A love letter to Venus Retrograde
Venus is retrograding from July 22nd, to September 3rd, 2023. There are exactly 43 days between July 22nd, and September 3rd. 43 days is around 1.4 months. So, around a month and a half. Do you know what you could do in a month and a half? You could learn how to play guitar. Learn to paint. Learn how to bake bread. In a month and a half, you could absolutely teach yourself how to knit, or crochet, or even sew. You could learn how to swim. You could absolutely learn how to ride a bike, or grow a batch of radishes in your backyard! I bet you could also learn how to drive (Lol. This one is a reminder for me, personally).
Before you can get good at any of those things, you have to be really, really bad at them first. Maybe you get embarrassed, and a voice inside your head will say, “Wow, you look super lame for even trying, stop doing it.” But then you don’t listen (and you shouldn’t), and you keep trying, and attempting, and engaging, ignoring the inner critic that tried to tell you: you’re too good to struggle. Practicing something new takes a lot of back-and-forth. Retracing your steps, going back each time, trying to see what you can do to improve your next move. You’re trying it again, and again, and again. Then one day, you catch yourself performing that hobby seamlessly. You forget that you’re doing it, and you just…do it. Venus retrograde reminds me a lot of being new at something.
When planets are in retrograde, they only appear to be moving backwards (if you look directly up at the sky!), but they’re not actually moving backwards. They appear to be moving backwards simply because the planets (Venus, in this context) are spinning faster, since retrogrades indicate times when planets are closer to the Earth. The force bringing them closer to the Earth increases their speed of rotation. It’s like riding in a slower car, while a faster car speeds past you. When it passes you, is it you that is moving backwards, or is the other car just going really fast? Retrogrades are about the deception of backwards movement.
This Venus retrograde is occurring in the sign of the Sun, Leo. The Sun represents one’s soul. It is the essence of life scientists can’t seem to put together or recreate, that animates a body in a way we can call “alive.” It is our soul purpose, and essence. If we were a building, it would be the power source; the electricity that brings things to light. Under this zodiacal sign, the Venus retrograde takes on themes of self-discovery, self-enlightenment, and self-assertion.
Venus represents our relationships. Our connection to the “other,” whatever that “other” might be. We are connected to our surroundings, in the same way we’re connected to other people, and this is an important theme to take into consideration. The Sun is bringing to light issues that have kept us in the dark; we can finally look around us, at the people we’re surrounded by, the places that we’re in, and think to ourselves.. Am I happy?
This retrograde has not been pretty. It has taken away or severed relationships, whether that being with people or with things, that have held us back. You might find yourself being alone for the first time, in a long time, which takes practice. You might even find yourself in a new place, without people from your past, for the first time, which takes adjusting. All of these events are filled with the idea of deceptive backwards movement. Just because we lose one thing that is important to us, we feel like we’ve lost everything. Why must we categorize our lives based on linear achievements, when life itself does not happen one by one, but all at once? Love can’t happen without grief, grief can’t happen without happiness, happiness can’t occur without knowing what sadness is. The immense, overwhelming power of Life that seems to have control over our soul’s purpose, does not mean that we can allow it to take us under, without any control over what we can do for ourselves. This is why moments of stillness, and reflection are so incredibly important. If Life comes at us all at once, when will we have the time to practice the skills that can keep us afloat? Moments in which we find ourselves ten steps back from where we used to be are opportunities to become better at something. Practicing takes time. We just need to get better at recognizing when Life tells us it’s time to return to the practice room.
This Venus retrograde will have you feeling like you’ve gone back twenty steps, or even twenty steps, far too ahead in whichever journey you’re in. It’s going to feel dislocating. And in a way, doesn’t growth come from our own discomforts? Feeling uncomfortable, and revising what it is that made you uncomfortable, is important when getting good at a skill. Revision is a primary form of practice. Having a teacher tell you to revise your work before you turn it in, sounds like kindness to me, rather than an insult. There’s something you’re missing, a piece or clue, that will open you up to whatever the answer might be. The teacher can’t tell you the answer, but they can guide you by telling you to hit the drawing board once more, and see what comes from the frustration of allowing yourself to be bad at it. No pressure to uphold a previous sense of identity, responsibility, or out-dated sense of belief that just wan’t working anymore.
All of this perspective seeking still doesn’t take away the feeling of being hurt. Of losing something, or someone, who was incredibly important to your journey, up until that point. Retrogrades aren’t only about action, about the things you can do to feel better. Sometimes, there’s nothing you can do to feel better. And that’s okay, too. Retrogrades can be about stillness. And in stillness, we will always find an answer, whichever that may be. You’ve done it before, so you can do it again. Practice takes time. And taking your time is a good thing.