Venus Retrograde 2018: Make Love not War

On Oct 5th, Venus, the planet of love and beauty, begins her 40-day journey backwards in our sky, traveling from the stars of Scorpio to the realm of Libra. Venus Retrograde is coming to us at the perfect time, as everything does in the universe. Once again we find ourselves amongst a battle between masculinity and femininity, where the masculine systems we are governed by are being challenged by the powers of the sisterhood. Venus retrograde is an opportunity for us all to return to love, to return to beauty, and to return to balance.

Retrogrades happen to all planets, except Earth. They are simply an optical illusion which occurs because the rate of our orbit compared to other planet’s differs. Venus Retrograde takes place every 18 months for about 6 weeks. Over an 8 year span, Venus has five retrograde cycles creating a beautiful image, otherwise known as the Seed of Life. This sacred geometric pattern illustrates the energy Venus brings us; love, beauty, and femininity. This pattern reminds us that these energies are the basis of all life and must be respected and protected. Retrograde periods, which make this pattern, are a time for us to return to beauty through appreciation. From this place, we can return to a state of love.

Venus is currently squaring with Mars right now and will continue to do so for the first half of her retrograde period. In their simplest form, Venus represents the feminine, Mars the masculine. Squares cause tension and friction until a breakthrough is reached, often the result of a series of growing pains. Astrologically, femininity and masculinity are at war right now. Judging from recent political events, it’s safe to say we humans are emulating the cosmos. So how do we break through this square and create a new paradigm for both women and men to live under?

Let’s look at what Mars and Venus teach us about masculine and feminine energy- which we ALL carry. Mars and the masculine carry the essence of aggression. This energy is meant to war, to fight and to act on primal instinct. It is useful in battles, when extreme motivation is needed (as in sports), and when protection is the highest priority. It serves us well when used wisely, but can also be our detriment when it becomes imbalanced.  Venus and the feminine carry the essence of love. Yes, Venus can be a warrior but she is a warrior goddess, always moving from love. When she destroys, it’s out of love for a better future. When she fights for justice, it’s from a place of compassion. Venus is always reminding us to find the collateral beauty in any situation. Even through death and destruction, she asks us what can we find beautiful? Or what beauty resulted from this horrific event? Most of the time the answer is community. Through chaos, fear, and war, Venus reminds us that we are in this together. This sense of community is something deeply rooted in feminine nature stemming back from our days as hunter-gathers.

Let’s talk about the past, and our resulting evolution. For many, many, years we lived as hunters and gathers. With the women staying at “home” with other women, and men going off to, well, hunt. Women stayed out of the field because they were simply too precious to be lost to the wild. Women were, and still are, the givers of life. They nurture life and provide sustenance to a growing child. Women were seen as a community’s greatest asset, one that was to be protected and worshipped. Women hold the power of life. Due to their different tasks every day, men and women evolved differently. Take the example of multi-tasking. Women practiced this daily as they tended to the children, talked to other women and picked the berries. Men, on the other hand, remained single focused, only concerned with what they were hunting and the resulting competition that ensued between them and other men. These differing behaviors show up in the brain. There is an area of our brain called the corpus callosum, which is basically the information highway between your left and right hemisphere. Guess what? It’s larger in women, meaning they have the evolutionary advantage in multi-tasking. So, if you’re a woman wondering why men can’t focus on as many things as you at one time, blame it on the brain. There are many other examples of how men and women differ in brain structure, but for the sake of not boring you, just know they exist and they developed because of the way we lived for thousands of years. These differences are what need resolution. 

The plain fact is that we are no longer hunter and gathers. The genetics, and resulting brain structures, we are walking around with no longer match our current environment. We must make conscious efforts to override our past and form new methods of acting as both men and women. Women are becoming more and more empowered every day, by both genders. Feminine voices are growing stronger and the qualities of femininity are rising. We are seeing more community-driven businesses, leaders who use compassion over aggression, and abundance (because there are always enough berries) over a scarcity mindset. Women are leading, they are CEO’s, they are in the Senate and in many ways they are taking over. So where does that leave men and masculinity?

It once was so clear. Women gave life, Men protected it. Then evolution took the path of fear and what started as worship and protection became control over a resource. Women were demoted to possessions. Yes, beautiful possessions which often started wars, but still men felt they needed to own women and their power. It makes sense from the male perspective, who are hard-wired for competition and battle. It’s clear though, this mentality no longer serves anyone, and many modern day males do not agree with their own biology. Men are also waking up to a new way of behaving, some of which is directly oppositional to what they were taught, their genetics and their role models. Things are getting shaken up, we are getting shaken up, and new ways of-of embracing both masculinity and femininity are being formed. In this new day, and new paradigm, men need to figure out their place in our evolved society, just as much as women. Women also need to remember who they are and reclaim their power. They are well on their way to that but can be helped by something that is often forgotten: love.

Back to Venus Retrograde. We have 40 days to return to love, to return to beauty and to return to femininity. All of us, men and women. Retrogrades always involve our center. They spin the energy inward allowing for a reformulation of the energy. Venus Retrograde begins in Scorpio, the sign of death, life and the ongoing cycles of the universe. Feel into this energy to help form a new cycle complete with the ending of an old one. Scorpio also rules what is hidden. We have the opportunity to go very deep with this transit. Allow the energy of Venus to spin inward to the depths of your own soul. Allow Scorpio to help you embrace what you normally fear, which often is your power. Connect to your divine feminine power and unleash your true potential.

Here are a few things to focus on and try over the next six weeks to connect deeply with your femininity.

Choose intuition over logic

Ask yourself every day how you feel

Shift to an abundant mindset over scarcity

Collaboration instead of competition

Nurture something (even if it’s just a house plant)

Dance

Sing

Open your hips through Goddess Pose, Pigeon Pose, or any other hip openers.

Connect with women through circles or other gatherings.

Buy fresh flowers every week

Stare at the ocean, observing its power and grace.

Love your body (take baths, get massages, stare at the beauty of your hand.)

Women- teach the men in your life how you want to be treated compassionately

Men- listen to guidance. Be open to shifting your consciousness.

Most importantly appreciate everything and everyone around you. See the beauty in every path, every interaction and every person who comes your way. Appreciate your partners, especially if there is tension. Venus squaring Mars can cause friction in your love life. If you feel frustration arising with your partner, take a step back and cultivate compassion before you strike. This transit can also cause sexual tension, be aware that you may want more sex than usual during this time. Instead of fighting, make love instead. Let that be your mantra for the next 40 days- make love not war. How can you bring in the energy of love and appreciation into everything you do? How can you return to love? Femininity carries the inherent responsibility of upholding the frequency of love. Develop this in yourself and project love into EVERY situation. Venus concludes her journey in Libra, the sign of equality and balance. Once again, the cosmos is writing the tale we humans get to live if we take the opportunity being given to us.  

Find out how Venus Retrograde will affect our upcoming Moons in the New Moon in Libra Workbook, New Moon in Scorpio Workbook and the Full Moon in Taurus Workbook.

Top Image from page 27 of A Little Book of Coincidences by John Martineau

Other images by Rebecca Reitz