Venus Retrograde And It’s Journey Into The Underworld

Though Venus retrograde is one of the rarest retrogrades (happens only once every 18 months) it's one the most highly documented astrological phenomenon.

Venus goes retrograde for 40 days once every 18 months rotating between 5 signs within the 8 year Venus cycle (takes 8 years for Venus to go through all the signs).

Apropos to Venus ruling all the pretty things the pattern Venus retrogrades form is a 5 pointed star.

There are many mythological and religious references to Venus retrograde and that's because of the observable astronomy it creates.  

Before Venus goes retrograde it can be seen with the Sun as it's setting (an Evening Star).  Then during the retrograde it disappears appearing to be engulfed by the Sun (Sun Venus conjunction).  When it reappears it becomes what is known as a Morning Star because it now appears as the Sun is rising.

The ancient civilizations interpreted this obliteration of Venus as her journey into the underworld and a symbolic death to later rise as a warrior.  Venus was seen as sacrificing herself to the Sun, which is not easy for the planet of pleasure.  

Venus retrograde is a time to bravely reassess your values.  Where are you being called to sacrifice your comfort to realign with what truly matters to you? 

This year Venus will be in retrograde from 12/19/21- 1/29/22 in the sign of Capricorn and it’s most significant aspect will be it’s conjunction to Pluto.

The Venus conjunction to Pluto is emphasizing Venus’ journey into the underworld. Pluto is the Roman god (Greek= Hades) of the underworld where not even Jupiter (Greek=Zeus) didn’t have any dominion over.

Pluto is the planet of transformation and power. It also rules over compulsions, control, shame, guilt, and psychological manipulation. And I bring all these up to bring light to the fact that transformations aren’t easy. Yes, it sounds great that we will be able to “transform” our relationships to our values, money, and others, but it’s easier said than done.

Venus in Capricorn is considered an emotional minimalist and doesn’t like to get messy within her relationships and, unfortunately, Pluto likes to make things messy. A Venus in Capricorn is either fiercely committed or not with no in between. This may help us as we navigate through any changes during the retrograde, but it can also create resistance in getting deep and doing the emotional and psychological work in order to truly transform what we are (or are not) recommitting ourselves to.

It is useful to remember during this retrograde that we’re not alone. Venus in Capricorn has an air of “I don’t NEED anyone”, but the lesson at hand is who do you WANT in your life, HOW do you want to relate to others, and WHAT are you choosing to prioritize in your life? These are choices we have to actively make during this retrograde.