Planetary news this week: The rise of Venus and the Leo New Moon
Astrological update for the week of August 14-21, 2023
Venus as morning star. On the heels of Sunday’s conjunction of the Sun to Venus (called the “cazimi”), we begin to see Venus rising as the morning star as she passes the midpoint of the retrograde period. The symbolism 40-day cycle of Venus retrograde is pretty profound, as that 40-day cycle can be found frequently in religious texts. At the beginning of the retrograde cycle Venus is ahead of the Sun and rises near sundown, but after the Sun/Venus conjunction at the midpoint of the cycle Venus sneaks ahead of the sun and rises at morning.
This midpoint of the Venus cycle marks a shift from the looking back period and welcomes the replacement phase of the cycle. We’ve already recognized aspects of our values and relationships that require change. This is the opportunity to begin to put change into motion, a process that continues when Venus turns direct.
Leo New Moon, August 16. The New Moon in Leo, the beginning of a new lunar cycle is a marriage of heaven and earth. The Moon is in the sign of the Sun, and the conscious solar principle unites easily with the lunar instincts. Leo is the sign that celebrates the Self – the healthy Ego, open-hearted, generous and full of life and an ability to embrace joy.
The New Moon is accompanied by some potent planetary juice including an exact square to Uranus, the radical planet of change and breaking out of routine. Normally the disruptive influence of Uranus would be somewhat destabilizing, but the Leo Moon can be excited by change. In addition, there is a dearth of the watery element of emotion which […]