Venus stations on October 5th beginning a retrograde cycle that lasts until November 16th. Venus retrogrades approximately every 18 months - appearing to move backwards in the sky as it loses speed. This planet represents love, wealth, abundance, beauty, sensuality, feminine energy and romance. Venus rules Taurus and Libra but is currently in the sign of Scorpio. It will dip back into Libra during this retrograde phase before it gains enough forward momentum to enter Scorpio again and move past its retrograde shadow.
Venus retrograde doesn't happen as often as the popular Mercury retrograde but its impact can be felt nonetheless. Venus in Scorpio is intense - feeling everything deeply - the joy, the sorrow and everything in between. Venus in Scorpio is looking for soul mates and twin flames - casual flings won't do. Venus in this passionate water sign seeks connection on the deepest possible level. Due to this heightened passion, Venus in Scorpio can easily become jealous, clingy, possessive and insecure. And now we have to travel backwards through this energy! This retrograde phase will ask us to take a hard look at what we value - who we spend our precious time with, what we spend our free time doing, what "Gods" we're praying too, etc.
As Venus rules wealth, we might think about what it means to be truly wealthy. People often feel a sort of poverty when it comes to time. It's common to hear "there aren't enough hours in the day," "weekends aren't long enough," or "the years are flying by." We feel like time eludes our grasp because so many things are competing for our attention. We are inundated with opportunity and stimuli - there's always something to look at on the television and on social media. There are many opportunities to pick up a "side hustle" - working a part-time job in addition to one's full time job. The side hustle is actually glorified in our current culture. It's hard to split up time between friends, family, children and other loved ones. On top of any responsibilities and obligations we have, we try to find time to exercise and maybe even have some fun. It's easy to feel like there's never enough time and that focusing on one thing sacrifices something else.
The key to feeling like there is a wealth of time is to be conscious of how you're spending it. This is the lesson of Venus retrograde. If you're dedicating your time to meaningful things, work, events and people you're less likely to feel like there isn't enough of it. Make a list of the things you value. As you're going about your week reference that list and see if your current focus measures up. Perhaps one hour of watching television could be shifted to something else that is higher on your values list. Sometimes we have to spend time doing things we'd rather not do but we can change our consciousness and attitude about it. Part of maturity is learning to say no. Within the confines of time we establish meaning. Without time and our own mortality, things would cease to matter. It is because we're only given this short window that we're encouraged to make it as meaningful as possible. Another key is to reinforce that what you're currently doing is GOOD ENOUGH. It's easy to compare your life and achievements to everyone else you scroll past on Facebook. The truth is - we all have the same amount of time each day. If you focus on what you value, you won't be as jilted by what someone else is or is not doing.
Wishing you peace and abundance through this Venus retrograde! Venus will have a little fender bender when it squares Mars on October 10th - you might think of this as your drive and will bumping up against your desire to let go. One foot on the gas peddle with the other foot on the brake. Luckily this friction is fairly short lived as Venus links up nicely with Mercury on the 15th and then forms an Inferior Conjunction with the Sun on October 26th. An Inferior Conjunction symbolizes a new Venus cycle - somewhat like a New Moon. Despite the fact that Venus will still be retrograde there will be a newness and freshness in the air. This happens shortly after we enter Scorpio season - with the Sun's entrance into this sign on October 23rd. In the nearer future is the New Moon in Libra on October 8th. Stay tuned for my next blog post dedicated to that topic!