Some of the most beautiful stories I’ve witnessed when working with people have been Venus Retrograde stories. There’s something magical about the depth of the reflection, about the raw honesty and the vulnerability that Venus retrograde awakens, that brings the best out of people.

What’s fascinating about these stories is that people always end up doing something completely counterintuitive… there is always a twist that develops in these stories, as you will soon read.

Venus retrograde brings to the surface all of our repressed feelings and emotions.

Venus Retrograde In The News

If you’ve been watching the news you’ve probably seen already lots of things coming up. I usually look in the news to see what topics are trending on the day a planet goes retrograde.

Just before Venus went retrograde, Lady Gaga was invited to the Stephen Colbert show, where she spoke about trauma and abuse. That night, Venus retrograde was conjunct Lady Gaga’s Moon and Pluto. She said:

“If someone is assaulted or experiences trauma, there is scientific proof — it’s biology — that people change. The brain changes. What it does is it takes the trauma and it puts it in a box and it files it away and shuts it so that we can survive the pain.”

This quote is emblematic for Venus retrograde in Scorpio. Scorpio is the Underworld, the realm of the subconscious. Just because something is hidden, doesn’t mean it doesn’t change us, doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect us.

The second event that got into the news was the mixed martial arts fight between Connor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Khabib (who won the fight) jumped out of the fighting octagon into the crowd, to attack a supporter – an unprecedented act in sports. The fight happened when Venus switched direction and was EXACTLY conjunct Khabib’s Pluto. Venus was at 10°49’ Scorpio and Khabib’s Pluto at 10°49’ Scorpio.

Basically, all his suppressed emotions came out. For good (he had an unusual force and stamina and won the fight) and for bad (he lost control and set a bad example for the sport).

After the fight, Khabib justified his actions by blaming his opponent who had previously mocked his family and his religion. This example shows the rage that can accumulate for a long period of time. Just because Khabib had stuffed it down, didn’t mean that it had gone away.

The scene of Khabib jumping out of the fighting octagon in rage is also emblematic for Venus retrograde in Scorpio. All the things that make us hurt, all the memories we felt when we were out of control and powerless, come to the surface, to be dealt with.

The first three weeks of Venus retrograde are for purging, for bringing these trapped feelings into our awareness.  

That’s definitely not an invitation to do what Khabib did, but an invitation to acknowledge and show compassion for your suppressed emotions.

Venus Retrograde is the best time to clear your basement. It’s not only the ugly things that will come out. Also our treasures. Treasures you were not even aware were hidden there.

Venus Retrograde Stories

I would like to share some stories from the last time Venus went retrograde in Scorpio in October 2010.

Vanessa had a high profile job in sales. Although she worked twice as hard as anyone else and generated three times more revenue than any of her colleagues, her promotion was still not coming. Basically, the manager favored other employees who happened to be close friends or relatives.

When Venus went retrograde, Vanessa’s manager announced the promotions for the coming year. Someone else got promoted, someone who was always late and had difficulties reaching their target. Vanessa was devastated. More than being upset for her not getting the promotion, she was infuriated about the injustice.

She felt powerless and hopeless. After three weeks (when the new Venus cycle started), she decided to resign. She had no plan for the future, she didn’t know what to do next. She completely surrendered.

During one late night at home, wondering why it had happened, she suddenly had a revelation. She remembered the numerous situations when she got herself into ‘impossible situations’. The impossible situations are situations that are impossible to change, no matter how hard you try.

She realized she knew all along when something is a lost cause, but she got herself repeatedly into ‘impossible situations’ so she can experience, again and again, feelings of powerlessness. She wanted to be defeated.

When she finally realized that, all her struggle went away. It was not her fault, as she recognized the same traits in her parents, and in other members of her family. She inherited the need to be defeated.

Just by acknowledging that, everything changed. That mental model didn’t have power over her anymore. When Venus went direct, she found an amazing job (not in sales, but in operations, a job that fit her much better).

She didn’t care about being promoted anymore. In fact, she realized she needed more time for herself. The promotion came only 3 months later. Vanessa was now comfortable with her feelings, and the others felt secure around her too, and finally recognized her leadership potential.

Losing One’s Voice

Amanda was a singer. She was singing 3 days a week in a restaurant. She was sharing a tiny flat with her longtime partner and another friend. When she moved into that city she had big hopes. She hoped she would become famous. She dreamt of a family and of a nice house.

She was now in her early 40’s and realized that probably none of her dreams will come true. When she was on stage singing (just a few days after Venus went retrograde) she suddenly lost her voice. No matter how hard she tried, she could not make herself sing. She left the stage embarrassed and went home crying. The voice came back a few hours later but she knew she would never go back.

She realized she was living a fake, soulless life. She was fake. That’s why she couldn’t sing anymore. She simply couldn’t play that role any longer. She didn’t want to be in that city, she was not happy in her relationship, she didn’t want to sing in a band. She remembered herself as a child, during her singing classes. She deeply feared her music teacher, who was always admonishing her, saying that her voice didn’t sound ‘studied’ and elegant enough.

She realized she has lost her voice not that night, but a long time ago. She had an honest discussion with her partner, who supported her. They finally decided to move out of the apartment in the city center and rented a tiny house in the suburbs. Amanda became a singing teacher, helping other people find their true voice.

As you can see in these examples, Venus retrograde firstly comes with a loss. You lose something of value. And then, it’s exactly this loss that helps you get clarity of your situation. This sudden awareness empowers you to change yourself and change your life.

What Venus retrograde stories do you have?

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