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Venus cycle of Renewal begins June 9, 2020, and continues until Jan 13, 2022

VENUS - Her 585 Day Cycle of Renewal

We Enter a New Cycle of Feminine Renewal and Its Expression in the World

Dear girlfriends, this is a potent and exciting time of the Renewal of the Feminine Divine principle as she manifests, renews, reclaims, and regenerates her old self into a new more evolved aspect of the divine feminine.

Every 19 months Venus Goes Retrograde and a New 19 month Venus Cycle Begins when Venus Rises Retrograde as our Morning Star.

Venus went retrograde on May 13, 2020, and her New Cycle will begin when we see her once again rising as our Morning Star June 9 or 10, 2020 (depending on where you live). June 3rd was her actual conjunction with the sun, but the ancient peoples used when she was VISIBLE in the morning sky as the beginning of her cycle. She will arise and begin her journey with the overarching archetype of Gemini as the expression of this, her next evolutionary process. We refer to this 'overarching archetype' as the Metagoddess of the next 19-month cycle. 

This is our symbol for Venus. Venus is all about LOVE, RELATIONSHIPS, BEAUTY, the ARTS, PERSONAL VALUES, and FINANCES!

Ever wonder how the feminine principle evolves throughout time? Well, here's the way astrology in the long-ago world saw it. The entire cycle of Venus was comprehended and then enacted as a ceremonial initiatory rite of passage guided by the Sumerian Myth of Inanna’s journey to the Underworld. Her story as Venus/Inanna comes from Sumeria, where our first cities sprang up, over 5,000 years ago. (You can read all about Inanna in the book, Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth by Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Kramer.)

Remains of Temple of Inanna at UR, a first city

2500 BC Inanna Temple plaque

We know astrology goes back a long way when we notice in the above image the horns of the bull as her crown. The age of Taurus, the Bull, was 4,000 to approximately 6500 years ago. This was probably after the flood when so much of our unknown human history was wiped out.

Before I go any further I want to acknowledge the work of Cayelin Castell and Tami Brunk who as far as I can tell are the first women astrologers to honor, define, and name this wonderful Venus cycle - they have midwifed Venus/Inanna back into the world. Here is their web site if you want more information and THANK YOU to two brave women and all the hard (and joyful) work they are doing!

WHAT CAN WE DO TO BRING IN THE EMERGING ARCHETYPE OF GEMINI?

There are several Goddesses that fit with the versatility and communicative abilities in Gemini. Since Gemini is so versatile, we can have more than one Goddess for our overarching gateways each month. And least we forget that this sign is known for having fun and being a bit of a storyteller and trickster we can work with the creative muses and the Rainbow Goddess to begin to write a new story of our personal lives and of our world. We will want to include play, outrageous possibilities, magic and just plain having FUN!

This is one reason I look so forward to this cycle. I've been telling my personal story the same way for so many years now that it seems fixed in the past like a rock (not a very pretty rock!). It feels too heavy to take with me anymore. So, for me, I will be working on new ways to see my past, my family and its past, and open to the possibility of healing places within both physically and emotionally so that I can create a more magical history and possibly change my future timeline in positive ways. You can do this too if you choose to. I'm not sure at all how this is going to look, but I'm up for it! Are you?

"We recognize WE are the Storytellers! We realize WE are the ones who create our reality together and we are choosing a new narrative that serves ALL beings!  Venus in Gemini inspires us in finding our voices, singing our songs, making our prayers, and weaving together a new and ancient story of Belonging to Each Other and Co-creating the New Earth Playground!"                               Cayelin Castell

This is just the right time to retell and create the story that says, Black Lives Matter, that American Indians feel safe, loved, and valued, that all people everywhere are valued just as they are. Like Gemini, we re - member our brothers and sisters on the planet, a planet that we all belong to. This is the time to celebrate what is right with our world and change what needs to be changed. And Gemini is so good at shapeshifting and changing realities that we will have a lot of help to ground these changes through Venus, our physical bodies, for the next year and a half.

PHASES of the 585 days (19-month) VENUS CYCLE

1. In the first phase of this cycle, Venus goes retrograde and then sinks from our view in the night sky. We can no longer see her there in the west after the sun sets. During this time she is 8 days conjunct the Sun and this is called her Metamorphoric Underworld Phase as she moves from one sign into another, from one Meta Goddess to another entirely new Goddess!

Like the cocoon phase of a butterfly in the dark, she reforms herself and prepares to do the work of shedding an old way of life so that she can grow her psyche and develop into a more expanded transformed version of whatever archetype she emerges as. 

During her 19 month cycle, Venus works with an individual archetype to bring in the next evolutionary stage of the divine feminine. The cycle she just completed in May 2020 was in Libra, her next great cycle or Meta Goddess archetype begins in June in Gemini.

by Sharon Russell (you can order this image as a print or card HERE. Free Shipping even on one card!)

June 9, 2020 marks the heliacal rise (when we can see Venus once again, in June it will be as our Morning Star) beginning her next cyclic journey. Her new cycle will bring in growth under the sign of GEMINI.  As we co-create with a new emerging archetype of Gemini, we will be challenged to redefine Venus, Innana. Our Soul directs us into new experiences, a new territory of the Divine Feminine. We are co-creating with the Goddess what new aspects of Gemini we will bring into the world and into our own individual lives. What we do matters. Each of us is a pearl on a long string of feminine wisdom and empowerment. As we grow consciously during this cycle, this archetype of Gemini grows too!

Here is the Gemini symbol. The energy of renewed feminine evolution for this 585 day VENUS CYCLE is coming through this seasonal Zodiac sign as well as through the horns of the Bull in Taurus. Read below - way down there ↓ to get a sense of what faces of the Goddess she has to offer you in the sign of Gemini.

In the dark time of her retrograde motion when we cannot see Venus, she is in intimate connection, called 'conjunction', with the Sun who brings into her a new spirit so that acting as a vision carrier for the Feminine principle, she can embody a new, more empowered archetype of Gemini.

Venus is crossing the face of the sun during this phase. At this time we won't actually see her because she is quite low and just skimming the body of the sun in this particular cycle. 

Venus moves in what is called interior conjunction when she crosses the face of the sun between the sun and the earth during her Metamorphic Underworld phase. Actually, astronomers call it INFERIOR conjunction, but there is nothing inferior about this phase of the divine feminine as she is willing to die her old self and do the deep work of rebirth and renewal! It is time to change the old patriarchal names of negativity that we may honor an evolutionary process of the divine feminine. Lucky are we who know this aspect of the Mystery. We regain the losses to the feminine by taking this journey in conscious awareness with Inanna/Venus.

Right now I want to say that I am aware that sometimes I say things twice, but I have a reason --- so much of this is new knowledge, well, really old, ancient knowledge, but we are just beginning to comprehend it once again, so if I say it twice it's just so you'll be able to hear it again, perhaps in a new context to help you to relearn and remember these potent aspects of the feminine mystery.

I say the same things twice or many times to myself also, again and again, because the Great Mystery is not always easy to hold as we become aware and grow. I feel sometimes like a fish out of water, holding my breath until I can be put back into the great watery life-giving place of feminine wholeness and wisdom. It can be so easy to forget!

OK, so phase one is huge and it happens out of sight, it's a deathlike phase, we will be taking a journey of deep trust and faith in the Goddess. We do this for our Great Earth Mother Gaia and we do this for ourselves, as Souls growing and ever becoming.

"What a caterpillar calls the End,

The rest of the world calls a Butterfly."

                     Lao Tzu 

Here she is, that beautiful woman, rising just before the Sun! She will look like this after June 9 in your early morning sky for about 8 months. 

In the second half of this phase, she prepares for her descent. Venus is still in retrograde motion and does not actually begin to descent through the 7 gates even though we may see her once again in the morning sky. She doesn't go through her gateways of the Moon until she is in direct motion. (in other words, when she's ready, she'll get going!)

As Morning Star Venus Retrograde she has morphed from one expression of the Divine Feminine to a NEW expression. 'Heliacal' refers to the first morning or evening that we can once again see a star or planet after its conjunction with the sun.

We will be looking to see her in the early morning sky in the EAST. June 9 or 10 will mark the return of Venus/Inanna in our early morning sky.

2. Venus begins her next phase a few weeks after her heliacal rise. Another way to describe the meaning of  'Heliacal' is - The star or planet rises and can be seen physically just before the sun rises.

As she rises in the east over the course of the next 7 to 8 months, once each month she joins the waning crescent moon, the Balsamic Moon. In this final phase of the moon, the soul goes through a period of letting go, release, and healing. 

In Sumerian and Babylonian times, this was considered a gateway, the Moon being the gate through which Venus passes each month. Venus works with the cyclic nature of the Moon, which is the conduit through which she attains embodiment (this alone would be an entire book, as these two, Venus and the Moon, are the mother and daughter of all great mysteries. You can read more about the lunar phases by reading CYCLES OF BECOMING #1 and CYCLES OF BECOMING #2, find out what your current phase is, and then read about that too!)

At each pass through a gateway in her descent, Venus-Inanna takes off one of her garments symbolic of letting go and releasing an old aspect of herself.

Venus will come close to the Moon at each Gateway but usually not this close! If we are in luck at least one of the 7 or 8 gateways will look something like this.

There are usually 7 gateways or 7 months of releasing and letting go, but sometimes due to the nature of the moon's orbit in relation to Venus, we get an 8th gateway represented by the 'earth chakra' below our feet. 

As Inanna takes her journey we too take ours. We shed our outer garments. The ancient myths called these the 7 gates. As we enter each gate, we shed an old layer of ego. As Inanna was stripped of her garments, her jewels, her robe and crown -- all that she considered as parts of her Self, we too are stripped of aspects of our ego that no longer serve us. We are being asked to redefine Venus, Inanna.

CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE ABOUT OR TO ORDER SHARON'S BOOK 

Thanks to Sharon we have this guide to help us with our personal journey into the territory of the Shadow. This book will help you make this journey without fear but with a willingness and joy to release the burdens of the unknown and unexpressed parts within yourself.

Venus descent is a passage into the shadow aspects of ourselves. So it will not be an easy journey but if we go willingly we can find joy, renewal, and HEALING during this descent phase of Inanna. 

We call this phase - when she goes through the seven gateways at dawn - the Morning Star Descent Phase as it is a phase of releasing and letting go of shadow material as represented by Ereshkigal.

In ancient Babylonian and Assyrian times the Myth of Inanna (Ishtar) and Ereshkigal, the two faces of VENUS, were followed in the night sky as the planet Venus made her journey appearing and disappearing in their nighttime sky. Inanna was called Queen of Heaven and her dark sister, Ereshkigal, held sway over the Underworld, the unconscious aspects of our selves that need to be brought back into the light so that they can be owned and renewed. With the letting go of each article of clothing or jewel, we symbolically release trapped energy and begin to have the ability to interact with a new archetype.

3. Once again, after she makes her 7th, or 8th and final passage through a Balsamic Moon Gateway, she will return to the Underworld where we cannot see her again, this time for quite a while, usually for several months. During this time she will make another conjunction with the Sun and undergo an initiation to establish and claim within herself a new energetic pathway of her emerging archetype in Gemini.

4. Finally, she will emerge as Evening Star Venus. In this new phase of liberated consciousness, she begins her journey of Ascent. This is her Evening Star Ascent Phase and will last another 7 to 8 months as she goes through a different phase of the Moon, the Crescent Phase of early evening (look to the WEST), as her Gateway to claiming her new empowerment. She puts back on each vestment at each chakra starting with her root chakra and working back up to her final crown chakra as QUEEN OF HEAVEN AND EARTH.   

A new Venus journey means not only times spent in the underworld or unseen world of the unconscious, but it also means that a time of New Birth of a particular divine feminine energy is about to emerge and be fully available to the human psyche.

This is powerful - it was then and it is now. This is a way we can follow along in astrology and understand what the larger cosmos has in store for us both as individuals with everyday lives and as a collective group of women on the planet.

We embody Venus in our bodies but her cycle is such that it moves with the MOON too. Our Moon which represents a woman's (or man's) Soul becomes the very gateway for our bodies to pass through. We are in the realm of the true Mystery School of the Feminine.

This enchanting figure of 'Woman' was originally found in Africa, thousands of years ago. A Fertility Goddess, I see her as BRINGING DOWN THE MOON (or individual human SOUL) THROUGH THE EMBODIMENT OF VENUS. So she is both the Moon and Venus.

Each lunar phase is a conduit into material reality. The Moon is the gateway for Venus's embodiment.

If at any time you feel confused about all these cycles and dates remember to TAKE IT EASY. I'll send more emails as the time draws near for Venus's first GATEWAY! Why this may seem hard is that we are used to using the left side of our brain but really the feminine dwells and expresses through the right side of our brain. So this integration of the greater feminine is taking place inside you as you consciously go through each gateway. 

And, by the way, you don't have to be a woman to have this experience. It belongs to all humans - men or women. For a woman her Venus is her primary expression, for a male, it is his inner female seeking a balance with his masculine expression.

Each gateway corresponds to one of our Seven Chakras (and sometimes an 8th Chakra).

THE MAGIC OF VENUS'S SACRED GEOMETRY

Sacred geometry is part of the Venus Mystery. You don't have to be a mathematician to comprehend this as you use the eyes of your heart to relate to the symbols, numbers, and forms of the magic of the Venus Cycle.

THE SACRED GEOMETRY OF THE FIVE PETALIED ROSE AND FIVE POINTED

STAR IN VENUS ALCHEMY

The magic of the Venus cycle unfolds with every loop. With one synodic cycle, 'synodic' refers to one revolution around the Sun, VENUS forms a rose petal and then another and another every 1.6 years. A magnificent rose begins to form around the Sun with a full pentacle shaping itself in the middle. There are 5 cycles of Venus that are equal to 8 earth years to create the rose and pentacle.

In Sumeria, the people took a sacred ceremonial journey together every 8 years in honor and in sync with this even larger Venus cycle from which we derive her five-star pentagram (more on that below). Eight years equals 5 cycles of Venus which completes a 5 pointed star - as you will see in Sacred Geometry as you read on.

The ROSE

..... has for centuries been intimately related to Venus as a symbol of love, beauty, and attraction. The mystery of Sacred Geometry unfolds before our eyes as the planet Venus circles around the Sun.

Imagine that as Venus travels around the sun she left a trail of light to show where she had been. From the perspective of life here on earth, it would look like this in the heavens. She really creates these geometric forms of roses and pentagrams as she cycles round and round,..... that lovely woman! Her five petaled form has 5 points and is the universal symbol for the star. 

"We are reminded with these exquisite connections of Venus and her cycle around the Sun of a pure and divine feminine creative force."

I had a dream in which a rose was in a beautiful crystal goblet in a glass of clear water.

This is sacred geometry and it is HAPPENING......SCIENCE WITH A ROSE and a STAR..........IMAGINE!

The Pentacle is not evil as patriarchy has taught many of us through religious beliefs.....the pentacle is the 'sacred' geometry of the pathway of VENUS as she makes one synodic complete cycle around our Sun.

"FIVE is the number of the incarnate human—making possible the ascension from the lower quarternary world—that is, from the cyclic and temporal boundaries of space and time."

- The Way is through the Passage of the Heart -   Nick Fiorenza

Venus is human embodiment.

Found in an ancient Roman temple in Croatia! 

During her 8 year cycle, she reaffirms the 5 points of the star. Cut open an apple straight across the chunky side and what will you discover? We need to do this, not just 'think it' because this reaffirms our connection to VENUS, she is real and she is everywhere! Her cycle is the magic cycle of LIFE. This is the apple from the Garden of Eden - real food for thought!

She is an abundant and fruitful Goddess of great delights!

VENUS IN GEMINI EMPOWERMENT

What might we be looking at in our own charts as we make this journey with Venus? If you have a planet or angle or asteroid Goddess at from about 3 to 16 degrees of Gemini, then that will color the way you experience this Venus cycle.

But even if you have no planets in Gemini (as I don't) Venus will still make this journey in your chart. Venus is in a PLACE and it is in relationship to all other planets in your chart and you will have experiences that you can relate to as Venus monthly goes with the Moon - there will be many points of activation for you whether or not you have planets in Gemini.

Here are some possible Gemini expressions that you may be developing:

♥  Having fun and being playful

♥  Telling stories, retelling your old stories in a new, lighter, freer way

♥  Using your imagination to make impossible elements in your life - possible

♥  Like Gemini, you may have to break some old rules

♥  Gemini is the sign of the twins, this is polarity and you may find it helpful to pull out of polarized thinking - black and white thinking - the kind of thinking that shrinks your consciousness into a drop

♥  New ideas will come to you as a  variety of possibilities emerge

♥  Negative gossip no longer holds your attention

♥  You begin to favor a more positive, lighter way of looking at your life and those around you

♥  You develop a sense of humor (voila!) but it doesn't include scapegoats

♥  Read a fabulously good book, one that changes your mind!

♥  With Gemini, it is always important that you get the FACTS, negative attitudes or prejudices are going out of style during this Venus cycle.

♥  and more.....I'm sure you are thinking of other possibilities right now....

There will be many faces of the Goddess in Gemini as this sign can take on many forms. She is a shapeshifter, a nature spirit, a psychopomp, and a trickster to name a few.  We will talk more about these as we go through the Descent of Venus at each monthly gateway.

SUMMARY of 585 Day (19 Month) VENUS CYCLE:

Venus goes Retrograde, she dies to an old way, a time to surrender some aspects of her old identity.

She morphs into a new Goddess, contains the seed of a new Archetype (Interior Conjunction with Sun). In this liminal phase, she must die a good death so that she can prepare to be reborn as a new Goddess Archetype.

She rises for about 7 to 8 months in her Morning Star Descent Phase (letting go of old dysfunctional ways through the seven chakras starting at the Crown and working down to the Root).

She goes into the Underworld to be Initiated (Exterior Conjunction with Sun).  She claims her rite of passage and acceptance as a new Goddess Archetype.

She rises for another 7 to 8 months in her Evening Star Ascent Phase (this is the reclaiming of new feminine power as she puts back on her garments starting at the Root Chakra and working her way up to the Crown.) She integrates and demonstrates what she has attained.

She is crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth as she completes her final Ascension! She continues to integrate. She experiences the joys of having fulfilled this Venus cycle. 

To simplify further: Retrograde to surrender old identity, Morphing into new Goddess, Morning Star Descent Phase, Underworld Initiation, Evening Star Ascent Phase, Crowning and fulfillment.

Our Great Cosmic Mother, She, who is the home of all mysteries, loves us for 'paying attention' to what she is about. She wants us to interact with her as Daughters of the Divine Feminine. This will not only enrich our own lives but whatever we gain in heart and soul, we share with our world. There is hope for our beautiful planet because we humans are growing and will continue to grow as we meet the challenges we have created!

SUGGESTION:  If you are part of a women's circle you may want to honor these SEVEN GATEWAYS by following along with me and including VENUS ceremony in your circle at least once every month. Your group can create something very special for each woman's personal growth by creating an altar for Venus. Or you can do this on your own by following along with me, preparing an altar space in your home which you could change or add to each month. Journaling works too!

You will get plenty of ideas of themes for your altar and your sharings by looking for my articles as Venus joins each month with the Early Morning Balsamic Moon. Articles will come out before the calendar dates I gave above. If you want to receive the notifications of each Venus Gateway you can sign up for a free newsletter. 

For instance, when Venus goes through the first DESCENT gateway and removes her CROWN, you might create an all purple/violet altar together........ or dress in something purple.....or bring some stones of the crown chakra, or purplish flowers. Each woman could share and commit to her personal issues on letting go - this will mean something different for each woman. Listen carefully to your sistars and share from the heart. Maybe someone will bring a crown, so each woman can enact what Inanna did when she took off her crown and gave up part of her old self, her power and status as represented by the crown. 

VENUS gathers strength, stamina, and new courage as you do this. Be aware that you are bringing in a new cycle of human feminine evolution as you work with the Gemini Archetype. 

 "It has been said that the heavenly alignments determine human destiny. However, it seems the truth is greater and more mysterious than this. It is not our future or our personalities that the stars predict, it is the stars themselves reflecting the designs of the Soul."

Besides the cycle of the Moon, Venus and her cycle is by far the most interesting and rhythmic of all planetary cycles as she plans, incubates, creates, and grows to greater awareness during her 19-month cycle. We work with her as we learn about her truly miraculous nature as both Morning and Evening Star!