Venus Retrograde in March 2017 – Rewind, Review, Reflection

by Robert Wilkinson

Venus does an interesting dance with the Sun, and goes retrograde every 8 years in approximately the same span of degrees as 8 years before. So from this time 8 years ago, here’s a foreshadowing of what’s happening now.

In March 2009, Venus went stationary retrograde at 16 Aries, and retrograded back to 30 Pisces (where it made a VERY important conjunction with Mars!) This time in March 2017, it went retrograde at 14 Aries, and is retrograding back to 27 Pisces.

[Ed. note: thanks to a sharp eyed reader, they caught my mistake about the degree of the inferior conjunction. I was using the 2009 position while composing on the fly. it's been corrected.] This time it will make its “inferior conjunction” with the Sun at 5 Aries on March 25, indicating the lesson involves using imagination to see higher states of being, and "our eagerness for a spiritual goal." This is a degree of “zeal,” and “a practical balance to self-fulfillment, thanks to... individuality in terms of skills, loyalties, and values." Make Light your goal, refine "every baser metal in selfhood," and creatively transform "everything into an expression of enduring idea and a reflection of real vision.”

8 years ago I wrote some articles about that Venus retrograde. Here’s a little bit from those posts. You may find some of it applies to what we’ve been going through since February.

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.

Here’s a bit more from the 2009 articles.

Venus' stationary RX point in Aries marks a threshold that primarily affects areas ruled by Aries, Taurus, and Libra…. 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.

As I offered in earlier articles on this subject, Venus retrograde may bring memories of old hurts and misunderstandings. However, we can use these “echoes of memories of perceptions” to re-experience old wounds and free ourselves of subconscious patterns that seduce us into suffering by superimposing our mature self's values and short circuiting the echoes of memories of perceptions based in prior ignorance or victimization.

That some people hurt others is a reality in this impermanent world. Still, we do not have to suffer needlessly based in old emotional habits that do not serve our need for love, wisdom, veneration, compassion, and self-respect. I have found that even when these are absent, and hurtfulness is all around, by maintaining these higher values within me, I can transcend the outer conditions, and no longer struggle with those who want to suffer, or dish it out to others.

A very wise man once said words to the effect that life is painful, but we do not have to suffer. It does take courage, strength, and good will to transcend the tendency to suffer, but in releasing the habit of suffering, we take control of our magnificent eternal consciousness and are able to find a tremendous compassion and power. Using these, we are able to enter into the pain and suffering wherever we find it, and break the link between the two.

So as you move through these times, whether they are cheerful or painful for you and those you are with, try to remember that regardless of what's going on around you, we have the choice to BE however we need to be in that moment to bring forth the highest self we are able. It is that which is beyond the fluctuations of personality, and the means by which we can be the light in the darkness of this impermanent existence.

Epilogos: 11 days ago I gave you an article about the current Venus retrograde period. In it I gave you some of the above material while including more up to date information about the current retrograde as well as the previous Venus retrograde and how it related to the extremely important Neptune conjunct Pluto about 120 years ago. You may want to take another look since the two together can give you a bigger sense of what this is about.

Astrology in March-April 2017 - Venus going Stationary Retrograde at 14 Aries

It may also be interesting for you to take a look at how the 2009 Venus retrograde impacted the various signs, since the parallels will be close with this one.

What the March-April 2009 Venus Retrograde in Aries and Pisces Means for Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces

© Copyright 2017 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[Andrea]

Hi Robert,

Always enjoy your insights! Just a note: the inferior conjunction on March 25th happens at 5 degrees Aries, not 8 degrees.

Thanks for your contributions to our field!

Andrea

[Robert]

Hi Andrea - Thanks for the catch. I was writing fast this morning, going back and forth between the Venus RX in 2009 and 2017, and inadvertently used the 2009 degree in the ephemeris when I thought I was looking at the 2017 page. (I thought it was very peculiar that the two inferior conjunctions would be the exact degree, but then didn't double check.) Already corrected.

[ThanQ]

Hi, Robert. Thank you, so much for your words of long-range vision, encouragement and guidance.

Both 2009 & 2017 Venus retrogrades conjunct my natal Venus (@Pi 29). In 2009, my father (who's natal Sun was conjunct Venus, 1 degree arc) passed away, ending the most subtly abusive relationship I ever had. Under-handed maneuvers were leveraged against me in March of 2009. In either case, I was leveled.

Later, a pattern began to dawn on me of my attraction to emotionally unavailable mates. In 2017, Venus retrograde seems like (and hopefully is) a final exam/review of How to say, "So long" to those emotionally unsatisfying relationships. No less than 3 past romantic interests and 3 new ones have appeared. Yet, they all seemingly have this emotionally unavailable quality, which lets me know, I gotta work on what's going on with me.

Let's hope this clears up by June ;-)

[Nic]

Thanks Robert, as always interesting and helpful.

Blessings be to all.