Programming note: I’m taking some time off for the holidays :) So, my next column, the January 2022 forecast, will be published on Friday, December 31st, with the following one coming out Sunday, January 9th. Happy holidays!
Venus in Capricorn
Venus stepped quietly out of the rugged outdoors wear of Sagittarius’ rodeo/pilgrimage earlier this fall, on November 5th, adorning herself in Capricorn’s classic, well-made, and timeless attire. The fun and excess of her sojourn in Sagittarius, which coincided mostly with the circus of October’s Mercury retrograde, ended as Venus got down to work in this high-achieving, Saturn-ruled sign.
As a cardinal earth sign, Capricorn initiates things that have material value and a clear payoff. One of Saturn’s two traditional domiciles, along with Aquarius, Capricorn works in nose-to-the-grindstone fashion until it reaches (and ideally surpasses) its goals. Venus turns ambitious, choosy, and upwardly mobile in Capricorn, a sign that is technically neutral for the planet of relationships, art, and aesthetics.
In Capricorn, Venus applies Saturn’s editing skills to paring away everything in the relational and artistic realms that doesn’t meet her suddenly very high standards. These standards apply to romantic partners, art (their own or others), clothing, gifts, decor, you name it. They would rather go without than have something — partner, painting, dress — that doesn’t meet their standards.
When Venus is well-placed in the natal chart, there is often a kind of classic appeal that manifests with this placement. This timeless appeal can be seen in the person themselves, in the case of a performer or model, or in whatever it is that they create, as a short, idiosyncratic list of famous people with this placement reveals: Ludwig van Beethoven, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Virgina Woolf, Walt Disney, James Dean, Edith Piaf, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Maria Callas, Paul Newman, David Lynch, Steve Jobs, Anthony Hopkins, Faye Dunaway, Brad Pitt, Erykah Badu, Julianne Moore, RuPaul, Dolly Parton, Michael Jordan, Tyra Banks, Cindy Crawford, Lucy Liu, Björk, Alicia Keys, Scarlett Johansson, Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, Michael B. Jordan, Elliot Page, Megan Thee Stallion, and Olivia Rodrigo.
I’m struck by Steve Jobs, a Pisces sun with Virgo rising and the moon in Aires, whose Venus in Capricorn is in the fifth whole sign house of creativity. The technology that was created under his leadership at Apple is known both for its minimalist, timeless aesthetic and its quality and durability. His Venus is opposed exactly by Jupiter, exalted in Cancer, with technological wizard Uranus conjunct, also in Cancer, both in the eleventh house, the fortunate house of communities, audiences, and friends.
The lauded aesthetic of Apple was a result of Jobs’ creative work (Venus in the fifth house) and his tireless efforts (Saturn/Capricorn keyword), but their products benefitted from the expansive and positive reception from the public (Jupiter in the eleventh house, where the planet of wisdom and expansion has its joy) and heralded a new era in technology and connectivity (Uranus).
When Venus transits through Capricorn, we are asked to examine our standards and values in the context of the Capricorn whole sign house of our charts. There is an opportunity for conservative growth in this area of life, especially if effort is applied.
However, this won’t be your average Venus in Capricorn transit, in which Venus blows through Capricorn’s corporate office like a high-paid consultant, all pearls and bob haircut, in about a month. This is because Venus will station retrograde today, on December 19th, at 26 degrees Capricorn.
Venus Rx
Over the next month, Venus will appear to travel backwards in the sky, as seen from Earth. The pattern formed by Venus’ retrograde periods, which happen about every eighteen months and reoccur in the same sign every eight years, is typically venusian — a beautiful five-pointed star flower design in the sky:
For the rest of December and most of January, Venus will tread back over the degrees of Capricorn that she’s already traversed, finally stationing direct on January 29th at 11 degrees Capricorn.
At that point, Venus turns direct and (slowly) goes forward again through the rest of Capricorn. Around March 2nd, Venus reaches 26 degrees, where she first stationed retrograde, a moment that signals the actual end of the retrograde.
But I don’t think the retrograde will *feel* over until a few days later, when Venus crosses the finish line into Aquarius on March 6th (alongside Mars; more on that below), and is no longer co-present with Pluto, whose prolonged contact with Venus is the defining feature of this retrograde.
All of this means: get comfortable with Venus in the Capricorn house of your chart, as she’ll be there for a WHILE.
Look at what whole sign house Capricorn coincides with in your chart — the topics associated with that house will come up in the context of a reassessment of relationship and aesthetic concerns:
First House “Helm” (Capricorn rising): body, self, character, appearance, spirit
Second House “Gate of Hades” (Sagittarius rising): finances, possessions, income
Third House “Goddess” (Scorpio rising): siblings (and those like them), short trips, early education, communication, feminine spiritual practices
Fourth House “Subterranean Place” (Libra rising): parents, home, family, private life
Fifth House “Good Fortune” (Virgo rising): children, creativity, pleasure, sex, recreation
Sixth House “Bad Spirit” (Leo rising): physical health, injury, work, daily routine, subordinates, pets
Seventh House “Setting Place” (Cancer rising): relationships, partnership, marriage, the “other”
Eighth House “Idle Place” (Gemini rising): death, inheritance, shared assets, assets of others
Ninth House “God” (Taurus rising): travel, foreign things, higher education, religion, astrology and divination
Tenth House “Midheaven” (Aires rising): career, reputation, public life
Eleventh House “Good Spirit” (Pisces rising): friends, groups, alliances, hopes
Twelfth House “Bad Spirit” (Aquarius rising): mental health, enemies, sickness, loss, seclusion, exile
Venus’ Rx Shadow and Past Venus in Capricorn Rx Cycles
Venus entered her retrograde shadow, the degree she will soon backtrack to, last month around November 17th. Thinking back to anything that came up then in the relational or aesthetic realms can help to provide clues about what will come up for you during this retrograde.
Looking back to past Venus retrogrades in Capricorn, and what happened then, can also give some ideas about issues that may emerge (or reemerge, as retrogrades can brings events, or people, back into our lives). The past two Venus retrogrades in Capricorn were in late December 2013 through January 2014 and late December 2005 through early February 2006 (though this retrograde began in the early degrees of Aquarius and went back into Capricorn).
However, both of these previous cycles were different than the one happening now, and for one big reason: Pluto. The Venus retrograde in 2013-14, while co-present with Pluto, didn’t actually cross paths with it, and, during the earlier Venus retrograde, Pluto was still in Sagittarius, in aversion to Venus in Capricorn.
This time, Venus stations retrograde one degree past Pluto, hanging out in late Capricorn, emphasizing the plutonian nature of this Venus retrograde.
Descent Into the Underworld
Venus has to pass Pluto, zodiacally speaking, forming an exact conjunction each time, a total of three times before moving into Aquarius. The first time was on December 11th, with Venus still direct, the next will be on December 25th, just after the start of the retrograde, and the last will happen on March 3rd as Venus finally reaches 27 degrees of Capricorn. That’s three conjunctions Venus-Pluto in a few months. Yikes.
The Venus retrograde cycle, in any sign, is already linked to themes of a descent to the underworld and subsequent reemergence in ancient mythology. According to Babylonian myth, the goddess Inanna (later known as Ishtar and a precursor to Aphrodite/Venus) descends to the underworld to conquer the domain of her older sister, Ereshkigal, the queen of the underworld.
Inanna faces judgement and death but is brought back to life and ultimately freed through an intercession by other gods. Her husband, Dumuzid, is brought to the underworld in her place, though he’s finally set free when a bargain is struck that has implications for the cycle of the seasons.
Sound familiar? The myth recalls elements of the story of Persephone — her descent to the underworld after being kidnapped by Pluto/Hades, who made her queen of the underworld, and the bargaining among the gods that finally resulted in her release for six months of the year and the ensuing continuation of the seasonal cycle.
While this mythology hovers over every Venus retrograde period, prolonged contact with Pluto makes this Venus retrograde even more plutonian. And, let’s be honest, there’s already more than a whiff of plutocratic patriarchy in the air.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but issues of control and who has power (Pluto) over venusian bodies, which are generally interpreted as female and female-identifying, have already been coming up all around us: the possible weakening or gutting of Roe vs. Wade and the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, to name just a couple of glaringly obvious examples. A recent book review of a memoir by Sarah Ransome, a victim of Jeffrey Epstein, literally refers to the Caribbean villa of the disgraced abuser/pedophile and (pseudo) financier as “Hades.” Indeed. (For more on this topic, check out astrologer Stephanie Warner’s fascinating deep dive over at The Mercury Papers.)
In our own lives, relationships, and a reassessment of the power dynamics surrounding them, will almost certainly come up in some fashion.
It’s important to note that Venus retrogrades are often experienced positively, particularly for those with night charts, in which the sun is in the lower half of the chart, where Venus is the most positive planet in the chart. And some (probably night chart) folks may experience this retrograde very positively, depending on their chart. Venus’ contact with power broker Pluto could be suggestive of gaining access to wealth and power through venusian strategies such as alliance, friendship, marriage, or seduction.
But, as the mythology reminds us, whenever someone descends to the underworld, whether to be made queen or simply as a lost soul, there’s always a bargain to be struck to return to earth. What might you trade to access the plutonian temptations on offer this round? It’s worth a think.
And, with Pluto’s fingerprints all over this retrograde, it feels more like a straight up trip to the underworld to face our demons (whatever they may be), a deep reassessment of our relational bonds and the power structures supporting (or oppressing) them, a saturnian dance of renegotiating boundaries, and then a breathless run to the exits, the monsters we dredged up still at our heels.
Moving Through the Venus Rx
Mercury joined Venus in Capricorn on December 13th, before the retrograde, so at least we have eyes and ears on the ground, an industrious scribe to get the story out. Mercury’s presence is an opportunity to be the reporters of our own Venus retrograde story, through journaling, keeping a diary, voice memos, or whatever works for you. Sometimes (often) the shape of something isn’t clear in the moment but becomes clear later. Having your notes from the time can be invaluable to understanding it later on.
The sun sheds its light on the situation, entering Capricorn on December 21st, just as the retrograde begins, revealing some important, and possibly difficult, truths, over the next month, as Pluto’s proximity invites revelations of secret and corrupt things.
The new moon in Capricorn on January 2, 2022, broadcasts something important about the Venus retrograde story. Venus makes her conjunction with the sun, an important focal point of the retrograde cycle, soon after, on January 8th at 18 degrees.
There’s a moment I like on January 5th, when Venus, still retrograde, forms an energizing sextile with Neptune in Pisces at 20 degrees. It’s a good moment for a rethink of any aesthetic or art/design projects. Capricorn’s discernment and Pisces’ wild abandon, in a productive aspect, can lead to some inspired breakthroughs, especially later on when they form the same aspect again on February 24th, with Venus now direct and traveling with action-oriented Mars.
Mercury’s retrograde on January 14th, which begins in early Aquarius but backtracks into Capricorn, churns up the story of the Venus retrograde anew, especially as Mercury conjuncts Pluto on January 28th, forcing a rewrite of the narrative or spilling some dark secrets.
Mars: Hero or Part of the Problem?
An interesting feature of this Venus retrograde is the role of Mars, which catches up to Venus in Capricorn on January 24th, just before Venus stations direct on the 29th. The sun has moved on to Aquarius by this time, essentially leaving Venus unsupervised with Mars and Pluto, which seems difficult for Venus.
It’s always a bit of a two-way street, anytime these two are co-present: Venus improves Mars’ condition, but Mars weakens Venus. While Capricorn is the sign of Mars’ exaltation, imbuing the warrior planet with cool-headed, organized strategy, it’s merely neutral territory for Venus, which suggests an unequal playing field. And let’s not forget that empowered malefics, such as Mars exalted in Capricorn, can be problematic, since they can be capable of doing harm quite effectively.
And Pluto is Pluto, always the monster under the bed. Harsh aspects involving Mars and Pluto, including the conjunction, which they will form on March 3rd, can be indicative of eruptions of transformative violence.
Mars and Venus meet up periodically, catching up to each other through their different planetary cycles, so this in itself isn’t news. But Mars’ presence, hand in hand with Venus towards the end of her retrograde, raises some interesting questions. In the month that these two advance together, before their exact conjunction with Pluto at 27 degrees of Capricorn on March 3rd, there are some interesting dynamics at work that point to a renegotiation of boundaries in relationships, a specialty of Saturn-ruled Capricorn.
As Mars and Venus together represent the archetypal lovers, there’s an opportunity to address issues of boundaries, power, shared assets, control, intimacy — any relationship topics that seem potentially difficult are probably on the table — in the context of important relationships. Basically, Mars and Venus seem to be trying to work things out before they have to deal with Pluto again.
Think of this period, which includes what may be a rather somber Valentine’s Day, as a time to engage in a metaphorical (or literal?) dance with your partner. And what better metaphoric dance than the tango? It’s classic, classy, elegant, and precise, and with music that’s suitably melancholy and saturnian for this meet-up of the planetary lovers in Capricorn.
When done in the original Argentine style, tango is an improvised duet in which the partners must constantly negotiate with each other through their movements. One leads while the other follows, but it’s a dialogue; each partner must respond to the other’s cues. You have to listen to your partner or you’re lost on the dance floor.
Mars and Venus form an exact conjunction on February 16th at 16 degrees of Capricorn, just after Valentine’s Day. It may sound romantic, but, remember, this is all taking place in Capricorn, with the sun in the Aquarius, both signs ruled by Saturn, strong in its home sign of Aquarius.
Furthermore, there’s a split screen taking place, with Jupiter approaching Neptune in boundary-free Pisces, making us long to be that other couple, clearly in love and gliding effortlessly across the dance. But Venus and Mars are locked in a melancholy embrace on the dance floor, studiously (re)negotiating everything about their relationship.
Our celestial pair are given a taste of the piscean party, of the fun they could be having if they could just get their relationship issues (and dance technique) worked out, on February 23rd/24th, when they both sextile Neptune at 22 degrees Pisces, with Jupiter not far behind. Maybe Venus and Mars finally get their communication down and are able experience a momentary joy on the dance floor, an easing of the pressure they’ve been under.
But then: Pluto. Tangoing through the final degrees of Capricorn together, they must confront whatever was dredged up by Venus’ initial confrontations with Pluto earlier in the retrograde cycle.
Does Mars help or hinder Venus in her struggle with Pluto? Is there a hero narrative at work? Possibly. But to me it seems like they face the monster together, like a pair of the young people sent off to be sacrificed to the Minotaur. (Remember, one of them, Theseus, who volunteered for the job, killed the Minotaur, aided by Ariadne, who was in love with him, and her ball of string.)
We may face something deeply scary in our lives, something from the past or something new, tied into the Venus retrograde story. We will need to reach deep into our bag of tricks to overcome it, employing both martian and venusian skills, strategy and force as well as diplomacy and charm (and possibly the clever use of household materials?).
Venus and Mars seem to make it, in the end, crossing into Aquarius together on March 6th, leaving the Venus retrograde dramas behind, for the time being.
The irony, as always in this neck of the zodiac, is that they leave one Saturn-ruled sign for the other, though Aquarius is more open-minded and social, as an air sign, and less focused hierarchy than Capricorn. So, the dialogue and negotiation between Venus and Mars continues, and it is now very much a conversation between peers.
Venus Rx Takeaways
We’ll be integrating the lessons, or battle scars of the heart, of this Venus retrograde for some time to come, no doubt. We’ll be melding these insights together with everything else that has come up for us during that last couple of years.
As Venus stations retrograde, take some time to reassess the relationships in your life and how they might evolve. Which ones aren’t serving you anymore, and which ones need a renegotiation? Changes and moving on may be painful, and can dredge up some demons (or a lord of the underworld or two). But it’s always easier when we act in an empowered way, as opposed to being reactive and on the defensive. And empowerment through foreknowledge is ultimately what astrology can offer us.
And, for all you tango lovers out there, here are the tango dancers of La Confitería Ideal, the storied tango salon in Buenos Aires, in Part 1 of a BBC documentary from some years ago. Note the accidental (and deep) relationship advice one tanguero gives when he notes that the walk (the basic tango step) is the hardest part to do: