Venus stations retrograde in Capricorn on the winter solstice, December 21 and will remain retrograde until January 31, 2014.
Venus retrograde is the rarest retrograde. It occurs 5 times in different signs in 8 years. The 5 signs it retrogrades in during that 8 year period, form a pentagram in the sky.
In general, retrograde periods open doors into past lives. Unfinished business, outmoded ways of thinking, beliefs that no longer serve us are up for review. In the case of Venus, it has to do with essential emotional needs.
In Capricorn, we are addressing issues related to conditioning via family, religion, and society in general. We are all raised within a group, usually a family. Part of the role of parent or guardian is to prepare us to live in the world. They may teach us how to earn a living, although in modern societies this is less true than in traditional societies, which passes this task on to schools.
What they also teach us, often by example, is how the world works. Is it safe out there? Who can you trust? How do you tell the difference between potential friends or potential enemies? Who is on your side? Who can help you? Harm you? We are often taught as children to beware of strangers yet, it has been found that the worst things done to children are done by family members or those close to the family such as clergy or teachers.
Capricorn draws a line demarcating us and them. Venus wants to be liked/loved by family members and thus ‘accepts’ the rules, even when they don’t jive with our inner feelings or experience.
We often grow up with a sense of things not being quite right. We might feel odd or strange…somehow alien to our family of origin or the culture we were raised in.
We can either remain where we are and learn to handle our feeling of ‘otherness’ or we can set out on a journey of exploration…seeking to find ‘our tribe’.
The story of the Ugly Duckling demonstrates this perfectly.
Our feeling ‘other’ or different might arise because we are different! We may be more open-minded than those we grew up with; our sexual orientation may not be accepted by our family or religion; or we may want more out of life than we were taught was possible.
Almost all of us have wounds from childhood. Whether from our parents, siblings, school or ‘the world’ we all have received some type of hurt. Often it came from well-meaning people who were doing the best they could.
The wound could have been due to poverty, deprivation, war, crime…things over which those who loved us had no control. Our parents may have done all they could to alleviate our pain, but they were not omnipotent. Life is challenging for most people on the planet.
We may have hidden our pain so our parents wouldn’t feel bad. We kept our mouths shut about not having what other kids have or being bullied. We swallowed our pain.
This Venus retrograde period is a time to go deep inside and discover our true feelings, see them for what they are, and release them. It is not about judgment or blame.
Another interesting thing about Venus turning retrograde on the Winter Solstice. Does anyone remember what happened last year on 12/21/2012?
A clue: the end of the Mayan calendar.
Oh yes, that. What happened? Did the world end? No doubt it did for those who passed over on that day, but for the rest of us….we’re still here. “Nothing happened.”
On the contrary, I feel that there were profound changes on the inner planes. In general, it takes a long time for energetic shifts to manifest on the earth plane.
As I said earlier, retrograde periods open doors to past lives. Another way to view this is it opens doors to the past parts of our life, such as childhood, etc.
We may re-visit old relationships. People from the past may ‘show up’.
I don’t know about you, but doesn’t it seem that there are a lot of people dying lately? Another aspect of this upcoming retrograde in Capricorn is letting go…letting go of outmoded beliefs, ideas and stuff. Whatever no longer serves our evolution. For some, that means the body itself: Saturn the planetary ruler of Capricorn rules the bones and skin. I believe that all these people have shed their bodies in order to move to their next level of evolution. Their current life, or their body itself has become too restrictive. Time to move on. Talk about change (Uranus/Pluto square).
We have to be willing to shed whatever no longer serves our highest purpose. Yes, that means getting rid of all the stuff we no longer use.
All of this is designed to serve our growth and evolution. It may be painful, but ultimately, it will be for our own good. Don’t resist. We are meant to develop emotional self-reliance.