Get ready for Venus retrograde in 2 months!

by with 6 Comments Astrological Insights

Astrology is such a wonderful tool for observing cycles – cycles within cycles within cycles…it seems to me that that’s what life is made of. 

We can investigate any of the planetary movements and brainstorm what it might mean collectively or personally as you place it in the context of your natal chart. 

I have been thinking about Venus a lot recently, as my progressed Venus made a conjunction to natal Saturn and transiting Pluto and Neptune slowly activate my Venus at the same time, I become increasingly aware about the importance of being attuned to our personal values in a deeper sense.

How do you make your decisions in life? How do you ponder which way to go when you reach a crossroad?

I find that Venus, differently than what we find in most basic astrological textbooks, has a very important function when it comes to our decision-making process. 

A life worth living is a life aligned with our deepest values and we can only be aware of our values if we relate to the Venusian principle in our charts authentically. 

Yes, Venus is about what we find attractive and how we attract, what is beautiful and pleasant for us, but in a deeper level, it is reflecting what we value the most. Venus in Sagittarius will value freedom and being adventurous outdoors very much whereas Venus in Scorpio will value intensity, exploring taboos and harsh inner landscapes more. 

You get the gist.  

When we look at Venus in our charts, we also must contextualise, for instance, Venus isn’t just in Virgo, it is also forming aspects (or not), and it is also placed in a house. Everything will have something to say about what you value the most and how you value yourself as well. 

This little article is a heads up so we can prepare ourselves for the next Venus’ cycle of retrogradation which will be happening in 2 months. So here is some astrological info on this cycle and hopefully we will be able to get some insights into our own journey. 

The last time Venus was retrograde was from May 13 until June 25 in 2020, it happened in Gemini and this cycle of retrogradation involved Neptune in Pisces as there was a square between the two planets. Around that time, we were dealing with illusions of all kinds but also potentially refining our values through the longings that were brought to the surface. 

The next time Venus will go retrograde is in December 19 at 26 degrees Capricorn and conjoined Pluto (at 25 degrees Capricorn). This one seems to be a powerful period for revisiting and purging everything Venus related – our compulsive relationship patterns, our values, how we enjoy ourselves, pleasurable obsessions, etc. 

Venus takes a trip into the underworld for a longer period here! 

The last time Venus and Pluto met in the sky was at the end of January 2021 at 25 degrees Capricorn – the exact degree of the next conjunction this coming December. Do you remember what was going on around that time?

(It is interesting to see how I felt the urge to write this little article whilst Mercury is retrograde at 24 degrees Libra and square Pluto right now. Libra, a Venus ruled sign, has a strong resonance with one-to-one relationships and the process of knowing oneself through the eyes of another. And Mercury retrograde is about reassessing, rethinking, etc.) 

Venus will turn direct on the 29 of January 2022 at 11 degrees Capricorn but before that, on January 17th, there will be a full moon at 27 degrees Cancer (closely activating the degree of the conjunction between Pluto and Venus). Full moons usually reflect culminations and the potential for intense situations providing insights into our journey. Whatever happens around this full moon will have something to do with that Venusian purging process which started during the conjunction between Venus and Pluto in December 2021. 

It won’t be until March 2022 that Venus, now in its forward motion, will meet Pluto again at 27 degrees Capricorn. The interesting thing is that this conjunction will be a triple one also involving Mars in Capricorn – and because Venus will be coming out of its retrogradation period, and for that reason slower in motion, they (Venus and Mars) will be moving together for quite a while (most of February and March 2022). 

Masculine and feminine (yin/yang) will be aligned not only with each other but also with Pluto!

What a powerful time ahead for revisiting and realigning ourselves with our deepest values. The conjunction between Mars/Venus/Pluto in March 2022 could be reflecting not only the purging of what/how we love, but also how our actions could be aligned with it. 

We could detox and empower the ‘yin/yang’ principle within us by that time. 

So, take the next few months to think, feel and reflect on what are your deepest values and how aligned with it, or not, your life is – and here I mean all areas. Periods of retrogradation are wonderful for asking questions rather than rushing into answering them. 

Do you love your job? How do you invest your time in general? What is the state of your personal relationships? Do you love your home? Do you love yourself, and if so, how do you express that on a daily basis? What are the things that you value the most in yourself, in your friends, in your partner, in your life in general? 

These are some of the questions that can guide you to a transformative and empowering process reflected by the coming Venus retrograde conjoined Pluto. 

Let’s take responsibility (Capricorn) and make the most of it!      

Aquarius and the solar principle

by with 2 Comments Astrological InsightsProfessional Astrologer

It has been an interesting couple of weeks for me. I have some friends visiting and staying with me in the flat, including my brother, so the house is full. From the incredible quiet and self exploring vibes, which was also very melancholic at times, I now barely have time for checking in with myself so I am sort of allowing this time to be some sort of holidays. (haven’t had one of those in ages!)

Being a Virgo myself, it is pretty difficult not to do things that are practical in some way and so I recently delved into some of the Astrological Association’s old recordings of lectures. I found a few of Liz Greene’s talks, which I already bought and heard almost all of them, but there are plenty of historical (like for example a Gauquelin’s lecture on their research) and other important talks available for very affordable prices. (I recommend if you haven’t checked it yet).

One of the lectures I heard was about Apollo’s chariot and the solar principle in response to collective cycles given by Liz Greene, a wonderful (as I would expect) and enlightening lecture that resonates with what we are about to go through with a strong emphasis on Aquarius.

In about a month we will witness a cluster of planets in Aquarius which includes the Sun, Venus, Saturn, Jupiter and Mercury (which will, by the way, be moving retrograde at that time), and Aquarius speaks about the collective well fare. As Greene has pointed out in her lecture, Scorpio is concerned with depth but Aquarius is concerned with breadth (one of the dangers, she claimed, is loosing sight of excellence when there is too much emphasis on this sign as it focus on getting the ‘common denominator’).

According to Liz Greene, ‘where there is aquarian energy, the sun is invoked’ as it is its complement and opposite and I really like this idea. I feel that with such a strong aquarian energy, including the Saturn-Uranus Square that will be happening throughout 2021, we will do well in connecting with our solar energies.

The Sun is what gives us our sense of personal meaning, destiny and purpose. It is the point in the chart where we potentially feel unique and with a special reason to be alive. Liz Greene pointed out how we are under the risk of loosing the will to be ourselves when we identify entirely with a group (which is one of the reasons why the Sun is in detriment in Aquarius), and she also spoke about the dangers that throwing responsibility away from the individual can cause, when the group, ‘the great WE who have rights’, is actually made of individuals.

My conclusion here is that we will do very well in taping into our solar energies as we see the aquarian energy increase, this will be a way of avoiding darker scenarios where individuality is sacrificed completely to the ‘benefit of the group’ (in authoritarian regimes for example). So have a look at your chart, where is the Sun placed, what sign, what house? What can be the unique gifts that you can contribute with?

As Greene claimed, if we are willing ‘to be somebody who has something to contribute with the group then we will see a group that truly transforms the individual’. And let the Aquarian season begin!