possible to state in what house Venus was located, and whether it was involved in any major aspect configurations?

I tried to find a record of the chart but I don't have it now, sorry - what I remember is Venus rising (in Pisces & ruling Sag MC); Moon in sextile near cusp of 11th (ruling cusp of 6th). Those are the only details that stick in my mind.

As an alternative, there is a category Prostitutes/Pimps on astrodatabank (above)

https://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Ca ... tute/_Pimp

I find interesting that the personal planets Venus and Mars belong to the Night Sect (Moon) as opposed to the Day Sect (Sun) with Jupiter and Saturn.
Obviously, Mercury carries his bi-sexual reputation in this matter.

Ouranos

Thanks, Deb. Venus rising with a sextile from the Moon in the 11th does sound quite positive. But Venus ruling the MC in Sagittarius? Was that a slip of the pen, or do you mean ruling by some minor dignity?

LOL sorry Martin - yes, I meant to say that Venus was rising in Pisces in conjunction with Jupiter, with ruled the Sag MC

Erasmus Reinhold wrote: Venus in XII denotat meretricem.

“Venus in 12 indicates a prostitute.“ (my translation—cited in Anthony Grafton “Cardano‘s Cosmos“ from UB Leipzig, MS Stadtbibliothek 935, 15ro) From a collection of nativities of famous women, 16th century.