Plan Ahead - Venus Rx Dec 24th

When Venus is rerograde, all cycles of retrogression are invoked, past and future. The retrograde period activates the Golden Section pattern inherent in the quintile, the capacity to know the unknowable. There is no 'first' or 'last' with the cycle, only evolutionary patterns, and Venus is bound up with the impulse for creative physical expression of an exalted idea. It then follows that indivuidual born during Venus retrograde periods have the pattern imprinted in their psyche and carry this Venusian quintile about, experiencing the creative angst that many artists express through the medium of their work. Unfortunately we often only attribute the artistic temperment to those actively involved in the classical creative arts. This is not only msleading but also discouraging to creative people yho may not write arias, paint masterpieces, dream poems or whatever.

Perhaps the invocation of the Golden Section quintile accounts partially for the Venus retrograde individual's sense of being 'different.' It may be why much rumination over love, values, creative issue and diplomacy occurs both globally and individually when Venus stations, turns retrograde and remains so for forty days, communing with the immutable forces which guard the mysterious knowledge. The knowledge that Venus imparts upon its return to the upper world is not the information that Mercury brings to the surface with each of its cycles. It is an aesthetic, visceral knowing, which cannot be articulated but can only be enacted or portrayed through the subtlety of relationships with others or in abstract imagery.

In ancient Egypt, the lotus symbolized nascent life or first appearance (an archetype) and was a natural symbol for all forms of manifestation. In the Middle Ages it came to represent the mystic 'centre' and the heart, but the five-petalled lotus compines both sacred and profane symbols: the lotus of mystical illumination with the quinary symbol of man's capacity for manifestation. In the lotus,

The potentialities of being are realized by means of an activity which is always internal since it is excercised from the centre of each plane; furthermore, from the metaphysical point of view, it is impossible for external action to be brought to bear upon the total being, for such action is possible only on a relative and a particular plane. {Rene Guenon in J.E. Cirlot, The Dictionary of Symbols, trans. J. Sage (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1962) p. 193}

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That the retrograde cycle of Venus describes a lotus-mandala in the heavens is apt because it is the 'internal activity' of the Venus retrograde transiting cycle which ultimately is impossible to externalize. The lessons learned in the course of the forty-day retrograde period are relative only to the individual experiencing them. In fact, it might well be that the lotus flower only picks up that which was left off at the last station of Venus in the same sign and house. Full integration of Venus retrograde into the ego structure is unlikely to take place immediately upon its direction, but is incorporated over time. The retrograde period creates a quiet introspection which takes place on a very deep level, rather like observing one's own behavior and responses while nevertheless participating wholly. Of all the retrograde cycles, Venus' appears to be the most unconscious in its immediate effects, but in the long view the most rational.

Therefore, it would serve to look back eight years when analysing a current Venus retrograde trend, for there will be echoes of the past in the present situation. The inferior planets always pick up unfinshed processes where they last left off in the last retrograde cycle, but unlike Mercury's rapid and accessible cycle, Venus' is more lengthy. Venus retrograde transits the same natal house every eight years, reviewing and resurrecting incomplete or dormant issues which have been quiescent since the last transit.

One gets a cold, hard look at one's relationships and what is relevant to one's integrity at this time. It may be that there is an imbalance for a period while deeply mysterious transformations occur — so mysterious that one never really knows what has happened until several months have passed. After Venus has turned direct, and begins to move along at about the same speed as the Sun (in the ephemeris), stasis initiates a time to review what the retrograde period revealed.

The station-retrograde begins a time of global review; the entire Earth experiences the retrograde phenomenon. We can see how it manifests in the collective by watching the news in regard to dilomatic and international relations. The reconsideration of what is diplomatic, and what is necessary to maintain a balanced worldview and sense of integrity, is precisely what happens to the individual when Venus transits a sector of the natal horoscope. The Maya believed that the point at which Venus reaches her heliacal rising, about six or seven days after the inferior conjunction, was when political situations were particularly unstable and leaders insecure and fallible. Bruce Scofield says he has found the heliacal rising, 'often corresponds to a time of failure or resignation on the part of leaders and often coincides with a major accident or storm' {Scofield, loc. cit., referring to a 1985 article in the Astrological Society of Princeton Journal}. Venus is still retrograde at this point, but stationing and moving slowly as the Sun appears to move ahead in the zodiac.

An instinctive recoiling occurs at the station-retrograde, sometimes because of an event, at other times as a conscious, voluntary retreat. More often than not, the area in the chart which is being examined by Venus retrograde has gone unattended for some time — certainly with this deep perspective. One tends to unconsciously to withdraw, seeking hidden meaning in experience, hoping to draw value or deeper knowledge from one's daily interactions. The area in which Venus is retrogressing becomes vulnerable to attack and is often the stage for a confrontation upon resuming direct motion. Unspoken messages, hints, nuances and subtleties become magnified and can be distorted, but they are nevertheless laden with implications.

Venus plumbs the depths of undeveloped personal characteristics in the areas of the horoscope it is transiting, and is likely to contact a natal planet by aspect in the coursr of that time since it backtracks over 15-18° of an arc. If the inferior conjunction makes an aspect to a natal planet, the results of that insemination are likely to be birthed well after the direction of Venus. When the planet transverses two houses there is an overlapping of concerns, which has a direct bearing on the eventual outcome. When it changes signs during the retrograde phase, it then has a subtle change in theme (since the retrograde period covers about 15-18°, it can and frequently does pass back into the previous sign).

The transmutative aspect of the Venus retrograde cycle is evident during the transit period because there seems to be a mirror image of what is one's 'normal' method of arriving at conclusions. That is, if one usually terribly intellectual and systematic about decision-making, one might find another way more fruitful and become more instinctive. Conversely, a normally intuitive type finds solace in logic and highly organized methods of dealing with the world. There is an experience of discovering and dealing with one's opposite.

That Venus became a male god in the retrograde phase of its cycle symbolizes the necessity of inversion to experience wholeness. The transit of Venus retrograde exposes the need to see aspects of oneself which are normally hidden from view. Those values are often diametrically opposed to the ones consciously espoused and can create some of the most profound emotional disturbances. A great number of mistakes can be made during Venus retrograde transits, largely because it is so infrequent and thus foreign to the daily experience.

The degree of discord that arises within one's personal life during the retrogression signals the distance that one is from one's core values and higher creative inspirations. The sudden imbalance can tilt one towards an opposing pole, creating tremendous upheavals in relationships and in one's personal experiences. All the turmoil may be a magnification of a single issue and can be blown out of proportion. Ideally, it is a time to contemplate what one's deepest, most personal, creative needs are and from what well-spring those needs originate. It is a time to explore one's own needs for love and nourishment and to examine one's capacityto receive both of those life-sustaining forces.

The mysterious 'ideal' can interrupt and tear apart what one has found to be loving and nurturing — flaws and faults in others can become enhanced, and one might see all the dangers of intimacy, rather than the supportive aspects of it. The call to war after the inferior conjunction of Venus with the Sun might bring forth the dead, and one may be recalled to times in the past when rejection and emotional pain conspired to erect an emotional fortress which for current circimstances might be quite inappropriate. Ultimately, it will depend upon the degree of responsibility that one assumes for one's own lovingness and capacity for commitment that will correct the situation, allowing for necessary changes.

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Venus, both through her retrograde and her higher octave in Aquarius, will focus the energy of individual and collective values and worth realization on all systems which enhance or detract from Venus' being able to bring harmony and balance to the planet. This is being bolstered by Pluto in Sagittarius because it means a transformation and transmutation of dogmatic thinking and all belief systems that are not healthy for the planet.

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When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

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Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

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It feels to me like Venus Rx is trying to orchestrate a movement where all humans try to understand their personal values and the worth of their religion to themselves by being in contact with the values of others and seeing the light, harmony and balance in the values of other religions. This does not mean they have to practice them or believe in those other holidays but respect those people who practice and believe in those holidays because they are right for those people. The more centered and grounded one becomes in one's own values and worth, the more one can allow others to have varying values from one's own. If one does not value and find worth in oneself, it is difficult, if not impossible, to value and find worth in the other

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THE SABIAN SYMBOL FOR THE PLUTO/CHIRON CONJUNCTION


It can be instructive to look at the Sabian symbol for a planet to gain a deeper insight into its meaning in a chart. In this particular case, with the degree of 11+ Sagittarius particularly emphasized through its occupation by both Pluto and Chiron, the symbolic meaning of this degree may offer some treasure unobtainable via any other means.

Note: The Sun crossed this degree last week.

The degree symbol is “A flag turns into an eagle; the eagle into a chanticleer saluting the dawn”. Dane Rudhyar describes its meaning thus:


The spiritualization and promotion of great symbols of a New Age by minds sensitive to its precursory manifestations.


In the background of this strange allegory we can recognise the deep-seated belief that the American nation and its basic democratic institutions were constituted in the cradle for a new step in human evolution. The "flag" is the abstract symbol of the nation; it becomes an "eagle" - another US symbol - when the concept is made alive by bold and transcendent action. The eagle symbolises spiritual will and the power to rise to the highest possible altitude of consciousness and purpose. Flying at such an altitude, the eagle is the first living creature to perceive the rising sun. Having perceived it, it heralds it - and by so doing is identified with the crowing chanticleer, who had convinced himself that his resonant cry was responsible for the rise of the sun and the coming of a new day.
This symbol .… is completely future-oriented. It speaks of "peak experiences" instead of the wisdom found in the organismic depth of the body-consciousness. It urges us to bring our nobles ideals to actual life through the power of the spiritual will. A keyword might be ANNUNCIATION".

A ‘chanticleer’ is another word for a domestic cock or rooster, while the ‘Annunciation’ refers to the announcement made by the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she was shortly to become the mother of Jesus. To “annunciate” is “to proclaim, to intimate as coming or ready”.
Rudhyar’s keyword of “Annunciation” for this symbol is certainly interesting in the light of the announcements that are being made about the heralding of our new millennium. . . .


Richard Landes [from an article titled: “Roosters, Owls, and the Millennium”] has highlighted an aspect of time which he calls “apocalyptic” time: “that perception of time in which the End of the World (variously imagined) is so close that its anticipation changes the behaviour of the believer”. At these times, he says, we meet "...the roosters doing battle with the owls."

The rooster represents the apocalyptic believer, “the one who thrilled at the prospect, heralds a new day by crowing at the dawn, stirring the barnyard to wake, piercing the air with his penetrating cries, joining in with other roosters. Even those who would resist, who are annoyed, find it difficult to ignore this chorus of crowing.” The owl is the anti-apocalyptic believer, “the one who prefers the caution and quiet of the familiar, who argues no, the night is still young and long hours separate us from the dawn, who warn that the foxes are out, the master still asleep, and only disaster can come from rousing the barnyard to untimely activity”.

Landes’ description of the apocalyptic-crowing rooster surprisingly echoes Rudhyar’s description of the chanticleer in the Sabian symbol for the Millennial degree of the Pluto/Chiron conjunction.

When the crowing chanticleer (rooster) beholds the rising of the sun, he believes that it is his cry which manifests the new day. Chiron specialist, Joyce Mason, has interpreted the symbol of the chanticleer thus: “it reminds us of the power of the mind and synchronicity, ie. what we see (believe and declare) is what we get. We can assert our highest ideals.
The Higher Self bursts forth”. Here we find yet another reference to the power of the mind and its role in envisioning the quality of our future.

While the roosters crow loudly that the end is nigh, the expectation of impending doom gathers increasing momentum. And as we have seen, these expectations are highly contagious and riddled with fear. It is at these Turning Point times that the roosters dominate, but as Landes writes: “their dominance is as brief as it is powerful. With the (inevitable) passing of the apocalyptic moment, the roosters must either change their tune (redate, expunge the apocalyptic element) or cede the floor to the owls who, retrospectively, prove correct”.

What appears to be most important is to look at the coming Big Turn within its wider historical context. This has happened before. It will happen again, and through it all, we are still here. Liz Greene has pointed out that Millenarian fantasies appear to erupt every 500 years. Greene notes that around the years 1000 and 1500, fears were rife that the world was about to end.

Of course, the world is still here, but what did happen after the year 1500 had passed, was a major paradigm shift, or a change in the prevailing world-view. This change began in such a manner than it may have even gone relatively unnoticed at the time. Greene writes that the only odd thing which happened at that time was that “a very recalcitrant and bad-tempered monk called Martin Luther went around nailing nasty statements about the Church to cathedral doors, and a few people listened”. Those few people talked to other people who talked to more people. And enter the Reformation! Thus began a period in our history which lasted for at least 300 years, and which some historians believe still continues today, a period wherein every aspect of established Christian doctrine was brought into question. The world did not end, but the world-view did.

Perhaps the eagle in the Sabian symbol, the bird which flies closest to the Sun, is a symbol of the perspective which is needed as we move through these times. Perhaps we need to consider the role which our collective fear and millenarian imagination plays in shaping our future, whether the source of our fear be centred around religious or technological concerns. Instead, we need to fly high and behold the bigger picture. As high-flying eagles, let us focus the power of our minds to envision a better future, to embrace change with equanimity, to transform our war-torn past into peace, to embrace the lost feminine, and ultimately to heal our wounded and suffering planet.

“What we call the beginning is often the end
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
The end is where we start from”
T.S. Eliot , Four Quartets

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... most of us defer to people or "experts" outside of us to give us the answers we're desperately seeking. Chiron tells us that, no, the answers you seek aren't in the outer world--they are in your inner world of yourself.

Chiron also instills, with this inner journey work, a KNOWING. How many of you "know without knowing" how you know? So many of you, for sure. Yet, do you TRUST what you know? Probably not. Chiron is here to put you in touch with your inner knowing and to begin the process of TRUSTING yourself to move on this knowing. Yes, it is what I call "blind-faith-knowing"--you can't see where you're going or why...you're like a bloodhound on a scent you can only smell, but can't see or know the end of where the trail leads. And like the dog, you instinctively and on a PRIMAL level, follow it. If you do, only positive and healthy things will come of it. The trick is getting YOU to trust YOU.

[Then, regarding Pluto:

Don't get caught up in the fear of "dying" with Pluto. It's an ongoing phenomena that happens to us every day of our lives. When Pluto is highlighted in our lives by transit or progression, simply look at it that you're like a snake ready to she his or her old skin and its time for a pretty, new one, instead. Death and rebirth. You trade in the old, outworn, outdated mindset, emotion, or whatever it is, for a brand new one that will serve you much better.

Pluto rules our subconscious, our psyche, those parts of ourselves that we can usually only access through our dream work, meditation or vision quests, etc. It is also our Shadow content--those things we don't like about ourselves that we have not--yet--integrated into ourselves. Just remember, what we don't integrate is kept with the Shadow and it can poison us, eventually. We can 'die' on a spiritual level or a psychological level, too.

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Joyce Mason was one of the first astrologers to write about the connection between Chiron and Pluto. Her article, "Chiron and Pluto: Comet Brothers", is a classic, and should be read by all astrologers. Some of the astronomical similarities she mentions include: "Both have highly tilted, eccentric orbits. They share a blurred identity, i.e., both are so unusual, astronomers wonder if they should be called planets at all. Both are relatively small. Both are composed in large part of "ices" containing carbon monoxide, methane, and/or nitrogen. Each crosses the orbit, at some time during its own orbital path, of the planet next in toward the Sun (Chiron crosses Saturn's path and Pluto crosses Neptune's)."

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How can we describe the Chiron-Pluto interaction? Palden Jenkins writes that it represents "power-conflicts, background forces influencing history, revelations of cover-ups or collapse of collective untruths, leadership changes, exceptionally compromising crises and conflicts of interest, knotty and wrought situations, blood on hands, eruptions of truth, tough and nightmarish situations as a potential point of major resolution." I'd say Palden was very perceptive.

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