Reimagining Venus

On October 5 the planet Venus goes Retrograde. Usually with Venus Retrograde, an astrologer suggests caution in investments and to avoid a makeover or major design purchases. Old lovers and friends may resurface. Venus Retrograde is an excellent time to re-evaluate your priorities and what matters most to you.

But this time the Venus Retrograde requires a bit more reflection. So many other things are happening in the sky and here on earth, that it behooves us to dive deeper into the symbolism.

The goddess of Love and Beauty is one of the oldest, threaded through the mythology of many cultures. No matter her name, Venus resonates with appreciation of the natural world and its resources, and the recognition that Love is precious.

Her symbol ♀ is the mirror – hence the concept of Venus shapeshifts to reflect the values of those in power. Popular culture presently thinks of Venus through the lens of Roman mythology, whether aware of this or not. The Roman patriarchal society saw Venus as a beautiful goddess who could drive men to make foolish decisions. Venus as temptress, petulant, capricious, fickle and jealous. Venus as emotional, indecisive, vengeful, calculating and selfish.

This goddess of Love still colors the Western ideal of Beauty but lacks the power of her foremothers. There is a reason for that, of course. When the Greeks and then the Romans usurped the myths of the goddess from Sumerian, Egypt and other civilizations, they diminished her importance.

A patriarchal society feared the natural ability of women to bring life into the world. This seemingly magical power needed to be subjugated, controlled and owned. Love could not be the most powerful force in the world because men could not control it. Therefore the goddess had to be of less value than gods. Patriarchal societies revered the thrust of Mars, god of war and Saturn the lord of time and Jupiter, king of the gods.

With Pluto in Capricorn we are at a crossroads- continue the reverence of patriarchal authority? Neither that nor a matriarchal society is really appropriate for conscious evolution.

We heard echoes of that patriarchal reverence at the U.S Judiciary Hearing after the testimony of Dr Christine Blasey Ford. The candidate for the Supreme Court and his supporters came out yelling, angry and assertive. They made clear that they value the noise and insistence of their entitled dominance. They were thrilled to be angry and righteous and to bellow away whatever discomfort some might have felt at the soft respectful voice of a woman’s appeal for justice.

Venus is the planet associated with the sign of Libra. Libra is represented by the scales of justice. Listening, balance, equality are all parts of this emphasis of Venus. Needless to say, the present U.S. government (and it’s not alone in this) suffers from an inability to come to balance and resolution, The scales swing wildly, with few signs of equilibrium.

As I write this, the FBI has until October 5 when Venus goes Retrograde, to present their findings to the Committee. Whatever is found may not change the majority’s desire to put their candidate in place. As we tip toward profound change, the status quo grips even tighter against the inevitable shift.

To choose a candidate for the Supreme Court who has demonstrated contempt for the process, yields mediocracy. We have seen this before.

It is time to re-imagine Venus. She will not be the Love goddess of the past, but Love is and will be her signature. Venus needs to gain momentum, solid footing and to reclaim her position as Most Valuable Player.

Without Love, where is our humanity? Without Love, where is our soul? Without Love, we are nothing but angry, loud and fearful voices destined to slide into silence.

Compare the vibrant force of Inanna. The “Queen of Heaven” Sumerian goddess was worshipped as early as 4000 BC. As she evolved throughout the Mesopotamian region, she became Ishtar. Her stories are rich and tangled with the power of sexuality, justice and death.

Thousands of years ago, sexuality was part of religious ritual and performance. A powerful woman goddess worked for cultures that saw women as the bearers of life and the holders of the blood mysteries.

Isis is one of the oldest goddesses. Her myth traveled and morphed into different cultures. Her stories have many versions, began before the written word. Isis is pivotal in one the great myths of resurrection, which is valuable to consider at this time.

Isis was the wife of Osiris, the god of the underworld and merciful judge of the dead. He was considered the granter of life, the creator of vegetation and the source of the Nile’s bountiful powers of fertilization.

His brother Set was jealous of Osiris and plotted his assassination with a team of accomplices. They managed to trick Osiris into a beautiful  sarcophogus and toss him into the Nile.

Isis began a tireless search for her dead husband and upon finding his corpse, hid it and sought a way to bring him back. But Set had her followed. In his fury that his dead brother had been found, he promptly dismembered the corpse. He scattered the body pieces throughout the Nile.

Isis then trolled the Nile in search of the pieces of her spouse. Lovingly and tenderly she cradled every piece she found. She reconstructed her love. Her story is one of loyalty, love and healing. She is a goddess who puts the pieces together.

Isis reminds us to remember. Her story is the antithesis of denial. She did not deny the death and dismemberment of her husband; Isis did everything in her power to work with what remained. She accepted what she found and loved what Osiris had become.

Isis is a symbolic reminder of the promise of resurrection.

As we re-imagine Venus, can we see people putting the pieces together, rather than continue to live within a fractured society?

If you feel shattered, crushed, angry, fearful, invisible or unheard, can you imagine voices in harmony rather than division? If you experience a well of hatred, fierce desire to blame and need to be only with people who share your views, can you imagine a more cooperative U.S.A.?

With the upcoming Venus Retrograde, how do we balance the scales?

This is not an overnight process, but the increasing darkness promises the eventual chink of light. The Venus Retrograde period presents an opportunity to connect from a very deep place.

Venus Retrograde Oct 5 through November 16, 2018 –