venus retrograde is upon us! on saturday july 25th- just 7 days away from when i am posting this blog- venus stations retrograde at 0’46 virgo (exact at 2:29am PDT). venus is the Goddess of Love, beauty, value, self-worth, abundance and material prosperity. when she goes retrograde for approximately 6 weeks it is akin to innana’s journey into the underworld. it’s a time of stripping away of what is on the surface so that we can get to the depth and core of issues in our lives related to Love, money, worth and value. ultimately it is a time to reevaluate what means the most to us- within our selves, in our material lives, in our relationships and more. while venus is retrograde we can best use her energy of introspection and reflection without taking definitive action just yet. it is customarily not a time to start or end new things (new relationships, new financial agreements, etc…)- although it can be a time of starting anew or ending something that is old, karmic and has been around for a while (years, maybe lifetimes).
technically we are already in the shadow of venus retrograde as she first crossed the degree she will back track to (14’23 leo) on the summer solstice (june 21st). since then she has made several of the aspects she will make a total of three times due to her retrograde journey. most notable of these is her activation of the uranus/chiron semisextile (exact for the first time june 28th-30th) and her activation of the jupiter/saturn square (exact for the first time july 1st-13th). it is interesting to note that her harmonious aspects to uranus and jupiter (trine and conjunction respectively) bode well for sudden shifts, expansion, growth and positivity playing out in our love lives, relationships, finances and healing around self-worth! yet her aspects to chiron and saturn are tense (quincunx and square respectively)- which point to the need to address old wounds and pain as well as limitations and karmic situations in our lives with mastery, maturity and consciousness. the astrology with venus right now is not all Love and Light- there is shadow, pain and wounds to be addressed and we need to be willing to go into them and work through them to heal and ultimately resolve what hinders us from experiencing more Love, abundance and happiness in our lives. the only way out is through!
right now, as i write this blog, venus is at 29 leo and she will move into the first degree of virgo tomorrow (7/18). the cusp of the 29th degree of leo and the 1st degree of virgo is important as it is the cusp of shift from one era to another that the royal fixed star regulus just transited. for the last 2000 years regulus has been precessing through leo and in 2012 he just completed that journey and commenced his journey into virgo. as regulus is the royal fixed star of leadership, authority and power- his shift from leo to virgo heralds a changing of the guard so-to-speak when it comes to power and authority. i wrote a whole blog on this which is linked at the end of this article- but in short this heralds a shift of power from solar/hero/king/yang/ego-based consciousness (leo) to earthy/humble/yin/nature and service-based consciousness. as virgo is the sign of the virgin and the Divine Feminine- there is a shift of power moving into the hands of those who adhere to the more feminine qualities of leadership like receptivity, compassion and awareness of how we are all interconnected. we are moving away from power/over, power/under dynamics and working towards empowerment in a more round table style- where we are all seen as equal, valid and part of the body of life on earth (animals, plants, humans and all!). now this is a long term transit and it will take regulus 2000 years to go through all of virgo- so this is only just the beginning! yet having venus station on regulus is heralding this changing of the guard. to add to this jupiter will enter virgo on august 11th and he will energize the 1st degree of virgo for 2 weeks- so we have both benefic planets (venus as lesser benefic, jupiter as Greater Benefic) aligned with royal regulus right now. this is a call to arms to change the guard and move into a place of heart-centered power rather than ego-centered power, which has been the dominating factor of our patriarchal consciousness that has been with us the last 2000 years. this summer the Goddess is on the rise- and she is coming through both women and men as they align with a Higher Purpose that is not focused on personal gain, but on service to earth and healing of the planet. venus and jupiter on regulus in the next few months can be a call to remember who we are and why we are here- so pay attention!
with venus straddling the signs of leo and virgo- she will actually only spend about 13 days retrograde in virgo and the rest of her time will be spent in leo (approximately 30 days). virgo is the sign of service, health, organization, details, perfection, self-adjustments and integrity. venus retrograde in virgo is a time to look at these areas in our life- from the mundane routines to the work we do to the way we care for our health and well being- so that we can honestly self reflect and see what adjustments need to be made. where does our daily life need reorganization? where does our health and the way we eat or move through the days of our life need a shift? on the other hand, leo is a sign of passion, self-expression, romance, creativity and children (inner child as well as outer children). when venus is retrograde in leo we are asked to look at our needs for love, respect and recognition in the world or from those we Love. looking at what is working or not working in regards to our relationship with our ego is also key when venus is retrograde in leo (the sun of the sun and the ego). as venus rules self-worth and self-Love- a key to keep in mind during the entire venus retrograde is that you cannot look for something outside of yourself that is not Sourced from within. if you are seeking Love from someone else to fill you up- you are never going to feel like you have received it. until we fully Love ourselves- Light, shadow and all- we cannot allow another to fully Love us, nor can we truly Love others fully. the coming 6 weeks of venus retrograde is a time to rethink and review our values and what means the most to us- in our love relationships, in our finances, in our material life and more. when we are not clear within we will attract all kinds of unclear situations without. but when we become clear within everything external to us will be seen not through a glass darkly but through a crystalline glass that reveals all.
of course this inner work takes time and i am not suggesting you can magically come into perfect self-Love in the next 6 weeks if you do enough work. what i am suggesting is there is a call to further your journey on this path- and anything outside of you that seems to be going awry right now (relationships, financial situations, etc…) are simply mirrors for you to look into and see what inner reality they are reflecting. once you become clear about where your work lies- then the next step is taking responsibility for where you are at and doing the work necessary to facilitate the healing or shift you are seeking!
over this next week as venus slows to a stop to station retrograde- there’s a decidedly neptunian vibe predominant. neptune is opposing juno- the asteroid Goddess of partnership and marriage- on the same day as venus stations. in addition neptune is opposite venus throughout the week by declination (called a contra parallel) and is also opposite by degree (it’s a wide aspect but it’s there). venus will not oppose neptune until october 18th, well after venus stations direct again (9/6) and is out of her backend shadow (10/9). yet as venus stations she is in opposition to neptune- which can bring an unclear, illusory, ungrounded and fantasy-based energy into the week, and subsequently into the venus’ retrograde journey. positive neptune aspects bring us into our Higher Heart- yet tense ones can create a desire to be in denial, avoid reality, turn to addictions, play the victim or the martyr, or even lose sight of reality all together. the Highest expression of neptune is the mystic but the lowest expression can reveal as the addict or psychotic. all three of these archetypes are immersed in the oceans of the Unconscious (something neptune rules)- yet the mystic seems to have a boat and oars or perhaps a map that guides him- while the addict and psychotic are simply drowning in the waters of the Unconscious. with so much neptune dominant- it is really important for us to use discernment and self-reflection right now. it’s also good to do grounding techniques and have friends you can bounce ideas off of to make sure you are not deluding or deceiving yourself. the desire to wear rose colored glasses and see what we want to see in ourselves, others or in situations in our lives (particularly involving finances or romantic relationships) can be high- and if we choose to not address the shadow right now it can bite us in the butt down the road big time.
this need to find balance between ideals and what is real, potential and what is manifesting right now is also mirrored by the jupiter/saturn square. jupiter squares a stationary direct saturn on 8/3- and venus triggers both of them three times between july and october. jupiter square saturn highlights the push pull between expansion and contraction, luck and hard work, dreams and reality. when you involve venus this translates into Love and money situations as well as our values and self-worth. if we are defaulting to too much to jupiter then we are tending towards excess, self-aggrandizement, over spending and not limiting or disciplining ourselves. if we are defaulting to too much to saturn then we are pessimistic, cynical, depressed and miserly or penny pinching. either one in excess will create all kinds of imbalances in financial situations or relationships. so the key is in working to find the middle point so that we are seeing reality clearly and dealing with it/addressing it (saturn) while at the same time staying open and willing to work towards what is possible so we can grow beyond our previous boundaries and perceived limitations. another way this may translate with venus/jupiter/saturn is knowing when to hold on and knowing when to let go.
of course with the uranus/chiron aspect also involved there is HUGE potential for profound healing and sudden shifts that take us from point A to point B on our current trajectory of evolution. the key will be our willingness to go there- to go into the places that scare us, face our own fears and limitations, take accountability for where we are in life and then rise up in integrity and mastery so that we can do what needs to be done so we can move forward.
it is traditionally advised to not get married during venus retrograde and to not spend money on big ticket items or invest big sums of money. just like it’s advised to not buy a new computer during mercury retrograde- because venus rules things of value, when she is retrograde we may buy something or get involved with someone that later we realize was not right for us. venus retrograde is also know for bringing past partners (from this life or past lives) back into our lives- either for closure and completion or perhaps for another go-around. it’s not a time to commit to anything or anyone though- it’s best to ride it out first and see where these karmic connections from the past begin to lead you. with the neptune vibe dominant right now you could be very misled- by yourself or by others. slow and steady wins the race- and honestly if you are looking for love outside of yourself so you can avoid doing the work within you will miss the boat on one of the most positive uses of venus retrograde: healing our relationship within and deepening into self-Love, self-value, self-respect and self-worth.
so take time in the coming 6 weeks to get clear on what you value, what you Love and what you want more of in your life! and then do what you need to do to release anything and everything else that does not support you in the direction you are seeking to move more deeply into. with venus retrograde- think quality, not quantity. your quality of life, relationships, material reality and more can be taken up a few notches this summer if you are willing to do the work!
blessings…
~divine harmony
VENUS DATES:
these are the dates of exact aspects that venus makes during her retrograde journey. in-depth descriptions of these can be found in the weekly forecasts, monthly forecast and yearly forecast for 2015.
venus enters shadow 14’23 leo- 6/21
venus quincunx pluto RX (14’37) 6/21
venus trine uranus direct 6/28
venus quincunx chiron RX 6/30 (same day as venus/jupiter*)
TRIGGERS URANUS CHIRON SEMISEXTILE
venus conjunct jupiter- 7/1
TRIGGERS JUPITER/SATURN SQUARE over next 13 days
mercury sextile venus- 7/5
venus square saturn RX- 7/13
venus enters virgo 7/18
venus at a standstill at 1st degree virgo for 13 days***
venus stations retrograde at 0’46 virgo 7/25
venus backtrack into leo 7/31
venus conjunct jupiter- 8/4
venus square saturn RX- 8/5
TRIGGERS JUPITER/SATURN SQUARE
mercury conjunct venus- 8/6 (with mercury triggering jupiter/saturn 8/6-7)
sun conjunct venus- 8/15 MIDPOINT of the venus retrograde cycle
venus trine uranus RX- 8/19
venus quincunx chiron RX 8/19
TRIGGER URANUS CHIRON SEMISEX
venus conjunct mars 8/31
DIVINE LOVERS ALIGN
venus stations direct 14’23 leo 9/6
venus quincunx chiron RX 9/21
venus trine uranus RX 9/22
TRIGGERS URANUS/CHIRON SEMISEXTILE
venus moves back into virgo 10/8
venus quincunx SN both a 0’04 virgo/aries 10/8
(nodes move into new signs 10/9)
venus squares saturn in sadge 10/10
FOR 3RD AND FINAL TIME
leaves shadow 10/9
(mercury direct that day 0’53 libra)
venus conjunct jupiter 1t 15’38 VIRGO (new sign)- 10/25
(the other venus/jupiter conjunctions were in leo)