The Retrograde Cycle of Venus 19 June – 7 October, 2023
The 8-year Venus cycle is elegant and inspiring. As a regular feature of its cycle, Venus retrogrades every 18 months or so.
Every 8 years, the cycle refreshes as Venus returns to the same zodiac position (minus a couple of degrees). This rhythm sounds a tone which rings out throughout our life.
This cycle offers the opportunity for profound reflections on our earliest relationship dynamics which may be revealed during the subsequent 8-year repetitions.
This hand-drawn graphic outlines some of the key features of the Venus cycle, with important points numbered.
Key Dates for Venus Retrograde 2023
The numbers that follow correspond to the points in the cycle named in the image above:
6. October 22, 2022 – Exterior conjunction with the Sun at 29°26’ Libra 21:17Â
7. December 04, 2022 – RISE AS EVENING STAR (‘Hesperos’) 19°46 ‘Taurus 00:16
Pre-retrograde shadow begins: June 06, 2023 – Venus 18°09 Leo [SD position at September 4, 2023]Â
8. July 09, 2023 – Greatest brilliance 25°30′ Leo 17:59
9. July 23, 2023 – Venus Stations Retrograde at 28°36′ Leo 01:33Â
10. August 08, 2023 – Evening set 23°13’Leo 22:41
1. August 13, 2023 – Interior conjunction with the Sun at 20°28’ Leo 11:15Â
2. August 17, 2023 – HELIACAL RISE (‘Lucifer’) Morning Star 18°07′ Leo 07:11
3. September 04, 2023 – Venus Stations Direct at 12°12’ Leo 01:20Â
4. September 18, 2023 – Greatest Brilliance 15°53′ Leo 12.19
Post-retrograde shadow ends: October 07, 2023 – Venus at 28°36’ Leo [position of earlier SRx July 23, 2023]Â
5. April 24, 2024 – MORNING SET 28°40′ Aries 09:39
6. June 04, 2024 – Exterior conjunction with the Sun at 14°49’ Gemini 15:33Â
Myth can open up multiple dimensions of meaning of each astrological archetype. The Venus cycle reflects the ancient Sumerian story of the goddess Inanna, almost like an almanac.
Venus and Mars Working Together in 2023
Unique to the 2023 retrograde cycle is the fact that Venus and Mars go along within range of conjunction with each other in the first part of the cycle, telling what is perhaps a familiar story for some of us -:)
When Venus enters the overall arc of the cycle on June 19, Venus and Mars are just over 5 degrees apart. Venus ‘chases’ Mars. But Mars speeds up, and Venus falls behind. By the time Venus actually reaches her Retrograde Station (Rx, July 27th), it has slowed right down, turning away.
We could imagine that at this point Venus has begun to feel vulnerable, hopeless, defeated or rejected as the reality dawns that it will not ‘catch’ Mars. Perhaps Mars is more dedicated to its work than to Venus, moving ahead into Virgo. So Mars cannot make Venus feel like the royalty it is, in Leo. Perhaps because Mars wants to be the ‘sole ruler’ -:)
Fate steps in. On August 2, Pluto exactly squares the (mean) Nodal axis. The lunar nodes are then in Libra and Aries, the north node ruled by Venus and the south node by Mars.
On July 13, the North Node shifted from Taurus to Aries, and the South from Scorpio to Libra. So their shared Venus/Mars rulership simply traded places!
This celestial symbolism parallels the movement of the Venus/Mars relationship by transit. Perhaps the message is to find one’s ‘inner opposite’ within. Let your dreams and journal be your companions for this alchemical initiation as the past enters the present, preparing the future for new companionship.
Venus Traveling Interior Realms
Venus disappears from the sky on August 8 as disappointment, loss or transformation may beckon (past or present).
During the deeply private interior time around the Venus conjunction with the Sun August 13, and through opening to suffering, Venus is released into contact with its own Inner Light. Venus rises again August 17 in the Eastern sky.
By the time Venus turns direct on September 4, it is about 35 degrees behind Mars, having paused to go on its own profound journey.
Venus and Mars will fully meet at last on February 24, 2024, in Aquarius. How might that be ?!
One way or another, their story will continue, as the meeting of our ‘opposites’ in various ways, inner and outer, is indeed the Path of Love.
