Some of you may have noticed that the past little while has been… well, WEIRD, for lack of a better word. Especially in the romance universe. Mixed messages, insanely indecipherable behaviour & strange incompatibilities are all rife. It’s maddening. Why? Because Venus has been in retrograde, & has been since the 6th of March. This could explain a few things, hmm?! When planets retrograde, we often feel stuck or confused & unable to move forward. While this is extremely frustrating, it’s a great time to learn & reflect on our old patterns so we can change them & surge onwards to a bright new dawn.

Venus is the planet of love & creativity. It also rules beauty, aesthetics, friendships, marriages & pleasure, so when it goes retrograde, it can affect us in various ways. Arguments, misunderstandings & epic miscommunications are everywhere you turn, romances hit rocky territory, artists lose their mojo & writers feel uninspired. Ordinarily outgoing people want to hide in their houses, & even shopping for clothing or furniture can become a frustrating trial. Ex-boyfriends might start emailing you out of the blue — sentimental thoughts are higher than usual. You might be re-evaluating all your past relationships, as we often find ourselves being forced to deal with old issues during this time, & we could be drawn to more unconventional relationships (or people!) than would normally appeal to us. Yes, it can be a trying time. To see what Venus retrograde has really struck for you, this page from Cafe Astrology outlines what particular areas have been affected for each sign.

The good news is that Venus is going direct again this Friday/Saturday depending on where you are on the planet (see below). Even better, at the time it goes direct, Mercury trines Saturn, meaning mental powers are heightened & we all feel super-conscious & lucid.

Venus goes direct again at…
12.25pm Friday 17th April in Los Angeles
15.25pm Friday 17th April in New York
20.25pm Friday 17th April in London
5.25am Saturday 18th April in Sydney
7.25am Saturday 18th April in Wellington
(If your city isn’t listed, this time zone converter should do the trick!)

Hallelujah!

Mystic Medusa sent out a great message on her mailing list the other day with a couple of ideas of rituals you could do to usher in Venus going direct, & as I read it & thought ‘What a great idea!’, it occurred to me that there were a lot of other ways you could do this that were less pagan/squiffy/”new age” in nature. We are not all comfortable lighting a candle & waving around a stick of incense, right?

Firstly, though, why would anyone want to do a ritual just because the planets are changing? Well, really what it’s about is making a conscious decision to end a chapter in your life & start on a fresh new course. So often people say, “Okay, time for a change!” but it never comes to fruition. There are a multitude of reasons for this, but when you decide to do something, it can be really helpful to make a dedication to it through your actions. You can write a list of goals, you can restructure your time, etc., but you can also kick it all off with a ritual to get you on the right track. Plus… rituals can be really fun, always a good reason to do anything!

In this case, Venus going direct is a time to commit to what it is you want in the areas of love, friendship, creativity & pleasure. We create our own lives, after all — this is just another way of making that happen.

When you do a ritual of any kind that is intended to bring about change, really what you want to do is focus on what it is that you want while performing an action which helps crystallise your thoughts. Visualising is an awesome way to manifest things, but at the same time, it’s very “up there”, which means that a lot of people feel like they’re not really doing it right. Visualising while moving your body with intent is a great way to bring manifesting into the here & now & make it more concrete. (Ah yes, all that dabbling in wicca at age 14 — despite the fact that it concerned my parents a LOT — had its uses!)

Visualise can be a scary, new agey word to a lot of people but I’ll let you in on a secret — it’s really just a fancy way of saying “imagine”!

Here are a selection of ways that you can unite body & mind. Just remember to keep your intention in your head as you do them! Think about what it is you want to create in your own life, specifically in the realm of love, friendship & creativity. Maybe you want to patch things up with your boyfriend, heal old relationship issues, make new friends or start writing a book. Whatever it is, just fantasize about it as you do one of the following, or something of your own creation — I’d love to hear what you come up with!

Re-examine your creative space. Clear it out. Take down all the old pictures, fortunes, trinkets, clean them off & then add in some new things which fire you up in fresh ways.

Make a list of all of the beautiful things you can think of — then come up with a bunch of ways to celebrate them when Venus goes direct.

Write a letter to your ex. Be as angry as you like. Spew total filth. Throw blame around, feel the fury, wallow in it. Then read it aloud, & BURN IT. As you burn it, allow those problems to disappear with it.

Write down all the ways you can be a love letter to the universe, & choose a few to action!

Glue heart-shaped crystals to your face & go out dancing.

Write a letter to yourself, explaining why you’re so fabulous & what you are thankful for.

Hold hands with a friend & recite affirmations together.

Conjure up images of all your ex-lovers in your head, & instead of seeing them as the person who caused this or that, choose to see them as a flawed person who did their best to love you.

Similarly, think of the people who surround you currently & decide to focus on their best & most positive qualities. No point dwelling on what could be different!

Buy a corkboard & pin up a bunch of pictures which symbolise what it is you want to attract into your life. Put on fun music, go mad with scissors, enjoy yourself! (Corkboards are good for making vision boards because while you want to see them regularly, sometimes you don’t want other people to see them… So you can always put them in a closet or under the bed when you have company!)

Make a little speech as you dedicate yourself to beauty & integrity.

Go through old love letters & throw them out — just ditch that cobwebby energy — OR pick the best ones, & frame them as an example of what it is you’re seeking. Just remember not to attach to the person who wrote them, unless of course you want them back!

Create a playlist of your favourite music, grab your hula hoop & headphones, go out & dance in the sunshine & revel in the wonder of the everyday.

Invite your lover — or someone you’re having issues with — & tell them that you both have fifteen minutes to get past garbage off your chests. You can make notes in preparation if you want. You have fifteen minutes to say your piece, & when the clock strikes half past, you have to both let it go & make up. Use your imagination!

Repot old plants & see them as a symbol of change, growth & evolution.

Meditate.

Dress in pink & throw yourself a belated Valentine’s Day-esque party.

Journal. Ask yourself questions, & answer them. What could you let go of to bring more positivity into your life? What fears are holding you back from doing that? In which areas are you willing to make change?

Think of an old conversation you had — one that is affecting you to this day (most of us have hundreds we can draw upon in a heartbeat) — & recite it as accurately as you can. Then recite it again, but this time, imagine it went a different way — a way that would have left you feeling good. Visualise this actually happening as clearly as possible. Then let it go.

Think about the ways you can take action in your life to change what has been bothering you for the past couple of months. Venus retrograde is really about observing & becoming aware of problems, not necessarily taking any concrete steps towards change, so consider what you could do now to shake things up.

Write notes to your friends outlining why you love them & what you appreciate about them.

Clear out the space in which you typically “get busy” — whether that’s your bedroom, kitchen (oh!), or the back seat of your Jeep… Get rid of dying plants or flowers (bad feng shui!), bring in some colour, vacuum, make it somewhere you really want to be!

Dispose of all the old energy following you around by getting a bit OCD on it. Clean everything. Change your bedding, wash your clothes, take off all the jewellery you wear regularly & clean it, dust, mop, etc.

The most powerful time of the transit is the hour that Venus goes direct — so the half hour on either side of the times stated above. So if you’re in London, kick off at about 8pm, & see if you can draw it out until 9.

Best of luck!

Extra For Experts:
If you want to come up with your own way of celebrating or ritualising Venus going direct, these resources might help you!
How to Create a Ritual or Ceremony from Spiritual Integrity.
New Moon Manifestation Ritual from About.com. This is new moon specific but still useful.
Ritual & Ceremony by Zan Benham.
Dance as ritual & transformation from The Hindu newspaper.
A Self Love Ceremony from About.com.