Venus Retrograde in Aries and Pisces in March and April 2009 Pt 1 - Dancing On the Border of the Future with Nature Spirits

by Robert Wilkinson

Venus is already slowing down, preparing to go retrograde as it does every 19 months. When any planet goes retrograde, there is an inward turning, a greater receptivity to unconscious factors, and a retracing of steps already traversed. When Venus goes retrograde, we are enabled to find a new appreciation and admiration for whatever Venus touches or symbolizes in our charts and lives, or find a new value in old interactions and things.

Venus in general symbolizes our likes and dislikes, our vanities and attractions. It is said to be associated with our aesthetics, pleasure principle, and social emotions, attitudes, and behaviors. As it rules the signs of Taurus and Libra, it measures our values, how we use what we have, what we wish to capture that we can "possess," and all our equal relationships, including both personal and business partnerships.

Any time Venus goes retrograde it's a great time to reflect on values, relationships, and why we like or don't like whatever or whoever. This includes our relationship to money, wealth, and things in general, as well as why we value what we do in our relationships, and whether we're working off of old tapes, old hurts, old attachments, and old aversions in relationships that bear no resemblance to what we're living with today.

Venus will go stationary retrograde at 16 degrees of Aries at 9:17 am PST, 5:17 pm GMT on 6 March 2009. This retrograde period will last until 17 April 2009, when she will go stationary direct at 30 Pisces just before Mars forms a conjunction with Venus on the same degree. This will be a turning point in our futures resulting from what dream or vision we have defined and ex-pressed as a motive for a new life direction. Then comes the final review and activating of the retrograde span through May 21-22, when Venus and Mars both traverse the first half of Aries.

Most of this retrograde will be in Aries. The beginning of the period shows Venus in the Aries zone of the Grand Irrationality, septile Mercury, Mars, and Neptune, biseptile Pluto, and triseptile Saturn while in strong productive sextile to Jupiter. In late March it conjuncts the Sun and Mercury around the time of the next New Moon at 7 Aries occurring at 9:06 am PDT 26 March 2009. More on this "inferior conjunction" between the Sun and Venus later in this article.

That Venus is in the Aries zone of the Grand Irrationality shows this will be an extremely important fork in the road in all our relationships, where old ways are about to be left behind after the inward-turned, reflective period between early March and mid-April. These changes will become permanent by May, when Venus and Mars cross the stationary RX point at 16 Aries.

Venus' stationary RX point marks a threshold that primarily affects areas ruled by Aries, Taurus, and Libra. However, with the Grand Irrationality at work involving both Mercury and Mars, other signs directly affected include Gemini, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, and Aquarius. Thus two thirds of our reality will move through decision points that mark a turn toward destiny and away from old illusions and traps.

The inferior conjunction between Venus and the Sun occurs at 12:24 pm PDT, 8:24 pm GDT on March 27 at 8 degrees of Aries. The degree of the inferior conjunction is one of "A Woman's Hat, With Streamers Blown By The East Wind," symbolizing the emergence of new forms of self expression and how we give form to our Higher Consciousness. It could imply that subtle Spiritual forces emanating from the Eastern Wisdom will be glimpsed, whether memories from the past, subconscious patterns left over from prior lives, or potential experiences with people within that Wisdom Tradition.

It is a degree of receptivity, protection, and guidance. It marks the first appearance of synthesized "Being-ness" within social forms or setups. There is potential for being "excited" into new potentials of life and experience. Just be alert to vain or superficial posturing or self-serving relationships with egocentric instinctive people.

Why is the Inferior Conjunction degree important? As with Mercury retrograde, the inferior conjunction involving Venus (relating and valuing) conjuncting the Sun (life) while retrograde, indicates that values and relationship issues from either outer sources or subconscious sources will fuse with the life principle, setting the tone for the lessons involving how our relationships and values are relating to our lives during the next 19 months. Since Venus is retrograde, the degree of the inferior conjunction shows how our lives will merge with our values and relationships and bring forth a enjoyment and "liking" of our light.

This is the second step in a two-conjunction process. The first step is when Venus conjuncts the Sun in forward motion after its retrograde period. As Venus is faster than the Sun, after this values and relationships again outrace Life, exploring these before the actual experience when the Sun moves through the span after Venus.

Then Venus goes stationary retrograde, and moves into the second step when it again conjuncts the Sun while retrograde. This is when ways of relating and liking things and people are absorbed by Life, or Life takes on the results of subconscious or collective interpersonal feelings returning to source. Eventually Life gets as far from relating and liking whatever as it can, Venus goes stationary direct, and begins to speed up preparing for the first step anew in a different part of the zodiac.

Venus going stationary retrograde at 16 Aries shows we will all experience a new potency from our contact with invisible or subconscious energy forms. We can come to a new appreciation of the "relationship between conscious and unconscious sides of life," and may find unexpected assistance from subtle sources. It is a time for opening to the non-rational mind, and see how various energies are generated and distributed throughout the visible and invisible realms. Some with aptitude for clairvoyance could begin seeing various types of nature spirits.

It begins an inward turning around these themes, as well as our relationship with Nature and seeing how all we do is a rehearsal to exhibit our special qualities within the matrix of Nature. It should lead to an invigoration in the areas Venus touches and rules, as well as good fortune combined with enlarged opportunities. Again, these may take a few weeks to develop, but by May they should be in full swing.

Some technicals. Aspects of importance during this Venus RX period include the already-discussed Grand Irrationality septile series aspects as it goes stationary retrograde, followed by the sextile to Jupiter, semisquare by Mercury, and septile then semisquare to Mars early in the retrograde period. These are followed by the conjunctions with Sun and Mercury and a semisquare to Jupiter and novile to Neptune in late March and the RX square to Pluto on its stationary retrograde degree on April 3rd.

After these, Venus retrogrades into Pisces on April 11th where it stays until going stationary direct at 30 degrees of Pisces at 12:24 pm PDT April 17, 2009. When it enters Pisces it begins a long term conjunction with Mars that will extend from Pisces through Aries into Taurus, dominating the period from now through late June. 30 Pisces is a degree of "Archetypalization," where we learn to vision what we want to see made manifest in the future, and by pouring our Spiritual energies into the visualized image, will see it made real over time.

This promises a positive eventual outcome to our efforts to become whatever archetype we have identified with, and closes a major cycle of activity in all our lives associated with Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Libra, and Scorpio. We will behold an ideal we wish to perpetuate, and begin a process of alignment with an eternal reality, or at least one that is more sustainable and agreeable as an expression of our Soul.

Find the internal imagery with which you would reshape your outer reality. If "character is destiny," then find your self integrity and dramatize this self-discovery to others. It won't take very long to see manifestations of whatever you dream and idealize, as long as it's true for you and an expression of your integrity.

In Part 2 I'll give you how this Venus RX will affect each individual sign.

© Copyright 2009 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[Marie]

This is a wonderful article Robert and seems to be right on the money for me right now. I have been having a relationship that resembles this exactly, timewise. This person is an Aries and always wants to rush and have everything his own way, while I try to slow him down(I am Libra!), not as a rebuff but because I am aware of just these potentials that you describe and I really want him to haave his heart's desire.We are polar opposites, magnetically attracted and hopefully complementary. I think he coes to realise this now and accordingly will have a lot to think about over the coming weeks. I just hope that the outcome is favorable to a happy Summer!
Thanks, Robert

[alexandra]

Wonderful Robert!
Thanks for this.

[Mary]

Thank you for this, Robert. I know this retrograde period hasn't as yet begun but we are in the shadow period and this seems to having an impact on me - going within, discovering or re-discovering values and refusing to tolerate situations that don't reflect my values...I did want to ask if you have time to answer at some point the possible significance of Venus stationing on my saturn/chiron conjunction (at the last degree of Pisces) as it sits there for nearly two weeks mid April! Any thoughts on that I would love to hear if you can. It is in the 12th house.
Thank you for the article (and all the others)

[duse]

Robert,

Another wonderful article. I always learn so much reading your work.

One thing I noticed about the upcoming Mars-Venus conjunction at 30 Pisces is it'll be conjunct the March 2007 Solar Eclipse degree at 28 Pisces. With Saturn moving to close that Eclipse down by opposition when he hits 28 Virgo in October 2009, how might Venus and Mars on that degree wake up that Eclipse? What might those combined energies portend?

As always, thank you for sharing this info with us. :^)

duse

[Christine E]

Hi Robert,

Thanks again for such a high volume of great articles! I feel like I can barely keep up sometimes. I am interested in this retrograde especially since my Sun is at 30 Pisces...should I be on the lookout for anything in particular when Venus goes stationary direct in April?
Gracias!

[Robert]

Hi Marie - So figure that with Venus forward, then backward in Aries, then forward from Pisces again, this will be an interesting time for new ways of expressing likes, dislikes, and affections. As an Aries, I know too well the impulsiveness of my sign. It's not that we want things our own way, since that implies we are taking any other way into consideration. For Aries, we can only do it our way, as other ways don't make sense, or we don't know how. Speed of application and directness of effectiveness are basically what drives our tribe. Yes, you are natural complements, and will have much to examine over the coming weeks. You'll definitely be on track by May! May it be a good one!!

Hi Alexandra - You're welcome.

Hi Mary - Yes, Venus has now moved into the span it will be considering and reconsidering for weeks to come. Remember also that "going within" is a quality of Pisces, and we've just moved into the New Moon phase of that sign for this time of year. Good that you're refusing to tolerate that which has outlived its time. Venus on your Saturn should soften Saturn's function, and bring out what is valuable in how you heal or rise to your Higher Self. It could herald the arrival of a Venusian/Piscean person (or two), or some "beautiful thing" that would be the embodiment of your Saturn/Chiron function in your future Mars/Saturn cycle of 2 years beginning in late April.

Hi duse - Thanks. Good note on this Venus/Mars degree being directly related to previous Eclipse degrees, especially since 30 Virgo was also heavily activated by more than one of them. So yes, this coming Venus/Mars cycle will indeed embody the 30 Pisces Eclipse pulse, while exteriorizing the 30 Virgo manifestations which will indeed be crystalized in a form this Autumn. Whether the form is one of dominion or slavery is of course determined by how we responded to the Eclipse energies over the past couple of years.

Hi Christine - Well, there's a lot going on, and I have just enough time to crank out something on most of it. I'm still falling behind, and there are other things I should be writing, but I figure that's part of what I need to restructure during this period of my Saturn Return. Be on the lookout for the many areas of your life which will come together in late April to be externalized over the next 18 months until the next conjunctions of Venus and Mars in August and October 2010 with the third coming May 2011.

[Mary]

Thank you, Robert, for taking the time to respond to me and you might be surprised to know how strongly those few sentences resonate with me...right down to "beautiful thing" being a relevant song title for me at the moment! How strange and beautiful you chose that phrase/words.
Thank you for all the wisdom and encouragement that flows from these papers daily...so glad I found this place.

[wendy]

Hi Robert,
Thank you so much!!! You are like a waterfall of Knowledge from the Heavens!!!
You really help me to navigate life. Sometimes I get disoriented, then your blue-print of astro-cycles lays on my thoughts and gives them potential focus and direction.

Wendy

[DianatheHuntress]

Greetings Robert... Enjoyed this post very much, and noted that this Venus cycle will conjunct my NN and aspect by close trine my natal Sag Venus along with other 12th house Leo points....... yes, I do consider the NN significant and especially after all this Saturn Rx (right on with the Saturn return :-)...

Hmmmm... hope you are well, my dear friend, and enjoying the early spring over
there in TorC.... no more snow~!
With Love, DiamatheHuntress } -----*

[WarriorLady]

Blessings to one of my favorite Roberts ever!

Thanks very much for such an enlightening article. As a Venus-ruled Libra, I can only say that I cannot WAIT for part two!

Venus-retrograde in Virgo/Leo wasn't exactly peachy. Funny how an actual bunch of Leos came into the picture at that time-- great ones but one very, very questionable one. Is there a connection between Venus-retrograde in Aries and a likelihood of folks of the Aries persuasion taking hold of some of our concerns/affairs over the next few weeks?

No need to answer that. Perhaps the previous Venus-retrograde cycle only applied to me/my relationship.

Stay cool!

[NS]

Hi Robert,

Thank you for your insightful and informative articles.

I have Mercury at Aries 8 (inferior conjunction of Venus rx with Sun) and Venus at Aries 15 (stationary direct point for Venus), both in first house -- what significance does this have? I am a pisces rising.

Also, the 30 Pisces Venus-Mars conjunction will be opposite the 30 Virgo point of an eclipse in Sept 2006 which had huge impact on my life -- I upped my life and moved halfway round the world to take care of a sick parent (am still here and doing quite well thanks to Spirit). what connections are there between these points?

Thank you, and best wishes!

NS

[Sue Moon]

I call your site The University of Higher Astrological Thought. When I enter this realm, the air I breathe has a different feel to it.....rarified, clear, clean, fresh are just a few words to describe what happens to my mind.
This Venus retrograde feels extremely important for us all and your words have certainly confirmed that to me. As I peruse my chart and attempt to put all these pieces together, sometimes I just need to ask for a little help.
Natally I have Pars Fortune 20 in Pisces in 2nd house. In the 8th is Neptune 11 Libra. Transiting the 2nd are Uranus, Sun, Moon and Venus. Transiting the 8th is Saturn. I feel the push-pull effect of the opposition and much transformation is going on, especially with finances.
Any insights from you will be greatly appreciated.
Namaste

[Matt]

Hi Robert,

The sequence of some of these events reminded me of something that happened in 2008. Namely, when Mercury was retrograde in Gemini last June, it formed its inferior conjunction with the Sun and then a few days later, Venus had its superior conjunction with the Sun. Now, Venus has its inferior conjunction with the Sun and a few days later, Mercury has its superior conjunction with the Sun. Accordingly, how would you re-situate/integrate what we were being shown back then with the lessons for the forthcoming Venus Rx period?

Thanks,
Matt

[suryamukhi]

Dear Robert,

Another beautiful article of yours! Thanks so much for sharing this. I was thinking very much about this rx venus, as my natal venus is also in pisces and will conj the rx transiting venus. On my SR of this year there will be the conj. of rx venus and mars on the 8th house of SR and my 9th natal house.
I am curious about the second part of this article, so i can have more understanding on what might happen.
I think some Venusian lessons we already learned by the saturn/venus opposition, now let's see what next...
Thank you.

suryamukhi

[Pepper]

When all the planets began to pile up in Aquarius and we entered the shadow of Venus turning RX, many from my young school days reconnected via Facebook -- folks from over 30 years ago popping up. Now there is talk of reunions. It has been a wonderful time watching old friends find each other across continents. I think there have been many healings as well. All the best!

[Beth]

Hi Robert;
Thanks for another great article and explanation!! I had read another astrologer’s explanation and they took a very glass is half-empty view; your explanations always seem more in-line with what I’m feeling.

I think I’ve got a lot going on in relation and am wondering if there’s anything in particular that I should lookout for – there is no Libra in my chart but my sun is 6 degrees of Virgo, Venus is 5 degrees of Virgo, Saturn is 11 degrees of Aries and my MC is 11 degrees of Taurus.

Thanks!!

[Marly]

Hi, Robert: About Venus retrograde, I know that it's not a good time to begin a relationship or to meet someone romantically. I was wondering, though, if it's a good time to make sure to befriend someone who interests you romantically. In other words, is Venus retrograde a good time for due diligence, as it were, before sealing the deal? Now that I think about it, this might also apply to finances since Venus rules money. After all, when you do due diligence in business, sometimes you find out that the company you wanted to invest in is not worth the time or the effort at all. The same could apply to a potential friend or lover. Anyway, any thoughts? Or am I being too clever by half?

[Robert]

Hi Mary - You're welcome, of course. Glad my metaphors communicate wisdom and beauty to you, since it lets me know my Neptune in Libra in the 3rd is seeing the right symbols and finding the right words. And thanks for recognizing this is a gentle cantina where many good Souls commune.

Hi Wendy - Well, I've been doing it for a while, and since it is my Dharma to do my Being this way, it's not all that tough. While fully embracing the Way sometimes is not easy for any number of reasons, it's better than doing something that is NOT my Being. Astrologers are mapmakers, and ALL Spirits need navigation tools in this weird dualistic field of Maya. Astrology is a living, ever evolving road map and weather report that curiously helps us stay in the NOW even as it shows us patterns of Past-Present-Future. That's the value of embracing whatever in the craft calls to us. What one misses another catches.

Hi DiamatheHuntress - Welcome back! Glad you're still with us, and navigating whatever you're moving through during your Saturn Return. It's something we share (though mine won't be fully toasted until August 2010, after which it moves into an opposition to my Sun!) Venus should do you right given the aspects, and both soften and beautify whatever pioneering line of development you're about to begin surfing in May. And I wish we had more moisture down here....

Hi WarriorLady - Will get on that article and others this week. This one was merely the beginning of examining what's with us for quite a few weeks. Yes, whenever Venus is RX, whatever sign(s) it moves through usually brings people of those energies. They may be echoes of people in the past, or harbingers of people to come.

Hi NS - It could mean many things too numerous to list here. It obviously affects the house in which it falls, as well as the houses those planets rule. You'll definitely get new insights into your natal Venus function, and probably find a whole new way to live that function after the inferior conjunction point is activated in May. I've already written pages about the 30 Pisces-Virgo axis.

Hi SueMoon - Thanks for the compliments. They are good descriptors of the atmosphere I try to create here. You should be discovering new ways to find wealth, well being, and joy as a result of the transits over your PF. What will your legacy be? Possess in the name of the All, and you can find yourself flowing easily with all things material. Structure mature desires, get clear about what you're willing to accept or not, do the detail work, and you should be in good shape after the 30 Pisces conjunction coming.

Hi all - got to go for now. Will be back later to answer the rest in this stream.

[DianatheHuntress]

Hi Robert... Thanks, yes, I've been 'unplugged' for a minute, and really missed the site... your wonderful insight is always greatly appreciated! I'm still looking to the North Star..... will do a Rain Dance for you over there......

Love, Diana :-}---*

[Robert]

Hi Matt - Interesting note. It could mean many things. Inferior conjunctions are part of a larger phase between a planet and the Sun. That a superior conjunction of another planet falls soon before or after is somewhat like comparing apples to oranges, since each planet has its own function in its own cycle with the Sun. There may be a correlation, but this is a very obscure phenomenon.

Hi suryamukhi - So your Venus will begin a new manifestation after a time of review. Commenting on how the coming conjunction affects your SR is more elaborate than can be done in a comment stream.

Hi Pepper - Would that everyone had such a great experience! I still have quite a few people I need to confirm as friends on Facebook, and some are in fact people I haven't heard from in years.

Hi Beth - Well, many astrologers either play it very safe, or regurgitate suppositions and speculations. I tend to look at what the components of the formula are, and extrapolate results directly related to the forces involved. As for what to be on the lookout for, Saturn will go SD triseptile your Saturn, marking a major fork in the road of your destiny as it has evolved since your last Saturn return in the late 1990s.

Hi Marly - It may or may not be a good time to initiate a relationship. It could be excellent, if the relationship mirrored the lessons of the planets involved in the initial contact. It's always a good time to befriend another, whether they interest you or not (unless they're a lizard or sociopath....) Venus RX can be a good time for a rehearsal, or a review, or a return to an old pattern that we once enjoyed. Perhaps a person we interact during a Venus RX could remind us of something from the past, or even a past life mate/lover returns to our present lives. Sometimes a return is a great thing. Sometimes it's a prelude to other things. Sometimes it's a review so we don't go there anymore.

Hi Diana - Well, I've been known to go underground from time to time, so I understand. Rain dances are always good. Something really needs to change here, and it's difficult as the atmosphere is unbelievably selfish. I'm definitely an alien....

[Beth]

Thanks so much for your response Robert! Ironically (or not) I am in the midst of a 40-day Saturn-Karma mantra discipline. Maybe that explains why I was so drawn to it at this time. It's intense but leaps and bounds have come of it so far. :)
Thanks!!!

[NS]

Robert -- thank you very much.

[Marly]

Thank you, Robert and many blessings.

[SB]

Hi Robert,

Venus Rx and Mercury Rx periods are coming continuously and I wonder, if I could go into serious job search mode. Aries rules my 6th house and so would like to take your help in deciding if I could apply for jobs and learn new technologies atleast during Venus Rx. Is it okay to accept job offers as well during this time ? Please give your advice. Thank you so much, as always!!!!

[violet]

Hi Robert, I had my chart read a few years ago and I'm a Scorpio with an Aquarius rising and gemini moon I also have venus in libra, & venus in the 8th house, was wondering how this Venus retrograde will effect me. I am always nervous, because venus retrogrades have often stirred up strange endings in relationships in my past (distant behavior, or misunderstandings) and since I am dating someone new and things have been going so well, I don't want to jinx it. Do retrogrades serve to remind us of the past- or what positives does the venus retrogrades stir up?

[IrishBeauty]

Can anyone please tell me how I sign up to get Robert's great articles by email??? Please!

Thank you,
IrishBeauty

[suryamukhi]

Hi Robert,

Thank you for reply. A new manifestation of venus, sounds not bad. Still an 8th house position of a rx venus is frightening...
Please let me know if we can consider as an available square or how the square between rx venus conj to mars at 29 degrees pisces and pluto in capricorn (as per the last day of the retrogradation of venus). Is there a real square venus/mars/uranus to pluto?
Thanking you,
suryamukhi

[beth]

Hi,
I am fairly new to astrology and am very concerned with some aspects in my chart that I feel have had a profoundly negative influence in my life.
I have the moon opposition venus retrograde aquarius at birth. To compound this I have the the moon opposition mars in aquarius. Can you tell me how the venus and saturn retrogrades may effect me or what other planetary aspects may help balance the more unfavorable traits of these oppositions? THANK YOU!!!

[Robert]

Hi Beth - Making Saturn your friend yields great rewards. Great that you've embraced it.

Hi NS and Marly - You're welcome.

Hi SB - Any RX give sus a chence to suspend our usual way of thinking or feeling or doing so we can move into more flexibility, and connect the dots we may not have connected before. Of course it's okay to accept job offers during any period. Just don't stay attached to believing it will be that way "forever."

Hi Violet - It will affect you too many ways to discuss in a comment stream. Re-think your perceptions, your motives, your foundations, and your theoretical side. Stop assuming you'll "jinx" whatever. I believe I've offered the positives in parts of this series on Venus RX.

Hi IrishBeauty - You get these by coming to the site, not by email. My work is not a spectator sport, but an exercise in conscious community.

Hi suryamukhi - Stop being frightened by whatever. Yes, Venus/Mars will be square to Pluto in mid-April, but the exact effect won't be strong until they go into Aries.

Hi Beth - Negative aspect never cause anything. It is our response to those inner energies that create all that happens in our lives. Jupiter in Aquarius should help you see opportunities you've never seen before. Saturn is RX every year. Observe the RX periods of past years to extrapolate future possibilities. And oppositions are seldom unfavorable in my experience unless we're resisting the awarenesses they offer us. The coming transits of Aries should be conducive of great understanding, movement, and harmony.

[beth]

Hi Robert,

Thank you for your time and I appreciate your interpretation! I agree, how we react to the energies in our chart and the way we relate to others not understanding or misunderstanding our motives ( having the moon opposition venus and mars ) can be put into effect by our own fears, misunderstandings and reactions, which may lead to the feelings of being impossible for others to understand.
I feel what you dont know CAN hurt you though, and has hurt me, in relation to these aspects in my chart. My whole life I have never understood why most people did not see the truth in my actions and how loving and fair I feel about them, no matter what kind words or deeds of thoughtfulness I have shown. It has almost driven me out of my mind trying to do for and help others, only to find they have turned there back on me. It can be extremely frustrating! I hope knowing I have these energies, I can focus on the more positive aspects in my chart and be able to exist and be fulfulled emotionally.
Have a BEAUTIFUL SPRING!

[Robert]

Hi Beth - You're welcome. It's very important to be as aware as possible of our own blind spots and misinterpretations so that we can view what we must with detachment and dispassion. Of course, fear is a useless response that fouls everything up. What we don't know DOES hurt us when we must have that knowledge and for whatever reasons never cultivated it, or were diverted from learning those skills. Wht you describe was addressed by St. Issa in his injunction re: "pearls before swine." Not that we should regard others as swine, but we must learn not to offer what we hold precious to those who would trample it in the dirt, or those who might defecate on our altar. The blessing is that for those who generate positivity, we learn how to take command of our vehicles and not fall into seductions of believing another knows what our Highest interests are better than we do.

[Larisa]

Hi Robert - Venus Retro period - and my friend last night got officially engaged. I don't know what to say. I don't tell people anything anymore, bc they smile, they do not believe. Any thoughts on engagements at this time. I know that time will show, of course. but still... thank you

[Robert]

Hi Larisa - Could be that they got engaged in another life and this completes the process, or any of 10,000 other perfectly reasonable possibilities. I wouldn't get engaged during a Venus RX unless I had already been in the relationship for quite a while, and the engagement was an after-the-fact type of thing.

[Leslie]

What a great article! Thank you!

[Katie]

Hi Robert-

I just found your site and what a wonderful bit of awesome it is! I'm wondering if you ever posted how this Venus RX will impact each individual sign? I couldn't find that entry in the archives.

Thanks!

[Robert]

Hi Katie - Yes I did. Try March 5.

[Ivana]

Hi Robert,

My bf of 3 months unexpectedly asked us to take a break. I was and am still shocked, as everything was going very well. We were really happy and there have never been any problems. Then he asked to take the break and he didn't sound the same him. This all happened just when the Venus retrograde started. Do you think it can have such impact on him? Recently I just texted him to say something and he was nice to me although I didn't expect any answer from him. As I didn't want to ruin it more I just texted him to tell him I can understand and agree with the break and would like us to meet in few weeks/month time for a chat. He was all right with it and thanked me for that. I want to e-mail him to ask him to meet for a chat as I am so confused. Thinking to e-mail him after 17th April. Do you think it may be easier to talk to him then? He was born 18.07.1982 and I was born 23.06.1981. Both of us are cancerians. The stars have a great impact on me, but I am surprised it can have impact on him too as he's is not that much into astrology.

[Robert]

Hi Ivana - Any transit merely shows what's already there. While you can contact him at any time, remember that IMHO a woman deserves to be courted and should not have to coerce affection and respect from another. If someone doesn't want my company in a way we both can be spontaneous and natural with each other, then why would I want to hang with that person when there are plenty out there who would like to be natural and spontaneous with me? You're both going through your progressed Lunar Return period, when emotional defaults are re-set and we figure out what we do and don't care about. Since the Moon rules Cancer, that's an important consideration in what's happening as a prelude to your Saturn Returns. It doesn't matter if someone isn't into Astrology - it's a universal "systems theory" that works whether we "believe in it" or not. Whether he accepts it or not, he also will show changes at certain transit points corresponding to his astrological positions. For one, his Sun is directly influenced by the on-going Grand Irrationality I've spoken of in many articles. That may explain why it sounds like some irrationality and elements of compulsive behavior are present.