Temple of the Cosmic Spheres

Venus began her cycle of Retrograde on Saturday the 21st at 4:53pm (EST).  This is was also the day of the Winter Solstice and the longest night of the year to herald in the waxing of the Light from here forward until the Summer Solstice.  Venus stations direct on January 31.2014 allowing plenty of time for her energy to be felt and acted upon.  Although a Venus Retrograde does not take center stage in the same way that a Mercury retrograde does, the areas ruled by Venus gain in intensity and the call for reaching back is at hand.  Primarily this will be in the areas of relationships and re-connection or disconnection through reevaluation.

Venus  stationed in the astrological Earth sign of Capricorn which gives breadth and scope to the areas she shines her light brightest upon. If we take into consideration what we know about Venus so far and the elements of strength (Taurus) and refinement towards balance (Libra) we can use these attributes to bolster whatever areas of disruption and change that Venus reaches out towards.  Her energy is feminine in nature and with that is a depth of intensity and introspection that brings great insights to the foreground regarding those people and things in our lives to whom we have given our hearts and our trust.

* See The  Personal Note at the end of this post!

A Venus retrograde often brings the opportunity to reconnect with those who had in the past been part of our lives and enables us to reevaluate what they brought to nourish our sensibilities in the first place.  This allows space to reassess their current value in potentially reintroducing their energy into our lives now.

Every 18 months or so a Venus retrograde will occur and will last approximately six – seven weeks.  Astronomically, Venus us the brightest light in the heavens taking third place only to the Sun and the Moon.  It is also the planet which is easiest to see with the naked eye and has an orbital path that varies very little (by approx. 2-4 degrees) in the movement along of its eliptical path. Let’s begin by taking a look at the scientific definition of a retrograde.

Astronomy 101: What is a Retrograde Motion? 

An animation showing the retrograde motion of Mars in summer of 2003.
Credit: Eugene Alvin Villar

“Typically, the planets shift slightly eastward from night-to-night, drifting slowly against the backdrop of stars. From time to time, however, they change direction. For a few months, they’ll head west before turning back around and resuming their easterly course. This is “retrograde motion”. Though it baffled ancient astronomers, we know now that retrograde planets are an illusion caused by the motion of Earth.” Astronomer: Christopher Crokett (1.)

The Stations of Activity and the Zodiac

Astrologically, when a planet changes direction in its normal path of progression through the zodiac, this is called a “station”.  The planet’s progress slows down in is orbit until it appears to pause in its motion giving the appearance of moving backwards. The Retrograde Station occurs when the planet begins this slowing down and seeming movement backwards.  The Direct Station occurs when the forward motion of the planet begins again.  Whatever astrological sign the planet retrogrades in gives added emphasis and more intensity to how the planet expresses its own energy now given a full and prolonged dose of the sign’s own specificities.  These highly potent effects can be building or waning (depending on which end of the station you find yourself) for days prior or after. Much like, the concentrated effort needed in slowing down to come to a traffic light, pausing, and then having to carefully and incrementally apply enough gas to reach your top speed again.

Stop!

Hedonistic Pleasures and the Pursuit of Happiness

In previous posts I’ve talked about the dynamics of Venus and the natural strivings towards achieving beauty and pleasure from relationships and every facet of physical life and expression. Looking at this retrograde energy from the perspective of hedonistic philosophy, the “no holds barred” intent becomes prime directive.  It is often from this place of pursuing the delights of sensorial gratification that the aspiration and pursuit of happiness is hoped to be found.  For many, enthusiasm is replaced by disillusionment and boredom takes hold in the space of what is not truly satisfying at all levels. The happiness quotient dwindles and new ways of reviving that happiness have to be continually explored.  This is the energy of Venus in full expression of her beguiling and seductive nature.  The vacillation between boredom and excitement is just the tipping of the scales in the effort to achieve a place of balance where pleasure and happiness are co-creators of forming the life we wish to have.  Retrograding Venus stirs the pot and forces a closer look at what gives us true joy and where we find balanced gratification.  This exploration provides the new foundations that become the bar of measure and value of what fulfills until the next space of scrutiny.

Revamp and Refine Relationships

Venusian energy is one that allows deeper insight into the basic nature of the emotions and the foundations that we structure them upon. When Venus retrogrades this is the prime time to take a look at those emotional foundations and see if they have been built upon faulty ground.  The house may have been constructed in accord with the owner’s specifications, but shifting ground will ever so slightly begin to erode away what keeps it in balance.  This is the action of Venus retrograding.  Shifting emotions and the addition and release of those relationships that we have created as our space of home and comfort may take on decidedly different functions and begin to shift ever so slightly either in the direction of ultimate release or a deepening of commitment.  The results may be a complete overhaul and revamping of all our relationships so that the new structure becomes a different type of architectural support, complete with new venue and supportive resources.

Focus On The Self; So You Can Give Freely To The Other

The same energy of intense evaluation regarding emotions and things of the heart that guides a Venus retrograde is the foundational energy we can use to redefine our definition of the love we offer ourselves.  If we cannot see ourselves as being loved and loveable, we can never truly feel the balance and anchoring of sharing our love completely and fully with others.  The Venus retrograde provides the space to reinvent ourselves, the way in which we see ourselves and ultimately how we use this persona in our interactions with others.  Shifting this focus of unconditional love, insight, understanding and compassion towards our own development causes a reinvention of who and what we value within our own being.  As we refine these definitions of who we are we can learn to fall in love with that person we have become. We can see the beauty in that transformation and appreciate the refinement that has occurred from this balanced and cohesive method of self-introspection.

In the Name of Love!

Here’s another thought! The Sun moved into the astrological sign of Capricorn on the 21st and the Winter Solstice occurred on this date as well. Capricorn is another Earth astrological sign of the Zodiac.  This is the Earth of Cardinal modality; the initial catalyst and flow that move towards stability. This is the first layer of soil that with time and weathering becomes the fertile mound. Venus rules the Earth sign of Taurus; a Fixed sign (re-read last week’s post about astrological Venus) that takes the initial outpouring of the Cardinal energy and gathers it to itself to provide structure and container for what has flowed into it. This is the warm mound of fertile soil that is the incubator that produces greenery.

So, using this information, consider the potential held with the added bolster of Sun in Earthy Capricorn as Venus, ruler of Fixed Earth Taurus stations retrograde (reaches backwards). The Sun offers the electromagnetic power of strength, renewal and life giving properties. The Sun is the electrical impulse that flows through the all of the foundations we have created.  In this case, the foundations are of the Earth (Capricorn/Taurus) or manifest realm.  Those things and people that we concretely wish to attract to our lives.

With Venus (or heart) stationing its outpouring towards what we have established as our foundation of compassion and interaction occurring  as the Sun (life force) lights the way for the manifestation of  stability and strength (Earth), there is great opportunity to shine in the brilliance of Venus’ light.

*A Personal Note:

This posting was late as the result of a personal emergency that occurred.  On Thursday, I took my mother to the Emergency Room thinking that her escalated confusion and discomfort in walking was the result of a UTI.  She did have an infection, but what we didn’t know was that she also had bleeds on both sides of her brain.  A CAT scan revealed this additional news.  The next 48-hrs. forced me to face the mortality of my mother, the relationship we had and the overwhelming feelings of guilt and remorse that go hand in hand with the thought of suddenly losing a parent. Emotions rose to overflowing and I thought I couldn’t stop crying.  I thought about all the experiences, negative and positive I have had with my mother and each one brought me to a place of thinking long and hard about how I would change some of the future interactions.  She has had brain surgery and is doing well, but we are still not out of the woods.  Of interest is the fact that my natal Venus is in the astrological sign of Pisces and my Mother’s natal Sun sign is Pisces. I can’t help but think that this was an opportunity to look back and readjust some of the feelings I’ve held about my Mother and refine the way our relationship flows moving forward. 

Resources:

1.  Earth Sky Blog by Christopher Crokett

Next Week:
We’ll conclude our time in the Temple with information about Venus and Planetary Magick.

This entry was posted on December 23, 2013 at 7:16 pm and is filed under The Temple of Venus, Uncategorized, Venus with tags astrology, capricorn, cardinal, celestial, cosmic, esoteric writings, fixed modality, Libra, Taurus. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.