Venus is currently stationary at 8° Scorpio, preparing to turn retrograde. During her sacred 40-day underworld journey, she'll travel backward through the early degrees of Scorpio and eventually stationing direct at 22° Libra, the Air sign she rules.

What makes the start of this Venus retrograde especially intense, even chaotic, is the landscape it’s occurring in. Venus is in her sign of detriment, Mars-ruled Scorpio, where themes of death, destruction, determination, trauma, and bonding run deep. She is also conjunct messenger Mercury, and together they form a tense T-square with Mars in Leo and Pluto in Aquarius. If we bring in Chiron, we have nearly a Grand Cross formation with the wounded healer.

The destructive potential of the Mars–Pluto opposition is loud right now. Mars in Leo is eager to take bold, audacious risks, while Pluto in Aquarius represents the revolutionary renovation running beneath the collective's angst.

Oppositions often play out through relationships: planets...

Venus retrograde dates and degrees

Aug 31 @ 22 libra enters shadow

Oct 3 @ 8 scorpio station rx

Oct 23 @ 0 scorpio cazimi

 Nov 13 @ 22 libra station direct

Dec 15 @ 8 scorpio leaves shadow

Today, Venus crosses 22 degrees of Libra, the degree where she will eventually station direct at on November 13. This means she's entered the pre-shadow zone, the territory where she'll eventually transit retrograde.

Venus is a benefic, so we expect good things from her in general. Venus brings people together and is the symbol of relating, love, beauty, creativity and money. So many of the things that make us happy!

When a benefic goes retrograde, we don't quite get what we expect. At times, we may feel we're missing the Venus 'magic', however, at other times we may get something unexpected, that we didn't even know we were missing. 

Libra is a 'yang' sign and Venus here tends to get what she desires through other people such as through relationships, beautiful surroundings, receiving compensation, s...