We are very familiar with the cycle of the Moon as it waxes and wanes from New to Full and back again. But did you know that one of the other most easily visible planetary bodies in the sky, Venus, follows its own cycle?
If we were to track the movement of Venus through the sky over the course of eight years, we would discover that it makes a near-perfect pentagram, or five-pointed star, as it moves through the sky (when viewed from Earth).
This diagram, from AstroSeek, shows just how beautiful this movement is. Each time it shifts direction, Venus comes into an alignment with the Sun - either becoming "Full" when it is furthest from the Sun, or "New" when it is closest.
For thousands of years, humans have tracked the movements of Venus through the sky. It is one of the most elegant, reliable, and visible cycles available to the naked eye. Each point of the star is represented by a 583-day cycle in which Venus appears at the horizon as a morning star for 9 months, disappears under the horizon for 50 days, re-emerges in the nigh sky as an evening star for 9 months, and then disappears for another 7 days, only to rise again in the morning and repeat the entire cycle again.
On September 15, 2022, Venus will slip below the horizon, becoming invisible for several weeks as it is in its "Full" stage. What will this mean for us?
First of all, Venus represents the sacred feminine within all of us, the part of us that is aligned with the wisdom of love, beauty, connection, nurturance, and peace. Further, Venus shows us what we value, a unifying force to help us come together in our own interpersonal relationships as well as in the culture at large.
Next, it's important that we understand that this particular Venus cycle began back in January of 2022, when Venus was in the sign of Capricorn. Capricorn is all about the structure of governance, and the question of whether love is the founding principle of our government (or not). So this particular Venus cycle is about bringing in the wisdom of the Grandmothers, recognizing that peace and love deserve a place in the landscape of government and the structures of society.
Finally, this particular phase of Venus, when it is no longer visible in the sky, is actually a very potent time where we may be able create a clean slate of sorts. It is as if the Goddess is in the Underworld, releasing what she has always valued so that new values can be embraced. The big question of this period is: how do I govern myself? And in so doing, how does that affirm or deny the values that our society is governed by? How can I incorporate the values of the Grandmothers, with their wisdom and compassion, in to all I do?
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