Venus stations direct today! How many of you forgot it was retrograde? You are not alone because it’s easy to get confused when almost every dang planet there is, is retrograde right now! Venus was retrograde in Gemini from May 13th to June 25th. Did you feel any relationship tension, body shame, or desire for major appearance changes these past few weeks?

Venus doesn’t just station direct and suddenly all is well again. After a planet ends it’s retrograde many of us continue to feel the affects. This is referred to as the shadow period.

Venus is Direct in Gemini Now Until August 7th

Gemini rules communication, so one may think Venus direct in Gemini means they can open up to their loved ones again, right? Wrong! Sorry to disappoint. We also have good old Mercury retrograde in Cancer occurring until July 12, and Mercury is Gemini’s ruling planet. So regardless of the sign it’s in, when Mercury is stationed retrograde, communication with others can be an all around struggle.

Mercury Retrograde in Cancer: Shadow Work

Let’s break this down into simple terms in order to piece together this particular retrograde puzzle.

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Venus Direct in Gemini

Venus:

Love, attraction, relationships, beauty

Direct:

When a planet is direct, it is moving forward as usual.

Gemini:

Communication, adaptability, connection, invention

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Typically when Venus is direct in Gemini, we are more connected in our relationships. When I think of these terms together, I think of bees buzzing around, adapting and connecting with each other and the plants they pollinate. Creativity also blossoms when Venus is direct in Gemini as Venus represents art and beauty while Gemini represents invention and cleverness.

What a beautiful combination Venus and Gemini is!

When Venus was retrograde, this energy was more chaotic than bees buzzing around all daintily. Many of us were all over the place and struggling to find beauty in ourselves and the world around us. We all have different birth charts, so of course we aren’t all feeling the exact same way, but we can all agree that the state of the world we live in has developed rapidly towards chaos these past few months. This chaotic uncertainty really takes a toll on our mental health and unfortunately in our current society, mental health is not properly cared for and acknowledged.

We are expected to tough things out and let things go, or shove medicine into our bodies to fix our sadness. In our society we aren’t allowed to just be sad sometimes. We aren’t allowed to feel for each other and be in sadness together. We all have to push, kick, and fight our way to constant happiness, hard work, and fluid motion. Go, go, go.

2020’s Venus in Gemini says, “sorry ’bout ya!” Fluidity is not the answer right now. We can’t all have happy little rainbow sunshine relationships all the time. At some point, we have to go retrograde and experience the nasty storm clouds that come and go in all areas of life, including relationships. We can’t just break up with someone every time we have a disagreement or emotional period. We have to assess and feel the darkness.

Personally, my relationship with my boyfriend has remained quite pleasant through Venus retrograde. We’ve been together ten years so we’ve been through some deep shit and continue to stick together through this deep shit. But my relationships with my friends, family, and job have really been riding the storm. I was tempted to drop some people and things out of my life. It is important to release what no longer serves us during a retrograde; however, we can’t do so without acknowledging the darkness these things bring, first.

I wanted to just slither away from the people I disagreed with. The political divide ESPECIALLY came on strong during this Venus retrograde. But I realized, I can’t run away from people just because they disagree. I would have no one if that was the case. This was an especially challenging realization because, to me, the issues surfacing in our current society are not just political topics. They are basic human rights that are not being met equally for everyone and when someone doesn’t see that, it feels outright evil to me. And how do you listen to and love evil?

In using these examples, I want to further point out that when Venus stations direct in Gemini, these issues don’t magically disappear. There’s work to be done still and we can use astrology as a tool to help us navigate this work.

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Mercury Retrograde in Cancer

Mercury:

Communication, mind, intelligence, language (see the commonalities with Gemini)

Retrograde:

When a planet is retrograde, it appears to go backwards and the themes associated with the planet that is retrograde, become challenging.

Cancer:

Emotions, sensitivity, moodiness, family

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With Venus direct again, communication and connection with loved ones is all healed right? Mercury retrograde says “nu uh honey, not yet!” Communication is still a struggle. Your words may not make sense yet. Emotions are high and tensions are still strong when it comes to family and friend connections.

If you follow other astrologers, you can see why they are worried about all the retrogrades occurring this year. Although every planet and sign has its own quirks, the theme of 2020 remains…confront the demons! Rebirth is upon us. That may sound intense, but all I’m saying is, we can’t remove the tough stuff 2020 is presenting us with without acknowledging the problems first.

The veil is dropped, and the deep dark feelings inside all of us are coming to fruition. Once we acknowledge this in ourselves and others, we can take steps towards releasing our energetic ties with the negative people in our lives. Many of us are facing the same challenges this year. We are all suffering in some way and when humans fight for survival, their true nature is exposed.

Some want peace for all humanity, while some only want peace for themselves and their immediate family.

Summary

There is no light without darkness. There is no hiding your pain. There is no blaming others for the pain they’ve caused, in effort to mask that pain within yourself. There is no perfect relationship. There is no positive thoughts all the time. There is no heaven on earth, happy bunny fairy land. There is no “Venus is direct, it’s all good, guys!!” posts.

There is dark, there is evil, there is ugly, and these things are inside each and every one of us. We will ride in and out of these waves of life together at times, and apart at others. Although we are collectively suffering, there is no shame in carving out time for yourself to reflect on your demons. There is no shame in letting go of relationships that no longer serve you. There is no shame in hanging on to relationships due to fear. We all have fear. We all want happiness. We all love our family and friends. But we also have to know that we all act and react differently and in our own time. Retrogrades are the perfect times for self reflection, but not everyone around us is going to reflect on their actions at this time. Not everyone has the strength for the inner work yet.

We still have struggles ahead this year, and for the rest of our lives really. The planets will continue going in and out of retrograde and slapping us with our shadows. That’s life, baby! Embrace it. Try not to give up on negative people, but also, try not to cling too hard to those negative people. Find that balance in whatever way works for you. Gemini represents duality. Yin and yang. Balance. Venus represents love and beauty. Don’t be too hard on yourself and stop letting other peoples judgement affect you; only you know what’s best for you. You won’t solve all your problems. Ever. So what’s the rush?