by Robert Wilkinson
Venus makes its “Inferior Conjunction” with the Sun on March 22 at 3 Aries, the degree of the appearance of “Avatars.” This fusion of “Likes and Life” will help us find a new value in re-imaging what we like and why we like it in an Aries-related area of life, and possibly a new appreciation for seeing how we or others in our past presented our leadership qualities to answer a call for an ideal of collective order.
This will help us get a new perspective on something Venusian from the past wherever it falls in our charts. Be open to new ways of appreciating and/or valuing what you learned from previous relationships and close contacts. And of course, during any Venus retrograde there is the possibility of the return of old friends and associates as well, especially Venusian and Solar Beings.
While not as rare as the 2012 “Venus occultation event” which only happens twice every 110-120 years, this merging of Venus with the Sun symbolizes a point where the spiritual mind awakens and seeks to merge with the heart and find new ways to interact with others to share spiritual knowledge. In Esoteric Science Venus rules the Throat chakra, associated with Spiritual Knowledge of the Way, whereas the Sun rules the Heart chakra, associated with the Love of the Way. Both are constantly exercised as we move from ignorance to knowledge, and from conditional love to Unconditional Love.
How Is This Inferior Conjunction Similar and Different From Others?
In terms of the mechanics of the process, as I’ve explained before, when Venus retrograde conjuncts the Sun it’s similar to when Mercury retrograde conjuncts the Sun in what is called “an Inferior Conjunction.” However, rather than Mercury as coordinating principle in life being part of the fusion, here Venus is fusing. And because now the Sun is moving much faster than Venus, Life has been chasing Likes, and Light is illuminating Relatedness. I gave you a sense of the process in the recent Venus retrograde article which is part one to this one.
In the cases of both Mercury and Venus, an inner planet conjuncts the Sun while retrograde. In this case, if you’re wondering how it works, substitute Venus “slowing down and looking back” energy for Mercury energy. While Life (the Sun) moves steadily forward, these inner planet energies are moving at a different pace so that life can then move forward beyond the function of these inner planet energies.
Whereas when direct they raced forward ahead of the Sun (as our mind and vanities often do!), when retrograde they internalize, or become receptive to inner energies we may not have paid attention to before then. It may lead to a realization of how we are impacted by (in this case) Venus forces from “the outside” that influence what we like or don’t, why we like what we like, why we believe we’re getting what we want from others or not, and a host of other Venus retrograde possibilities.
As usual, a chart done for the exact Inferior Conjunction should show us elements of things related to this “Venus fused with the Sun” energy. This will impact the months to come between now and the next Venus Superior Conjunction with the Sun at 17 Capricorn in January 2026 just before they both conjunct Mars at 18 Capricorn. That will impact the following period until the next Venus Inferior Conjunction with the Sun at 1 Scorpio in October 2026.
The Sabian Symbol for the Inferior Conjunction
The symbol for the 3rd degree of Aries is “A cameo profile of a man in the outline of his country.” In the Astrology of Personality, where Rudhyar uses the original Dr. Jones' class notes on the symbols, Rudhyar says this is a degree of “the individual self as an avatar of greater collective reality; as participant in the larger scheme of society or life.”
In the Astrological Mandala, he states this degree involves "The sustaining power of the Whole, as the individual identifies himself with its life.” He goes on to say that “having become objectively aware of his nature and his basic humanity, the individualizing person finds power and inner security in realizing his essential identity with the section of the universe in which he operates.” He offers that this is a “participation mystique” between our individual consciousness and the Universal Consciousness.
He states this symbol is a phase where if we can identify ourselves with a larger complex of life activities, we can become “an agent through whom the Whole may express itself in an act of creative resonance and outpouring,” in other words, an “avatar.” This provides us an opportunity to become an ideal of a form of “transpersonal life and consciousness totally consecrated to and directed by a divine Power,” the Archetypal Self.
So by our willingness to participate in a “greater life,” we can become a manifestation of some collective need, vision, ideal, or yearning, and overcome any lurking sense of isolation, alienation, or feeling some form of the meaninglessness of life. We are told it falls in the span of “Realization,” and it’s the third degree of the actional level of the scene of Desire in the Act of Differentiation.
According to Dr. Jones, creator of the Sabian Symbols, this degree is a “breadth of participation in everyday affairs,” where we “epitomize (our) tradition and culture.” He states this symbol is one of “both an impersonal self-dedication to broader community interests and a highly personal dramatization of the self as a focus for group actuality.”
He offers us the keyword of EXPLOITATION. He states that when operating in a positive manner, this is a degree of our “capacity for giving full play to every ramification of the reality (we) have created for (ourselves)."
So we'll be using our fusion of Life and Likes, Light and Appreciation functions to see the light of how to grow into a larger life and become the answer to some collective need, ideal, or function, or see how we or another did some form of this in the past. That implies in coming months we will remember or experience Venusian “blasts from the past” by memories of experiences when we or another saw a greater “avataric” role to play, or could play in the future.
He we could get “feeling glimpses” of a potential for a greater participation in life where we can impersonally dedicate ourselves to “broader community interests” and some group actualization. This will kick open new doors to new visions of self and society, and offers us all a chance to break through to a new dimension of awareness, function, and effectiveness after a period of a delay which will serve to set up what Saturn crystallizes in 2026.
During this Venus retrograde period, pay attention to the roundabout or indirect Venusian signs and signals opening you to seeing these things with the eyes of wisdom. Some of this may have to do with what was awakened beginning the Summer of 2010 when Jupiter went SRX at 4 Aries then, with Uranus in early Aries then and 2011, so there could be “echoes of memories” of people or events from then.
Again, this is a time to value things we didn’t before, or perhaps remember someone we valued long ago. Here we take a look back and reconsider what we want in enlightened relationships, or find a new way to introduce enlightened relationships in the present, but in an indirect way.
We definitely will get a new look at some old values or possessions, or remember someone who helped us adopt certain values in the past. This time could bring up old issues for re-examination. Remember the Spiritual Brothers and Sisters you’ve known in this life, and honor the ideas they brought you.
So the theme of this conjunction shows the Light of buried or forgotten self-awareness, leadership potential or opportunities, or the memory of “avatars” we once admired through all kinds of Venusian signals which could come from others past, present, and future. A different Venus energy is illuminating a promise, a means, or an enlightened value. Suspend judgment, as much will be revealed when Neptune goes SRX on this degree in July.
In Conclusion
All in all, it would seem from this chart that we are seeing the dawning of new leaders on the world stage, and even how our experience has led us to being a model for ideal behavior in others. This is the Sun and Venus dancing on the “avatar” degree, so expect new “exemplars” to be making an appearance in coming months. We are revisiting the past as a prelude to moving forward in April.
This Inferior conjunction should bring the Light of a greater understanding and value for the insecurities and social ineptness we’ve healed in the past. Whether we mean to or not, this is a period about people seeing in us what they long for collectively, and us seeing that from a different angle, whether in ourselves or in others. This is helping us be more receptive to that which inhibits our love, our heart, or our natural enthusiasm, so take a look back, shed your inhibitions, and do whatever you need to do with genuineness and compassion.
This Venus retrograde conjunction with the Sun will help us process things from the past, understanding them in a different way. We can now safely look back at difficult people, situations, and memories of the past that we’ve now revisited and left behind. Sometimes we may be going inward and forward, though at times it may seem like we’re looking at who we were and who we might be rather than who we believe we are. Still, let go of inner and outer conflicts and get a broader view.
If you are called by memories or reminders to revisit the past, take a look at how those people and events led to you being greater than you used to be, and gave you a way to transcend your view that impacted who you are right here and now. Again, perhaps this can be a great time to reconnect to what you value about yourself as a result of people from the past. Look back at old relationships, or renew relationships with people from the past presenting themselves who will have significance in the future.
There will be a lot of fusion in the house where we have 3 Aries. This will put the focus on that house in our chart, and over time we should see how that area has opened for us over the past 15 years, and eliminate the last of any lurking emotional or interpersonal hurts or misunderstandings in our subconscious mind that is now being illuminated. Maybe we can see how old relationships which seemed to fail helped us let go of an old hurt, or helped us get clear about where we really didn’t need or want to go. This will lead to a new understanding of the value of what we attracted and let go of long ago.
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© Copyright 2025 Robert Wilkinson
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