The GDP, the metric by which most countries have agreed to measure their productivity, is a measurement of the cost of goods bought and sold by a country.
Critics have pointed out that the GDP skews our collective value system in two directions. Events like war increase GDP because it creates a need to manufacture more weapons.
On the flip side, GDP does not factor the value to a society that is created by people who provide value through caring, such as volunteers who take care of the sick, or parents who leave the workforce to be full-time care givers to their children. Even though it’s obvious that the “production” that is measure in GDP couldn’t happen without the people who serve in caring capacities.
GDP also doesn’t measure the long-term impact on a business that operates a caring-first strategy — whether that care is for customers or the earth. It creates a bias in favor of low-durability goods over sustainable goods: things that break or wear out faster need to be replaced more frequently, and more production boost GDP.
Because most countries have locked into the GDP as the metric of productivity, our modern capitalistic culture places a bias on money and tangible production as evidence of “productivity” and “success.”
It’s worth noting that not all countries adopt the GDP as their metric for progress. Countries that prioritize a value on caring and service actually rank higher in population happiness than the United States, and other capitalist societies.
A New Angle on Measuring Productivity
Life is all about the angles.
What’s your angle? What’s your perspective?
Your angle — your intention, your purpose, your motivation, your attitude — can lead to strife and struggle or harmony and ease.
Today’s sextile between Venus in Cancer and Uranus in Taurus invites us to consider what might be possible if we looked at productivity and currency from a new angle.
What if we revolutionized the way we thought about care and nurturing and how it factors into our cultural values system?
Venus in Cancer
Venus is the planet of love, sensuality, beauty, art, and money. All of these elements are really stand-ins for the core of what Venus represents: our value system and self-worth. Venus speaks to our relationship with wealth and abundance, in all forms.
As Venus transits through the different signs, it pulls focus to the different aspects of our value system, the various sources from which we draw our self-worth, and how we connect in relationships.
In Cancer, a sign of care and nurturing, Venus highlights our need for nourishing and nurturing connections and open-hearted relationships. It pulls focus to the value of intimacy in relationships and the way we create value through caring.
Venus in Cancer reminds us that care is the ultimate currency.
Uranus in Taurus
Uranus is often called the planet of revolution. It brings unexpected change and surprises. Because Uranus moves slowly, it’s revolution can be subtle. It’s more like an undercover secret agent infiltrating a group than like an army of soldiers storming a city.
It is currently working it’s way through Taurus, a sign ruled by Venus. Taurus is the sign of money, material resources, agriculture, and sustainability. Taurus is a tangibly productive sign, focused on planting and cultivating.
In Taurus, Uranus is bringing a slow revolution to our collective approach to money, values systems, agriculture, and sustainability in using our resources.
Venus sextile Uranus
A sextile is a 60-degree triangle between two planets. This angle is cooperative and provides structure and sturdiness.
More generally, Venus sextile Uranus can stimulate a desire for change and experimentation in our relationships. It may also help us see where we need to break free from old value systems.
On a more mundane level, Venus sextile Uranus can bring surprise or chance meetings with someone who can help you move a project forward. Or perhaps you may find yourself the recipient of a lot of spontaneous love and affection from surprise admirers.
Venus in Cancer Sextile Uranus in Taurus
Cancer and Taurus are both nurturing signs. There’s a lot of synergy between them. A sextile is a supportive aspect in which the energies of the planets flow together.
This set up can show us the revolutionary powers of care as currency and relationships as the ultimate metrics of wealth.
After all, what good is having lots of money if you are isolated and alone?
Money may buy you access to places, but it can’t buy you friends.
You can use money to pay for care givers, but you can’t buy actual caring.
Taurus is a sign of longevity. Studies show that loneliness and isolation shorten our lifespans.
What sustains us over time is the deep ties of relationships in which we care for others and feel cared for in return.
Shifting our social model to one where care is valued in accordance with the value it produces would indeed be a revolution.