The next Venus Star Loop – Scorpio, Leo, Gemini
October 2018 – June 2020

The Never Ending Cycle

In her never ending 5 pointed cycle, Venus, who acts somewhat like a Cosmic Bee, is set to pollinate her next Star points, her inner and outer conjunctions with the Sun, inner being the retrograde conjunctions with the Sun, and outer being when she transits on the other side of the Sun, opposite to Earth. The next 584 day, 19 mth, 1.6 year synodic* cycle, Venus’ next round of the Sun, begins as the current one ends with the interior retrograde conjunction at 3°06’ Scorpio on 26th October UTC. It then peaks midpoint in its cycle at 21° Leo on Aug 14th, 2019 at the direct exterior conjunction, before Venus swings back down to earth for the next end and begining at 14° Gemini on June 4th, 2020 for the next retrograde interior conjunction.

As the diagram 2 shows (see pic 2) these three Star Points are 3 of 5 continual Star Points that endlessly circle our zodiac creating the iconic 5 pointed Star every 8 years, with one of these points embedded every 9.5 months with every Venus/Sun conjunction. Each synodic cycle envelops an interior retrograde conjunction and an outer direct conjunction. It’s a star, a pentagon that once you know is there, that once you start to use it, continues to shine light onto any astrological chart. It is a Star that moves slowly backwards over time in our astrology charts, a Star that is worth keeping an eye on!

Before we move on to explore the coming cycle let us look back at the past synod, before Venus dives back down to Earth for her next retrograde. The cycle that now will soon end, began in Aries in March 2017, it peaked conjunct Pluto in January 2018 and now finishes in Scorpio opposite Uranus. To look back at this last 19mth cycle we see a very martian and plutonic themed Venus cycle, as Mars rules Aries, is exalted in Capricorn and is the traditional ruler of Scorpio. We add to that a conjunction with Pluto in Capricorn in January, and the final stage being in Scorpio and we can reflect on what a significantly activated and transformative year it as been for many of us, both personally and collectively. We witnessed many relevant themes arise in this Aries – Venus round, with the Women’s marches and protests denouncing Trump’s racism and misogyny arise in the USA and elsewhere, the rise of the Me Too campaigns, arising also as Jupiter entered scorpio, and the young Americans rising up against gun control in Feb 2019, soon after the Pluto/Venus/Sun Capricorn outer conjunction. As the next Star point gets closer we already sense the Scorpio Point begin to be felt and heard in the world around us and in our personal lives, as these Star Points are best looked at somewhat like eclipse points that happen Every 9.5 months and as one’s influence dissipates, the flavour of the next point takes hold. A quick example is the suspicious burning down of Brazil’s 200-year-old National Museum in Rio de Janeiro, the complete destruction of priceless artefacts and ancient fossils, lost forever, on September 2nd, 2018.

The Current Venus Star

Venus in all her movements and when keyed into her ongoing star points is most interesting to follow as she has macro and micro cycles, also well known to reflect the cosmic relationship of the Phi ratios and the fibonacci sequence, reflecting to us natural cycles of growth, unfolding, personal and collective evolution as well as beauty, aesthetics and the spirals of creation in our universe. Ranging from the TRANSIT cycles of 243 years, ** to the approx 100 year retrogradation of each star point through a sign, to every 8 year complete pentacle cycle, to every 1.6 year synodic cycle, and down to every 9.5 month star point, no matter where we look we can see her divine patterns unfolding in our creation story.(1) More on the 2020 Venus Transit Here https://cosmicintelligenceagency.com/the-transit-of-venus-2012/

To look at Venus cycles through her Star Points is to consider each loop as part of something greater, part of the whole of what she does, not just one isolated loop or retrograde, but a part of the larger ongoing magical cycle she reflects. The living cosmic spiral and dance she does in our astrology charts, every 9.5 month, every 1.6 years, every 4 years, every 8 years is a cosmic, fractal spiral, forever connecting, renewing, reviewing our pattern of evolution and progress, setting off new patterns of growth, as experience and life enter new information and feed it back into the never-ending feedback loop.

Imagine our astrology charts being the initial conditions set off by a fractal formula, our unique formula or fractal mandala. Once in motion, nothing ever stays exactly the same, as new experience, consciousness, information is added, the pattern changes slightly or goes off into new streams, yet the original pattern, our natal chart always remains magically held within. Check out some animated fractals on you tube and you’ll get the idea. Now imagine that as your astrological mandala, looping and turning and twisting, yet always recognisable, as your unique astrology chart! I’ve seen astrology working like a fractal now for some time, and find it a very good reason to always be conscious of what we put back into our feedback loop, when we see a particular alignment coming. This is of course relevant for all cycles, slower or faster, but none are quite as elegant, timely or creatively consistent as that of the cycle of Venus.

In true Venusian symbolism, she balances and perfects, she harmonises and collects that which we are most attracted to. She connects our story in the 5 places or what I call Star Point Zones that the star points occur in, in our charts. She oscillates in places over 4, 8,12 and even up to 16 years, to make a point (depending on what orbs one would use) to help show us where things could be better balanced, to help align us with getting more out of life, with what we want and love and with what needs letting go of, or said goodbye too. As we look at these Venus Point Zones, if we do the homework, as each point comes along, look back 4, 8, 12, 16 years and so on. Consider not just the 8 year loops of retrograde returns, but also when Venus was there in the opposite apparition, 4 years prior.

Watch my introduction video to The Venus Star on Your tube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVZd3leV28Q

It is from this that working with the Venus star as a whole has become part of my work and consultations, always aware of where the 5 star points are. The star points move slowly backwards in our charts and in our lifetimes. So for about 40 years of life the star points have moved about 10 degrees, for 80 years of life about 20 degrees. We can easily plot the star point zone in our charts by first finding the 5 star points around our birth, 2 years prior and 2 years after, and continue to where they are now, to see an area that is your Venus Star Zone. What houses, angles and planets has the Venus Star landed on for you over the years? Like many things in a astrology it is quite profound to do the work, see where she has been, see where she is going next. As we know what happens this time, won’t be quite the same as what happens next time, as we have grown, other planets have moved yet the pattern still remains, and 4 years on we also get a view and experience from the other side!.

The Fibonacci sequence and Golden ratio is reflected in the Venus cycle holding the1.6 ratio.
1 Earth year 365 days, 1 Venus Cycle 584 = 1.6
5 synodic cycles in 8 years. 5/8 = 1.6
13 revolutions in 8 years 8/13 = 1.6

For example as we move toward this Scorpio retrograde point, consider what was happening in 2014 when this point was made with the outer conjunction of Venus and the Sun, as well as go back to 2010 when she was last retrograde there. In my work I have come to see each star point inner or outer as significant as the other. Astrologers tend to focus mostly on the retrograde and the Venus returns of 8 years, yet considering the midpoint in the cycle can reveal much more to us about what happens here. The Moon too does this! If we look at any new Moon, we know 4 years later(give or take a degree or 2) there will a full Moon in the opposite degree. Then 4 years later again another new moon occurs in the same degrees. What I take from this, is that as this next Scorpio retrograde point happens, we want to remember we also had a view of this 4 years ago, yet with Venus travelling fast, away from us, invisible and what I would call at her fullness phase, and on her mission. What was your mission back then, that comes in through retrograde now? As the Venus point oscillates from inner and outer conjunctions over the 4 year periods we get a different view of the same picture. Take a good look to help inform you of what was going on as part of your greater 8 year cycle.!

So as we get ready for the next loop, let’s take a look more closely at what this next loop brings, keeping in mind some personal research from above!

Like the Moon Venus waxes and wanes, grows in light, ascend and descends and disappears into the light of the Sun, not only once like the Moon, yet twice during her inner and outer conjunctions. Since Galileo’s discoveries through his telescopes we know that Venus has phases, and these days for many practising astrologers looking at, and knowing our Venus phase has become quite significant. Like knowing our Moon phase, we look at where in the 19 month synodic loop our Venus was when we were born, giving more detail and archetypal clarity to our particular Venus, not just by sign, house and aspect but now also by phase.

An Astronomical view of one Venus synodic cycle.

By getting to know one Synodic cycle well, we can always adapt this to our work to work out Venus phases. The various combinations are too much to go into here, but we group the essence of a Venus phase from a few key points in any given Venus apparition as she is seen as a:

Morning Star or Evening Star

Oriental (rising in the east, before Sun) or Occidental ( setting in the west after Sun)

Waxing or Waning

Ascending or Descending

Bright or Dim

High or Low

Fast or Slow (slow at retrograde- fast at outer conjunction)

Stable or Unstable (stable near max elongation points)

Visible or Invisible

In the Underworld or in the Upperworld (if there is an underworld, there must be an upper world?)
Earthy or Heavenly (after max elongations and moving toward the outer conjunction,I see Venus as heavenly)
Aphrodite Pandemos (Earthy) or Aphrodite Urania (Heavenly)

Already we get a sense of what this may add to our particular type of Venus. Most of us would know if we had morning or evening star Venus’. Quite simple, if Venus rises before the Sun, she is a morning star, and if she sets after the Sun she is an evening star.

In many ancient cultures the Morning and Evening stars of Venus were even given different names and even seen as two quite separate embodiments. In ancient Lithuania, Ausrine (of the dawn) was the morning star and Vakarine (of the eve) the evening star, they were sister goddesses who tended to the Sun’s needs. In the ancient Mayan culture the warring twin brothers – Quetzalcoatl, the morning star and – Xolotl, the darker personification, was the evening star, both 2 seperate apparitions of Venus. As the table above suggests finding out what type of Venus you have by phase, can be like all astrology, further enlightening.

Adding the rest comes from knowing one cycle well, as mentioned above. The easiest way to work out a phase in a cycle is by counting the days after a Venus Star Point is made.

You will see by the table below, how many days are between each phase and this varies slightly over each cycle, and especially for the morning or evening rise of Venus, which can depend on latitude and time and place of evening of appearance.

Use the image above , to keep track of the keypoints in the coming cycle:

There has been some debate in our community over the years as to where the cycle of Venus actually begins. The sky watcher shamanic astrologers would say that the cycle begins with the heliacal rising of Venus as she rises as the morning star in the east. Traditionalist astrologers would say, that the cycle begins with Venus rising as an evening star in the west. The reasoning for the latter is that Venus at this part of her cycle is low in the sky, dim, is ascending and from here gains in light, as she also appears like the Moon does when new, in the western evening sky!

There a a few things to consider here, with both of the above viewpoints. The shamanic way, is a delight to follow, which I definitely encourage, yet it is much more difficult to co-ordinate, as the rise can happen at slightly different times and days, depending on place, atmosphere and latitudes and is not so simply found by an ephemeris, yet some software is rectifying this. Yet with the shamanic viewpoint and the visual sky gaining importance in our astrology circles this is indeed a practice that I see as important to be followed and even encouraged as it teaches us so much more about the living sky. From the ancient Babylonians to the Mayans and thru many other ancient cultures we know that the heliacal rise (rising out of the Sun’s beams) of the planets and stars as always being most significant. Yet it is much easier and direct to work out phases and co-ordinate timing by using the exact Star Point.

One thing that makes no sense to me with the more traditional method, and also perhaps as they were devised before the discovery of Venus’ phases by Galileo, is that to consider Venus as an evening star, rising in the west as the begining of her cycle like a fresh new Moon does, simply makes no sense. The Moon orbits the Earth and Venus orbits the Sun. Their meeting point with the Earth, for the Moon is a New Moon, and is why it makes sense as the reason for Venus’ newness, as she transits between Earth and Sun, not when she rises out of the outer conjunction, but when she moves off to the east to become the morning star!

Claim your wings

So let’s take a look at what’s coming up in this next round. I like the idea that one phase ends as another begins, giving more flow to the never ending divine circle of life.

We begin the next round with the star point of 3° Scorpio, this time opposite Uranus. It will be most significant for those with planets, points, or angles, close, or square to these degrees. We can see Venus here is the missing fixed point of our last few months of Mars rx on the nodal axis, during eclipses, whilst square Uranus. Now Venus takes her place opposite Uranus and squares the nodes, begining her next journey as morning star to her rise, station direct and greatest brilliancy with the nodal square aspect in play! A pivotal time for all with or without direct chart contact, as the nodal axis shows great shifts in direction, opposite Uranus we are all heading for change in particular areas of life. Where may we need to either dive deeper or try and disentangle as we may have already gone in too deep? As Uranus is always igniting us to change from the norm, here’s our chance to show if we really mean it! There is an intense preciousness about this time, to hold on , or let go? To love or risk the potential to lose forever!

After max elongation as morning star, she has the long journey of moving on, moving on with the mission, whatever it may be, as a trine to the nodes confirms where you are headed. Yet always keep an eye on 21° Leo. What happened there 4 years back(from August 2019 – back in August 2015) that gives you some information of what developed at this time? Heading to the outer conjunction can quite often be an extremely overwhelming time. A planet moving at their fastest, especially with Venus and Mercury, can be just as, or more confronting than the retrograde, so be prepared. This is an eager phase, a powerful phase, it’s about the mission and a delivery of some sort, a project, a conquering or a dramatic adventure to find out and to launch oneself into! Surprisingly it’s often the time of breakups, and leavings, more than we find at the retrograde pass. And it is in Leo, it is a journey from here to there to work towards what makes the heart sing, where we will find more recognition and encouragement, where we will feel more fully alive, to be happy with purpose and self love. Look at that now already, as the retrograde in Scorpio culminates, for as we claim our wings in the depths of Scorpio, we are going to want to fly! This outer conjunction point is conjunct Mars and quincunx Pluto, just to give us all some extra drive to push through. Scorpio’s depth seeking probe, from the darkness, eventually seeks the light, it is bound to others, by trust and desire, then as we move onto Leo, we need to assure that our commitments to others, to our passions, bind us in a healthy way, and set us free to be ourselves!

The cycle ends in Gemini, giving all the more reason for us to think like a bee and work toward getting our wings, for when we add the 3 main stages of this cycle, or the next 3 star points, from Scorpio via Leo to Gemini, we get a sense of lightening up somehow, claiming our wings so we can go further with our work and loves, sharing and distributing what we know and love and value the most, it seems like it’s all about getting better, more confident and getting out there somehow!

In Scorpio Venus wants us to dive deep, in Leo Venus wants to shine with potency and creation and in Gemini to circulate and navigate further missions.

The Magic Is In Your Hands

To use this cycle, by reflecting on the past, we activate each phase with purpose and growth and mostly by looking ahead. We know there is nothing like astrology to connect us to the past, present and future, and there is nothing like the Venus star and the Venus cycle, the grand pentagon and the magic pentacle to keep our astrology truly alive and activated.

Take the time during this retrograde to do some work with the Venus Star and the Venus cycle, see how she tells your ongoing story of life, love and loss. See how at every keypoint she synthesises and brings together the essence of the 5 months before and the 5 months after each star point is made. Get into the rhythm, see the patterns and by all means create some new ones.

May the magic be revealed in your exploration!

In every chart I always see five extra points! *****

Notes and References

* Synodic meaning meeting place, in this case from one meeting of Earth, Venus, Sun to their next meeting.

** It is interesting to look back at how the Transits of Venus have coincided with major shifts in consciousness throughout the cycles in the past, to envision closer where we are now and the meaning of each loop. The transits we witnessed in our time occurred in Gemini in 2004 and 2012, and had much to do with putting the Venus Star back into our astrology!

*** Find Venus Ephemeris at Arielle Guttman website
https://sophiavenus.com/pdf/FindYourVenusStarPoint.pdf

**** Recommended Reading
Arielle Guttmann – Venus Star Rising – SophiaVenusProductions – 2010
Michele Finey – The Sacred Dance of Venus and Mars – Wessex Astrologer 2012
Adam Gainsburg – The Light Of Venus – SoulSign Publishing – 2012

***** Most effective to use in electional astrology as well.