Stumbling Towards Ecstasy

Venus Retrograde in Virgo/Leo – July 25th to September 6th-7th, 2015

By Isaac George
July 24th, 2015

 “One birth was given to you by your parents, the other birth is waiting. It has to be given to you by yourself. You have to father and mother yourself.” - Osho

This month we have a four planet pileup on the celestial motorway, and a fifth vehicle is approaching the scene of the accident and she is too busy texting her boyfriend on her smartphone to notice. Prepare for impact!

I’ve been reading too many other astrology posts about the Venus Retro, and so perhaps I should get that out there front and center. Instead, I’d like to take a different tack regarding astrology, the current spate of retrograde planets, and Venus in particular. 

Between July 25th and early October it’s going to be one thing after another, and since I feel to wander into the nether regions from my usual astro-babble in this report, it might still be useful to provide you with a map of the roadside attractions over the next few month or so. Try not to linger too long at any one of them though. The term “tourist trap” definitely applies here, along with cheaply made souvenirs and questionable snack foods. My focus next week will be on Uranus in Aries retrograde, and then I'll be back in mid-August with a more in depth examination of the action coming up in September.

As we begin, please keep in mind that Saturn, Pluto, Neptune, Chiron are already in retrograde motion.

For your entertainment, I present the line up between now and August 31st –

1.       July 25th: Venus at 00 degrees of Virgo stations (stopping) in preparation to go retrograde (time for review!). (Note: this is also the “Day Out of Time” in the Mayan Long Count Calendar)

2.       July 26th: Venus is now  retrograde at 00 degrees, 45 minutes at 9:56am UT (10:56 BST).  Mars at 21 Cancer trines Chiron at 21 Pisces, and squares Uranus at 20 Aries. Mercury is conjunct Sun at 6 and 3 degrees of Leo. The Moon and Saturn are almost exactly conjunct at 28 Scorpio. Uranus is stationing to go retrograde!  (Note: July 26th in the Mayan Calendar is the first day of their New Year)

3.       July 27th: Uranus goes retrograde at 20 degrees Aries.

4.       July 31st: Full (Blue) Moon at 7 degrees of Aquarius.

5.       Aug 3rd: Saturn goes direct at 28 degrees of Scorpio.

6.       Aug 5th: Venus and Jupiter at 28 degrees of Leo will be in a waning square to Saturn at 28 degrees of Scorpio. Remember – Jupiter expands the effect of this square!

7.       Aug 14th: New Moon at 21 degrees Leo, Venus conjunct at 23 Leo.

8.       Aug 29th: Full Moon at 6 degrees Pisces. Neptune conjunct Moon, Jupiter conjunct Sun.

9.       Sept.1st: Mars conjunct Venus at 14 degrees, 55 minutes of Leo, quincunx Pluto at 13 degrees, 6 minutes of Capricorn, trine the Moon at 12 Aries (Uranus not far away at 19 Aries), and Pallas Athena at 14 degrees of Sagittarius. Sun and Neptune almost exactly in opposition to each other at 8 degrees Virgo and Pisces respectively.  The Nodes are at 2 degrees Libra-Aries, and getting closer to moving into Virgo and Pisces, and the South Node is now in a loose out-of-sign trine to Saturn in Scorpio – old patterns from past lives emerge. A very active day!

10.   Sept. 7th: Venus goes direct in Leo at 14 degrees, 24 minutes. This is close to the same degree Venus was at when it entered the shadow period just around the Solstice on June 21st.

As you may surmise, the next 35-40 days are going to be quite a journey of discovery…in many guises. I would like to remind my readers that the overall tone still in effect during all of these transits is the Uranus-Pluto cycle recently completed in March. This still rings on through all of this…a fundamental note that our inner ear is listening to regardless of the noise levels in the foreground. The subharmonics to the Venus Retrograde are Saturn, Pluto, Uranus, Neptune and Chiron all retrograde as well. A change of consciousness is taking place, but is it all that we are hoping for? Here is where I may diverge from the conventional path regarding the nature and values we assign to Venus.

Venus isn’t just about our love life, or money, or creating a beautiful living environment. In the sign of Leo, it is not just about love affairs, frivolity or fun. Leo can also take itself too seriously, as in trying too hard to be the center of attention. Venus can be lazy and lackadaisical…inattentive and selfish. There can be a tendency with Venus in Leo to become narcissistic or obsessive with the reflection of others (“oh yes, your Highness, you ARE beautiful!). This is the archetype of the Dark Queen in the fairy tale of Snow White. Who the heck is the fairest of them all! Above all, this transit will test all of us in one particularly sensitive area – the wounded or immature Feminine within all of us, whether male or female.

I would like to illustrate this point by quoting from a recent article about  Venus Retrograde from astrologer Sarah Varcas. I was particularly touched by her following words…

“The challenge of this Venus retrograde is to bridge the gap between isolated self-reliance and nourishing interdependence. We do this by embracing those Virgoan nuances. Venus cannot live only within and remain happy, healthy and whole. She needs connection, comfort, affection and attachment to thrive. Venus fans the flames of love and brings us together to share it. She naturally reaches out to connect, not within to detach.” (Read the full post here).

With Venus moving retrograde from staid and analytical Virgo back into Leo, there may be a danger of spending too much time in self-reflection. Yes, it doesn’t help to constantly seek attention from outside of ourselves, and demand the loyalty and admiration of others. Nor is it healthy for us to feel that the only way to feel empowered and safe is to look at our outer relationships as inferior or as a threat to our independence. People will test us, and our patience, during this time; however, I would caution against making any snap judgments or taking any unilateral action to wholeheartedly embrace or strongly disengage from anyone.  Regret is not something you want to be fiddling around with come the middle of September.

There may be painful relationship memories arising, or some long lost love from the past may show up that will activate these patterns. Someone new may enter your life to complete unfinished business that looks and feels like someone from your past. Caution: is this in your best interest...or will there only be more tears?

Perhaps you are in a relationship that is teetering on the brink. Decide if it is worth staying in or getting out, but don’t take any firm action until after Venus moves direct on September 6th-7th.  Or better yet, make a plan, and don’t make it real until after October 9th, when Venus moves out of the retrograde shadow period. This doesn’t mean remaining silent till the last minute, so engaging in dialogue consciously to discover what is really in the hearts of all parties, especially your own, is certainly appropriate. Honour yourself first, but respect the feelings of others as much as possible.

I feel we are just now learning how to merge and unmerge consciously with each other. Empowerment does not include distancing from, or exiling yourself or the other. Merging does not have to mean a loss of self, at least not in the old way. However, unless you are willing to relinquish some control, you cannot even know your larger Self, or the Self within the Other. 

I wonder if some of our current focus on authenticity and empowerment is in some way caught up by our egos attempting to assert even more control. As most spiritual disciplines teach, only a reduction of ego can accompany a corresponding degree of realization of our real “self”, which is inimically connected to the entire Web of Life and all beings in it. We need to  become more aware and self-compassionate, not more egocentric.  We are in the midst of re-parenting ourselves, and we will need others to assist us in this quest for sanity. Life is not at war with itself…except in our own minds. An inner marriage will also have to have its counterpart in the outer…it must in order to demonstrate something different to human consciousness. This is how we learn and evolve…we observe and emulate from something that looks and feels better.

Ultimately, this is a quest for Love…love that is real, sustainable and fulfilling. True to the nature of Leo, it’s all about the Heart. A lion is fierce, protective, and diligent. The opposite polarity of Leo is Aquarius, so it is essential to be mindful that this work of the Self is bound up with and benefits, or harms, the wider community we belong to. What we think, how we express our thoughts and feelings, and how we act upon them in our lives touches everyone at some level. We must be just as eager to receive as to give, to be nurtured as to nurture. What that will look like and how you desire for it to show up in your life, in equality and in tenderness, is completely up to you.

Let us be courageous as is possible. Don’t fear Love, for Ecstasy is our natural state of being. But first, we will have to be surrendered to it.

With love,
Isaac

(I give a nod to Diva Sarah McClachlan for the inspiration of this blog title)

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