The Goddess is near.
Venus, the planetary Goddess, is beginning her descent towards a monumental and imminent journey.
This Venus Rx lasts from October 5th-November 16th, 2018. Its effects will extend for 19 months beyond its inception point.
She is the archetypal Feminine. As with all of the planets and heavenly bodies, she animates our lives and channels through us. Regardless of sex or gender identity, she lives within us.
The world is steeped in her medicine.
We are Her.
Forty days and forty nights.
That’s about how long a Venus Retrograde cycle lasts.
When a planet is retrograde, it appears to be moving backwards from our perspective on Earth. Venus retrogrades every 19 months. Her last retrograde period was March-April 2017 in the signs of Aries and Pisces.
It takes Venus 8 years to complete her cycle, painting a 5-pointed rosette pentagram in the sky as she dances with Earth.
Strong medicine.
Let’s shorten the word “retrograde” to Rx, a symbol that acts as a reminder that these backward-seeming planetary motions are potent times of healing. That the seemingly aberrant rhythm of backward-dancing is now exactly the medicine we need.
During a Venus Rx period, the heavenly Goddess is closest to the Earth, brightest in the sky, and strongest in her potency. She changes from an Evening star (witnessed near the horizon after sunset) to a Morning star (witnessed near the horizon before sunrise).
During this time, she also ventures into the Underworld. And so, too, do We.
This is her choice. Consciously she, and we, make descent into a nether place. We go here willingly. We offer ourselves. Descent precipitates new rising.
Back from the dead.
Venus Rx brings shadows to the surface in our relationships, romances, friendships, and intimate bonds. Expect break-ups and make-ups.
Jealousy and paranoia can color perception. Recognize there is a lot of projection flying around. Both you and the other person may not be seeing clearly – your sight is hindered by past traumas. Look to your ancestral landscape of love and money – you’ll gain deeper insight into your own inner workings.
Venus Rx could also dredge up old issues of self-worth and appearance. Be real with the arising anxieties. See them, honor them, and move through them. We might find ourselves acquiring a tattoo or a new hairstyle – some transformative effort to physically reclaim our worth, power, and beauty.
Old lovers may reappear. We may be magnetically drawn to reignite a love that went unrequited. We might stumble towards love triangles or sizzling flings. Keep expectations at bay. Be willing to see the deeper, possibly darker sides of self and other as the scales drop.
Co-dependent tendencies are asking to be alchemized. Entangled relationships (emotionally or financially) that used to work for us may come to a dramatic and grinding halt.
Abuses and manipulations come to clarity. Ask for support as you stand your ground. We are settling debts. What do you owe to whom? Whom owes what to you? Keep releasing your attachments. This includes grudges, resentments, and addictive tendencies that keep you from your power.
Shed your vestments.
Strip. Discard your clothes.
Release who you have known yourself to be. Let go of attachments. Burn old contracts. Sacrifice outworn modes of relating. Terminate the stories. Take away whatever isn’t needed. Give yourself to the cauldron of unknown.
The potion bubbles and stirs.
When Venus is in the underworld, she is hidden from our sight. Her insides and outsides co-mingle. Her fluids merge and coagulate. She is opened. Her mysteries glisten. Pain and ecstasy combine. She spends 7-8 days in the dark.
The potion is drunk.
We venture through the unconscious, the taboo, the shadowed. We face blindspots, residual trauma, ancestral ghosts. We splay ourselves to the unseen. We make love to our darkness with intimacy; regenerating through the depth of our essential Power.
This is a place of metamorphosis. A potent alchemical realm of change.
We are changelings.
Open yourself to the awakening. The more you open to the changes presenting themselves during this cycle, the more you will evolve.
We are reborn.
This Venus Rx offers a rare portal of rebirth. It is the only moment in our lifetime that Venus emerges as Morning Star in the sign of Libra.
She re-emerges. Glittering in full splendor just before sunrise. Bringing gifts of harmony, reciprocity, equanimity. She aims to restore the natural balance. Recalibration.
Venus offers a chance to alchemize how we relate. To ourselves, each other, spirit, and the world. To finances, values, beauty, and love itself.
Call the Goddess to you and through you. Ask to become more essential and more intimate with what is. Ask to know, to be, and to experience the holiness of harmonious Connection.
All of us will feel this Venus Rx. If you have strong Taurus, Libra, Scorpio placements, or if Venus in your chart has an especially potent placement then you may be more acutely sensitive to its potency.
To work collaboratively with Venus Retrograde this season, Intuitive Astrologer Virginia Rosenberg has created a timeline of transits during the course of her retrograde and direct period until she clears her shadow in December.
Use this timeline to track your own journey and make the most of this rare planetary cycle. It contains descriptions of what we can expect and ritual recommendations for how to attune to its magic.
Here’s How Venus Retrograde May Personally Impact Each Sign
Aries:
Venus retrogrades through your houses of intimacy and union. Committed relationships and business partnerships can come under scrutiny. Is everyone being honest? Where are you holding back from sharing yourself and why? Are your partners being forthcoming? Intimacy requires honesty. Trust your instincts. Put things on hold with your closest until you can sort things out. Be patient, and be willing to dive deep. You may not know entirely where you stand in these relationships until the end of 2018.
Taurus:
Venus retrogrades through your houses of partnership and health. There may be some re-wiring happening in your marriage. Perhaps you are putting an end to a long-held grudge, or figuring out how to move in places that have become stagnant. Energy flowing in our relationships is just as important to our health as energy flowing through the body. Check in with your body. Notice how it is feeling. Is everything in balance? This Venus Rx can help you re-establish harmony with your worklife, as well as physical and beauty routines. Maybe it’s time for a cleanse.
Gemini:
Venus retrogrades through your houses of health and creativity. You may be second-guessing whether you are as healthy as you thought you were. Perhaps you are finding it difficult to maintain rhythms that support your wellness. The good news is, you don’t have to marry yourself to particular healthy behaviors. Keep your options open! Identify what would make you feel well week-to-week, and fit it in. Sometimes that may be napping during the day. Other times it may be making sure you hike in the morning. How do you know what will keep you healthy? What gives you life and joy?? Happiness is one of the best emotional states to tap into for establishing wellness.
Cancer:
Venus retrogrades through your houses of creativity and home. This cycle will stoke your creative fires. How is your creative energy expressing itself now? For some, it may literally have to do with making or tending children. You might revisit a craft you put down long ago. You will also be asked to smooth out wrinkles at home, with family, or in relationship to motherhood. Emotions can be strong tides during this cycle. Take deep breaths and make enough space to be able to respond instead of react. Some of the moodiness arising is an invitation for you to resolve old memories of your own childhood.
Leo:
Venus retrogrades through your houses of family and learning. Your homespace is transforming. Perhaps that is the environment itself, or maybe it has more to do with who is sharing home with you. Welcome these transformations as a learning experience. Pay special attention to needs and nurturing. Writing could be a helpful tool for integrating the alchemies of this period. Keep a journal. Begin and end each day with writing down some needs you’d like to have met. End each day with communicating gratitude for the nurturing you received.
Virgo:
Venus retrogrades through your houses of learning and values. You will be asked to shed old modes of communication and thinking. Communication is an excellent area to aim for improvement. Sometimes we don’t realize how much we hold our tongues, or why. Practice intentional self-expression. For the latter-half of Venus Rx, plan your investments wisely, but avoid taking major money risks. Tune into old financial operating habits and see where you want to invite the alchemies of abundance.
Libra:
Venus retrogrades through your houses of money and identity. The first half of this transit asks you to keep letting go. Let go of attachments. Let go of investments. In the areas that used to feel like solid ground but now feel shaky to you – let them go. In particular, what are the old money stories you are ready to be done living out? Name them loud and clear. Now, who are you becoming? Anchor into your sense of self. This will allow you to begin building a new identity for yourself – one that is based on your desired experiences of resources rather than the past trauma associations.
Scorpio:
Venus retrogrades through your houses of identity and spirit. Throughout October, this transit makes it crystal clear that the old identity you have lived for the past 8 years is done. Dead. It might be worth it to stage a funeral for that person, because they ain’t coming back to life anytime soon. If it suits you, take a moment to grieve and mourn and praise the opportunity you had to live that life. Then, go into the realms of spirit, intuition, and dreaming, to receive divine guidance on whom you are becoming. Invite your new sense of self to settle deeper into the waters of your being.
Sagittarius:
Venus retrogrades through your houses of dreams and community. First, notice what kind of fantasies you’ve been holding onto when it comes to love. The grass is not always greener. Check yourself on any Disney-style self-deceptions you might have going on in your inner landscape of romantic liaisons. Then, open yourself to seeing all the unique ways it can look to be human. Maybe what you thought you wanted in love or friendship is something completely different from what is true for you moving forward. Be willing to upgrade those narratives and thrust your relatings into their future.
Capricorn:
Venus retrogrades through your houses of network and career. Disentangle yourself from human ties that do not support your success. Simplify your network. Notice tendencies to hold yourself back from your true purpose – it might come through giving your time and expertise away to others in too many directions. You do not need to be responsible for everyone’s stuff. Reclaim your personal power on the career-front. Be discerning about whom you connect with and how you choose to connect at work. Find clarity and keep things appropriate.
Aquarius:
Venus retrogrades through your houses of the public and expansion. Are you satisfied with how people see you and how you show up in the world? If not, Venus offers ways to restructure your public appearance and relations. You might be considering a change in career. Assess the options, and seek to come from a place of authenticity rather than rebellion. Relationships with parents could be strained during this time. Think about what steps you can take next in order to feel like you are growing and expanding. Stagnation is not an option – you are here to embrace some major upgrade during this transit. The future is now!
Pisces:
Venus retrogrades in your houses of growth and intimacy. You may be craving freedom, expansion, travel, or simply learning more in life during this retrograde. Clear the decks of forces that hold you back from feeling like your best self. This is a restless and spiritual time where your relatings will need to support your need to explore. However, don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. If you are in a relationship, know that this restless-feeling influence may soon pass, and sometimes there is even more adventure to be found in exploring within the bounds of commitment. The best thing to do is be radically honest. Keep all lines of communication wide open and seek to gain understanding of yourself and those you share love with.