Weekly Metaphysical Forecast 7.19.23
REAPPRAISING LOVE, PASSION, AND ART
WHAT?
Venus, the heart chakra of our solar system, will be retrograde in Leo from July 22nd through September 3rd of 2023, encouraging a profound examination of our relationships and self-worth. Many of us started to feel this retrograde as early as last week, particularly people with heavy fixed sign placement in their natal charts (looking at Aquarius, Leo, Taurus, and Scorpio, i.e. the same unfortunate group that juuust got through a very difficult Lunar Node Transit. Wheeeee!) On a personal level, we can expect to see ex-friends and lovers crop up on our present radar in unexpected ways, occasionally surprising us with continued relevance. To be clear, this is not like a Mercury Retrograde, wherein ghosts of fuckboi past crop up in communication formats like email and social media, but their half-assed attempts are easily ignored. Venus Retrograde reconnections tend to be much more genuine and profound.
For some, this will be a chance to relitigate relationships that ended poorly or uncertainly, allowing us to move on with more open hearts and an unburdened conscience. For others, this last half of summer could bring massive reassessment of our own value, with a focus on Leonine priorities and aspirations - things like personal appearance, creative output, and activities pursued solely in the name of pleasure. We may find ourselves in places of power or positions that we no longer feel suit us, a bit like David Byrne of The Talking Heads waking up and wondering how he ended up with a beautiful house and a beautiful wife that he can't recall ever wanting.
We can also expect to struggle with internal desires that butt heads with the expectations of those close to us, particularly if our personal reassessment leads us to volatile conclusions like divorce, left-field career swaps, or total abandonment of previous obligations. We cannot expect our situation to change completely overnight, at least, not if we are after sustainable improvements - so avoid making any abrupt, sweeping changes that will achieve minimal gains in the long run, but that could very well rock the foundation of an otherwise stable life. Try to take every smack in the face from the past with grace and aplomb, and do not make any drastic, permanent changes until early September. The ideal path through this retrograde winds calmly through established relationships and endeavors in a way that clarifies and refines intent, as opposed to brutally forcing new, untested partnerships and goals. We must remain circumspect and glean new knowledge from the past if we want to take advantage of an optimistic future.
WHY?
In addition to Venus moving retrograde this week, we have a new moon in emotional Cancer, a new Lunar Node axis in Aries and Libra, and our big angry sky orb will be moving into the attention whore sign of Leo. Add all of this madness together and everyone is going to be very pre-occupied with the state of their hair and makeup.*
Venus rules women, aesthetics, romance, art, creation, and the ways in which we determine value. Venus transiting Leo provides a turbo boost for our own attachment to things involving our appearance and our creative output, because those are elements that a Leo sun sign already uses to navigate the world, usually to their advantage. When these giant drama queens get together in retrograde, we will feel the urge to review our own past in deference to relationships and personal aesthetics, much like when we rediscover a box of decades old photos and marvel at our cringey, retro hair and clothing. For some of us, an autopsy of the past is reassuring, even invigorating, when we see how far we have come and how pleased we are with our current selves. For others, this review might ignite old longings and creative desires as we wonder why we stopped playing piano or talking to that awesome person from college.
Compounding all of this reassessment are the new signs welcoming both Lunar Nodes, those pesky axis points that rule eclipse season and determine the nature of our collective struggle for the next 18 months or so. The North Node represents our bold desires and the areas where we manifest greed, and a transit through zesty Aries means we will be deeply ambitious about personal achievements, perhaps even at the expense of our relationships with others. The South Node shows us where we need to purify and release, and as it passes through Libra over the next 18 months we can expect to shed any relationships that we maintain out of obligation or in service to toxicity, as well as any stale ideas about beauty or creativity that we feel hold us back.
These transits are going to test our impulse control throughout the rest of the summer. Under the pain of so much astrological egotism, the following activities will be extremely tempting, but it is absolutely in all of our best interest to avoid executing them. So do not, under any circumstances;
1. Cut bangs
2. Drastically change hair color
3. Get any sort of new plastic surgery or 'work' done
4. Dump your spouse
5. Kill your spouse
6. Dump your friends
7. Kill your friends
8. Screw your ex
*I'm not even kidding - every Leo I know has a huge, glorious mane of hair.
WHEN?
Monday 7.17 is when our brand spanking new Lunar Nodes arrive and Saturday 7.22 is the official start of Venus Retrograde. Take it slow and steady - remain circumspect regarding all major changes and slow walk into everything, otherwise we'll never make it to September. And Don't. Cut. New. Bangs.
TAROT
Aaaand we're back with the doomsaying! The pulls this week actually align pretty nicely alongside the astrology, with Tuesday bringing us a necessary heart purge as the South Node settles into Libra, the sign of relationships. Wednesday sheds light on a seemingly unworkable problem and we begin to understand the reasons for delay and uncover obstacles to productivity. Thursday could be a tough day that forces us to confront a difficult ultimatum, one that ends in pain regardless of choice. We will pick ourselves up off the floor on Friday, though, and begin building a plan for the future, and on Saturday we find the emotional support we need to keep going. Come Sunday, we may have our collective attention on the world stage when a very public deception or obfuscation is uncovered, one that might have community repercussions.
Thank you to everyone who has been following the daily readings on our stories at RitualPNW on IG and YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/@alectochaos - next week I'll have links to the new platform as well as the first tarot deck review, wherein I will be digging into the symbolism and character of The Enchanting Stranger deck.
LAGNIAPPE
As Venus moonwalks through Leo, it will be tempting to revisit art, culture, and personal aesthetics of yore with wishful, nostalgic eyes. Everyone hits a certain age and gets depressed perceiving their former, youthful self while wondering, "Wait, didn't I used to be cool? How did I turn into this?" Often, retrospection can be painful, particularly when it leads to an unsentimental analysis of who we are presently. Younger Gen X and older Millennials will recognize the twin sentiments to this Venus Retrograde in the Talking Heads single, "Once in a Lifetime", a song that wedged itself in my brain while analyzing the aspects of this week's astrology, apropos of nothing. It was essentially written in the studio earlier that year and featured David Byrne shouting the following lyrics, preacher-style, and detailing his existential crisis of aesthetics-
"And you may ask yourself, "How do I work this?" And you may ask yourself, "Where is that large automobile?" And you may tell yourself, "This is not my beautiful house" And you may tell yourself, "This is not my beautiful wife". Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down Letting the days go by, water flowing underground Into the blue again, after the money's gone. Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground."
Already conscious of the tacky excess that would be coming down the pipeline of the 1980's, these weirdos made an even weirder song that somehow became a cultural touchstone. On a whim, I discovered that Byrnes anguished self-assessment and metaphorical drowning was actually very understandable. A quick check on January through May of 1980 in my ephemeris confirmed the dominant astrological aspect during the recording of this album...Venus was in Retrograde through sad, watery Pisces.