Retrograde Venus

Retrograde Venus - Changing tastes

"And if you close your eyes
Does it almost feel like
You've been here before?"

— Daniel Campbell Smith
Bastille - Pompeii

It is usually a retrograde Mercury that gets all the attention but this week's retrogrades — Saturn, Venus, and Jupiter — are more than likely to get our attention. As well, there are challenges from the shifts of Mercury into it's home sign of Gemini and the departure of Mars from innovative Aquarius and its arrival in introspective Pisces. This week both begins and ends with a great deal of scattered energy, confusion, and general lack of focus. However, there is some important help, midweek, when Mercury trines Saturn from Gemini to Aquarius. Wednesday's Mercury-Saturn trine offers a brief opportunity for some important organizational activity and a boost in intellectual insight. For most of the week, we are likely to feel the intensity of the stationary retrogrades as they shift our focus backwards just when many of us are desperately trying to move forward. The retrograding Saturn is asking us to review our traditions and precedents before any further attempts to innovate and develop better ways to structure our world. The retrograde Venus in Gemini suggests some significant exposure of insecurity in our relationships with others. It is our reactions, rather than our actions that will show others who we actually are. Concern over what others think of us leads us into a wilderness of uncertainty. Finally, Jupiter's retrograde in Capricorn signals a significant contraction of resources along with a heightened sense of restriction. It seems most likely that the process that begins this week is part of a larger societal reset process that will be seen under the Saturn-Uranus square that will dominate most of next year (2021). This week's challenges are encouraging us to set aside unrealistic expectations, focus on our creativity, and rely more on our intuition. By the end of the week, there are opportunities to begin a salvage process but we will likely need to first stoke our faith enough to recognize the gems that are actually close at hand.

Sunday's scattershot energy levels may have us distracted and confused. Relationships are vulnerable to disillusionment. Mercury arrives in Gemini on Monday, increasing the distractions and general sense of disconnection. Our curiosity levels are boosted but there is a general lack of organization and follow-through. By Tuesday, Mercury trines Saturn. Our thoughts are steadied a bit and we find a window for organization and insight. However, Mars arrives in Pisces, shifting our focus towards intuition and hidden resources and keeping us somewhat off-balance. The station of Venus to go retrograde also occurs on Tuesday. Wednesday offers even more support to access organizational ability. Our intellect is sharpened but we may find that our emotions are a bit stunted. There are even more shifts on Thursday when Jupiter turns retrograde and the Moon arrives in Pisces. We suddenly need to shift our focus from intellect to flexibility and intuition. Friday's atmosphere is extremely aggressive but generally unfocused. Creativity is well supported if we can keep our expectations from getting in the way. By Saturday, a few glimpses of stark reality are interspersed with the sort of confusion we found at the beginning of the week.

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