Venus Retrograde in May-June 2012 Pt. 3 – A Personal Look Back at Previous Venus Retrograde in Gemini Periods

by Robert Wilkinson

Venus has an 8 year cycle where it repeats its retrogrades through the various signs. It was last retrograde in Gemini in 2004, and before that in 1996.

Obviously, since any retrograde symbolizes a look back, a review, and return, and/or a course reversal, we can expect these to be in play over the next 7 weeks. When Venus is retrograde, we get to re-evaluate our likes and dislikes, and why we want to capture certain things and people, or why we did that in the past.

In both of the above periods, I had to take a new look at why I was being denied certain things, why I was attracted to certain Venusian patterns, and make a new plan to achieve what I wanted to achieve, both financially and interpersonally (both areas ruled by Venus.) In 1996, I could not carry certain financial and interpersonal burdens that were crushing me slowly into a frustrated panic.

It was a Venus in Gemini experience, to be sure, given that I kept asking questions, kept discovering things that only led to more frustration and confusion, until I found a bottom line and refused to budge. Something about “nailing the Trickster’s foot to the ground” comes to mind. That time involved me facing some Venusian things from the past that needed correction, and the sequence of events followed the RX period precisely.

I gave myself (and another) an ultimatum around the time Venus went RX at 29 Gemini, exactly square my Saturn. That mobilized a sequence of events that led to new negotiations about the future around the time Venus went direct at 12 Gemini at the end of June.

By the time Venus returned to its stationary direct point in early August, it was clear that I had hit a point of departure between past and future involving both relationships and resources, and had to plan accordingly. While I didn’t know what the future would bring, I knew that the past ideas and values I had strived for were toast.

The 2004 Venus RX in Gemini was both similar and different. I was involved in another living situation (Venus rules my 4th house) where my landlord was indulging in a very destructive agenda of saying things to me and about me to others that were not true, attempting to create confusion in my life and closest relationships. At one point during the retrograde period I slam dunked something he said that was corrosive and destructive concerning people close to me, and he went passive aggressive from that point on, later becoming actively aggressive around the time Venus direct crossed over its previous stationary retrograde point.

The interesting thing about both of these Venus retrograde in Gemini periods is that they preceded a move to a new location that was far more beautiful and fulfilled me in ways I hadn’t known before the Venus RX period. I dumped destructive relationships that were going in circles in messed-up and repetitive patterns, and re-evaluated how much I was willing to talk or listen to when it just left me frustrated.

In another interesting parallel, in looking at previous Venus retrograde periods over the past decade, they all seemed to involve moves for me (not surprisingly, since Venus does rule my 4th.) Venus RX in March-April 2001 initiated a sequence of events leading me to move to Northern California not long after Venus in direct motion subsequently crossed its previous SRX degree at 18 Aries. Venus RX in Oct-Nov 2002 made it clear that our future wasn’t there, and by the time it crossed back over (in direct motion) its previous SRX point at 16 Scorpio, we were already in motion preparing to return to Southern California.

As noted, the 2004 Venus RX allowed me to see just how toxic my living situation had become with a dishonest and extremely duplicitous landlord. That led me to an apartment search when Venus was direct in its shadow zone (the degree span of a planetary retrograde) that eventually landed me in Beverly Hills. Living in BH had been inconceivable up to that point in my life, but things fell into place very quickly as Venus raced forward.

The December 2005-January 2006 Venus retrograde had me back in school taking law classes at UCLA, but also showed me the impossibility of continuing to live in Beverly Hills due to there being literally no place to park by that point in time. That became more than clear by March 2006 when Venus direct crossed over its SRX point at 2 Aquarius. (Yes, that was the actual reason I had to move in the Summer 2006!) Those of you who live in or near Century City and Beverly Hills perfectly understand the parking situation in that part of the world, which is somewhere between frustrating and impossible.

The July-September 2007 Venus retrograde worked slightly differently. We had already bought a place in NM as an investment in late Spring, intending to use it as a storage place while shutting down our store rooms in West Los Angeles. We began to move our stuff in late June and early July just before Venus went RX, and in an interesting correlation, Venus was still direct in Leo when we began the initial move, occupying the same degree where it would go stationary direct in early September.

However, we quickly found in mid-July that we were actually moving there to live (associated with some Mercury retrograde manifestations going on at the time of the initial move), and so by the time Venus was retrograde we were already scrambling to get all our living necessities out of Southern California so we could set up our lives in NM. That series of smaller moves – one in late July, one in late August, one in mid-September, one in early October and one in late November - for the most part happened during the time Venus was RX or direct in its shadow zone.

The March-April 2009 Venus retrograde period brought us face to face with some harsh realities about where we have been living in NM (like nonstop 20-60 mph winds for 3-4 months!) leading us to re-vision what other futures could look like. We did that revisioning during the Venus-Mars conjunction at 30 Pisces at the end of the RX period.

We began preparing for a potential move at an unknown time in the future, with significant movement each time Jupiter and Uranus transited 30 Pisces. We got completely clear during the many conjunctions to Jupiter in April-May 2011, but could not execute the move until now, and Venus is again retrograde.

So while we got hints about where and when to move since the last Venus retrograde period, things got delayed each time we tried to set something in motion, perhaps having something to do with its last station being at 30 Pisces. However, it's clear that we will be moving in the fairly near future, and I suspect it’ll correspond to the time when Venus goes direct and crosses back over its shadow zone in July.

Anyway, since so many have asked me how Venus retrograde in Gemini could manifest, I figured some “real world” correspondences from my own past could illustrate one way this shows itself. Please take a look back in your own lives with an eye to the houses Venus rules to see if there are correspondences from 1996 and 2004 (or any other past Venus RX period) that can help shine a light on what might be happening in your own lives over the next few weeks.

And of course, there are more articles coming on this Venus retrograde, so check back in soon!

Copyright © 2012 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[Sabina]

very interesting read...thanks Robert!!

[Jo Garceau]

Robert, since Venus begins a new cycle every 8 years and returns very close to one's natal Venus position during that 19 month period, it's interesting to consider what Venus in the natal chart intended and to consider whether that intention is renewed at 8, 16, 24, 32, 40 etc. In my own case, the cycle begins in Gemini 10th house and my Venus is in Libra, second house. I associate these Venus cycles with emphasis on my work, life mission, resources and valuing. My point is, every 8 years the review and restructuring is more pronounced.

[Elizabeth]

Wow, Robert, thank you for this. Venus is not ruling or transiting in the same houses in our respective charts, since our rising signs are different, but it is a strange coincidence that I am currently being abused by my landlord in a very similar way to the one described in your story. I have lived here for sixteen years now, keep a very low profile, consider myself to be very low maintenance and have next to no interaction with my fellow tenants other than a friendly hello when we cross paths. Less than two years ago, though, I held my ground when they refused to deal with the increasing noise problem in the building, which is related to the fact that the tenants are getting younger and younger, come and go at all hours of the day and night, sleep very little, play loud music and do not place area rugs or carpets on their hardwood floors the way people used to. The supers wouldn't budge and when I persisted, the husband in particular completely turned on me. I had always had a good relationship with this couple, as well as several others in the position prior to that. We haven't spoken or had any contact in well over a year, and last week out of nowhere, the husband started harassing me in a scary way. I've fired off a couple of letters to the landlord company but have a feeling they will protect him since they have not responded to my request to call me in an attempt to defuse the situation. Anyway, I'm grateful you wrote about this. The parallels include the fact that this fellow has waged a campaign in the building to make me look like the proverbial crazy cat lady, yet I keep to myself, travel a lot and hardly know anyone here. Anyway, enough of the details. The synchronicity alone is somewhow comforting to me as I try to work with these energies.

[Nicolas]

Nice and clear. Your personal experiences help understand what and how to analyse Venus retrogrades from a personal point of view. Thanks

[Fainting goat]

Well this should be an interesting six weeks! The sun venus transit occurs one degree before my natal mars rx. The sag eclipse is at 14 deg, and I have neptune natal at 12 deg sag opposing said mars rx. Mars stationed rx on my natal asc back in january and venus just stationed 6 deg from my SR asc. To end a long story, between my natal and SR charts, ALL of my 1/4/7/10 cusps fall between 7-24 sag, virgo, pisces and gemini and I've been involved with a pisces for about five months now smh. All this as pluto edges ever closer to a conj with my sun (5 deg applying). So its about to go down! Not asking for advice...just going to roll with what happens. I believe my life will be much better not to mention healthier, on the other side of this tsunami.

[Leana]

Robert, it will take place in my 5th/6th house. 2004 and now: 2002-2004: there was an emotional dramatic peak I had reached, it got released by the end of 2004 with a new artistic medium that I had learned. This year, same thing: another toxic emotional drama that is being exhanged for a new artistic expression. Thank you Robert for sharing with us your experience on this cycle.

[Wild Horse Running]

Hola...

Thank you for your post Robert...it gave me clarity about the patterns that are coming to the surface. I see them in another but realize that I have had those addictions...but am now strong enough to let them go.
Venus rules my 12th house...."the Pleaser"...say what they want to hear, which isn,t how you really feel... passive-aggressive....a roomate situation brought this to light...but I have seen it everywhere. And I am guilty of the same, but am now starting to own my real feelings, and have the courage to express them. I realize in the past, I had always been ridiculed, critisized, questioned...and I just said whatever I needed to, to survive, get along...and I can,t anymore. I have gotten stronger, and am able to face/address issues/people that I have run from in the past. I brought this to light, and my roomate/landlord didn,t want to see it, or she is still unconcious about it...so I am moving again. I also have a Boss that I have been dealing with the same issues, however we have made progress, and he now communicates his feelings better...when I started working for him, he was very passive-aggressive....but then they say..."In Life, we keep meeting ourselves"...so in that relationship, I am looking at a "new identity of myself".
I am grateful for the expierences...and am crystal clear about owning my feelings, and expressing the truth.

Appreciate you sharing your expierences...it helped to get clearer, on what I was feeling/seeing.

:-)

[Wild Horse Running]

oopps...correction...Libra rules my 1st house as it is my ascendent, and my 8th house, which my moon is in..endings....hence the new identity issues...also another pattern coming to the surface....control issues.

"only way to stop them...is to face them".....like the bully on the playground that takes your lunch, untill you stand up to him, it keeps happening, and you yourself then control or bully another. Im understanding that unless you have healthy boundaries, and say NO when necessarry, whatever you tolerate..you just do to another.

If I do not let another control me...then I do not need to control another...

[Aquarlis Virmoon]

Oh Robert , i got married during the eclipse in 2004, during venus retrograde, i couldn't have timed it better for such an awful marriage(i'm not going into too many details, but its bad). in a way i am dreading these few weeks and eclipse, i seem to have a mental block with reading my chart about this. my date of birth is 20/10/76 is there anything positive coming up - i have had saturn on me for years now- saturn return then sun on saturn- but i am more concerned about the effects on my venus at 29 degrees scorp and jupiter 29 degrees taurus

[Tolly]

Venus rules my 4th house as well, and the past two retrogrades saw me giving up my house and traveling overseas with no plan or direction. I had a lot of fun, though coming back was always difficult.

Now, I've just given notice on my house and will be moving again. I have no idea where, no direction at all. I'm going to start packing anyway, and hopefully things will develop in such a way that a path and direction makes itself known.

Funny, Venus also rules my 9th...hence all the overseas travel adventures.

Good luck with your move, Robert!

[marci winters]

movin back to austin..for now...venus retro...:) sending aloha ur way...!

[Svetlana]

I add my voice\vote to many thanks expressed above and would like to say that some important situations from 1996 are echoing in my life as well...

What else is worth mentioning --the dream I saw at dawn 18.05.2004 (I remember this date because it is the International Day of Museums (connected in etymology with Muses and Music) and the day of birth of the last Russian tsar NicholasII:)....As if smb rang the bell at the front door, I heard it and ran along the long corridor to open it. When I approached it I noticed in surprise that it looked like the magnificent carved Doors. With great effort I managed to open it and saw...the blue Skies with flowing\flying clouds behind which the Sun peeped... Several weeks later I recognized the picture when I was watching the occultation of the Venus on June,8...Since then my interest to the Heavenly Scriptures became constant. My gratitude to you for your devotion to this Art and your devoted professionalism,Robert

[Alabama]

Great article and your own experience and examples really help to illustrate the core issues and what might be going on during Venus retro. Thank you!

[parahballieh]

whr,Fg... you are illuminated, luminous. Each one of you had a eureka/i got it moment. some of us go through our entire lives never seeing dysfunctional patterns in our own behaviors. Hence are not able to own the behaviors and correct/face them/ bring them to LIGHT/illumination. what I find most interesting is... those who proclaim either via title or via action that they are teachers, guides, helpers of those who NEED guidance are so blind to the the fact that it is they who need help. they refuse to recognize the void, abuse in their own behaviors and actions yet are vigilant night watchers, security guards when it comes to the shortcomings of another - sad. when someone cannot practice what they preach. imagine how we would all feel if we found out Jesus ,the Buddha etc were frauds. that they taught one thing and lived the total opposite.BTW this name was given to me by one such person. amongst many other colorful forms of nomenclature.may the long time sun shine and illuminate all.PB

[moon goddess]

A similar effect here! Mid-June 2004, I was moving into a new country (new culture, language), a job, a house and living together with my partner. I was going to 'unknown'! Exactly 8 years later, I will be moving back to my home country, but without a job & my own place to live, so a lot of 'unknown' going around again. My Sun is in Gemini, in 9th house. My Venus and Jupiter are both in 10th house..Although I wish I have a better plan, it is a bit exciting! Respect!

[Micheline]

Yes, in 2004 lots of things happened. I got involved and uninvolved with a total weirdo who had some real issues. A good friend that I had lost touch with a bit took her life. Someone from that time is trying to get back into my life but wants more then a friendship and well he is not really available and I refuse to do that. Weird eh?
I wonder who else from that time will come back?

[janfelicity]

Thank you for this informative article! You described this retrograde in a way even a dunce like me can understand. I'm noticing alot of themes in my life repeating too.

I wonder if you have any thoughts about this article? It seems a little different in how the author views venus retrograde.

Venus Retrograde

Not being an astrologer i thought the writer made some good points but what do I know? :)