February 28th ~ March 7th

Until you make the unconscious conscious it will direct your life, and you will call it fate. ~ C.G. Jung

Before we get to Venus being all retrograde, Mercury will also be doing something. After making a conjunction to both Neptune and the North Node at the end of Pisces, Mercury will be entering the shadow period before its own retrograde which begins on March 15th. And know that these are not your usual retrogrades. Neither of them. To begin with both Mercury and Venus are making more than one crossing with the North Node. Mercury’s next conjunction to the North Node will be when it makes its direct station in April. 

They are also both going to be crossing paths with Neptune more than once. And although the planet Neptune has this wonderful capacity to connect with our own spiritual center, and carry us aloft on the wings of the faeries, it can also lead us down the path to oblivion and hopeless deception. One way to avoid that path, is to connect with our own spiritual center. That part of us that resonates with the Good, with our Conscience, and with the Divine. 

On March 1st (or the 2nd, depending on where you are in the world), Venus will appear to stand still, to station for its retrograde phase. It does so at 10º Aries 50’ within mere degrees of the Solar Return on March 29th. This will also be where Mercury will make its station on March 15th. There is something both magical and yet expected about these retrogrades and the eclipses. For as both these inner and personal planets make their retrograde station near or on the degree of the Solar Eclipse, they will then make their direct stations around the degree of the Lunar Eclipse on March 14th. Fate weaves her tendrils in remarkable ways. These are certainly not your ordinary retrogrades. And as fate is playing her hand, so are we also weaving our destinies going forward.

After Mercury makes its conjunction to Neptune it will enter Aries on Monday and a sextile to Pluto in Aquarius. As Pluto entered Aquarius in November we entered new territory. Mercury is trying to assess our relationship to that new reality. Be fascinated, be obsessed, ask questions. We are on a mission to solve a conundrum, and discriminate between Truth and Fiction. It may not get solved right away. Mercury will sextile Pluto 3 times before all is said and done. But the mission is being handed to us right now, this week. What is your role going to be in the great mystery that is unfolding? New Problems require New Solutions. And this is our task over the weeks ahead, which is to sort out the threads of our lives, ignore nothing, and learn to make sense of the insensible. Even if that requires us looking at things from a whole new perspective. Even if that means having to stand out and declare that the emperor has no clothes. 

The Moon is growing this week. And so are the ramifications of decisions made, and actions taken. We will begin to see who wields the power and how it is being used, abused and/or manipulated. We will begin to notice little things here and there. A few nicks here a few cuts there. Taking away, and then backtracking again. But by the time all is said and done there will be no ignoring the new reality we are facing. 

People often do not realize the ramifications of certain events or changes until it hits home and becomes personal. And that is where Venus retrograde in Aries comes in. All this change, all this chaos. The insincerity and the unpredictability. It’s beginning to feel personal. It’s coming home. 

Today, like every other day, we wake up empty and frightened. Don’t open the door to the study and begin reading. Take down the dulcimer. Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground. ~ Jalal-ud-Din Rumi

During the retrograde phase of Venus we are being asked to weigh our options, to redress and reassess our relationships as well as our priorities going forward. When Venus is in Aries, she asks, “What about me?” What are my expectations of others, and what do I need going forward? Where do I fit in with all this? What sacrifices am I truly willing to make for all this? And/or what boundaries have become weakened, and need to be shored up again? When Venus makes its direct station in April it will be conjunct Saturn in Pisces, which is a planet of both commitment and limitation. It is also the planet of reality. At that point we will know what and with whom we wish to be more fully invested, and/or give ourselves permission to simply say No More. 

Use the retrograde phase of Venus to get in touch with what you want, and/or need. Ask yourself what your expectations are of others going forward. And they of you. It can be difficult to arrive at agreements during the retrograde phase of Venus because everyone will be focused on what they want, and what they need. But it is a very important time to get in tune with what is important to you, and also what your limits are. How far are you, or are you not, willing to compromise, simply for the sake of keeping the peace? 

We are sometimes cautioned not to make major decisions or commitments to others during these retrogrades. We are more likely to either exaggerate or diminish the qualities of others or realize the full value of what we are buying or selling. 

Therefore Avoid: 

• Making major investments, or commitments to others. Try also to avoid signing contracts that could prove to be regrettable, or more costly than you at first realize. 

• Buying expensive items. 

• Doing a makeover, redecorating or revamping your wardrobe. Once Venus is direct again, you’ll wonder what on earth you were thinking. 

What the retrograde phase of Venus can be used for:

• Reunions. People from the past can return. This can be an opportunity to merely take care of unfinished business, but it can also be an opportunity to reunite, and resume from where you left off. 

• Exploring what your expectations are from others. 

• Reassessing your priorities, and the things that are most important to you. 

• Getting in touch with your own heart center, and allowing the thing that you love, be what you do. Sometimes it is even more important to take down the dulcimer, and to connect with the things that truly matter. 

• Connecting with your own inner muse. These rare retrogrades of Venus can often be some of our most creatively inspired periods in our lives. Remind yourself of that which bring you comfort, pleasure, and joy: music, art, beauty, nature and harmony. As Venus returns to Pisces on March 11th, your inner Muse will be waiting. Dare to wake her up. 

The Retrograde phase of Venus which lasts until April 13th is also a time to cultivate Gratitude. We have a tendency to focus on those things that we do not have. But if we were to wake each morning with a sense of gratitude for what we do have, it reinforces feelings of inner prosperity, which if supported has the capacity to attract outer prosperity as well. Make it a point during the retrograde phase of Venus to note one thing each day, for which you are thankful. 

For this week’s horoscopes, click below: 

HOROSCOPES