Aries is known to represent action. It’s also the ultimate “me, me, me” sign, focused on acting in its own self-interest. Anything Aries applies its initiative to do is something it sees as being supportive of its self-identity.
Venus, on the other hand, is the planet which represents balance, justice, fairness, equality, and the willingness to fight for that balance to be restored when it is not present. Because it addresses both sides of an issue, it is often associated with one-on-one relationships of all kinds.
When these energies are combined, something interesting happens. Venus in Aries, the planet of relationships encourages us to look at our relationships in the context of “what have you (my partner or the person I’m relating to or interacting with) done for me lately?”
Yet when Venus in Aries begins a retrograde motion – as our current 2017 Venus in Aries did on Saturday, 4th March 2016 at 1:09a PST (13.15°) – the focus of inquiry shifts. We begin to see our relationships from the “outside –in”, and this often finds us asking ourselves how and why we are in our various relationships, and finds us asking ourselves if our relationships truly support our individual self-identities.
“Why am I in relationship with this person (or these people)?” becomes the question of the moment, and the answer to that question may force you to look at and review your relationship…with yourself.
This is no light-hearted line of questioning. In fact, some of you will find yourselves becoming frustrated with and/or downright angry about some of your relationships and why you’re choosing to be or remain in them. It’s difficult to take responsibility for your choices to be involved in these matters, and under the influence of the Pisces 4 Sun, it’s may be easier for you to play victim to others’ or external circumstances than it is to stand up and own up to the choices you made.
You may notice that you made your choices in hopes that someone or something would live up to a particular ideal…or that you hoped that you yourself could live up to someone else’s ideals or fantasies.
You may notice that you’ve stayed in relationships which placed you in positions of servitude or sacrifice to another or others. Some of you in this position may have been hoping that your selflessness would be reciprocated, while others of you may have been serving others in order to avoid your own real world problems.
Some of you may even be recognizing that almost everything you’ve been doing has been to please someone else or to champion what is important to others…even though you have little to no interest in the activity yourself. In fact, if anything, “doing it for them” may have taken you away from what you really wanted to be doing with your life.
The sadness, upset, anger, and/or resentment you may feel about those relationship choices may be coming up for you now. Allow it to come up, and allow yourself to express it. It’s coming up for a reason…
…and that reason is to give you an opportunity to change course.
You have an opportunity to begin choosing differently for yourself and your life.
Venus Retrograde in Aries – especially this 2017 version – is an opportunity for you to set a new intention for your actions. It is now time for you to change how you go about being in relationship with others. You now get to look at your partnerships and interactions of all kinds to ask, “Why am I engaging in this interaction or relationship?” and “What does this interaction or relationship do for me?” It’s not necessarily about whether or not you’re getting back what you’ve put into it – it’s more about are you getting what you need in order for your self-identity to feel supported and empowered. And what does it say about your relationship with yourself – how you feel about yourself, how you think about and/or perceive yourself – for you to treat yourself this way by choosing to be in these relationships with others?
And when Venus Retrograde re-enters Pisces on 2nd April 2017 (continuing its retrograde motion until its turn back to direct on 15th April – 26°), it’s an opportunity for you to re-frame your perceptions or beliefs about service to others or service to a Higher truth. Selflessly serving others is not a bad thing as long as you remember that YOU are also part of the great Oneness, and therefore, you get to receive as much as you give. That said, Venus Retrograde in Pisces will assist you in recognizing what you need to receive in order to affirm your self-identity so you can establish healthy, positive, and balanced relationships. You’ll also get to check on if your relationships are as good in reality as they are in theory, as well as what does it say about your relationship with yourself – how you feel about yourself, how you think about and/or perceive yourself – for you to choose these relationships with others? And are you “serving” others to avoid or hide what you don’t like about yourself or to avoid being served because you don’t believe you deserve to be served or loved? This is a prime time to heal old emotional-spiritual wounds within yourself.
It’s just a few things to think about during this powerful 2017 Venus Retrograde period. Allow yourself some time to reflect upon your relationship with yourself and how it affects your interactions with others. It will serve you (and others) well.
Thank you for reading and sharing Signs and Numbers. Until next post…
~ Light, Love, and Blessings,
Grace
