Fables Foibles of the Venus Retrograde
Part I: The Things We Do for Love
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FOR LOVE AND MONEY Fables Foibles of the Venus Retrograde Part I: The Things We Do for Love |
327 Route 105
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“Too many broken hearts have fallen in the river
Too many lonely souls have drifted out to sea
You lay your bets and then you pay the price
The things we do for love, the things we do for love”
Goddesses can be fickle; never more so than when venerable Venus goes down the slippery slope of her bi-annual retrograde and all things in her domain seem also to be moving backwards. This year, Venus beat a retreat through Gemini, the twins and the undisputed rulers of duality. Retrogrades can be revelatory and this one scored high in that department. While Venus is satisfied with surface appearances, for much of the trip she opposed Pluto in Sagittarius inviting us to probe more deeply. Those who were paying attention had a rare opportunity to peer behind the veil of illusion and come face to face with naked truth.—often not a pretty picture. As the dual ruler of both Taurus (the material world) and Libra (relationships) Venus has dominion over both love and money. The Goddess' retrograde is a time to hold tight to your wallet—and to your significant other. Many experienced limited success in both endeavors as the following archive will attest.
Venus Victims
“Were you a Venus Victim”? Venus did not discriminate. The rich and famous and the man/woman in the street alike were equally vulnerable. This light hearted and irreverent look back at the “fables and foibles” of the Venus retrograde, in the tradition of Aesop, is also didactic. The wait to recycle the lessons may be short, because trickster Mercury, ruler of Gemini, is due for a late summer retrograde (August 10th through September 3rd). Mercury retrogrades far more frequently than Venus, three to four times a year as opposed to once in 18 months. Barely a week after his last retrograde (April 7-May 5) the messenger of the gods was pressed into service (May 17th) as the goddess' Gemini consort.
Banned in Boston
May 17th was a big day for the Goddess of Love and Marriage. As she stationed retrograde, the first legal same sex marriages were performed in Massachusetts, in accordance with an edict by that state's Supreme Court. Gays rushed to the altar—well, mostly to the courthouse steps--to take their vows. Many heterosexual couples were not so fortunate. In heavily Catholic Boston, it proved easier to find a Justice of the Peace than a Priest to officiate at a marriage ceremony. Time Magazine (May 17, “Going to the Chapel?”) reported that 175 Boston parishes have been “fingered” for closure due to the church's fiscal crisis (remember the sex scandals?), greatly restricting the availability of summer wedding bookings. While many altars were left standing without brides, the church stood firm on its ban of civil ceremonies and of Priests performing nuptials in social halls.
The State of the Union
Congress, 150 years after the Civil War, is again attempting to preserve the union (this time with a small “u”) by amending the constitution to ban same sex marriage. In the 1950's “The Ladies Home Journal” initiated a regular feature (still going strong) entitled “Can this Marriage be Saved?”. The Nation Magazine recently devoted an entire issue (July 5) to the larger question “Can Marriage be Saved?” A series of thoughtful articles reviewed the history of marriage as a religious, cultural and legal institution. One important conclusion--the current marriage debate is part and parcel of the larger question of the separation of church and state. Of course, politicians are also using the issue to woo voters in an election year.
Matrimonial Mayhem
June (rhymes with croon, spoon, and honeymoon) is a top favorite with songwriters and the most popular month for tying the knot. However, this year's June bride has above average odds of becoming next year's divorcee. A union consummated under Venus retrograde in Gemini may harbor underlying communication difficulties (“communication is the problem to the answer”) and a tendency for partners to undervalue each other. Marriage counselors, if they chose to borrow a page from ambulance chasing lawyers, might clip wedding announcements out of last month's newspapers as a source of potential future clients. Sales of the Mars & Venus books may also spike. Even little green men (OK big ones) are reportedly having trouble keeping domestic bliss in tact. Shrek's trouble with the in-laws was duly reported in Time Magazine (“The Honeymoon is Ogre”). In the end, this modern-day Romeo succeeds where his predecessor failed. Shakespeare's “star-crossed lovers” paid the ultimate price, but in Hollywood the stars shine happily ever after.
Marriage penalty
About a week after Venus turned tail I attended a friend's wedding. I had to adopt a “don't ask (they didn't) don't tell” (I didn't) policy about the timing. The affair was beautiful, tasteful and elegant. On a perfect early summer evening, the couple exchanged vows in the garden of a 1920's Tudor style county estate. The sleek contours of the bride's satin art nouveau gown were artfully imitated by the callas lily bouquets. A sumptuous candlelight buffet on the portico followed. Still, I couldn't help but feel a tinge of sadness. I know that there are already “challenges” in this relationship.
The moon that night was void-of-course, a condition that can bode ill for success.
Conversely, a client I was assisting in picking a perfect date for her upcoming summer wedding came down with the “jitters”. A little chart analysis--single and double chart wheels, his and hers natal charts, their combined chart, transit charts, synastry charts, progressed charts (don't forget Venus was in Gemini) proved to be just the ticket to identify and resolve the problems. Retrogrades are an excellent time to flush out and release old issues. The wedding plans are back on track
Love Bugs
This year's undisputed winners in the Venus Rx “un-beauty contest” were big black bugs with red eyes. Nevertheless, they succeeded in attracting mates—several billion of them, in fact. In the Eastern US the 17 year cicadas timed their return from underground to coincide with the retrograde of Venus. Urban dwellers were shown on the evening news swatting the invaders with newspapers and tennis rackets. From mid-May to mid-June, residents of sixteen states were serenaded by the male cicada's mating call—a sometimes deafening racket similar to that of a chorus of crickets. This “music to the ears” of females of the species, (Taurus rules music and ears) qualified as noise pollution. With decibel readings, in the illegal zone (by 4 to 5 times) the constant racket was compared to a jet plane flyover or a grenade exploding one meter away. The “love bugs” apparent sole life purpose is to procreate. Shortly after mating the male dies; the female lives only long enough to lay up to 600 eggs. Their lust is dampened only by wet weather; they actually stop singing in the rain.
Love and Loss
Americans experienced some collective heartbreak. A love affair with a horse was cut tragically short at 6:55 EST on Saturday June 5th, when Smarty Jones fell one head short of winning the Belmont and with it horse racing's coveted Triple Crown. Millions who were hoping for a resurrection of Sea Biscuit mania had their dreams snatched away by the fickle hand of fate. Millions of dollars also changed hands. “You lay your bets and then you pay the price.”
President Reagan died during the retrograde (see my article “Farewell to the Fortieth” http://www.stariq.com/Main/Articles/P0005511.HTM ) closing the book on one of America's great love affairs. We also lost “Brother Ray”. Ray Charles was perhaps the most versatile (think Gemini) musician (think Taurus) of our time (and maybe for all time). “The song has ended but the melody lingers on.”
Other key losses fall in the category of “myth bashing”. Our romanticized and idealized image of women was a victim of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal and the shocking complicity of female soldiers. The gender gap lost ground in that respect, yet widened in another. New scientific reports were released that confirmed definitively that the female brain is different from the male brain. Gemini rules the mind as well as our mindsets—both subject to changes.
On the subject of changing minds, an interesting feature appeared in my local newspaper entitled” Cruel disease bestows rare gift”. It described how victims of a rare type of dementia sometimes develop striking artistic and musical ability (both Venus ruled). It seems that the loss of verbal function in one area of the brain can facilitate new development in another. The Goddess works in mysterious ways her wonders to perform.
Next month, Part II of this retrograde review will examine the love of money-- excess, greed, reversals of fortune, the real scoop on real estate and ultimately the search for real value.
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