Venus Retrograde in Gemini – Contrary Mary

Venus turns retrograde at 14:32 on the 15th May 2012 at 23GEM59. Venus will remain in retrograde motion until 27th June 2012 when it stations direct at 7GEM29

“Venus’ function is to sift the sacred from the profane, the primitive from the cultured aspects of one’s energy and power. It acts as a filter through which one finds a sense of enjoyment in life, screening out unpleasant stimuli and discriminating against that which does not serve the whole”
Erin Sullivan, p. 82 Retrograde Planets: Traversing the Inner Landscape.

Venus, like Mercury never strays far from the Sun. To me this shows how communication and love serve our life purpose. Venus shows us what is beautiful in life, what pleases us, what attracts us. As ruler of Taurus, Venus likes to roll in the hay, luxuriate in soft fabrics. She wants to be touched physically and experience the beauty of the flesh. She wants her taste-buds tickled, her senses excited. As ruler of Libra, Venus is more concerned with mental connection, social graces, the art of diplomacy and aesthetic appeal. Here social niceties matter because they help society to bond and function as a whole. In this mode, Venus keeps the demands of the flesh in check, compromising in order to keep the peace.

When Venus turns retrograde, it’s time to re-evaluate your likes and loves. Often, old loves (and sometimes old friends) appear – even if it is just bumping into them in the street. All that you once held dear may reappear so that you can examine it with the benefit of distance and hindsight.

Erin Sullivan says “The degree of discord that arises within one’s personal life during the retrogression signals the distance that one is from one’s core values and higher creative inspirations”. Personally I have found this to be the case. The further removed you feel from you own internal truth, the more Venus will throw the facts in your face – after all this is a Gemini transit and Venus here is interested in getting all the information together, digging through the trash if necessary. Whilst normally Venus wouldn’t like to get her hands dirty, during the retrograde period she isn’t averse to donning a pair of overalls and steel toed boots. The trouble with Venus retrograde through Gemini is that there is a potential to be simply overwhelmed with information. Venus in Gemini has her head turned at the slightest fancy, she’s curious and somewhat restless.

Venus retrograde in Gemini brings out the contradictions in us. Sometimes we like our partners but we don’t love them, sometimes we love them but don’t like them! Our creative projects both stimulate us and frustrate us. Venus in Gemini may throw up a sense of inner conflict as we try to decide what is good and bad for us. If we have a clear concept of self-image then the decisions we have to make become clearer. The problem arises when we suffer from low self-esteem. When we don’t value ourselves enough it becomes difficult to really know what we want or even to know what truly makes us feel good. It is likely that this sense of inner turmoil, questioning and conflicting feelings will be most intense between the station retrograde and the Venus-Sun conjunction on the 6th June.

It is perhaps even more significant that the retrograde conjunction between the Sun and Venus will coincide with an extremely rare occurrence of Venus transit across the Sun. Whilst the last transit across the Sun was visible in 2004, the next will not happen again until 2117. Before 2004, the last transit across the Sun was in the 1600’s. Symbolically, it’s as though Venus is making herself visible, showing how insignificant our wants are compared to the larger whole (the Sun). Read in reverse, she shows how, when we align to love, this leads to greater illumination – the incredible brightness of being.

The Sabian symbol for the conjunction between Venus and the Sun is

A Woman Activist In An Emotional Speech Dramatizing Her Cause.
Dane Rudhyar offers the keynote “A passionate response to a deeply felt new experience.”

In your natal chart, look to the house in which the Sun-Venus conjunction occurs as this illuminates the area of life that is being called into question. What is calling for your attention? What is pulling at your heart strings? What new path is love calling you towards? What truth will you uphold?

The Sabian Symbols for the station retrograde and station direct are as follows :-

Children Skating Over A Frozen Village Pond (retrograde)
“The use of inhibiting circumstances for the development of character and a transcendent approach to the environment.” Dane Rudhyar

Aroused Strikers Surround A Factory station (direct)
“As man manages to rape the earth in order to demonstrate his power and intensify his pleasures and his sense of proud mastery, conflicts and disruptive processes are inevitably initiated.” Dane Rudhyar

There is something rather chilling about the first symbol. Whilst there is a positive side in that the children in the scene are making the best of difficult circumstances by enjoying the harsh climate conditions, there is also the sinister possibility that the ice could crack.

Perhaps this symbol alludes to what we as a race has done – we are like children skating on thin ice, unprepared for potential disaster. In the race to be richer, more comfortable, own more, have more, society now is at crisis point. The cracks are beginning to show. On a personal level it asks you to look at where you can make the best of a bad situation and warns you of where you may be avoiding an unpleasant truth.

The second symbol suggests there is more to come of what we have already seen – revolutionary changes, people standing up for their rights, people en masse upholding the truth. Again on a more personal level this may be about connecting with those who align with your own personal values. Together we are strong.

Venus is warning us as a whole that we have perhaps indulged too much in her earthy Taurean side. Now in airy Gemini, we need to start communicating with each other, forming new connections, renewing old ones. Instead of holding on to what we’ve got, we need to share what we have.

Questions and Reflections for the Venus Retrograde Period
What do you love? Who do you love? Are you a slave to love? Do you serve love? Are you a loving being? Have you closed off to love? Have you been burned by love? Did you walk away from love when you should have stayed? Did you stay when you should have walked away?

What do you spend your money on? Is it worth it? Do you have a savings account? Do you have enough? Do you want more? Why? Are you happy in what you do to earn money? Is it aligned with your core being?

How is your self-esteem? Do you value yourself? Do others value you? What do you value about yourself, about others? Do you need to be more honest with yourself? Do you need to be more honest with someone else? Do you love you?

What did you love in the past? What gives you pleasure? How can you bring more pleasure in your life? How can you bring more pleasure to others? What appeals to you that you haven’t tried, what have you tried that doesn’t appeal?

Venus Retrograde Aspects and Info
12 April 2012 Venus enters shadow phase.
15th May Venus station retrograde
1st June Mercury conjunct Venus
5th June Venus square Mars
6th June – Sun conjunct Venus
16th June – Venus square Chiron
20th June Venus quincunx Pluto
21st June – Venus sextile Uranus
27th June -Venus station direct
31st July 2012 – Venus exits shadow phase

Photo by Rickpilot_2000 on Flickr