Venus Retrograde in Gemini

May 12, 2020May 12, 2020 / grayastrology / 11 Comments

Image made by Michelle Doucette (2020) whose work can be found at The Dreaming Canvas

Venus Retrograde in Gemini

Venus will station retrograde on May 12 at 21°50′ Gemini, initiating us into a forty-four day period in which the star of Aphrodite will backtrack through the zodiac until stationing direct on June 25 at 5º02′ Gemini. Thus the zodiacal terrain of five to twenty-two degrees of Gemini will receive a thorough excavation from Venus as it moves back and forth across the degree range, digging up some emotional material in need of release or recycling, while also rediscovering ancient artifacts of our psyche that can reveal vital lessons we need to learn in the present. Venus first crossed five degrees of Gemini on April 9 and will not finally move beyond twenty-two degrees of Gemini until July 29.

Centrally, Venus retrograde brings an end to Venus being visible at night and initiates its phase of being visible before sunrise. Venus will descend from visibility as an Evening Star at the end of May, disappear into an invisible and liminal passage of rebirth in the beginning of June, and ultimately reemerge into visibility in its Morning Star phase in which it will bring its light to the pre-dawn sky. As Venus transitions from a nocturnal to diurnal phase, its apparent backward motion is a result of it orbiting in between our Earth and Sun, coming to its closest proximity with us in orbit. In our personal lives, Venus retrograde brings an intensification of all things related to Venus, as its visual descent in the sky reflects a call for an inner descent to dig up the roots of our desires, purging and purifying material that will bring about a reseeding of desire on the other side.

Venus retrograde periods invite us to depart from the usual into exploring the unusual, shedding old desires while coming into relationship with neglected parts of ourselves and new desires emerging from within. Venus when moving direct enjoys uniting and harmonizing elements, such as the pleasures of fresh fruit and flowers, copulation, love, art, music, aesthetics, and whatever we attract and find attractive in relationship. During Venus retrograde, the nature of Venus shifts from seeking social harmony into a transitional space of social norms loosening to allow for deep reevaluation of inner values as well as how we are seeking to fulfill our changing values and needs.

While Venus is normally associated with seductive pleasures that draw us into full sensual engagement in our body, as Venus draws closer to us in orbit through its retrograde its magnetism on our desires increases and creates a potent influence on our daily experiences. Pivotal turning points in stories often occur and important new relationships and directions often emerge as we simultaneously must confront and lay to rest old issues from the past. Emotions and desires become messy and paradoxical during Venus retrograde, a necessary disorder that becomes part of a process of reordering passions.

The strangely magical quality of time brought by Venus retrograde periods corresponds with the fact that Venus shifts retrograde five times every eight years, tracing a five pointed star within the circle of the zodiac like the five petaled form of the rose. Similar to the high level of structure involved in sacred ritual, Venus retrograde periods are so highly structured that every eight years we experience a Venus retrograde period in the same area of the zodiac (a few degrees away each time) at the same general time (a few days away each time). These are the most recent Venus retrograde phases in Gemini:

May 15 – June 27, 2012 from 23º59′ Gemini to 7º29′ Gemini
May 17 – June 29, 2004 from 26º08′ Gemini to 9º37′ Gemini
May 19 – July 2, 1996 from 28º17′ Gemini to 11º46′ Gemini

Alphonse_osbert,_armonia_della_sera_al_mare,_1930_(cropped)

Evening Harmony by the Sea (1930) by Alphones Osbert

here to me from Krete to this holy temple / where is your graceful grove / of apple trees and altars smoking / with frankincense.

And in it cold water makes a clear sound through / apple branches and with roses the whole place / is shadowed and down from radiant-shaking leaves / sleep comes dropping.

And in it a horse meadow has come into bloom / with spring flowers and breezes / like honey are blowing / [ ]

In this place you Kypris taking up / in gold cups delicately / nectar mingled with festivities: / pour.

— Sappho (translated by Anne Carson)

Venus begins its retrograde phase as a beacon of light set against the glow of stars, befitting its nocturnal nature. As Venus pauses in motion at its stationing, its impact within the astrological atmosphere increases and can draw awareness to longings that can reveal aspects of ourselves that want to become more active during the forthcoming retrograde. Venus will station retrograde high out of bounds in northern declination while engaged in a square aspect with Neptune in its exaltation of Pisces. Venus stationing out of bounds while engaged with Neptune in its sign of exaltation knows no limits and can bring forth free ranging feelings that are untethered to our usual sense of boundaries. There can be fascinating discoveries made by curiously following wherever the muse of inspiration leads, especially in creative fields involving art, crafts, and writing.

Venus formed its first square with Neptune while moving direct on May 3, and will station retrograde on May 12 one degree away. Venus will form a second exact square with Neptune while retrograde on May 20, creating a week of building tension between them following the stationing of Venus. As a result, the first three weeks of May opens a portal into an oceanic, otherworldly passage of imaginal exploration, potent dreaming, and the slow erosion of internal places and parts that had become rigid or stuck. New attractions and yearnings may arise that ultimately prove to be unstable or temporary, but if we remain curious and open to where they are guiding us they can help unlock the key meaning and messages we will need to examine during the next couple of months.

While the influence of Neptune upon Venus can dissolve emotional barriers and inspire flights of imagination, it can also correlate with becoming ungrounded, confused, or lost in illusion. In regard to the COVID 19 pandemic, there has been an unfortunate flood of conspiracy theories recently making light of the gravely serious risk to public health brought by the pandemic. Rather than believing societies can simply reopen economies and return to the way things were before social distancing measures were introduced, we will need to reimagine creative ways to protect public health while also renewing economic production. The opening square of Venus with Neptune reveals the dissolution of the way things have been and that in a rapidly changing climate of transitioning from one reality to another, we will need to sustain a cunning sense of how to adapt and mutate as needed.

The stationing of Venus also involves mediation from the asteroid Vesta, as Vesta in Gemini is applying to a conjunction with Venus as it stations, moving through an exact conjunction with Venus retrograde on May 15. As Vesta in myth is a goddess of the hearth who devotedly sustains the sacred fire, her asteroid mediating the friction between Venus and Neptune can help gather and transfigure their tension into artistic expression or spiritual practices enabling us to receive revelation. Vesta can also help in finding one’s center amidst any complex or contradictory feelings beginning to spiral around us as Venus stations retrograde. While Vesta may indicate the need to regain sovereignty within relationships in which we have begun to lose ourselves, her presence with Venus also points toward our capacity to tend to our hearth fire and the fiery reforging of our desires we will experience during Venus retrograde.

789px-Alphonse_Osbert_-_Lyricism_in_the_Forest

Lyricism in the Forest (1910) by Alphonse Osbert

Venus will be retrograde entirely within in the mutable sign of Gemini, the airy home of Mercury. Venus looping back and forth through Gemini means our curiosity will be stimulated to pursue a wide variety of interests as we are pulled back and forth between competing desires. Venus in an air sign ruled by Mercury is more intellectual than emotional, capable of mediating and holding the tension of opposing desires and conflicting feelings until giving birth to something that transcends the polarity, not unlike the Hermaphrodite Rebis (res bina) found in alchemical text that reconciles the spiritual and material (1). Gemini is a fluid and adaptable atmosphere for Venus, but can encourage a dispersing of energy in multiple directions that delays completion. As Venus gets closer and closer to its regenerative conjunction with the Sun on June 3, we may notice a burning away of inessential interests so we can focus on the essential tension we are working out.

Venus has essential dignity in the earth and water elements, finding delight singing songs by water rippling through forests. Though Venus is out of its element in the air sign of Gemini, since Mercury enters its domicile of Gemini on May 11 it means that Venus will have a full arsenal of Mercurial resources at its disposal during the first stretch of its retrograde motion. As a result, it can be a profound period for artistic creation, especially when experimenting with new techniques and perspectives that may initially give strange results but ultimately helps nurture vital innovation. In particular, Venus retrograde combined with Mercury in Gemini can be potent for any creative work that utilizes the hands, the writing of words to convey meaning, the arrangement of colors and space, the singing of songs, and the harmonizing of sounds. Going for walks to ruminate on feelings, utilizing journaling and conversation to process feelings, and anything else that engages the airy nature of Gemini can be a helpful tool.

We can also expect Venus retrograde in Gemini to be an especially social and relational time, utilizing technology to forge connection even when maintaining social distancing practices related to the pandemic. There is also a dynamically restless side to Gemini forever searching for deeper meaning and connections, forever curious in its questioning of all things interconnected within our reality. The constellational image of the Twins, one mortal and one immortal, further reveals the underlying nature of Gemini that seeks its twin, its sense of a soul mate that is more deeply about its search to embody its authentic self. The magical mirror held by Venus retrograde can provide a glimpse of your dark, immortal twin and authentic aspects of your soulfulness that you can come into relationship with and begin to integrate during Venus retrograde.

Sidney_Hall_-_Urania's_Mirror_-_Taurus

Due to Venus being higher than normal in the night sky, we will have opportunities to make a wish upon the star of Aphrodite during the initial phase of Venus retrograde. Venus will be visually set against a legendary group of stars bearing particularly powerful and ancient star stories. Though in tropical Gemini, not only will the entirety of Venus retrograde take place in the sidereal sign of Taurus, her journey will be aligned with the image of the great Bull in the heavens. Venus will station retrograde on May 12 while visibly close to the star El Nath that is the tip of the Bull’s horn. Venus will then descend along the horn of the Bull until re-emerging in visibility near the star Aldebaran in the second week of June, the eye of the Bull that glows with its rosy red hue. Venus will ultimately station direct near the Hyades in the face of the Bull at the end of June, completing a full circuit of ascending to the top of the Bull’s horn before descending back into the head of the Bull.

El Nath, the Bull’s horn located at 22º35′ Gemini, has been described as symbolizing “the force of the Bull” by Bernadette Brady and was described as having the nature of Mars by Ptolemy (2). It’s further notable that Venus will be stationing retrograde within the Egyptian bounds of Mars. The constellational image and story of the Bull is incredibly ancient and has been found painted on the walls of caves by our ancestors from an estimated period of 17,000 years ago. Not unlike how social distancing measures brought by the pandemic have brought a surge of wildlife and nature due to gaining greater space from the encroachment of humanity, Venus illuminating the tip of the Bull’s Horn reveals the importance of respecting the power of nature and coming into relationship with it. As a global civilization we are receiving this sky omen at a crucial crossroads in our collective history, as we are simultaneously needing to ask questions regarding our use of natural resources and the relationship between our civilizations with forces of nature.

Venus stationing retrograde on the Horn of the Bull also evokes the image of Hathor, a bestial goddess and bovine divinity known as the Lady of Heaven, the Lady of Horns, the Lady of All, and the Golden One in ancient Egyptian culture. Hathor is the sky goddess, the mother sky who emphasizes the fertile nourishment of the starry heavens above that is the source of All. Similar to other ancient goddesses, Hathor embodies the triple feminine form of daughter, lover, and mother without giving away her sovereignty to a male partner. Fascinatingly, soon after Venus stations retrograde the Hathor asteroid #2340 will enter Gemini on May 16 and will eventually form a conjunction with Venus retrograde at the same time it is being reborn in the sacred heart of the Sun. When Venus unites with the Sun at 13º35′ Gemini on June 3, the Hathor asteroid will be at 13º17′ Gemini. Further fitting for the rebirth of Venus, Hathor is also a fructifying goddess of rebirth and regeneration who took part in guiding the transition of souls into the afterlife.

Venus will also be stationing retrograde close to the zodiacal degree of prominent stars in the constellation of Orion, although it will not be nearly as visually close to Orion as it will be to the great Bull. One of the closest stars in Orion to the degree of Venus stationing is Mintaka in the belt of Orion (located at 22º24′ Gemini) a star that Ptolemy described as having the nature of Jupiter and Saturn. The other star in close proximity to the stationing degree of Venus is Bellatrix in the shoulder of Orion (located at 20º57′ Gemini), a star that Ptolemy described as having the nature of Mars and Mercury. Bellatrix is known as the Amazon star and has been described as possessing the power of a roaring conquerer, yet will also expose one’s shadow and difficult personal demons in the process of gaining victory (3). Reinhold Ebertin described Bellatrix as having characteristics of quickly realizing plans with “courage, fighting spirit, strategic talents” and “discrimination,” but that it can also bring “the reckless aggressiveness of a belligerent dare-devil” (4).

The star story of Orion from Greek myth bears further warning that taking hubristic action against nature will deliver a stinging downfall, as the great hunter Orion who boasted that he could kill any animal was ultimately killed by a giant scorpion sent by Gaia. In contrast, the star closest to the degree where Venus is stationing, Capella (21º51′ Gemini), embodies the image of a goat held by Auriga the charioteer, a figure who is in relationship with nature. In some traditions the goat revealed by Capella is Amalthea, the goat who nursed Zeus when he was hidden and vulnerable so as to bring about the new order he would later initiate. Bernadette Brady stated that there are other ancient associations of Capella with Artemis and other goddesses, giving it a “nurturing but free-spirited flavour” that will seek independent freedom while remaining in right relationship with nature.

Sappho (1888) by Alphonse Osbert

After Venus slowly moves backward during the second half of May, the star of Aphrodite will descend into an invisible phase of darkness at the end of May before re-emerging in its Morning Star phase in the second week of June. At the same time Venus is descending toward the Sun, the Sun will be moving toward uniting with Venus while stoking desires as the inner influence of Venus becomes intensified. During this period we can unearth buried emotions as part of the process of burning away whatever past issues need to be released. This makes the end of May a time for purifying and reseeding desires that will emerge more fully after Venus reemerges into visibility later in June.

Before Venus disappears, however, we will receive vital insight when Mercury in Gemini forms a conjunction with Venus during the New Moon in Gemini on May 22. Mercury will unite with Venus at the same time it is forming a square aspect with Neptune, triggering new developments in whatever storylines have been coinciding with the drawn out square between Venus and Neptune that began in the beginning of May. This can be another productive time for creative and artistic expression that can utilize the inspirational side of Neptune. We will also be more capable of giving voice to the inner changes in values and desires that have started to take shape with Venus retrograde, though the square from Neptune suggests we will not yet have clarity regarding them.

Vision_de_sainte_Genevieve-Alphonse_Osbert-IMG_8214

Vision (1892) by Alphonse Osbert

“The protected space at the heart of the Sun is the sanctum sanctorum, the innermost holy chamber of the mystery initiations.”

— Demetra George, Ancient Astrology

On June 3 we will experience the rebirth of Venus when it is reanimated through its union with the Sun at 13º35′ Gemini. Venus in the heart of the Sun is enthroned in revivifying solar light, and as the star of Aphrodite begins to emerge from its purifying solar conjunction we can begin to gain a clearer sense of our own inner metamorphosis that has been in process. It will be worthwhile to reflect upon the placement of 13º35′ Gemini in your natal chart to gain a sense of what areas of your life may be especially impacted by the renewal of Venus in the first week of June. Moreover, since there will also be a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse at 15º34′ Sagittarius on June 5, the full polarity of Gemini and Sagittarius will be incredibly activated in the first week of June at the same time that the transiting lunar nodes are firmly establishing themselves in Gemini and Sagittarius.

Crucially, Mars in Pisces will form an intensifying square aspect with Venus in Gemini on June 2, a day before Venus forms its inferior conjunction with the Sun. The waxing square aspect between Venus and Mars is one of the many volatile astrological relationships we must come to terms with during 2020, as they previously formed their first square aspect on January 26 and they will form their third and final waxing square aspect on September 4 when Mars will be stationing retrograde. With Mars applying heat in the exaltation of Venus, their contact on June 2 is likely to be eventful and incite potent passions. Since Mars is also applying toward a conjunction with Neptune, there will be an unveiling of illusions as well as rediscovery of imaginal possibilities within relationships. While the square between Mars and Venus can bring conflict, the simmering tension of their friction can also draw out new desires into sharper relief that can help us align with our authentic path as we trek deeper into the retrograde movement of Venus in June.

Muse at Sunrise (1918) by Alphones Osbert

Some men say an army of horse and some men say an army on foot / and some men say an army of ships is the most beautiful thing / on the black earth. But I say it is / what you love.

— Sappho (translated by Anne Carson)

In the second week of June we will be initiated into the Morning Star phase of Venus as it will reemerge into visibility near the zodiacal degree of Aldebaran, the great eye of the Bull. There will be an eruptive potency to this time period with revivified passions and desires ready to be engaged with. Venus in its Morning Star phase is more assertive and outwardly directed, and we will likewise feel more interested in going after what we want. Due to Venus continuing to move slowly in its retrograde motion, however, it will be beneficial to continue reflecting on the changing shapes of desires as they will be continuing to coalesce into new forms in coming weeks.

There will be an intense astrological atmosphere surrounding the emergence of Venus in its Morning Star phase, as there will be an extremely powerful Solar Eclipse at 00º21′ Cancer on June 20, only five days before Venus will station direct on June 25. Furthermore, Mercury will station retrograde in Cancer on June 17 a few days before the Solstice Solar Eclipse. As a result, the normal turning points in narratives that emerge when Venus stations to change directions will be amplified due to it occurring in the middle of an eclipse season that contains the added volatility of Mercury being in its retrograde phase.

Venus will station direct on June 25 at 5º20′ Gemini and will barely be moving forward in the beginning of July when we will experience another Penumbral Lunar Eclipse in Capricorn on July 4. Since the end of June and beginning of July hosts another phase of extremely volatile astrology, it reveals the vital importance of letting the retrograde descent of Venus have its way with you so that you may shed whatever is ready to be emptied. On the other side of Venus retrograde we may not only have a lighter heart and renewed vigor, we may also feel more aligned with our essential values and focused on following our authentic desires forward into the great unknown.

Aphrodite and goose (ca. 460 BC)

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References

(1) Caton, Gary. (2017). Hermetica Triptycha: the Mercury Elemental Year. Rubedo Press.

(2) Brady, Bernadette. (1998). Brady’s Book of Fixed Stars. Weiser.

(3) Brady, Bernadette. (2008). Star and Planet Combinations. The Wessex Astrologer.

(4) Ebertin – Hoffman. (1973). Fixed Stars and their interpretation. Translated by Irmgard Banks.

(5) George, Demetra. (2019). Ancient Astrology in Theory and Practice: a Manual of Traditional Techniques. Rubedo Press.

(6) Sappho translated by Anne Carson. (2002). If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho. Vintage.

Venus Retrograde in Aries & Pisces

March 25, 2017 / grayastrology / 12 Comments

The steps I make all go backwards
while yours continue advancing
the arch of our alliances
has penetrated my nest
in all its colorful swagger
it’s taken a walk down my veins
and even the hardest of chains
that destiny uses to bind us
is like the finest of diamonds
that lights up my calm soul

What feeling can bring about
knowledge never could,
nor the clearest course of action
nor the grandest of all our thoughts.
Everything is changed by the moment
like an affable magician,
it sweetly steers us away
from bitterness and from violence
only love with its science
turns us into such innocence.

Love is a swirling whirlwind
of primal purity
even the wildest of animals
will whisper and trill its sweetness,
it stops pilgrims in their travels,
it liberates those imprisoned,
love, with the gentlest of touches,
turns the old (wo)man into a child
and only the most loving care
will turn bad into pure and sincere.

Chorus:
Gathering moss so the stone rolls
like a thick ivy on the wall
sprouting and sprouting so it grows
like tender moss covering stone
like tender moss on a stone ay sí sí sí.

— Violeta Parra, Volver a los 17 (translated by Heidi Fischbach)

Venus Retrograde in Aries

Aphrodite arose in sea foam following a violent revolution, born with eyes cerulean as the waves and body fully formed with fertility. She enchanted the eyes of onlookers with rapture and with each new step onto the earth created bright colored growth. The planet Venus in astrology has many significations we associate with the mythic Aphrodite, such as the pleasures of fresh fruit and flowers, copulation, love, union, art, aesthetics, perfumed scents, and the luxuries that bring us feelings of comfort and elegance. The glyph of Venus is the circle of Spirit atop the cross of Matter, symbolizing the living soul and spirit found in all elements of our surrounding material world, and the capacity of our Venusian natures to give us an experience of heaven on earth. In The Picatrix the anonymous magical author wrote “Venus is the source of the power of flavor” (p. 134), and in modern astrology we link Venus with the inner values which describe our attractions and how we choose to fulfill them within our myriad relationships.

When Venus goes retrograde, she returns to her mythic origins connected with active rebellion. During the Venus retrograde phase, the nature of Venus shifts from seeking social harmony into a transitional space in which social norms can be loosened to allow for a deep reevaluation of how we are seeking to fulfill our needs. On a societal level, a realignment of power dynamics can occur within hierarchical structure as well as between the general populace and the ruling class. Venus is of course not actually moving backwards during its retrograde phase, merely appearing to move backward through zodiac degree from our Earth bound perspective. What is occurring is that Venus is orbiting in between our Earth and our Sun, as close in its orbit to Earth as it ever gets. Perhaps it is the close proximity of Venus to Earth during her retrograde phase that makes it possible to shed old skin and liberate ourselves from old Venusian patterns in relationship.

Venus began her 2017 retrograde on March 4 in the home of Mars and exaltation of the Sun at 13°08′ Aries, and will end her retrograde in the exaltation of Venus and the home of Jupiter on April 15 at 26°54′ Pisces. During the eight year synodic cycle of Venus, Venus goes retrograde five times, spending forty days each time in retrograde motion. From 1961 through 2001, Venus was retrograde entirely in the sign of Aries, and beginning in 2009 Venus began to move into Pisces from Aries. Venus will be retrograde in both Aries and Pisces from 2009 through 2057 every eight years. Astrologer Nick Dagan Best has taught that during the 19th Century Venus went retrograde in the Venus signs of Taurus and Libra, while in the 20th Century Venus went retrograde in the Mars signs of Aries and Scorpio.

While Venus ultimately will station direct in Pisces, the build up to her retrograde motion as well as its first movement that leads to Venus being regenerated in the heart of the Sun occur with Venus in Aries. Venus is estranged in Aries due to it being the home of Mars, the planet that in our astrological tradition has held a place of symbolic polarity to the significations of Venus. Venus is not weak in Aries, and in fact has the strength of decan dignity in the final decan of Aries (20 – 30 degrees of Aries). Yet Venus inhabiting a Mars ruled sign leads her to look for Mars for guidance, and Mars is less about maintaining pleasing harmony and more about the sort of fiery passion that can enliven our deepest nature yet also cause separation or a test of mettle. Venus in Aries possesses a burning desire that can destroy all forms and patterns that had previously become crystallized within its hot ardor. Beauty and love can volatilize and destroy what was previously stable when falling under the torrential sway of Eros, and similarly Venus retrograde in Aries can dramatically reshape the landscape of our relational dynamics.

The Cross Rose in the Garden of Venus (2016) by Marlene Seven Bremner

Venus retrograde creates a magical atmosphere that is highly structured, holding resonance with the golden mean found in the five petaled form of the rose and numerous forms of life. The Orphic Hymn to Aphrodite described her as “Crafty, from whom necessity [Ananke] first came,” and also noted that “The triple Fates [Moirai] are rule’d by thy decree.” Similarly, the synodic cycle of Venus is so consistent and regular that the retrograde phase of it’s cycle brings an air of destiny, fate, and necessity to events and encounters in our daily life. Venus only goes retrograde once every year and a half or so, five times in it’s eight year synodic cycle with the Sun- eight divided by five is 1.625 and so very close to the sacred 1.618 proportion associated with the golden mean. If you trace the points around the zodiac at which Venus stations during its eight year synodic cycle, each point forms a quintile 72 degree aspect, creating the image of a five pointed star when plotted on paper. As a result every eight years we experience a Venus retrograde in the same general area of the zodiac at generally the same time. These are the most recent Venus retrograde phases in Aries:

March 6, 2009 SR at 15°27′ Aries and SD on April 17, 2009 at 29°11′ Pisces
March 9, 2001 SR at 17°43′ Aries and SD on April 20, 2001 at 1°27′ Aries
March 11, 1993 SR at 20°01′ Aries and SD on April 22, 1993 at 3°44′ Aries

The current Venus retrograde is especially catalytic as it is bound within the re-activation of the square between Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn by Jupiter in Libra. Jupiter was retrograde in Libra when Venus stationed retrograde on March 4, having recently formed an exact opposition with Uranus in Aries. The exact opposition between Jupiter and Uranus is one of the dominant archetypal themes in our collective this year, and the cycle between Jupiter and Uranus is known for coinciding with revolutions in politics (such as the American and French revolutions), science (Kepler and Galileo supporting the Copernican revolution; the development of quantum physics), the arts and all other fields of cultural exploration. Jupiter in the outwardly directed home of Venus is looking to her for assistance, and with Venus co-present with Uranus in Aries for most of her retrograde period there can be an acceleration of experimentation and innovation as well as heated conflict, discord, and outright warfare within our collective.

Venus first reached the degree and minute she will ultimately station direct at in Pisces (26°55′) on 30 January 2017, with Mars close by at two degrees of Aries. During the month of February there was an epic build up to the retrograde with Venus burning brightly in the night sky as an Evening Star, getting closer and closer each night to Mars, also visible with its reddish hue against the black of night. The passions of Venus and Mars together in the sky were further volatized by a Lunar Eclipse in Leo and a Solar Eclipse in Pisces that coincided with twists of fate bringing momentous change. A lot of inspiration and excitement could have been experienced within these transits, with significant new shifts in relationships and projects launched. Due to Venus and Mars separating during the transition into the Venus retrograde of March, however, there will be important inner work, reflection, and restructuring needed to be experienced before the full potential of the new endeavors of February will be fully realized.

When Venus stationed retrograde as a bright Evening Star on March 4, Mercury was conjoining Neptune in Pisces and Mars was separating from a conjunction with Uranus. A couple days later, Mercury was purified and regenerated in the heart of the Sun in Pisces. Altogether the transits surrounding the stationing retrograde of Venus in Aries brought extraordinary support for conception and envisioning groundbreaking and divinely inspired ideas, projects, and partnerships. The empowering astrological climate also led to conflict among competing interests, for just as those in power attempted to consolidate holdings so did various protest moments find support to initiate bold and direct action to contest dominant powers. Once Mars entered Taurus on March 9, the amplified martial energies became toned down somewhat with Mars inhabiting a sign with a more plodding and grounded rhythm. Yet with Jupiter simultaneously moving retrograde away from an exact opposition with Uranus and toward an exact square with Pluto, the uproar of collective and personal conflicts and catharsis will continue. On personal levels the best remedies will be to nurture oneself and loved ones and commit to inner work that clears out what is no longer serving one’s authentic path.

Vitally, it is during Venus retrograde that Venus shifts from being an Evening Star into becoming a Morning Star. Around March 18 or 19, Venus disappeared from the evening sky, becoming invisible in her underworld journey of falling into the heart of the Sun. At the same time that Venus was making a disappearance in our night sky, Mercury was making an appearance and emerging again with a message as an Evening Star. As Mercury united with Venus retrograde on March 18 and we then experienced the Aries Equinox on March 20 in which our Sun ascends across our celestial equator, we received a message of what to hold close to our hearts as we descended into a period of darkness in which Venus will not be visible to us until she emerges again as a Morning Star at the end of March.

Red Flower (1919) Georgia O’Keeffe

Venus in the Heart of the Sun’s Exaltation

On March 25 we experience the moment in which Venus is exactly conjunct our Sun, orbiting in between our planet and our solar light. Venus in the heart of the Sun is regenerated and in a place of power, seated on her fiery throne. Aries is not only the home of Mars, it is also the exaltation of the Sun, and so the purification Venus will undergo while conjoining the Sun can burn away whatever needs to be shed from our past. The Moon will be dark in Pisces and applying to a conjunction with the South Node of the Moon as Venus conjoins the Sun, bringing an additional layer of purification especially in terms of old emotional complexes and patterns. This inner union of Venus with the Sun is especially visionary in nature and most resonant for those able to have solitary time to reflect in silence. The nonessential will be burned off while the essential will be illuminated by spirit fire, revealing what makes our heart beat most brightly.

The square between Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn is especially activated at the time of Venus entering the heart of the Sun, as Mercury will be separating from an opposition with Jupiter and applying to a conjunction with Uranus, while Jupiter will be retrograde and applying closely to a square with Pluto in Capricorn. Meanwhile Mars in Taurus will be in a supportive relationship with Neptune in Pisces. These aspects signify immense change erupting in the world around us, and opportunities to find our resonant place amongst the shifting. This is a moment to enter into the mystery, being open to what is revealed about our inner nature and feelings and how they have been manifesting externally in our relationships. It does not mean that partnerships and other commitments need to be ended, but it does mean we may gain insight into ways in which we need to modify the way we have been engaging within relationships. With Venus alchemized by our Sun, we can gain awareness for our purest passions and who or what deserves us to prioritize as storylines morph in coming months.

Venus will emerge again in the shifting hues of the predawn sky at the end of March, solidifying her phase as a Morning Star in April. Venus will be retrograde as a Morning Star in Pisces until April 15, and though Pisces is known as a sign of compassion, as a retrograde Morning Star the emotional flow and psychic sensitivity of Pisces can be directed by Venus to expose relational dynamics with others we need to adjust and reveal however we have been feeling out of balance with our deep nature. The following is a translation by Samuel Noah Kramer and Diane Wolkstein of ancient Sumerian text regarding Innana as “The Lady of the Morning,” in other words Venus as a Morning Star:

Honored Counselor, Ornament of Heaven, Joy of An!
When sweet sleep has ended in the bedchamber,
You appear like bright daylight.

When all the lands and the people of Sumer assemble,
Those sleeping on the roofs and those sleeping by the walls,
Whey they sing your praises, bringing their concerns to you,
You study their words.

You render a cruel judgment against the evildoer;
You destroy the wicked.
You look with kindly eyes on the straightforward;
You give that one your blessing.

My Lady looks in sweet wonder from heaven.
The people of Sumer parade before the holy Inanna.
Inanna, the Lady of the Morning, is radiant.
I sing your praises, holy Inanna.
The Lady of the Morning is radiant on the horizon.

— “The Lady of the Morning” from Inanna Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer

Gates of Paradise (2015) by Marlene Seven Bremner

Venus Station Direct in Pisces

Venus stations direct in Pisces on April 15 while conjoining Chiron and in square to Saturn. Venus stationing direct at the 27th degree of Pisces is notable, for 27 degrees of Pisces is the exact exaltation degree of Venus. Though this a potent degree for Venus to be at a standstill on, her ability to fully experience the abundance of her exaltation degree is altered significantly by her being conjunct Chiron and in square with Saturn. Venus contained by Chiron and Saturn is not an easy experience, but rather one that will require work and discipline while overcoming a challenge, separation, or solitude in one form or another. Yet by facing reality honestly without denial the stationing of Venus in aspect to Chiron and Saturn can connect us directly to our inner authority and bring awareness to the values, relationships, and work we are willing to give everything for against all odds or obstacles. Going deep within we can find healing of wounds in need of resolution, as what we need to let go of from the past can become dissolved and washed away by the waters of Pisces.

While Pisces is the exaltation of Venus, it is also the inner home of Jupiter which brings added importance to the transit of Jupiter in Libra during the final phase of the Venus retrograde. Venus in Pisces and Jupiter in Libra are in mutual generosity, and though they do not form a major sign based aspect they will nonetheless be looking to each other for support. This period will be a pivotal turning point in the transit of Jupiter in Libra, and we will be able to gain valuable insight into the issues in need of tending in order to maximize what we can develop and expand through our creativity and relationships. Venus in a challenging and catalyzing aspect with Saturn will force awareness to where we need to strengthen boundaries and further develop structures that will ultimately bolster our ability to manifest what we have been gestating through inner visions and active imagination.

There are a number of transits surrounding the stationing direct of Venus in Pisces that further shape symbolic meaning. Venus in Pisces will be forming a harmonious sextile with Mars and Ceres in Taurus, while the Sun will be in union with Uranus in Aries. The Moon will be in Sagittarius aligned with the true node of Black Moon Lilith, while Pluto will be beginning to station retrograde in range of a conjunction with Juno in Capricorn. Talents that have been dormant can become reactivated and released, bringing opportunities to take risks in expressing more of our wholeness and authenticity. Where we have felt judged and persecuted in the past may now reveal hidden gifts ready to be unearthed and expressed with confident assertiveness. Though difficult feelings may coincide with the stationing of Venus direct, they ultimately will help guide us toward realizations of what we truly need and desire in relationship with others.

Most significantly, Mercury will station retrograde at 4°50′ of Taurus less than a week before Venus stations direct, meaning that Mercury and Venus will essentially be motionless from April 10 through April 15. As the Venus retrograde began with Mercury moving direct into the heart of the Sun, there is an obvious connection and message to be found in the intersection of Venus and Mercury synodic cycles during March, April, and May. This means that as we are reevaluating how we find pleasure and form relationship we are also reorienting the manner in which we translate and communicate meaning and make sense of our perceptions. It also means that there will be a lot more changes, twists, and turns coming our way following the stationing direct of Venus. Venus will leave its retrograde shadow zone on May 18, 2017 when it crosses back over 13’08 Aries. At this time Mercury will likewise be close to leaving its own retrograde shadow zone. By the time Venus and Mercury have had their way with us at the end of May, we will have experienced vital purification and regeneration that will have prepared us to receive and create greater fulfillment within our relationships.

References

Fishbach, Heidi. (2014). Volver a los 17. A translation.

Wolkstein, Diane and Kramer, Samuel Noah. (1983). Inanna Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her stories and hymns from Sumer. Harper & Row.

Venus Retrograde in Leo & Virgo

July 27, 2015January 26, 2016 / grayastrology / 6 Comments

From the Clavis Artis manuscript at the Biblioteca Civica Hortis in Trieste courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Venus Retrograde

Venus stations retrograde at 0°46′ Virgo on July 25 and stations direct at 14°24′ Leo on September 6, 2015.
Inferior conjunction of Venus with the Sun, or “New Venus,” will be at 22°39′ Leo on August 15, 2015.
The shadow zone of Venus retrograde covering the stretch of time Venus is contained within the zodiac range of her retrograde is from June 21 through October 9, 2015.

Aphrodite arose in sea foam following a violent revolution, born in ocean waves with eyes cerulean as the sea and body fully formed with fertile hips and breasts. It is said she enchanted the eyes of onlookers with rapture and with each new step onto the earth created the bright colored growth of grass and flowers. The planet Venus in astrology has many significations we associate with the mythic Aphrodite, such as the pleasures of fresh fruit and flowers, copulation, love, union, art, aesthetics, perfumed scents, and the luxuries that bring us feelings of comfort and elegance. The glyph of Venus is the circle of Spirit atop the cross of Matter, symbolizing the living soul and spirit found in all elements of our surrounding material world, and the capacity of our Venusian natures to give us an experience of heaven on earth. Perhaps above all we link Venus with the inner values we hold most dear and which describe who and what we are attracted to and magnetize into our life, as well as how we project these inner needs into our outer relationships for better or for worse. In The Picatrix the anonymous magical author wrote “Venus is the source of the power of flavor” (p. 134), and as we all know our tastes can change it is during Venus retrograde that we can experience essential transformation.

When Venus goes retrograde, she returns to her mythic origins connected with active rebellion and revolution. During the Venus retrograde phase, the nature of Venus shifts from seeking social harmony into a transitional, in-between space in which all established social norms are loosened to such an extent that we can experience a deep reevaluation of our inner values and how we are seeking to fulfill them in external relationships and structures. On a societal level, a realignment can occur within the power structure as well as between elements of the general populace and elements of the ruling class. As this current Venus retrograde begins simultaneously with an exact square between Mars in Cancer and Uranus in Aries, it creates a charged atmosphere of rebellious confrontations and stormy emotions befitting the mythic origins of Aphrodite. Amplifying the electricity further, a day after Venus stations retrograde, the shattering and liberating Uranus also stations retrograde on July 26 making the initiation of this Venus journey into the underworld intensely Uranian. As a result we can find ourselves in great drama at the beginning of this Venus retrograde, and some of the initial experiences could be triggering in surprising ways. While we could respond by investing passion into our roles in life like the Venus who adores stepping into the spotlight, it will be most important to take time to nurture and regenerate ourselves continually, whenever needed.

Venus retrograde creates a magical atmosphere that is highly structured, holding resonance with the golden mean found in the five petaled form of the rose and numerous forms of life. The Orphic Hymn to Aphrodite described her as “Crafty, from whom necessity [Ananke] first came,” and also noted that “The triple Fates [Moirai] are rule’d by thy decree.” Similarly, the synodic cycle of Venus is so consistent and regular that the retrograde phase of it’s cycle brings an air of destiny, fate, and necessity to events and encounters in our daily life. Venus only goes retrograde once every year and a half or so, five times in it’s eight year synodic cycle with the Sun- eight divided by five is 1.625 and so very close to the sacred 1.618 proportion associated with the golden mean. If you trace the points around the zodiac at which Venus stations during its eight year synodic cycle, each point forms a quintile 72 degree aspect, creating the image of a five pointed star when plotted on paper. The magical result of this is that every eight years, we experience a Venus retrograde in the same general area of the zodiac at generally the same time (this all slowly shifts across time), so that there is a resonance from this time back to July through September of 2007, and then also to July through September of 1999 before that.

Previously on July 27, 2007 Venus stationed retrograde at 2°57′ Virgo and stationed direct at 16°36′ Leo on September 8, 2007. New Venus on August 18, 2007 at 24°51′ Leo. Shadow zone of June 24 – October 12, 2007.
Previously on July 30, 1999 Venus stationed retrograde at 5°8′ Virgo and stationed direct at 18°47′ Leo on September 11, 1999. New Venus around August 20, 1999 at 27 Leo. Shadow zone of June 26 – October 15, 1999.

This will be the last Venus retrograde that involves both Virgo and Leo, as the cycle will shift in 2022 to occurring entirely in Leo. In the first half of the 20th Century the Venus retrograde cycle in this zone of the zodiac occurred entirely in Virgo until 1959, when it began to slide into the end of Leo. With each successive eight year Venus retrograde (1967, 1975, 1983, 1991, 1999, 2007, 2015) it has moved deeper and deeper into Leo. In our current retrograde cycle, Venus entered Virgo during it’s “shadow zone” period on July 18, 2015 and will return to Leo retrograde on July 31, 2015- as a result we really only have about two weeks this time around with Venus in Virgo. There is a thirty day “shadow” period on either side of the Venus retrograde cycle in which Venus is traversing the same zodiac degrees that are part of its retrograde motion. Since the actual Venus retrograde lasts forty days, in all this gives us one hundred days to do the deep work of Venus. As Venus is at it’s closest obit to the Earth during it’s retrograde phase, moving in between the Earth and the Sun, it means all things Venusian become intensified during this time.

The Unicorne by Gustave Moreau

Venus conjunct Regulus in Virgo

There is a grandiose cosmic message revealed by Venus stationing conjunct the fixed star Regulus at the beginning of Virgo, as Regulus is the closest bright star to our ecliptic, only 0.46 degrees away. Regulus spent over two thousand years in the tropical zodiac sign of Leo until the year 2012 when it entered Virgo. Regulus is at the heart of the lion in the Leo constellation, a multiple star system with ancient associations with Mars, Jupiter, and the characteristics of leadership, described by Reinhold Ebertin as conveying “royal properties, noble mind, frankness, courage” (p. 52), and by Vivian Robson as making one “magnanimous, grandly liberal, generous, ambitious, fond of power, desirous of command, high-spirited and independent” (p. 195). This Venus retrograde cycle beginning on this legendary fixed star means Venus stands still from our perspective aligned with Regulus for weeks, portending that the Venus retrograde will call us to reassess our values and ethics connected with ambition, power, courage, leadership, generosity, and the qualities we feel are “noble.” If we are someone accustomed to ambitiously pursuing power, we may be confronted with experiences making us question how we have been expressing ourselves and impacting others. If we are someone who has been repressing the expression of our gifts, circumstances or a burning sense from inside may propel us to seize opportunities to develop our works of passion and to realize ways in which we can more confidently present ourselves and help others as a result.

Regulus is also one of the four Royal Stars of Persia, the Watcher of the North associated with Raphael, the Archangel of Healing. The angelic healer connection of Raphael to Regulus symbolically connects with the purifying quality of the Winged Virgin, the discerning nature of Virgo that can formulate the necessary medicine and healing practices that will cure whatever ails. Virgo is ruled by Mercury who heightens the Virgo ability to diagnose the appropriate use of medical arts to heal any fragmentation between the mind, body, and spirit. Likewise, at the beginning of this Venus retrograde while Venus remains in Virgo, it is an excellent time to attune within and deduce whatever emotions, feelings, values, and patterns of relationship we will need to address, nurture, and heal. Venus in the mutable Earth sign of the Winged Maiden can sense what issues the wisdom of our body is directing us toward, so making the time and space to regularly attend to your body now will help you prepare for the forty nights and days ahead in the retrograde. As Virgo is crafty and Venus loves the arts, if you are someone who is artistic in some way then it can also be a powerful time to transmute the issues needing to be healed through the process of creating within an artistic medium.

Venus in this initial time of the retrograde in Virgo is a bright Evening Star, and while taking on the rebellious characteristics of her retrograde phase, she has more tendencies toward creating harmony than she will later in her retrograde after entering her Morning Star phase. Venus stays in Virgo through the powerful Aquarius Full Moon on July 31, shifting into Leo about five hours after the exact timing of the lunation. Thus, on July 31 we receive an illuminated Aquarian message linked to Venus retrograde in Virgo at this beginning phase of the journey ahead. As Venus leaves Virgo to enter Leo, her significations shift into issues of creative calling and actualization, leadership, solar flair, validation, and procreative force. Venus stays in her Evening Star phase through the first week of August, and then by mid-August disappears from view into the underworld.

by Talia Migliaccio from http://www.taliamigliaccio.com

Venus Cycles with Jupiter and Saturn

Venus re-enters the sign of Leo on July 31, 2015 and into aspects with Jupiter in Leo and Saturn in Scorpio that will promote great change in our personal lives as well as in our collective. In many ways it is Saturn in Scorpio that takes center stage at this time, as a day after Venus enters Leo, Saturn stations direct on August 1, 2015 after having been retrograde since March 14, 2015. Yet in truth this time is about the relationship between Jupiter and Saturn and the long history of their use in astrology to interpret collective stages within our world. On August 3, 2015 the current Jupiter and Saturn cycle finally initiates the last quarter square phase between them. Our current Jupiter and Saturn cycle began May 28, 2000 at 23 degrees of Taurus in the tropical zodiac, and so we are now at the pivotal last quarter square aspect that turns back for a review of everything that has occurred during this past cycle in order to release what no longer serves us in preparation for the new cycle between Saturn and Jupiter that arrives on December 21, 2020 at the first degree of Aquarius. The last quarter square was famously described as a “crisis in consciousness” by astrologer Dane Rudhyar, and so on a personal level while we sense a visionary, expansive, solar quality of Jupiter pulling us forward like a courageous Lion, we simultaneously feel the constrictive force of Saturn in the penetrating sign of the Scorpion demanding that we utilize it’s scythe to clear and re-structure our belief system at a fundamental level in order to create fertile soil for our new vision to ultimately take root in the years ahead.

The quality Venus embodies in her retrograde phase of rebelling against the status quo and re-centering within on the raw values taking shape in our psyche is like a magical elixir that makes this last quarter square between Saturn and Jupiter even more powerful. The day after Jupiter and Saturn form their exact square, Venus becomes conjunct Jupiter on August 4 and then a day later Venus also forms an exact last quarter square with Saturn on August 5. This means that we once again experience a conjunction of Venus with Jupiter with the crucial difference of Venus being retrograde, also meaning that after Venus has her underworld journey and emerges again as a Morning Star, that she will eventually return to conjunct Jupiter a third time in Virgo on October 25, 2015. Astrologer Gary Caton has written that having three conjunctions between Jupiter and Venus in the same year only happened recently in 1967 and 1991, both years of radical creativity in the artistic and musical realm in our collective. With Venus retrograde conjunct Jupiter and in square to Saturn at this point, it means we have deep inner clearing to do regarding our beliefs around feelings of inner self worth and our external patterns of relationship. It seems that if we haven’t realized the message we need to work on at this point, events will force us into necessary awareness.

If that were not enough, there is an even deeper magical planetary element to add to this witches brew of transformation: Mercury. The day after the exact last quarter square between Venus and Saturn, Mercury swings through on August 6 and becomes conjunct Venus first and then later in the day becomes exactly square to Saturn. The following day on August 7, Mercury becomes conjunct Jupiter in Leo. In alchemy, Mercury is the soul energy utilized to anchor Spirit into the Body or Matter, and similarly Mercury is serving here as a cosmic binding to help us integrate the transformational changes of this week in our mind, body, and soul. Since Mercury unites with Jupiter after squaring Saturn, the result is a heightened ability to look at our life and our past in an entirely new way, rooted in self-reflection of our past experiences. Mercury could present us at this time with stimulating new information or a vital new message to receive that helps shift our perspective.

by Talia Migliaccio from http://www.taliamigliaccio.com

Venus Inferior Conjunction

By August 11, Venus will have set as an Evening Star and we will no longer be able to see Venus at night, as she will have symbolically entered the Underworld stage of her journey. While we may attempt to direct the rays of the Sun with our Venusian mirrors to help us look better or feel better about ourselves, the more we can step into the full flames of the Solar Rays the more we can experience a fiery purification of our past Venusian values in preparation for the new cycle between the Sun and Venus. On August 15, 2015 we experience the Inferior Conjunction of Venus with the Sun, when Venus goes cazimi into the heart of the Sun and forms an exact conjunction. The Inferior Conjunction of Venus happens when Venus is exactly orbiting between our Earth and our Sun, and so it symbolizes the meaning of a NEW VENUS much like a New Moon in our life.

This is a powerful day to go within and set intentions for what you want to magnetize and attract into your life in the new cycle ahead. Astrologer Anne Massey in her book Venus wrote that since the rose is a symbol of Venus, we can imagine ourselves at the New Venus as being a rose bud wet with morning dew, delicately beginning to unfold into a blooming rose at Full Venus. The Full Venus is the Superior Conjunction that occurs when Venus moves direct into the heart of the Sun, orbiting on the other side of the Sun from our perspective on Earth. Within the five pointed star formed by the Venus retrograde cycle, we experience a Full Venus four years after a New Venus close to the same day and zodiac degree. In this case, we will end up having a Full Venus occur on August 14, 2019 at 21°11′ of Leo. Integrating the other points of the five pointed star, the last Superior Conjunction of Venus occurred on October 25, 2014 at 2 degrees of Scorpio, and the next one occurs on June 6, 2016 at 17 degrees of Gemini.

Bringing in the other astrological aspects of this Inferior Conjunction, it is notable that Jupiter will have recently ingressed into Virgo and is conjunct the Moon in Virgo, and Mercury the ruler of Virgo is in it’s own sign of Virgo and applying to a conjunction with Juno in Virgo, separating from an opposition with Neptune and applying to an opposition with Chiron in Pisces. There is potential to gain a new sense of the deepest levels of our being at this time, yet in order to receive the insight of this healing perspective it is necessary to strip away illusions of control and to utilize the capacity of Mercury in its Sage phase of Evening Star to open yourself to fully experience the process of your unconscious at work. As Carl Jung wrote in his Alchemical Studies:

We must be able to let things happen in the psyche. For us, this is an art of which most people know nothing. Consciousness is forever interfering, helping, correcting, and negating, never leaving the psychic processes to grow in peace.

Strength arcanum illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith

Venus conjunct Mars

Following the New Venus of August 15, Venus begins to shift into a Morning Star, re-emerging from her Underworld journey around August 23. As Venus as an Evening Star is more about seeking harmony and attuning with the needs of others in relationship, Venus as a Morning Star is more about going after what we feel we are worth and desire. It is also important to realize that while on individual levels there is great healing and self-renewal potentially available at the time of the Inferior Conjunction of Venus, on a collective level the vast majority of people are not tuned into this perspective and so events surrounding us could become incredibly dramatic and rife with conflict. The Morning Star Venus can be more aggressive and linked to the blood-thirsty aspect of the Goddess seen in figures such as the lion-headed Sekhmet who can become intoxicated by the spilling of blood. Along these lines, Inanna as the planetary Venus in its Morning Star phase was described by the ancient Sumerians in the translated text “The Lady of the Morning” from the Seven Hymns to Inanna:

Honored Counselor, Ornament of Heaven, Joy of An!

When sweet sleep has ended in the bedchamber,

You appear like bright daylight.

When all the lands and the people of Sumer assemble . . .

When they sing your praises, bringing their concerns to you,

You study their words.

You render a cruel judgment against the evildoer;

You destroy the wicked.

You look with kindly eyes on the straightforward;

You give that one your blessing.

Further amplifying feelings of desire and drama in relationships is the fact that with each day of the second half of August, Mars in Leo gets closer and closer to becoming conjunct Venus retrograde in Leo. On September 1, 2015 the second conjunction between Mars and Leo is initiated at 14°55 of Leo. Following this conjunction, as Venus stations direct Mars begins to separate but never gets too far away from Venus, who begins chasing after Mars until they eventually become conjunct a third time on November 2, 2015 at 25 degrees of Virgo. This time of transition from the end of August through the beginning of September, with Venus beginning to station, unites the fiery desire of Mars in Leo to pursue new creative endeavors with a Venus bearing her soul in Leo at the depths of her Underworld journey. This is not yet a time to have gained clarity, and more so a time to instinctually sense what we are in a process of outgrowing as well as what we are beginning to initiate in a process of becoming.

by Walter Crane

Venus stations Direct

Venus finally stations direct on September 6, 2015 at 14°23′ of Leo, with Mars about four degrees away at a little over 18 degrees of Leo. Flipping through the vast catalogue of images associated with the Leo II decan from numerous ancient texts in Austin Coppock’s book on the decans 36 Faces, in order to get a sense of the variety of images associated with this section of the zodiac, I was struck by how many of them described a man carrying a bow and arrow or sword, fierce with anger like a lion and sometimes even dressed like a lion. A good example is by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa in his Three Books of Occult Philosophy in which the image is described as “A man with his hands raised, with a crown on his head, and the form of a man angry and threatening. In his right hand he has a drawn sword and in the left a round shield.” The power given to this image by Agrippa is that “It has the significations over hidden quarrels, unknown victories, over vile men, and occasions of lawsuits and battles.” Fascinatingly to me, despite the wide use of images associated with conflict and fierceness across a wide variety of texts, the fragmentary Hellenistic text the 36 Airs of the Zodiac gave the Leo II decan to Isis, the great Goddess of Love, Devotion, Healing, and Magic.

In case you wonder why I am including here references to images associated with the Leo II decan found in ancient magical texts, it is because I feel there is a resonance between them and the current events we will experience when Venus stations direct in the Leo II decan at the beginning of September. Following Venus stationing direct, we will feel a stronger push from inside to go after what we value and feel we are worth, as we settle into the energy of Venus direct as a Morning Star in Leo. As Leo is known for creating drama and assertively standing up for itself and others when brought into conflict, the fierce figures found in the old images of this decan make sense from the standpoint that we will have regenerated an impassioned sense of authenticity from the retrograde journey of Venus that we will want to have the freedom to begin to express into our environment and relationships. The divine figure of Isis being also associated with this decan brings the added meaning that this new authentic self-worth we develop from this Venus retrograde will involve the healing of past soul fragmentation so that we feel more whole and better able to act in accordance with genuine inner values through our personality. As Austin Coppock summarized about the Leo II decan in 36 Faces:

This decan holds within it the magical power of authenticity- here defined as a harmonious connection between the external sphere in which one acts and the spirit fire within each individual. The alchemical process necessary to achieve this power is work upon the persona or ego which mediates the spirit and what the world sees. Once the persona has become suitable to transmit the spirit’s impetus, a fierce and potent authenticity is born. (p. 129)

Indeed, no matter what circles of drama or conflict we become drawn into during this Venus retrograde, in totality the tension and strife will demand that we transform the impetus of our personality to fit in with the values of others around us into a burning purpose from within that will give us the ability to more directly express our true nature and values into the world around us.

Image of Anahita on Lion

References

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: The History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans. Three Hands Press.

Ebertin, Reinhold. (1973). Fixed Stars and their Interpretation. Ebertin-Verlag.

Greer, John Michael and Warnock, Chris. (2010 – 2011). Translation of The Picatrix: Liber Atratus Edition. Adocentyn Press.

Massey, Anne. (2006). Venus: Her Cycles, Symbols, & Myths. Llewellyn.

Robson, Vivian. (1969). The Fixed Stars & Constellations in Astrology. The Aquarian Press.

Wolkstein, Diane and Kramer, Samuel N. (1983). Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth. Harper & Row.

Gray Crawford

ASTROLOGY

Venus retrograde

Venus Retrograde in Gemini

Venus Retrograde in Gemini

Venus Retrograde in Aries & Pisces

Venus Retrograde in Aries

Venus in the Heart of the Sun’s Exaltation

Venus Station Direct in Pisces