Venus stations retrograde at 26 degrees of Capricorn on the 19th of December, its motion appearing to reverse through the sky until the 29th of January 2022. When a planet is retrograde, linearity has less of the usual grip on its function. Instead, the motion is a kind of wandering, searching and excavating which can unearth essential hidden information.

One symbolic way to understand retrogrades is through mythic stories of journeys to the underworld - the 5000 year-old epic poem of Inanna’s Descent, Orpheus’ quest to retrieve his beloved Eurydice from Hades’ realm. These tales reflect the symbolism of retrograde planets retracing their steps and entering the darkness in order to gain or regain something - knowledge, love, transformative experiences.

In subterranean and challenging environments, we cannot rely on our usual senses or modes of operation to navigate. When the terrain is uncertain, we have to abandon certain preconceptions of ‘knowing’. Sometimes we can only trust our hearts to keep moving forward, step by shaking step.

The mythic parallels also include themes of death and rebirth, which we see in moments where planets conjoin the sun: new moons and cazimi transits where planets are both burnt up and revived by the Sun’s fire. Inanna’s heroic journey tells of challenges, grief, suffering and even death before being born anew and returning above ground.

Retrogrades have the power to be profound, in the literal sense of diving deep and getting to the root of things. They dig up our mess and ask us to look at what’s at the back of our closets. This Venus retrograde in particular - stationing conjunct Pluto - emphasises the importance of death, decay and discomfort in our lives. We can’t neglect the soil of our gardens and keep asking for beautiful roses. Pluto governs extremes - microscopic things, and vast ones - and the conjunction tells us that any unimaginably big event is made up of the interactions between tiny units. Which means you can break down something huge into small pieces, and you can build something impossible from what seems invisible. You need, however, to be willing to get your hands dirty. If you’ve been shying away from some (literal and figurative) shit, you might have to take a deep breath and start rolling your sleeves up.

When we talk about Venus, we’re talking about connection and relationships. We are also talking about our values, because what we value is what we have a strong connection to in some way or another. Venus helps us understand the world through mirroring, through saying you are not an island – many things outside yourself reach somewhere inside you, can set the strings of you vibrating imperceptibly, too.

This reminds me of Namjoon talking to Jimin about art and the time he saw a Rothko painting when he was having a bad day; how he had no idea what Rothko was feeling or necessarily intended by the piece, but he teared up because it resonated with how he felt in that moment, somehow, beyond rational understanding. (Of course Namjoon’s Mercury in Libra wants to take apart, analyse and express the mechanics of connection!)

With the retrograde occurring in Capricorn, Saturn’s nocturnal domain, we’re being asked to examine how our connections and values relate to the sustainability of what we’re building in certain areas of our lives. Specifically, these will be topics associated with the Taurus, Libra and Capricorn houses in your birth chart. Saturn wants us to build structures for the long-term; wants us to define the boundaries we need for our safety and stability.

Bear in mind that transits don’t affect all of us equally since they interact with our birth charts - the way a retrograde impacts us personally, for example, depends on different factors. As a simple example, Libra and Taurus rising people may feel more affected by the Venus retrograde since Venus rules the ascendant in their chart. In BTS, the most Venusian members are Hobi with his Pisces-Venus ruled Taurus moon, Jimin and his Libra Sun and Mercury, and Jungkook with his Libra Venus. There are many more considerations to be taken into account when assessing how someone might relate to a retrograde transit (the best way to find out is to consult an astrologer), but at a base level we might expect 3J to feel this one a little more personally than some of the other members.

In light of this, I’ve designed a spread that I hope can help clarify some of the themes that may arise for you, offer some support and provide guidance you can return to during this Venus retrograde. It’s a little more astrology-oriented than usual so it’s helpful if you know your rising sign and therefore which signs align with each house in your chart, but don’t worry if you don’t! This spread should still hold insight - just treat the house-related questions as less-specific themes that will arise for you. My colleague Kirah provides a great overview of house themes here, and since we both use the whole sign house system you can find your chart in WSH here by selecting ‘Extended Settings’ and then ‘Whole Sign.’

Card 1: Where am I at the beginning of this Venus retrograde?

Card 2: What is being brought to my attention in the Venus-ruled areas of my life (Taurus and Libra houses)?

Card 3: What is being brought to light relating to topics in the Capricorn-house area of my life?

Card 4: What do I need to face, process or compost during this transit?

Card 5: Information to bear in mind and heart as I move through this period of time.

Card 6: What will be supportive to me through this transit?

Card 7: How can I best connect to/remain in my heart during this retrograde?

Once you’ve pulled your spread, ideally before or at the beginning of the retrograde, I suggest you return to it a few times between now and the end of January. You should find themes developing and perhaps getting clearer, although bear in mind that Venus won’t move out of Capricorn and pick up speed until March next year.

Take care of yourselves and embrace slowness as much as you can during this time, especially if you’re doing any deep digging and processing. Wishing you all the best with any information and experiences that come up for you during this Venus transit!

VENUS RETROGRADE

Artist Feature — Kat Jackson

TWO OF WANDS