Receiving Is Essential to Getting What You Want: Venus Magic and Manifestation | The Seven, Episode 21
In Episode 21 of The Seven: Living with the Planets, Lucy Baldwin returns to Venus magic through one of its most important teachings:
Receiving is essential to getting what you want.
Many people think they want love, money, beauty, support, connection, visibility, intimacy, pleasure, rest, or help.
But when those things come close, something in them tightens.
They deflect the compliment.
They refuse the gift.
They overwork instead of allowing ease.
They control exactly how something must arrive.
They cannot ask clearly for what they want.
They say they want abundance, but their nervous system is organized around pushing it away.
Venus magic helps heal this pattern by teaching the body how to receive.
Watch or listen to Episode 21 of The Seven here:
Key Takeaways
In this episode, Lucy explores:
receiving as the heart of Venus magic
why people often block the very things they say they want
overworking, proving, controlling, and deflecting as forms of non-receiving
visibility as a form of being received
the upper limit problem and how much goodness the nervous system can tolerate
why “there is no such thing as a free lunch” can become a limiting belief
asking clearly for what you want as a Venus practice
how small asks can begin healing your relationship with receiving
simple ways to embody Venus through beauty, perfume, candles, taste, pleasure, and art
why asking for what you want opens the field of manifestation
Receiving Is Not Passive
Receiving is often misunderstood.
People think receiving means doing nothing.
Waiting.
Being weak.
Being dependent.
Letting life happen to you.
But Venus magic shows a different truth:
Receiving is active.
It takes courage to receive.
It takes openness to receive.
It takes a nervous system that can tolerate goodness.
It takes the willingness to be seen in desire.
Receiving is not the opposite of power.
It is one form of power.
Why We Push Away What We Want
Many people are not actually available to receive the things they consciously desire.
They may want help, but reject it when it appears.
They may want love, but feel unsafe with intimacy.
They may want visibility, but hide when attention comes.
They may want rest, but feel guilty when they stop working.
They may want support, but immediately think about what they will owe in return.
This is not stupidity.
It is protection.
Receiving can feel vulnerable, stimulating, unsafe, or too much.
So the body contracts.
The hands close.
The field narrows.
And the thing you wanted cannot fully enter.
The Upper Limit Problem
A lot of people have an upper limit around goodness.
There is only so much pleasure, ease, support, abundance, or attention they can tolerate before the system says:
Too much.
Not safe.
What will this cost?
When will it disappear?
Who will I owe?
Am I allowed to have this?
This is why a person can consciously want something and still block it.
They are not blocking the thing itself.
They are blocking the stimulation of receiving it.
Venus magic helps expand the capacity to hold more goodness without flinching.
Overworking as a Refusal to Receive
One way receiving wounds show up is through over-effort.
Trying to prove yourself.
Trying to earn everything.
Trying to control the delivery system.
Trying to make sure nothing arrives too easily.
If you believe everything must have a price, ease can feel suspicious.
If you believe nothing is free, gifts can feel dangerous.
If you believe you must work hard to deserve anything, receiving can feel morally wrong.
Venus challenges that entire pattern.
She asks:
Can it be easier?
Can you let it come?
Can you receive without immediately calculating the debt?
Control Blocks Receiving
When people struggle to receive, they often become very specific about how something is allowed to arrive.
From whom.
In what amount.
In what form.
Under what conditions.
With what return obligation.
That kind of control can look like discernment.
And sometimes it is.
But sometimes it is the nervous system trying to keep the gate nearly closed.
Receiving requires openness.
Not recklessness.
Not accepting what is harmful.
But a willingness to let goodness arrive in ways you did not perfectly script.
Asking for What You Want Is Venus Magic
One of the most powerful practices in this episode is very simple:
Ask for what you want.
Clearly.
Directly.
Without apology.
This is Venus magic because it lets your desire become visible.
It says:
I am willing to be seen wanting.
I am willing to let another person know what would please me.
I am willing to open the door.
Asking is not demanding.
Asking is not coercing.
Asking is not making someone responsible for you.
A clean ask allows the other person to say yes or no.
But it also allows your desire to exist in the open.
Start With Small Asks
You do not have to begin with the most vulnerable request of your life.
Start small.
Ask for water.
Ask for the condiment you actually want.
Ask someone to move over.
Ask for help carrying something.
Ask for a hug.
Ask someone to listen for five minutes.
Ask for the rest you need.
Ask for what would make the moment better.
Small asks train the body.
They teach the nervous system:
I can want something.
I can ask.
I can survive being seen.
I can receive a yes.
I can survive a no.
This is how receiving capacity grows.
Find the Relationship Where Asking Is Hard
Sometimes asking is easy in one context and impossible in another.
You may have no problem asking a waiter for something, but freeze when asking your partner.
You may ask friends easily, but never family.
You may ask strangers easily, but not teachers, mentors, clients, or people you admire.
Notice where asking becomes sensational.
That is where the Venus work is.
Not because you should force yourself recklessly.
Because sensation reveals the edge.
The place where desire, vulnerability, and receiving meet.
Embodying Venus in Ordinary Life
Venus magic does not have to be complicated.
It can be simple.
Wear perfume.
Light a scented candle.
Put on makeup or adornment with intention.
Beautify your space.
Taste your food slowly.
Eat a piece of chocolate with full attention.
Make something lovely.
Color in a coloring book.
Send a beautiful invitation.
Let pleasure become part of the practice.
Venus is not only invoked through formal ritual.
Venus is embodied through beauty, pleasure, relationship, scent, taste, softness, art, and receiving.
Venus and Mercury: Speaking Desire
Asking for what you want blends Venus and Mercury beautifully.
Venus is desire, pleasure, receiving, attraction, and relational beauty.
Mercury is speech, language, messages, and communication.
When you ask clearly for what you want, Mercury carries Venus.
The words become the bridge between inner desire and outer relationship.
This is why the exact sentence matters.
“I want…”
“Will you…”
“Can I…”
“Would you…”
The words open the channel.
Desire Is Vulnerable
Asking for what you want is not only practical.
It is intimate.
It reveals you.
Your desire becomes visible.
That is why it can feel so scary.
You may discover that the fear is not only about whether the person says yes.
It is about being seen as someone who wants.
Someone who needs.
Someone who could be pleased.
Someone who could be disappointed.
Venus magic asks you to let desire be seen without shame.
Receiving Is the Field of Manifestation
Manifestation is not only about imagining what you want.
It is about being able to receive it when it comes.
If you block help, praise, pleasure, support, rest, intimacy, visibility, and gifts in everyday life, it is worth asking:
How open is my receiving channel?
How available am I to what I say I want?
Where do I push away goodness because it feels too easy, too exposing, too stimulating, or too unsafe?
Venus magic helps open the channel.
Not through force.
Through pleasure, beauty, asking, embodiment, and willingness.
A Simple Venus Receiving Practice
Try this for one week.
Every day, ask clearly for one small thing you want.
It can be tiny.
Water.
Help.
A hug.
A slower pace.
A walk.
A moment of attention.
A different plan.
A compliment received without deflection.
Before you ask, feel your body.
Notice the contraction.
Then ask anyway, gently.
Afterward, notice what happens.
Could you receive the yes?
Could you survive the no?
Could you let your desire be visible?
That is Venus magic.
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Lucy Baldwin (00:03.118)
Hello, welcome to another episode of The Seven Living with the Planets. I'm Lucy Baldwin. I'm so excited to talk about something that's really important for me today because it's something that I sort of naturally have had to do a lot of work around and still do a lot of work around. This is receiving. This is the art of getting what we want through the lens of Venus magic. This is receiving.
Um, this is the thing is that a lot of us think that we want things, um, love, money, beauty, support, connection, relationships. Um, but we are actually like, unable, unwilling, poised to just push away, not just not receive, not accept.
So I want to talk about what that looks like because this you might relate to this. It's like overworking, trying to prove yourself, trying to control like how things are coming to you. Like deflecting praise, right? Not able to take a compliment, hard time accepting help, hard time with intimacy, hard time taking a break, hard time being seen.
that's all receiving. Visibility is receiving. It's like receiving, being received, receiving, it's all connected. And so the thing is that receiving can feel really scary, unsafe, stimulating.
A lot of us have what's called an upper limit problem. There's only so much we're willing to take to receive, feel so much goodness we're willing to take on. We'd rather try really hard. We're try-hards than just receive with ease. It's actually really hard for us to just let that happen. We don't trust it. There's fear there. There's fear there. There's this saying that my mom used to always say, there's no such thing as a free lunch.
Lucy Baldwin (02:22.326)
And there's a way in which that's true and there's a way in which that's extremely unhelpful. Okay. So we don't want to get caught up in thinking like everything has a price and nothing can be easy. And I have to work really hard in order to like receive things. And I have to like effort so much. It's kind of a way of thinking. And we can really use Venus to relax into a greater sense of like just opening up.
and allowing things to happen and allowing them to look how they look. Because the thing is that when we resist receiving, what it looks like is this controlling. It has to look a certain way. It has to fit into our very specific rubric for how it can be delivered and who it comes from and what we're going to give in return and how much there is. We can be very specific about
what we'll take and how much and from who. And so we want to open up our receptivity. And I am working up to a solution to this. I just want to be really clear about like what I'm talking about here, because so often, you know, a big part of manifesting everybody's always like, oh, just vision the thing that you want and imagine that you're getting what you want and emanate the field of having the thing that you want. And you can do that all day. But if you block the receiving, like
If you have really hard time receiving gifts, if you have a really hard time letting people just focus on you and always want to talk about somebody else and always want to feel like you have to be the one helping somebody else, or if you feel like you're never doing enough, all of that is kind of like... That's so weird.
It doesn't always show up as just like outright rejecting things that people offer you. Although I have been known to do that. I have been known to do that. People offer me things and I'm like, no, I can't handle like, I don't say, I don't think like I can't handle that, but that's what it is. I'm just like, no, thank you. But like, do I want that? Yeah, I want that. Like, do I want the free massage? Of course I do, but I won't take it. I won't let myself have it. I can't, it's like, it's...
Lucy Baldwin (04:50.527)
Yeah, right. It's like, how, what do we do here? How do we heal this? How do we work with these, these like, this sort of sense of unwillingness to get things to have what we want to receive what we want to like actually receive the abundance that we're seeking. You know, there's just there's so much wisdom in the world where people talk about how
As soon as you tap into the frequency of abundance, there's so much abundance. Well, I would argue that this is a huge part of that. It's like 80 % of the work is just in being willing to receive. It's like all of that abundance is there, but you have to be willing to accept it. You have to be willing to have it become yours.
And in order to, and I think part of this comes from the sense of like, if we have something, if we take something for ourselves, then we must be taking it away from somebody else. And in some cases, there is a truth to that. And so we have to find ways to work with this energy of taking and receiving. And so the first thing I'm going to say, the first thing I'm going to say,
The big magic trick here is to master the art of asking for what you want. Asking for what you want. If you are unwilling to receive, it is so hard to ask for things, for anything, right? Let alone, somebody offered me, I've had people offer me free sessions for things. I can think of three examples in the last month.
Okay, just in last like four weeks, three different people have offered me free work, like sessions, like healing sessions of different kinds. And in all three times, I did not, was not willing, did not accept, like didn't take them up on it. Now, the, like, can you imagine the energy, like the total opposite energy of that? Okay.
Lucy Baldwin (07:12.991)
is to ask for free sessions. Like let alone not even be willing to take them when they're offered. Like imagine just asking for them. Hey, can you give me a free session? I really need help with this thing. Would you be willing to do a free session for me? You know is so funny too is like sometimes people will ask me for stuff and I'll just be like, yeah, I like that you just asked so clearly. And so I'm just gonna give it to you. I'm not suggesting that you do that, but...
It's usually people who I know who have been through programs with me and things like that, where there's a relationship. And they'll just be like, hey, can I have this thing? And I'll just kind of be like, yeah, yeah, I'm sure. Because it's so refreshing to me when people are just like, hey, can I have that thing? I do think there's this saying that's like, never hurts to ask. That's bullshit.
I think that there's a point at which it can hurt to ask. 100 % it can hurt to ask. But what I'm saying is that asking for what you want clearly in very clear language, this is Venus magic. This is an empowering way to step into the Venusian current.
and to heal your relationship with receiving because we are so afraid to speak our desire. We're so afraid to be seen. It's vulnerable to be seen in our desire. It's vulnerable to be seen like wanting, especially from another person. But when we do that, we heal that pattern. We heal that relationship. We start to repair that sense because that...
that like unwillingness to receive, know, there's an underlying lack, you know, there's an underlying like, there's numerous reasons why it could show up, you know, I don't want to get too much into like, what could be the underlying reason, but there is an underlying reason there. And we can start to rewire that by casting the spell of asking, asking for what we want. And you can start with just like really small things.
Lucy Baldwin (09:36.418)
Like have you ever been in a restaurant and you really wanted like some mayonnaise or you really wanted water or you really wanted a different something on your plate, but you didn't want to bother the waiter. You didn't want to ask for the thing that you wanted. Maybe you didn't want to be that person. And what I'm saying is ask, start with that, know, start small, start by just asking when you're in, I mean,
Some of us are really good at this. This might not speak to you. You might be like, no, I'm that person in a restaurant who just demands what I want. I have no problem asking for what I want. And I would say, is that showing up in other places? Because sometimes it applies here but not there. Sometimes it's like, I do fine in restaurants, but with my partner, I have a really hard time asking what I want. In bed, I have a really hard time asking for what I want.
With my parents, I have a hard time. With my siblings, with my friends, with my community, with my clients, with my coaches, with my teachers, with my mentors. Like, who is it? Is there somebody who you really struggle? And so this like asking for what you want is a way of healing that relationship with receiving. So another way.
that you can work with this is just with some simple Venus magic in general. So I would definitely recommend doing Venus magic. This is something that I've been doing lately because like I said, I've been rejecting help from people. And so I started doing some very simple Venus, not even, I haven't even done a whole Venus ritual yet. Like since I started this Venus work most recently, I think the last Venus ritual I did was like last
like in the fall. So I haven't done any like specific Venus rituals, but connecting with my Venus altar, thinking about like putting, wearing more makeup and thinking about Venus and just like kind of embodying that Venus archetype wearing perfume. I don't usually wear perfume, but I've been putting it on as like a way of kind of connecting with that archetype within myself.
Lucy Baldwin (11:56.961)
lighting more scented candles and just feeling it in my relationships, calling it into my relationships more, just really having the awareness of that Venusian archetype. It's so simple. We want to complicate things. We really do. We want them to be so complex and dangerous and mystical. And it is mystical, but it can also be simple.
It can be a simple just like feeling into that, eating your food and really like feeling taste, like really tasting the food in your mouth, you know, like eating a piece of chocolate and like, just like getting into the like yumminess of the chocolate, Beautifying yourself, beautifying your environment. another way I've been sort of like working, I've been doing more like creative artsy stuff like.
Coloring like literally I've been like coloring in a coloring book I've been making these beautiful invitations to send to people for my momentum program I've been which is a Jupiter right? That's Jupiter thing, but I'm bringing I'm infusing this like mean venutian sort of like loving caring beautification into the process
And so, you know, I love to like merge these energies, these archetypes together. I love to like, I love all the ways that they can complement each other. And so you can bring the like Venusian energy into anything that you're doing. you know, asking for what you want is kind of like a Mercury Venus, like, you know, symphony that you can create with that. That's really cool.
anything to say. I'm just like, because I'm imagining how you can be really mercurial and like weave together like whatever. But what I actually want it to be is so simple. know, asking for what you want, there's a vulnerability there. It's relational. We're speaking to another person and we're honoring our desire. And if you can do it from an embodied place, if you can do it from like the place of like
Lucy Baldwin (14:16.684)
really wanting it, a turned on place. doesn't have to, I don't mean like sexually aroused, although you could be, but like turned on. Like in your like, you know, in your mm, yeah, yeah, mm-hmm, mm, yeah. Like that's what I want. I want chocolate, I want steak, I like something beautiful. I want it to smell good. I want a massage. I want to go for a walk. I want to feel the sun on my skin. Like, mm, that feels good.
I want to hug. I want to be held. I'm just thinking of the things. I want you to listen to me. I want you to listen to me. I want water. I want you to bring me water. This is what it can sound like. Just from that place of, I want you to drive. I want you to pick me up. I want you to take me on a date. I want you to go on a walk with me. I want you blank.
That's the vibe. I want you to brush my hair. I want you to sing for me. Okay. I want you to read my poem and tell me what you think. I want you to... I don't know. I don't know. I think you get the gist of what I'm saying. Speaking from desire. Okay. It's just the unraveling of the tension, right?
That unwillingness to receive is like, you can think of it as like a tension. It's like a knot in your system. That's just like, and it's just kind of like defending off all of these things that are trying to come to you. And it's like, like, you know, it's out of control. It's out of control. And when we surrender to just like open up, then things can come to us. And so part of that,
Part of that unraveling that knot, part of that surrendering to that is just, is that asking? Is that just saying yes to your own desire? Right? That's what you're saying yes to. You're not saying yes, it's not about anybody else. It's about your own desire. Yes, I want to go for a hike. I want you to come on a hike with me. You know, I want you to like sit with me for a few minutes. I want you to call me. I want to call you. Can I call you?
Lucy Baldwin (16:43.79)
Can we talk? Will you talk to me?
just like really feeling that, feeling that what is it that you want? And so a piece of this, obviously, is knowing what you want or identifying something that you do want. And I just wanna, just, yeah, this is something that I really recommend that you try, especially if you have one of those relationships where you struggle to do that. You know, maybe it's like...
a family member. Sometimes our relationships with our family members are the easiest and sometimes they're the hardest. So sometimes it's good to work with people who, where it is a little bit easier and you're going to get a lot of bang for your buck if it's sensational, right? If it's like hard, if it's somebody where it's really hard to ask for things, but they're close to you and you do it anyway, like...
I've seen that for people just totally expand their experience and potential to receive and willingness to receive and just like you're letting yourself open up. And when you open up in this way, that's how you can start to manifest. That's how you start to draw things in. That's the place from which you attract what you want. That's the place from which you manifest your desires.
So I hope that this has been helpful. I love this Venus archetype. I'm really getting more into it. I'm gonna work with it more. Thank you so much for listening and watching this episode. And I do wanna just say that I have a free online community and you should join it. I do rituals in there regularly. And I also have...
Lucy Baldwin (18:40.888)
group connection calls that are so juicy and so fun. it's an amazing online community that's free. It's crazy. But it's not like... It's just really good. It's really grounded. The people that come to these calls are amazing. The rituals are really fun. I usually keep it pretty light because it is public and it is free and it is available to anyone. But also when you join, you just give your email and then you can obviously...
you can leave at any time, but when you join, you'll get access to all of the previous rituals that I've done in that community over the last year. So that's actually pretty cool. And there is a Venus ritual in there. So I definitely recommend checking that out. And I will see you in the next episode.
New to Lucy’s work?
Start with Lucy Baldwin’s complete overview of planetary magic here
This episode is part of The Seven: Living with the Planets, a podcast exploring planetary magic as a path of self-growth, ritual practice, desire, embodiment, intuition, language, receiving, and spiritual transformation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is receiving essential to manifestation?
Because getting what you want requires being able to accept, hold, and allow the thing when it arrives. If your nervous system blocks receiving, manifestation cannot fully land.
What does Venus magic have to do with receiving?
Venus governs beauty, pleasure, desire, attraction, love, relationship, embodiment, and receptivity. Venus magic helps open the channel for receiving.
Why is asking for what I want so hard?
Asking makes desire visible. It can trigger fear of rejection, debt, disappointment, neediness, intimacy, or being seen too clearly.
What is the upper limit problem?
The upper limit problem is the amount of goodness, success, pleasure, support, or abundance your nervous system can tolerate before contracting or pushing it away.
How can I practice receiving?
Start small. Ask for one thing you want each day, accept compliments without deflecting, let yourself enjoy pleasure, and notice where you push away help or support.
Next Steps
If this episode resonated with you, continue exploring Lucy Baldwin’s work here:
You’ll find current offerings, free practices, podcast links, and ways to go deeper.
A good next step is the free guided Existential Kink practice available there, especially if you want to explore desire, shadow, receiving, asking for what you want, and radical approval in a more embodied way.