Venus Retrograde in Leo ⋆ July 2023 - September 2023

All planets are a specific type of energy. Venus is the planet that expresses the energy of connection. Venus is how we relate to the important others in our life. It is what we find attractive and worthwhile in life and how we show the regard we have for ourselves and others. The sign Venus was in when you were born gives the parameters for how you offer this energy to the world. 

Currently, Venus is assigned rulership of both Taurus and Libra. When she represents Taurus, Venus is earthy and sensual. She appreciates good food and drink and often connects with others over meals or drinks. The environment needs to be comfortable. Taurus Venus connects with others through the senses and values things that are stable and practical.  

Libra Venus is more mental. This is an airy Venus, making connections through sharing ideas. Conversation builds relationships and this Venus is charming and gracious. Like the earthy Taurus Venus, the Libra Venus also needs a calm environment. Airy Venus however, requires it be aesthetically pleasing. Taurus Venus can put up with a fair amount of clutter, especially when it's personal property. Earthy Venus likes seeing its possessions around.  Airy Venus needs to be in beautiful surroundings, with harmony and order prevailing.  The point is that Venus has a wider array of expression to draw from then those planets who only have one rulership. 

Retrogrades are times when the energy of a planet is turned inwards. It is a time to pause. It is meant to offer the opportunity to review, reassess, reevaluate our relationships and how we express our values. It's also a time to review values and ideas about self worth. Do you walk your talk? Are you holding on to values you have acquired from someone else, perhaps an earlier version of you, that are not aligned with your current self? What really matters to you? 

Venus goes retrograde approximately every 18 months. Her retrograde period lasts 40 days and during that time, she follows a distinct pattern. Venus begins a retrograde as an evening star,  visible in the night sky. Midway through her retrograde she makes a conjunction with the Sun. Venus is a bright planet, but the Sun in brighter. The Sun is our consciousness among other things. When Venus and the Sun are conjunct, her light is not visible because of the brightness of the Sun. After the conjunction, she slowly becomes more prominent, but this time she is a morning star, visible around daybreak. It's hard to miss the symbolism in this pattern.    

Venus is in Leo for the whole of this retrograde. Leo is the fixed fire sign. Fire signs are idealistic. They are motivated by concepts like fairness, truth, and love. In Leo, Venus can be a little dramatic when it comes to relating. Venus in Leo is charismatic, fun, and is usually the life of the party. She is a gracious host and desires all those in her sphere know how special they are. She is aware of and accepts her power easily. This Venus is clear on her boundaries and does not ever lower her standards. There is warmth to this expression. She commands attention because she is anchored in her heart and true to herself. She is inspiring and uplifting. 

When she comes from a lower expression, Venus in Leo creates unneeded drama. She demands attention. Lower expressing Venus in Leo will act out, throw tantrums, or pout until her ego is soothed from perceived slights - and there are always lots of perceived slights. This Venus has not learned to appreciate herself or empower herself, so she looks for validation. She can't see her own magnificence, so she looks to others to reflect it to her. But it is never enough. The lower Venus in Leo expression can be exhausting to be around for any length of time because she is an energy vampire.

Venus entered retrograde motion on July 23 at 28 degrees of Leo and will resume direct motion on September 4, 2023 at 12 degrees of Leo. This is a time to do a deep dive into how you navigate your relationships with your important others. Often, unresolved aspects of past or even current relationships will come up in some way to be reevaluated. Can you discern patterns that undermined your relationships? Does your behavior square with your values? This is a time to review your values also. What are your core values? Are they still relevant? How do you demonstrate them? If you know your chart, look to see where these points are. This is the area of life that will be most affected. Also, look to see the houses that are ruled by Taurus and Libra, because they will also be involved in the mix. 

The first half of the Venus retrograde cycle asks us to be honest with what we see when we look in the rearview. Venus is becoming dimmer during this phase, as her light of awareness shifts inward. When Venus conjuncts the Sun midway through the cycle, around August 13, we can start to integrate the information and insights. This is a time of receiving the wisdom of the experiences from the past. What needs to be released? What needs to be repaired? What needs to be protected? Venus is not visible in the sky at this point. All the light is focused internally. 

A few days later, she begins to be visible in the morning sky. A new cycle is starting. It's time now to step forward and be seen. Your light will be brighter, wiser, more in line with your best self. It's time to shine. 

Interestingly, just as Venus begins the new cycle, Mercury goes retrograde in Virgo. Not only are how you relate and express your values under review, so is how you communicate. There is nothing random here! 

All the retrograde energy of the late summer is begging us to slow down and make needed changes. If you have been dodging or resisting, if you have been denying what is in front of you and distracting yourself from looking too closely lest you be forced to accept that your current circumstances are unacceptable,  you are swimming against the tide. It can be exhausting. It is also not beneficial in the long run and at some point, there is a price to pay for ignoring your internal warnings. Just sayin'. 

“Our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time; what we really want is for things to remain the same but get better.” ~Sydney J. Harris