This is what I wrote on 11 August 2007:
I'm trying to follow the advice of astrologers (Jonathan Cainer, for instance) to look back to between late July and early September 1999, when Venus was in retrograde motion in the same part of the zodiac as now, between the latter part of Leo and early Virgo.
Jonathan says:
"Think about the dramas that were being played out in your life, in the lives of those around you, and on the world stage. Now look carefully at what's going on. The details may be different, but in the sentiment and spirit of many a situation, there is an uncanny echo."
That is not as easy as it sounds - not for me, anyway. Life has changed so much, both personally, in the USA, and in the world. If, as astrology teaches, the patterns of life are cyclic, like the movement of the planets ("as above, so below") I'd best steel myself and do as I'm told!
1999 was another lifetime. Before 9/11, before I owned a computer, before my late partner's health slipped into its last slow decline, and of course, before I left the UK. I could, with the benefit of hindsight, see 1999 as the run-up to a gateway, which led to a dark tunnel, through which it became essential to travel before being able to re-emerge into the light. In a way it was the same for the USA, it was just prior to the 2000 election. That election led into years of murkiness, 9/11, Iraq, Katrina, etc. from which the country still hasn't emerged.
It's not that any of those difficulties can be blamed solely, or at all, on poor old Venus retrograde - that would be silly. But I'm trying to see a parallel between what I experienced personally between then and now, and what this country (USA) has experienced. We've both moved on so far since 1999, that I can't begin to envision what, if anything, the current retrograde period might mean as part of a cyclic pattern. I only sincerely hope that it will not in the same league as the cycle which followed 1999! If I'm still around in 8 years' time, when Venus reaches the same point again, - I'll let y'all know how it went.
Hey! Eight years have passed and I'm still around! Yay!!!
My frustrations came to an end, my citizenship application got underway and I did become a US citizen a year later, in August of 2008, and in time to vote in 2008's election.
Snips from the other two related posts of summer 2007:
On 26 August 2007:
One of my current irritations: I posted my application for US citizenship to the appropriate service centre on Thursday 26 July, the day before the current retro period period began. My packet, containing a cheque for $400 and all required enclosures was signed for at USCIS (Texas) on Monday 30 July. To date my cheque has not been cashed. I did expect a longer wait than normal for acknowledgement, due to possible flood of applications trying to avoid July 30's hefty fee increase. I didn't expect such a long wait before someone even got around to opening my packet! My wait for citizenship is looking likely to stretch well into next year, and perhaps even beyond that.
Thanks a bunch Venus retrograde! I wonder if the coming lunar eclipse might help to shake things up - it's going to occur almost opposite my 6 Pisces natal Jupiter.
Looking back to a previous Venus retrograde time, between mid-May and August 2004 - I find, to my surprise, that I was in a comparable situation then ! I'd just mailed my application for a US immigration visa based on my recent marriage to HeWhoKnows. We were both back in England, and feeling anxious that things would get underway quickly so that I could sell my house, pack up and head west. I'm not quite as as anxious about things this time around, but it'd be nice to get my fingerprinting behind me soon, so's we can plan a short trip. Oh - and I really would like to be able to vote in 2008 - it's looking more and more unlikely as weeks go by.
And on 20 September 2007
I'm needing to curb my impatience currently. To date the cheque which accompanied my application for US citizenship, sent to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service on 26 July, almost 8 weeks ago, has still not been cashed. USCIS has issued notices on-line indicating that they have what they call a "front-log" of cases. In normal circumstances cheques are cashed and applications get underway within a week to 10 days of receipt. We've now been told that it's taking up to 90 days to issue receipts due to this front-log.
It'll be interesting to see whether things start to move around the time when Venus reaches 2* Virgo again, the point at which the recent retrograde started, but I shall not hold my breath - even that is far too optimistic an expectation as things are turning out. I must also bear in mind that Mercury will turn retrograde on 12 October, almost dovetailing Venus. Nice! Citizenship in time for the 2008 presidential election is looking ever more unlikely. I'm beginning to wonder why I bothered to apply in the first place. Grumble....grumble.
While my own historical experiences are - well, just my own, I thought, in the interests of astrological research, it could be useful to gather these posts here.
I've now skidded around the net looking for interesting articles on Venus Retrograde in general. These are some good ones:
Venus Retrograde for 2015 by Lynn Koiner.
Venus Retrograde 2015: An Archetypal Journey in Relationship
By Henry Seltzer for Astrograph Astrology.
Venus Retrograde + 8 Year Cycles by Kelly Surtees
Chuckling about a warning, in one of the above, about buying a car during Venus retrograde. We did! It wasn't a new car though and, after a bit of hard haggling, it became a bargain...and that's good for Venus retrograde, so they say. I didn't know that at the time though!
16 comments:
Ah, the virtue of patience...go with the flow...take-in the scenery. Too many times I've asserted my impatience, inviting disaster along for the ride. I've been through a number of seemingly never-ending sagas, a pleasant and rational temperament long lost by the exiles of time and motion, only to arrive at a far better destination than originally envisioned. Our individual lives seem endowed with free will, but over-riding the astrological sequence of events tends to provide sour notes. The advertising slogan from Paul Masson wineries, "We will sell no wine before its time" is fitting. I've missed and over-looked many wonderful extant moments, because I was too preoccupied with the past or future.
As for Venus retrograde, I was enchanted with her radiance as I drank coffee on my porch this morning at 6 AM...she's rising almost an hour before the Sun with splendorous illumination. Once the Sun moves farther into Virgo, Jupiter will be joining Venus in the predawn festival of lights.
You may be more fettered by Venus retrogrades...I mentioned in a comment last week that your natal Venus is at maximum elongation from the Sun and virtually standing still in the predawn sky, with no apparent forward motion. Venus will be stationary direct on September 5, 2015; maximum brilliance on September 20th, and at maximum elongation on October 26th at 46* elongation from the Sun, and will be the highest on the eastern horizon in the predawn sky that day.
“Do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles and the water is clear?” Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching
Off topic - I watched "A Single Man" on Netflix last night and I definitely recommend it. Colin Firth and Julianne Moore provide tremendous performances.
"A Single Man is a 2009 American drama film based on the novel of the same name by Christopher Isherwood. It is directed by Tom Ford in his directorial debut and stars Colin Firth, who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of George Falconer, a depressed gay British university professor living in Southern California in 1962."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Single_Man
mike ~ Thanks for your thoughts on this.
I'd forgotten about the earlier Venus Retro experiences. My blog is serving as a useful diary/journal these days, aiding cluttered memory files! Because Venus retrograde comes around less frequently than Mercury retrograde it gets put on the back burner. For some of us it could be felt more strongly and consistently than Mercury retrograde. Maybe.
I'm naturally impatient anyway (Aries Moon) so any dragging of feet and events frustrates me something awful. :-)
My Lucifer Venus yes - I remember!
We have had very cloudy skies for the past two days, so no Venus sightings for us - might not even be able to see the Full Moon this time.
mike (again) ~
Thanks for the recommendation. Will make myself a note to look for "A Single Man" - the title rings a bell, but synopsis doesn't - maybe we've seen it, will take a peek anyway.
We watched "The Gift" last night - one of those 'psychic solves murder' type thrillers. Cate Blancett as the psychic. Set in Louisiana.
Good cast and well acted. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gift_%282000_film%29
We also watched a couple of episodes of a defunct series "A Gifted Man". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Gifted_Man
(The "gift(ed)" connection was quite unintentional, and not initially noticed!) If you like a bit of medical content (brain surgery) and a bit of supernatural ghosty stuff, this might please. I suspect it'll get formulaic very quickly though, so not recommended for binge-watching.
On topic, this was recently recommended by an online astrologer vis-a-vis BLM and suchlike other 'civil unrest' these days. Very interesting - I had no prior knowledge of some of the described events.
http://exotericastrology.blogspot.ca/2007/08/venus-retrograde-cycles-of-injustice.html
Twilight ~ Sad but interesting how immigration issues are in the news during this Venus retrograde.
My personal experience has been that things (and people) aren't always what they seem; their true value is sometimes hidden, underappreciated or exaggerated, misunderstood.
We downsized during a Venus retrograde, found our affordable little gem of an apartment and signed the lease, which, in retrospect, has turned out to be a mixed blessing. Much of what we were originally told (and promised) either wasn't accurate or didn't last. Our experiences here, some of which have been pretty terrible, have taught me a lot. Still, I'm grateful.
Not having anywhere else to go (and experiencing some of the challenges faced by lower-income renters) has enlightened and humbled me. It's the way it's always been.
Sabina ~ Thank you for that link - a lot of research must have gone into that piece!
It seems as though traditional keywords for Venus aren't necessarily relevant in regard to the ways its retrograde phases are reflected on Earth. When we think Venus, in astrology, we think love, art, music, beauty and such. Retrograde maybe can bring the opposite of those - hate and ugliness - in mundane matters, anyway. In personal charts I guess it depends on the way the rest of the chart is configured how, if at all, Venus retro has potential to be noticed in the life of the chart owner.
LB ~ Yes, there's a lot of ugliness just now on immigration issues - some of it spouted by the likes of Donald Trump.
Hidden, or mistaken, value also is kind of the opposite of what Venus usually stands for - good point!
Sorry to read about your experience with your apartment! Sometimes, it's simply "needs must when the devil drives" - been there, done that too, more than once. :-(
I've never heard that expression, Twilight ~ you had me googling.:) Maybe I don't understand what it means, but we actually chose this apartment after a lot of thoughtful investigation. We were in a better position back then and were willing (and able) to wait for the right place. Our current apartment seemed to be it, and in spite of everything, maybe it was and is.
We've remained here because there's no place to go. It's also a beautiful little place. At around 450 square feet (we lost some usable footage after a flood), it's the smallest home we've ever lived in, but by far the most welcoming.
I just remembered something else. My mom (a Taurus) passed during Venus retrograde. She'd been suffering, so it was a blessing. Honestly, I was relieved.
Adding how at the height of our desperation here, my husband and I considered moving into a place that would've likely been an even worse mistake. We stopped ourselves and decided to stay . . . for practical reasons.
Everyone else in the building (including the owner and his family) either passed away or got evicted, but we're still here. Now we have new neighbors.
To be fair, *some* issues have improved.:)
"Venus: the Dual Goddess and the Star Goddess" by Arielle Guttman
http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/1195957/22187662/1363304480207/The_Dual_Nature_of_Venus_by_Arielle_Guttman.pdf?token=dpuGaztO%2BL8Z2o3fOc6kEeAUVA0%3D
LB ~ Having a break from some episodes of "A Gifted Man" (getting more interesting - a shaman now involved as well as a brain surgeon and a ghost! LOL!
"Needs must...." usually means that when unfortunate circumstances arise, we have to do things or go places or accept things we wouldn't normally do or accept. Your circumstances weren't that way at all - I see now. :-) Glad there has been mild improvements.
mike - Thanks will read that later on. I just peeked out the kitchen window a minute or two ago, clouds have cleared somewhat - there's a huge - huge reddish Moon hiding behind a clump of trees - amazing!
Hmmm. It's true, we do *accept* things now we wouldn't have accepted in the past. Things have changed for a lot of us. We're luckier than most.
Your red Moon sounds beautiful . . . I'd love to see it. No Moon here, so far at least.
"A Gifted Man", huh? Maybe we'll put it on our list. Lately we've been more drawn to movies/series set set during periods before automobiles came into use. Horses and carriages make us happy.
LB ~ We've been in that era a lot recently too - were sorry to leave it - but...needs must.
;-)
Okay, here's something else Venus retrograde is good for: the return of music.
A few years ago, our stereo mysteriously stopped receiving my favorite classical radio station. Over the years I've tried every now and then, but with no luck. Then this morning (with Venus conjunct my 12H Uranus - electrical reception?), it was back, clear as a bell. How long it'll last, I don't know.
LB ~ That's appropriate! Venus and music being very close relations. :-)
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