As Venus turns retrograde on October 6th, 2018, she will retract her energy from the outer projection of relationships and take us into the deep inner realm of our relationship to ourselves – She will ask us to penetrate to the core of our unconscious attachments, needs and desires, to carefully examine our emotional ties with others and process through the layers of our externalized dependencies and projected needs. This is a time of total inner re-evaluation.
In this article we would like to offer you some awareness and guidance to support you in this journey, as you navigate the deep waters of your inner world.
When we look at the Venus archetype in our lives, we are connecting to the framework of our essential needs. At the base of our needs is the sense of survival and it is here that we begin to build upon what we individually need to survive. Everything in nature has this creative intelligence that supports the interaction with others. Venus helps us build the awareness of how we connect with our inner sense of reality, and reflects the natural relationship we have with ourselves. Our essential needs are then formed by three layers: our primal drive to survive, our awareness of our unique needs in relation to our drive to survive, and the conditioned psychological relationship we have to the first two layers.
Astrologically, Venus has a co-rulership with the signs Taurus and Libra. Taurus reflects the inner subjective vibration of Venus while Libra reflects the external interactive side of Venus and how we meet other people. This dynamic is what establishes the relationship patterns in our lives. We initiate and attract relationships to grow and we determine who we form relationships with, and who we do not, through the context of the Venus energy.
By studying our natal placement of Venus in our birth chart we can see our pre-existing relationship patterns, and the values and needs an individual will have within relationships.
Entering the Abyss
Venus Retrograde: 6th October to 26th October
We enter the Venus retrograde cycle at 10 degree’s Scorpio, which will see us diving deeply into our subconscious world. Straight away we will begin to meet core patterns in our subconscious and where we have formed emotional relationships. This will show up for us through our interactions with others, who will also be going through their own Venus retrograde cycle, and we will be triggered to see our unresolved emotions from the past.
If we are up to the challenge of clearing out these unresolved emotions, we will need to remain aware that in each arising emotion we may feel either disempowered in ourselves or victimised by our own lack of insight into the deeper layers of what, how and why the situation happened to us. Each of these situations can easily be projected onto, which ultimately can lead us into more feelings of isolation and confusion.
During this transition, see each situation as a reflection into your own psyche. Whatever shadows lurk in your closest will now be revealed.
The Light at the End of the Tunnel
Venus Conjunct the Sun: 26th October to the 16th November
On the 26th of October, Venus will form a conjunction to the Sun, entering us into the morning star energy. This phase will help us to feel freer from the darkness of our shadows, and as we rise out of the ashes of the past and open ourselves up to embracing a renewed sense of self, we will have the feeling of wanting to fill our lives with the new.
As Venus moves through the morning phase of its retrograde cycle, a new opportunity will begin to present itself to us. Even though this is not necessarily a time to act upon the new insights and values we feel, it is a time to remain supportive of yourself by seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. During this time, it helps to remain open to new experiences and wise enough to not commit straight away to any outcome. This energy is here to help us establish new ground.
Venus will turn direct once more on the 16th of November, and will then begin to retrace its movement back through its shadow period. It is here that we will begin to see further growth occur.
Venus Retrograde’s Message – As Within, So Without
We spend a great deal of time focusing on everything around us, from adapting ourselves to our outer world to trying to change it to reflect how we wish it to be. We see in others what we cannot see in ourselves and seek in others what we cannot find in ourselves. We can perceive these two realities of the inner and outer to be separate, but in truth they are merely reflections of one another.
The world within us is as vast as the universe it reflects, in all its diversity and paradoxes. What we love is a mirror for the place inside us that we love — what we endlessly seek, a mirror for what we seek within.
Once in a while we are given an opportunity to see clearly that world within us. The noise of our external projections fade away to give us a clear view of our innerverse– so that we can see in ourselves what we have been seeing and seeking externally.
As we enter these deep waters, it may seem as though we are alone and lost. There may be layers of pain that must be revisited and processed before we can see beyond them, to where they originate within us. We may realize where we have placed meaning and value in things which no longer reflect our inner space, and find the parts of us which have been hidden and wish to be brought into light. And we may need to let go of some things to make way for others to grow – to clear space for our new values to flourish.
If you are prepared to take a truthful look at yourself, to embrace all that you are and let go of all that you are not, you are cleaning the mirror that your life will reflect back to you. How would you like that reflection to look?
Blessings,
Simon & Jennifer
*****