December 19, 2021 – January 29, 2022
Venus, the planet of beauty, love, money, possessions, and values retrogrades every 18 months or so, and hasn’t had a retrograde since May 13 – June 26 of 2020. This retrograde is especially impactful since it is in Capricorn, one of the signs that has seen the most “action” in the past several year. Furthermore, Capricorn is an earth sign which is concerned with practical matters (such as finances) and hence a retrograde here has a “double whammy” kind of impact. By contrast, the retrograde in 2020 was in Gemini, an air sign, so around that time we had ‘reversals’ (a retrograde theme) around air sign and Gemini topics such as communication, media, collectives and social issues (*this timeframe coincided with the George Floyd murder and subsequent social media and protest movement).
Venus first entered Capricorn on November 4th of 2021, and does not actually leave this sign until March 6th- a hugely long amount of time for Venus to be in any one sign (she normally spends about 3 weeks). We can think of this rather like a total re-attunement of the area of life Capricorn presides over in our charts, as well as Capricornian themes in general such as big business, government, authority, authority figures, bureaucracy, rules and restrictions. As I mentioned Capricorn has seen a lot of “action” in the past few years 😉 We had the hugely significant Saturn/Pluto conjunction at 22 degrees Capricorn on January 12, 2020 (within days of the WHO naming a newly detected virus). We also had a number of eclipses in Cancer and Capricorn from 2018-2020. And now, for the first time since winter 2013/2014 Venus is retrograde in Capricorn.
Now is our time to show up differently based on all we have learned in the past few years of heavy Cancer/Capricorn emphasis. The antidote to Capricornian authority and restrictions is Cancerian self-nurturance and self-care. How well have we learned to care for ourselves? To truly listen to the needs of our hearts and bodies? That is no easy task given the constant bombardment of messaging that ‘we are not safe’. But it is precisely this sense of internal safety, comfort, trust, self-acceptance and proactive action that Cancer urges us to create, especially in the face of ‘imposed rules’ (Capricorn). So this retrograde period is certain to kick up themes along this dichotomy.
Venus also asks us to align to our TRUE VALUES and act from that place. If our values have to do with financial stability and business, we may have to re-think our approach in that area. If our values are primarily related to interpersonal dynamics or family relationships, then we have an opportunity to show up in those situations in a new way now. If our values have mostly been directed towards career advancement, we could see the results of our efforts beginning to show now. For most of us, it is a bit of a combination of all of the above, but we would do well to ask ourselves: What ARE my values in regards to money? relationships? work? friendships? health? And how can I choose now in support of that. Whatever realizations we come to as we ponder this, can become a kind of north star for us in the upcoming months (and year), especially if/when things feel unstable.
There are several important dates during the remainder of this Venus in Capricorn period :
December 25 : Venus Rx conjunct Pluto. Venus passed over Pluto moving direct on December 11th. Whatever was going on for us around that time can come up again on Christmas day. At a collective level there could also be significant news around all kinds of Pluto themes (power, money, energy, ‘elites’, secrets, hidden factions) and Venus themes (relationships, money). Certain ‘powerful alliances’ could be broken, or secret relationships revealed. There can be disruptions in the area of energy/power (literally as well as figuratively) and money. This can cause shock waves that impact the world of business, government and finance.
January 2 : Venus Rx at 22’47 degrees Capricorn, the same degree at the Saturn/Pluto conjunction of 2020. This is also the day of the new moon in Capricorn. Since new moons set the energetic tone of the upcoming 28 day cycle, this shows that January will be majorly focused on the economic implications (Venus Rx) of the choices that have been made since January 2020. More clarity around the fallout/implications is available to us now.
January 29 : Venus goes direct at 11’07 degrees Capricorn. It first hit this degree on November 17th. There may be a re-emergence in our lives of things that came up in mid-November. It is interesting to note that there was a powerful lunar eclipse in Taurus (one of the signs ruled by Venus) on November 19th.
February 16 : Venus conjunct Mars at 16′ Capricorn. Mars overtake Venus. This is a good time to set new boundaries related to our updated values and priorities. It is unusual to have TWO Venus/Mars conjunctions back to back, but as Venus gains speed post retrograde, it will overtake Mars again in early March. We can see RAPID results of some of the choices and decisions we make around now in March.
February 25 : Venus direct comes back to 22’47 Capricorn. We see some of the results of the ‘big news’ that came up around December 25/Jan 2.
March 3 : Venus, Mars and Pluto conjunct at 27′ Capricorn. Venus’ third and final exact conjunction with Pluto occurs on March 3rd, with Mars also at the SAME DEGREE. This is astonishingly rare. And hints at the huge significance. Mars doesn’t mess around. Whatever issues are coming up now, Mars will fan the flames rather than put them out. Mars wants to take action so there may be ‘decrees’ and ‘action steps’ put in place that will have signifiant impact on our finances (Venus) and personal power (Pluto). March 2nd is also a new moon, indicating that this energetic is very strong throughout all of March.
March 6 : Mars and Venus conjunct at 0′ degrees Aquarius. Venus direct catches up with Mars and overtakes on March 6th just after both planets have moved into the groups/collectives oriented sign of Aquarius. This degree is also very significant since it is the exact degree of the December 21, 2020 ‘grand conjunction‘ between Jupiter and Saturn. The grand conjunction between these two planets occurs every 20 years and sets the energetic tone for the entire next 20 year cycle. So Venus/Mars conjunct on this degree shows activation and implementation of personal and group initiatives that were put in place around that time.
If all of this sounds like A LOT – frankly it is. Mars and Venus are ‘personal planets’ meaning that we experience what is happening when they are being majorly activated (such as now) very personally. How does this affect ME? my life? my income? my job? my relationships? Moving inwards from the big outer planet conjunctions (Saturn/Pluto, and Jupiter/Saturn) that have set the tone for us all collectively in the past few years, we are now seeing (and feeling) how it is truly impacting and influencing our lives in very personal ways. Again, our values and priorities are our North Star during this time, helping point us in the right direction when it feels like the compass around us is spinning out of control.
And it’s also important to make a friend out of change right now. Perhaps certain relationships have altered irretrievably and that is becoming clear to us now. Perhaps financial realities are setting in. Perhaps we realize we do not share the same values and priorities as others we once felt so in synch with. It is OK to acknowledge and grieve these changes. In fact, it helps us to heal and move on, even if we are only acknowledging it to our journal. And then move on we must. Now is not the time to forcefully try to change anyones mind (even though pushy Mars in Sagittarius until January 24th will attempt to encourage us at this anyways). Capricorn is NOT a sentimental, mushy, idealistic sign- it is forthright and pragmatic. And so must we be now too. For truth be told, being forthright and pragmatic (Capricorn) are essential qualities in cementing our Cancerian quest to give ourselves the BEST self-care, self-love and self-acceptance that we possibly can right now, no matter what is happening in our lives or in the world. Only then are we able to truly show up as the best, most loving and helpful (Cancer) version of ourselves as we re-structure (Capricorn) our lives for the new realities of the future.
*art by @dreamgaia
vibrational-astrology.com 