Venus turns retrograde at the Winter Solstice

The Solstice occurs today (Winter for us northern hemispherians, Summer for the Aussies and Kiwis) – a time when the days are shortest in the north and longest in the south as the wheel of the year turns and takes us from light to darkness, and back to light again.

The Solstice Sun is locked in a square to Mars, energizing the seasonal shift and requiring that some level of action occur.  Over the past five years or so, ever since Pluto entered Capricorn, the Solstice and Equinox Sun has been involved in challenging aspects to either Uranus or Pluto, and sometimes both which imbued the charts of these events with intensity and fervor.  With Uranus and Pluto moving forward (currently they are at 8-10 degrees) the Sun is free of that influence and that should settle down some of the planetary energy, at least until next spring when Mars locks into Uranus and Pluto and creates some havoc.

Venus only turns retrograde every eighteen months or so, and while it is a relatively benign event it can have an important effect on our relationships. The retrograde motion of any planet causes us to tend to look backwards, so Venus retrograde periods often brings opportunities to revisit people from the past and incorporate them into our current lives in new ways.  Venus will be retrograde between December 21 and January 31, 2014.

Relationships that begin when Venus is retrograde may not last, but they can have a strong healing effect as they take us into influences from our past and open up a part of ourselves that has hitherto been unknown to us.  Venus is in Capricorn where we become more responsible to our loved ones but we can also remain too long in stale and stagnant interpersonal situations, which the retrograde movement can help to reverse.

This could be a time when financial markets retreat and we may see a correction over the next few weeks.  Retrograde Venus can cause us to re-evaluate the things that we value and the value of things, creating changes in our financial situation.

Any retrograde period is a good time for reflection reassessment.  Venus retrograde periods are fertile for becoming reacquainted with old friends, to reach out and contact someone from your past whom you miss.

While Venus is retrograde I’ll be focusing on articles about love, relationships and the qualities of Venus herself, so stay tuned and have a Happy Solstice!

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