Mwah! Venus Retrograde, December 2013

Venus, planet of love and values, goes retrograde on December 21st at 21:54 GMT. She will continue on her backwards course until the Aquarius New Moon on 30th January. This event is part of a celebrated eight-year astrological cycle, where Venus and the Earth's orbits describe a five pointed star, or rose. The successive Earth-Venus 'kisses' fall back in the zodiac approximately 3 degrees, so this present pattern began with Venus retrograde of December 24th 2005, at 2 Aquarius. Expect outstanding business from that time to be revisited.

Venus is the only major planet named for a female deity. Her principles revolve around conciliation, compromise, grace, beauty, charm, wiles. Unlike Saturn or Mars for example, which are about hard work and coercion, Venus gets there by grace. Eyelash fluttering, guile and schmoozing, or genuine heartfelt charm. We do business with people we like, and a pleasing manner oils doors that otherwise stay shut.

The Venus glyph ♀ has been described as the Goddess’s hand-mirror. Even if we write Venus off as a cosmic Barbie Doll, our preoccupation with appearances makes a vast industry. Venus-Aphrodite was a jealous goddess (think; the myth of Eros and Psyche, Helen and Paris), and this emotion is a lethal brew. Romantic rivalry, or the feeling we've been hijacked by a pretty face is one of the greatest causes of human enmity. It takes a big heart to admire rather than to envy.

Venus spends proportionately less time retrograde than any other planet, turning round approximately every 19 months for six weeks at a time. She also spins in the opposite direction to all the other planets, suggesting compromise, accommodation, and playing the go-between. Venus is also about putting a spin on events, perfectly apt for the PR planet.

Venus’s day is longer than her year. She takes longer to make one revolution on its axis than to orbit round the Sun, reflecting its lazy, leisurely nature. Venus retrograde is the start of a new synodic cycle. 2-3 degrees onwards from last Venus-Sun conjunction, which is partly what makes the retro cycle a time of adjustment.

What happens when Venus turns round depends on how Venus sits in your chart. The house Venus retrogrades in gives you the backdrop. An old flame might come back into your life, but more likely this six week spell will affect an existing relationship. It's nailed on that you'll see another side of somebody and have to work harder at handling them. 

Venus also rules the arts and values in general, so your creativity might take a new turn, especially if it's a collaborative effort. Coming so close to Christmas might affect mundane shopping decisions as you choose between big ticket items and belt-tightening.

Natal Venus retro often means you start relationships with sense of familiarity, real or imagined. Then over time you un-know your partner, as your initial projection is replaced by a more realistic appraisal. There is a karmic implication to this, of course, as you unravel mysteries in this lifetime that go way back. 

Progressed Venus retro is likewise intriguing, a 40-odd year stretch of life experience. The initial turnaround year or two is the strongest, when people get married or divorced, or change their sexual orientation. Some people go through the whole progressed cycle, the retrograde then turning direct, which is a defining feature of their life.

The last Venus retro in June 2012 saw British tabloid journalists accused of phone-hacking. The trial of Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson may complete during this present cycle.