Today, after 42 days of traveling backward through the sign of Leo, Venus will pause and reverse motion, stationing direct.
The planet stations direct at 9:20 pm ET, at 12°12’ of Leo.
Venus will now move forward through the sign of Leo, territory she already covered from June 19 to July 22.
Although this marks the end of Venus’ retrograde, it’s not the end of this story of Venus in Leo. This is just the start of Act 3.
Venus is the planet of love, relationships, desire, art, beauty, money, and values. The retrograde period was a time for us to review our values and what we truly desire in life.
In Leo, Venus desires visibility. One of the core themes of this retrograde has been exploring what keeps us from claiming our spotlight.
The end of Venus’ retrograde marks a time to synthesize the lessons we’ve learned so we can integrate them as we begin to move forward again.
Of all the lessons I’ve learned, this is the biggest one:
Visibility starts within.
If you want to be seen by others, you must first see yourself.
Not in a mirror. Not in reflection only from those who admire you. But rather in an unvarnished, objective light.
This is easier said than done.
To see yourself requires three traits, or life skills:
(1) Courage
It’s not easy to look at yourself through an unfiltered lens.
To be visible, whether to yourself or to others, is to step out of the safety of your illusions and expose yourself in all your humanity.
This is the myth of the descent of Inanna into the underworld, a myth that parallels the Venus retrograde.
To look at ourselves without filters and with a lens of objectivity requires courage.
(2) Curiosity
It’s often a default to self-judge when we see ourselves acting in ways we don’t like, or when we receive criticism.
Approaching with a mindset of curiosity can help us be less judgmental about what we see when we look at ourselves and what we hear from others.
That curiosity can help us probe deeper into the subconscious patterning that drives our behavior.
(3) Compassion
One of the fears of visibility is what others will think of us. We may worry about being judged or disliked, perhaps threatened.
When we meet ourselves with compassion, we create safety for ourselves. That feeling of safety allows us to be seen by others.
When we feel safe in our own gaze, we no longer worry as much about what others think.
It’s only when we can cultivate this courage, curiosity, and compassion to see ourselves that we can feel safe to be seen by others.
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