The Astrology Blog 4 May 2020
All times in BST
“Forgive yourself for not being at peace. The moment you completely accept your non-peace, your non-peace becomes transmuted into peace… This is the miracle of surrender”.
Eckhart Tolle – The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
https://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Eckhart_Tolle
Last week I started talking about the retrograde Venus cycle, that is now making itself felt. This planet won’t switch direction until early next week but she is now “stationing”, slowing down in readiness for making the turn. One of my favourite analogies is to think of this as a plane coming in to land (retrograde) and then taking off again (turning direct). It can do neither at full speed or height.
Venus would normally take about a month to travel through each sign but in her retrograde cycle, that happens approximately every 18 months, the long loop backward means that the journey can take up to four times longer than usual. Here’s a reminder of the full sequence that we’re in now –
- Venus arrived in Gemini 3 April
- Venus turns retrograde at 22 Gemini – 13 May
- Venus turns direct again at 5 Gemini – 25 June
- Venus will enter the next sign of Cancer 7 August
- So Venus will be in Gemini for 4 months, four times longer than usual for a journey though one sign
Patterns and Roses
Did you know that the sign in which Venus turns retrograde repeats every 8 years? Here you can see the pattern –
Date | Venus turns Retrograde | Venus turns Direct |
2012 | 15 May – 24 Gemini | 27 June – 7 Gemini |
2013/4 | 21 December – 29 Capricorn | 31 January – 13 Capricorn |
2015 | 25 July – 0 Virgo | 6 September – 14 Leo |
2017 | 4 March – 13 Aries | 15 April – 27 Pisces |
2018 | 5 October – 10 Scorpio | 16 November – 25 Libra |
2020 | 13 May – 22 Gemini | 25 June – 5 Gemini |
And thank you to Diane Preston for drawing my attention to an excellent feature in The Mountain Astrologer –
https://mountainastrologer.com/tma/looking-at-venus-from-a-few-different-angles/
This includes a stunning animated visual that shows Venus’ five retrograde periods within every 8 years creating a five-pointed star or rose pattern in her eight-year journey. Here’s the visual as created by Melanie Reinhart and the link to the animation –
Earth Venus Tango round the Sun. (Just hit the play arrow if it doesn’t start right away.)
We all know Venus as Aphrodite, planet of love, but in traditional astrology she also rules all things sweet, beautiful and fragrant, including flowers and especially roses.
You can read my full feature about retrograde Venus in the May issue of Soul & Spirit magazine – links at the top of the page.
The Personal Implications
So if Venus rules love, sex and everything to do with relationships then switching to reverse means that all of these things will unravel, right? Wrong, unless your relationship is already in a tailspin, in which case it’s time to look at your options. What it does mean is that all Venusian things will not be as straightforward as you would normally expect them to be – more questions than answers, mixed messages, frustration, and factors beyond your control throwing a spanner in the works are the kind of themes to look out for.
If you’re in a relationship keep the love (Venus) talk (Gemini) flowing, in and out of the bedroom. You have the opportunity to get closer emotionally and sexually, and to find out what really makes each other tick. Whatever you want your relationship to be now’s the time to put in the work.
The Dating Game
Face to face meetings are either limited or impossible at the moment but that may actually be the incentive to hone your communicative skills. Venus in Mercury’s sign is love talk of all kinds with the new buzzword being “sexting”, so you can still have distance pillow talk! Just stay within the limits of what is comfortable for you. Again, keep your eye on how you want a romantic outcome to be. By the time Venus turns direct again you’ll know if this person would pay to be in lockdown with you – and vice versa.
Gemini Duality
Second chances are a retrograde theme but with all affairs of the heart this probably isn’t simply about taking up where you left off. Whether it’s addressing the things that are not working, going back to an ex or reconnecting with someone who was on the scene before the lockdown started you’ll need to look at how the relationship has inevitably been reframed. Go in with questions rather than assumptions.
Venus spinning us backwards in the sign of the Twins sensitizes all love choices. Affairs under a retrograde Venus may be delicious in their “forbidden fruit” way, but don’t rush to trust. They may not last, or they may come with so many complications that they end up becoming too painful or plain impossible. Keep options open.
Love isn’t just about People …
I lost my beloved dog Coco in February which broke my heart. She was found when less than a year old chained up in a back yard so she was a rescue dog who ended up having a wonderful life. About a month ago I told my animal rescue friend here Sallie that I was ready to adopt another dog, but I had my criteria – had to be female, not a puppy, a dog that had been abused and needed a lot of love. She might even be the “nobody wants me” dog.
A week ago Sallie posted a photo of a dog chained up in Cephalonia (neighboring island to Lefkada). It was literally love at first sight. She ticked all my boxes and even looked like Coco, under all the filthy matted fur, which just goes to show that cosmic ordering works. It was nail biting stuff, hearing she’d been rescued only to find out that in the middle of the week she’d been returned (retrograde) to her original owner and she was back on the chain. She had at least been to the vets for blood tests/flea treatment and had been clipped.
To cut a long story short the animal rescue team here and a friend of mine Rachael in Cephalonia between them managed to locate and rescue the dog properly. I have named her Lola. Several people have asked if this shows in my chart and yes, Venus rules my 6th House of pets and was transiting within one degree of an opposition to my natal Venus the day I saw the photo. The retrograde theme goes on because no inter island travel is allowed as yet, another couple of weeks to go for that, so I can’t go and get her and nobody can bring her to me. She has to go into kennels, I’m going to end up with bills (Venus rules money) as the vet’s bill also has to be met, but she is safe and it will be worth every Euro.
The Universal Implications
Last week I wrote about New Zealand’s prime minister, the amazing Jacinda Ardern, as she was being held up to the world as an example of what effective leadership looks like. It’s impossible to imagine even for a nano second that she would be capable of thinking or saying anything as ridiculous, deranged and dangerous as Trump’s comments about bleach and disinfectants.
A feature in the UK’s The Guardian newspaper was entitled, “Trump is unraveling – even his supporters can’t ignore it now.” The actor Ricky Gervais was also in the news, with a resurfaced tweet ahead of the US election in 2016, in which he wrote: “The fact that there are warnings like ‘Do not drink’ on bottles of bleach makes me realise that Donald Trump can become president.” Horrifyingly accurate.
The word “unraveling” is a classic showing of a retrograde (going backwards) planet. This prompted me to look at Trump’s horoscope again. When I think of his chart I always remember the Mars in Leo conjunct his Ascendant, which in his case is where we locate his bombastic nature, showmanship and increasingly obvious NPD – narcissistic personality disorder – but I’d forgotten the fact that he’s born on a Full Moon, with the Sun opposite the Moon in Sagittarius – and, you’ve guessed it, the Sun on that critical degree of 22 Gemini, Venus’s exact turning point next week.
Last week I’d noted that Jacinda Ardern has her natal Venus at 22 Gemini, so Trump’s Sun jumped out even more strongly, and this then led me to look at the charts of world leaders to see if this degree was being repeated elsewhere. Here are my findings –
- US Donald Trump – Sun 22 Gemini, Uranus 17 Gemini, Moon 21 Sagittarius
- New Zealand Jacinda Ardern – Venus 22 Gemini, Neptune 20 Sagittarius
- France Emmanuel Macron – Venus 22 Sagittarius, Neptune 16 Sagittarius
- Russia Mikhail Mishustin (tested positive 30 April) – Jupiter 22 Gemini
- Brazil Jair Bolsonaro – Fortuna (Part of Fortune) 22 Gemini
- Canada Justin Trudeau – Jupiter 21 Sagittarius
- Iran Hassan Rouhani – Mars 19 Sagittarius
- UK Boris Johnson – Mercury 19 Gemini (and Sun conjunct Venus at 28 Gemini)
- Germany Angela Merkel – Descendant 16 Gemini, Mars 26 Sagittarius
- Belgium Charles Michel – Mars 21 Gemini
- Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan – Jupiter 17 Gemini
- South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa – Mercury 16 Sagittarius
- Spain Pedro Sánchez – Neptune 5 Sagittarius (the degree at which Venus will go direct again)
What Might this Mean?
Synastry is the study of compatibility, or not, usually between one horoscope and another. But to see this kind of synastry amongst so many world presidents and prime ministers is extraordinary. I’ve been pondering it for the last few days, as Venus’ turnaround will sensitize or mark out all of these placings at the same time. And whatever the events might be, they will affect us all. Here are some possibilities –
- For starters I think it’s the showing of the world gradually easing their lockdown measures through which we will slowly “get back” (retrograde) to enjoying at least some little taste of Venusian pleasures. It would appear to symbolize the international caution with such moves, unless you are Trump who cares only about restarting the economy and getting reelected.
- Secondly I feel that this retrograde period has an experimental quality about it and that world leaders are probably secretly (another retrograde quality) aware and a lot more nervous than they care to admit that new freedoms are the biggest single risk factor in terms of keeping the virus under control. But in another way this Venus is a perfect symbol for meeting up with others again whilst still preserving the social distancing rules. We’ve all got to learn new rules and meet up whilst denying the love planet’s desires of hugging and kissing!
- Thirdly the worst possible scenario is second waves (Gemini the Twins ruling duality) and that we’ll all go back (retrograde) to square one. Venus also rules money so the effect of second waves on the economy would be even more disastrous than they are now. The fact that this is one of the key issues being ignored or at least minimized by Trump is what makes him so dangerous and unfit to be a leader. With any luck he’ll have a psychotic breakdown when he runs out of people to blame.
WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING THIS WEEK?
As with last week the lead player is again Mercury who is now whizzing through the second half of Taurus, making no less than 5 aspects between now and the early hours of next Monday, all wrapped around the Scorpio Full Moon –
Monday 4 May
- Sun conjunct Mercury 14 Taurus 22.42
Thursday 7 May
- Mercury 20 Taurus sextile Neptune 20 Pisces 11.45
- Full Moon 17 Scorpio 11.46
Saturday 9 May
- Mercury 25 Taurus trine Pluto 25 Capricorn 14.17
Sunday 10 May
- Mercury 27 Taurus trine Jupiter 27 Capricorn 15.37
Monday 11 May
- Mercury 28 Taurus square Mars 28 Aquarius 08.34
The first aspect is extremely powerful as this is called a “cazimi” – when any other planet is conjunct the Sun to within 17 minutes of arc (just over a quarter of a degree). It means that the other planet is “in the heart of the Sun”, drawing on that massive energy rather than being burned up by it. News, information or anything else relating to the mind planet Mercury – such as decisions, ideas, insights and so on – is likely to be pivotal. Look out for themes of illumination, especially this evening.
Internationally the Sun – Mercury meet up is exact on the day that many countries are starting phase one of easing their lockdown measures, including here in Greece. It’s a wonderful symbol for enjoying the outdoors and nature (Taurus) and the life force itself (Sun) and for the stimulus of real live human interaction and conversation (Mercury).
The Mercury – Neptune alignment is more emotional, especially as it falls at exactly the same time and in aspect to the Full Moon. Scorpio is a water sign linked to power, control and intensity, and is also the Moon’s sign of “fall”, ie her most troubled placing. So in many ways this is the craziest Full Moon of the year and the sensitivity tides will be extremely high, so tread carefully and don’t take risks of any kind. But yes Scorpio rules the whole life – death – rebirth cycle and is therefore linked to sex and passion, and this Full Moon is reflecting a time when we’re all intensely aware of the value of life itself.
I hate to say this but I also think this is a danger spot for virus transmission as Neptune has featured strongly in the timeline and, in medical astrology, Scorpio symbolizes that which poisons. Not a time to relax your guard so keep observing the distancing and self protection rules.
Mercury then plays into the major Jupiter – Pluto conjunction, which was exact 5 March and so is now separating, but the two planets are still side by side as they’re only 2 degrees apart. This alignment is harmonious as all three planets share the same element, all in earth signs, so by the end of the week I think we can expect some major news in terms of international progress. And if you have planets or angles between 14 and 27 degrees of Taurus – or the opposite sign of Scorpio, or the other earth signs of Virgo/Capricorn – then you’re also looking at a busy week and news that will make a difference.
Mercury’s final aspect before changing sign is the square to Mars – classic for verbal punch ups, disagreements or things done in haste that will later be regretted. If you’re aware of tension and bottled up feelings within any relationship, or just within yourself, better to address and soothe those immediately rather than waiting for the snapping point.
Other Turning Retrograde Planets
All the uncertainty being engendered by Venus’ turnaround is compounded by the fact that it coincides with two major planets also switching to retrograde, either side of Venus. And Mercury squaring up to Mars next Monday morning is within hours of Saturn’s exact turning point –
- Monday 11th May Saturn 2 degrees Aquarius 05.10
- 13th May Venus 22 degrees Gemini
- 14th May Jupiter 27 degrees Capricorn
I’ll be talking more about these milestones next week, along with Mercury and Mars both changing sign. These are complex times but remember, as always, this is not forever, it just feels like it. And keep Eckhart Tolle’s guidance in your mind, that it is through surrender and forgiveness that we move into a peaceful place. In other words, go easy on yourself. We’re only human,
Until next week
With love from Greece
Joanna
Joanna
i am really enjoying reading all of the very interesting blogs.
It is making me want to delve further in to the world of Tarot. I loved our session in London
Thanks Sarah, glad to hear that you’re enjoying the world of astrology! I was so looking fwd to the London workshops in August but I probably won’t want to travel, but am keeping fingers crossed that by Sept things will have moved on enough to go ahead with Summer School here. Otherwise there’s online studying but hope to see you soon! 🙂