Yes, it is one more thing to give life a twist before we close 2021. Retrograde (Rx) motion is an optical illusion created by apparent motion of objects. Venus Rx occurs about once every 18 months for ~40days. Venus turned Rx in sidereal Capricorn & will travel backwards (from our vantage) into Sagittarius
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Venus is that part of us that renders a relationship (dys)functional on this plane. This involves mutual respect, compromise, fairness, & upholding of said & unsaid relationship codes/agreements. It also involves all things that make life enjoyable on this planet: romance, beauty, indulgence in sensory pleasures (including art, food, sex, gambling, alcohol, drugs/substances), luxuries in life & above all, love. Venus Rx is therefore a time to withdraw the externalized expressions of Venus & take refuge or re-evaluate its internal expression. This entails looking at your relationship with yourself – do you respect yourself enough to uphold your own boundaries/commitment? Do you check in with your own yes’s & no’s? Where & why are you over-compromising? Why are you stuck in an endless cycle of people-pleasing? Do you give more than you receive? Where are you stuck playing the parent (or teacher) in an equal partnership? What dysfunctional holes are using your relationships to fill? Is your identity based on validation from others? Are you collecting influential people as trophies to feel a pseudo sense of power when you name-drop? Do you rely on other people’s opinions over your own? Do you neglect your own internal voice to honor someone else’s (either out of obligation, fear, lack of confidence or people-pleasing)? What is your relationship with beauty – are you in rejection of it; are you envious of it; do you judge or criticize it harshly; or do you use beauty to make headway in life? What is your relationship with sexual energy – do you repress it; do you honor its boundaries; do you flirt with it to advance your gains? I can go on & on… but you get the point. The same applies to the sensory pleasures you indulge in – what sensory stimulus are you indulging in so that you are distracted from your core emotions? Venus Rx is a time to recognize that none of it is ugly, bad, or good, for Venus principles constantly chisel our desires & sensory indulgences if we are actively engaged & awake
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Earth is a karmic planet where we come to work-out our karmas. The quickest way to do so is engaging in Venus principles, mainly relating to others, be it your spouse, lover, business partners, clients, collaborators, colleagues, teachers, students, family, or friends. Venus Rx is an opportunity to re-evaluate all of your relationships, including the one you have with yourself to assess whether it is working for you on all levels (physical, mental, emotional, societal, cultural & spiritual). The signs & nakshatras thro’ which Venus Rx is also important. Sagittarius is where our insecurities in all relationships are transformed into a deeper insight & higher meaning or purpose – sometimes almost to a degree of being cultish, orthodox or dogmatic. Capricorn is where we are reminded of the practicalities of life where our relationships can sometimes become a means to an end. Venus during this Rx transit between Capricorn & Sagittarius is teaching us authentic connection beyond rigid, encaging systems that encourages utilitarian view of human relating. Similar themes apply to the nakshatras of Uttara Ashada & Purva Ashada; where Venus Rx beginning in Uttara Ashada is allowing us to do the internal hard work to find true joy in life. This may require us to reach deep down to those childhood or earliest experiences of joy & re-create from there – as Venus transits back through Purva Ashada. The beauty of these 2 nakshatras is that victory or fruits of your work is guaranteed if you actually get down & do what it takes. These 2 nakshatras are also related to creation, one via the deep oceans & the other via the primordial gods (Vishvadevas). Therefore, your internal work may eventually help manifest your desires in the external world. It is also a good time to create works of art – be it is writing, painting, music, cooking or sewing; any work of art that requires you to withdraw you from the external world & create/practice in solitude is supported as well as healing
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Venus is also closely conjunct Pluto for the next 2 weeks bringing a subliminal tension in the social fabric: the haves & the have-nots, the vaccinated & the unvaccinated – anything that’s divisive may become more prominent now
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As we navigate our sense of joy or unhappiness through this cycle, I recommend immersing yourself in bhakti (devotion), engaging in works of art & beauty, & reaching deep within to connect to & re-create those little things that have brought you joy in your earlier years
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Love, Light & Blessings,
Malini
