Wrapping up this lunar cycle; Venus is Retrograde

Tomorrow's
the New Moon in Aries. The New Moon's the time to begin new work. Just
before the New Moon the time's equally important. Now's when we all
need to focus on releasing things we don't need for the next lunar
cycle. It's time to clean up stuff, wrap up projects, and say goodbye
to the old.

Right now I'm making lists of new projects to consider, but I'm
letting them incubate for a few days. What I am doing is a bit of
divination. If you're not given to listening for inner guidance on your
work, now's the time to give it a try. As the Moon wanes, we can see
our new directions clearly - if we take the time to go inward. It's
because (symbolically) the exterior light we use to drive ourselves is
turned down. That means the more subtle signals and images can come to
the surface. Don't pile your schedule high with things right now
because you'll interfere with the insights that are available if you
open to them. I strongly recommend meditation during the dark of the
Moon. If you're given to Tarot or the I Ching, pull out your oracle and
ask questions about the upcoming lunar month. Once the Moon in New
tomorrow, it's time to get busy again.

Venus is retrograde for the next week or two. You'll often find
folks wondering what it means when Mercury is retrograde, but everyone
forgets the other planets. A planet goes retrograde when the
relationship between the Earth's position and the planet's position
makes the planet appear to go backward when we look at it from the
Earth. Of course, from a heliocentric (Sun-centered) position, the
planets never go backward. But from our geocentric (Earth-centered)
perspective, they may appear move backward. The Sun and Moon are never
retrograde. The outer planets, on the other extreme, may spend up to
half their time moving retrograde, so there's not so much significance
for them. But the inner planets - Mercury, Venus, and Mars - are much
less frequently retrograde. Indeed, Venus is the planet that's least
often retrograde, so when it happens, it's important.

Venus retrograde makes it tougher to connect with relationship
partners. The desire to reach out to others falls off, and we want -
and need - to spend more time internally. It's also difficult for
artists, because the artistic energy that wants to stretch out and
explore is turned around and directed inwardly. So don't be concerned
if your relationships are a bit fallow right now. They'll feel that way
for the next week or two. Take the pressure off - and maybe do things a
bit differently than you usually do in relationship.