The geometric pattern made by Venus' retrograde cycle. As we head into the weekend we have Venus and the Moon entering Virgo side by side, and Mercury turning direct, all with the dark moon. Venus’ entry into Virgo marks her complete emergence from her retrograde journey which began in late July. This only occurs once every eight years.
Now is a great time to pause and think about what has transpired in your life in the areas ruled by Venus (love, but also self-love, value and worth, how you get attention and how you express yourself in the world) since July and how it compares to events in 2007 and 1999, the most recent of Venus’ retrogrades. I wrote on the correlation between Venus’ retrograde journey and the Sumerian myth of Inanna’s Descent, in a previous article, The Full Moon Eclipse in Aries and the Phoenix Astrology of September, but I will recap here the story, since it has relevance as she officially completes her journey. The Sumerian myth of Inanna’s Descent explains the retrograde journey of Venus. Inanna leaves her kingdom in the hands of her consort in order to journey to the underworld to visit her sister, who represents her shadow self (those negative subconscious parts of us we would like to keep hidden – our fears and inner demons). She dresses in the seven garments of civilization and as she goes through the seven gates of the underworld she must remove them one at a time. These represent the seven chakras. They are also representative of all of her power in the civilized world. Those things mean nothing in the depths of the underworld however. She is stripped bare and vulnerable upon entering and then is attacked by her sister and left on meat hooks to die. She is there for three days (the length of time of the dark moon) before her servant’s pleas are heard and she is restored to life. Now having been to the depths of the underworld to confront her shadows, having died and been reborn, she is fierce. In order to leave the underworld she must find someone to take her place. She decides on her consort who has not been concerned with her absence and has been engrossed in ruling her kingdom as his own. Inanna leaves her kingdom on a spiritual quest. She confronts her shadows and fears and then is given new life by her higher self. Ultimately she has a new consciousness. She has slain her personal demons. She returns to her life whole unto herself and stepping fully into her power with knowledge of both her light and her dark, having one aspect of herself die in order for a new one to be reborn like the Phoenix. In our lives maybe we can see how we have confronted some old, outdated, or dark and hidden part of ourselves and been able to take responsibility for it in order to be more empowered. Maybe we have let go of an old aspect of ourselves or an old way of being in order to make room for a new way of being. With Mercury, the Messenger and planet of communications retrograde in Libra (sign of partnership, relationship, cooperation, balance and harmony) for the past three weeks, we have given time to slow down and rethink and/or reevaluate parts of our lives that have had to do with these matters. Now as Venus emerges from shadow and Mercury turns direct, the energy is shifting and we can start to take action on those things that have been illuminated for us during this time. But it’s not “all systems go” just yet. We are in the dark moon now until the new moon in Libra on Monday October 12th. The new moon is the official reset, and in the area of partnership, balance and harmony no less. The dark moon says don’t rush into action. Don’t make hasty or impulsive decisions. Turn inward, nurture yourself, and rest. Things will be making themselves more clear very soon. Take time during the dark moon to assess how your journey has progressed so far and where you stand. Take time to search deep within and align with your truest and most authentic self, and develop your intentions for this new moon in Libra. Let go of what is no longer serving and focus on what it is you would like to create in your life in the area of balance. This balance can be applied in many different areas of life. Libra is the sign of partnership, or rather balancing the self by cooperating in relationship, but can extend to friendships, family situations, business partnerships, community, balancing the lower self with the higher self, the material with the spiritual, work and love, career and family, and so on and so forth. Where has this been playing out in your life? What have you learned? What have you let go of? What do you want to consciously create? Venus will make a square to Saturn around October 14th, which may bring one more challenge or lesson from whatever you have been working on. Then she will catch up with Mars in Virgo around November 3rd. The two were joined first in February in Aries, highlighting the idea of the self and each person’s needs – a prelude to that eclipse on the Aries/Libra axis in September that illuminated how we were honoring self within relationships – and then again in Leo back on September 2nd while Venus was still retrograde, and now they will be in Virgo, the sign of healing and grounding ideals and what we’ve learned emotionally and spiritually into our everyday lives. Now you can take the time to ask where you’ve been able to access more self-love and how you are bringing that value of yourself into the world and ultimately into your relationships with those around you. A new beginning is upon us. We now have before us an opportunity to integrate what we have learned through our challenges and experiences, and consciously create our lives with self-love, courage and trust. Comments are closed.
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