Our Lady of Love and Money has been lingering at the 00 Virgo mark for a bit now, and tomorrow (the 25th) at 2:29 AM Pacific time, she begins her apparent backward motion. ‘Tactical Retrograde’ is a military term meaning ‘retreat’, and this retro period may be centered in an examination of Venus and chart-area themed euphemisms, all continuations in one form or another of circumstances 8 years ago. Virgo is mutable earth, connecting us to practical matters, but the shift into Leo’s fixed fire narrows the attention and subject matter to ourselves and our wants–and initial aspects suggest we will have to work in symbols, euphemisms, metaphors, to look indirectly at our subjects, because to do otherwise would be too harsh to allow for much progress.

We’ll start out the retro period with a critical (Virgo) mindset; we want to set things right, correct, account for, and otherwise get matters of Love and Money on track. Keeping our usual close orbs, the turnaround point makes no contacts. The first aspect completed is a square to Saturn (other than a square from the Moon, which is likely to kick things off emotionally), and that only when Venus proceeds into Leo. The implication may be that for all our good intentions, reality comes along and delivers some hard facts–and those facts are about ourselves and our egos (Leo), and whether we successfully ‘shine’ within our own lives–or not. And we’ll be given some illuminating feedback from the social circle when Venus hits Jupiter–so, like it or loathe it, what we have to look forward to is illumination of the things within our own attitudes and expectations that have created our current Love and Money circumstances.

Of course, a Venus retro distorts our usual Venusian standards and perceptions; we’re willing to experiment in these areas in ways we would typically find unappealing, too costly, below our standards, or even repulsive. We are also prone to alterations to taste and fancies in both literal and figurative senses; the trick, though, is not to avoid trying something new, it’s just to make sure that, as long as Venus moves backward, we don’t take steps in Venusian areas that can’t be easily undone later. Dye your hair–yes, shave your head and tattoo hair on it–no; try new foods–yes, insist on preparing the blowfish yourself–no; date someone you wouldn’t usually look twice at–yes, marry them on your first date–no; paint a wall purple–yes, paint the entire house inside and out purple, no; decide to open a savings account–yes, decide to empty your 401K and dump it all in the stock market, no; jet to Spain for four days–yes, abandon your current life and jet to Spain with no intention of ever returning, oh no. It’s not that you won’t like what you’ve done after direction–maybe you will–it’s that the retro period is for shifting your perceptions, allowing a new viewpoint that can allow experimentation and a broadening of horizons, not for making definitive life changes. You may wake up when it’s over and find it wasn’t for you–that’s why it’s so important you don’t do anything irrevocable. Venereal risks of all kinds are a problem at this time, because we just aren’t assessing things the usual way. Just be aware.

We can get a lot of clues about what we’ll be dealing with by looking back 8 years. That’s the last time Venus retrograded in this spot, and circumstances, topics, and dilemmas will often simply re-appear, sometimes just as they were, other times in new guises–but still posing the same fundamental questions and challenges. Of note: a Fist of God in effect on turnaround day made up of a square between Jupiter and Saturn, apex Vesta=this may signal that our efforts and ideas oriented toward expansion clash with the reality picture–the only thing that may survive are those matters we honor, and what we find sacred, especially in the home life or in the relationship with the mate. Since Saturn and Jupiter are the two first contacts of retro Venus (not counting Luna), this might describe our retro experience. Out of the conflict comes what really matters–if you become overwhelmed, make a strategic tactical retrograde, and deal with it when the pressure subsides. Happy Venus Retrograde!

See books and services–and to those waiting for the Vesta book, it’s on its way, though I may not make the promised end-of-July deadline. Thanks for making me so busy!

This has lots to ponder, from the excellent Jude Cowell over at ‘Stars Over Washington’