Today Venus turns retrograde until November 16, 2018. Venus begins in the sign of Scorpio and then on October 31, moves backwards into Libra for the remainder of the retrograde period. Unlike Mercury that orbits retrograde 3 or 4 times a year, Venus only retrogrades every 18 to 24 months. For the next 6 weeks, we are going to be casting a critical eye on all our relationships and evaluate if they are enhancing our lives.
The planet Venus symbolizes love, peace and harmony in relationships. Venus’s position in the zodiac shows how you give of yourself and how you express your feelings for others. It also reveals how you attract the good things of life. Venus also governs our money and our attitude towards it. Venus is seductive and compassionate.
When in Scorpio, Venus gets to the very core of what lies within our hearts. However, even though both Venus and Scorpio are feminine energies, Venus is not comfortable in Scorpio's emotional energy. Venus is about making nice, Scorpio is about getting down and dirty. While we must dig deep to the root-source of our discontent in order to progress beyond it, we will never fully heal if we don't cut our losses, let go and move on. The goddess of beauty and love is at her best when in her own sign of Libra. When in Libra, our desire for connection, harmony and one-on-one connection is highlighted. Venus in Libra also wields the sword of justice when wrongs need to be righted. She will not tolerate any signs of injustice or unfairness. I am very interested to see how this particular transit of Venus will play out during the mid-term elections. There is no minimizing the collective anger, frustration and activism that has been unleashed among women in this country.
So what can we expect during this transit? When Venus is in intense, erotic Scorpio, dredging up power struggles, forcing us to look at intimate ties and dangling tempting-yet-toxic “sex with an ex” scenarios can happen. Then when Venus backs into her home sign of fair-minded Libra, Venus demands that you see your friends and lovers through the lens of reality, rather than with rose-colored filters. Is your chief complaint a deal breaker or is there something to learn here by addressing those issues together? A wise therapist once said, “It’s not that successful couples don’t have conflict, because they do; it’s how they work through those conflicts that determines the strength of their relationship.”
So how do we cope for the next 6 weeks? For me, the customary retrograde rules apply. Here are some tips:
· Looking at your relationships/partnerships/social connections what “re”-evaluation is needed? While this is not an ideal time to get married, it would be a good time to renew marriage vows or commitments to a partner (business or personal).
· Take the time to re-assess your finances and goals for the future. How is your budget working (Do you even have one?)?
· Re-visit creative projects you may have put on hold. Take another look with a fresh perspective.
Venus ruled Taurus and Libra folks may be particularly sensitive to the effects of Venus Retrograde. Also, people who have Taurus and/or Libra associated with love or financial areas of their chart tend to be more affected than others. This includes people with Aries Rising/Ascendant (because Libra is on the house of partnerships and often Taurus is on the cusp of their income house) and Scorpio Rising/Ascendant (because Taurus is on the cusp of their house of partnerships). Also people who have Venus in Taurus or Libra are also quite sensitive to the cycle.
If you want to know more information about how this cycle will affect your chart, click here for a personal guide to working with Venus Retrograde.