On Tuesday the 6th of June 2023, Goddess of Love Venus moved into Leo… the sign of the heart.
Venus usually spends about a month in each sign but due to an upcoming Venus Retrograde, we are being given four months to journey into and reawaken our hearts!
This theme of self-love which is being introduced now, will also become the overall theme and flavour during the next 19-month Venus Cycle which begins when the Goddess herself merges with our Sun (the heart of our solar system) on the 13th of August!
But what does that all mean I hear you ask…
Venus rules our feelings, so our likes, dislikes, and what we love, hence why her domain includes relationships and our passions in general! Leo rules our physical heart and solar plexus chakra, so also represents passionate and romantic love but also love for ourselves. Leo energy is where the initial spark of Aries energy transforms into flames… I think you can see where this is going!!
So with Venus in Leo, expect sparks to fly and passionate exchanges and interactions in your relationships with others to occur. Venus in Leo also asks us to love ourselves… not in an egotistical and big-headed way, but in a way that honours the unique individual that each of us are, our self-expression, and creativity. If anyone knows a Leo… you’ll know that they love to be the centre of attention (here’s looking at you Maria with your high kicks) but they are also extremely generous at heart. Leo energy represented by the Lion is also brave, courageous, self-assured, but if not careful can also be a little too prideful. Now this may sound like all fun and games, but there is something much deeper unfolding that we will all need to explore.
Venus retrograde… a time synonymous with relationship difficulties, challenges, break-downs, and break-ups and old flames reappearing, starts on July 23 at 28 degrees of Leo and will spend 6 weeks backtracking to 12 degrees, ending on September 3rd 2023. This is a time of re-doing, re-defining, re-establishing, re-considering, and in some cases re-connecting in all things love and relationships. So if there are any hidden resentments or issues in your romantic partnerships… they are about to be unearthed. If there are any self-sabotaging beliefs of lack concerning your personal power, your self-confidence, your self-esteem, and your self-belief… they are about to be unearthed!
I don’t like to see retrogrades as a negative thing that happens to us, but rather as the universe giving us another chance to correct some things and a chance to master issues we have not yet been able to learn. Venus will reach 12 degrees of Leo - her shadow zone on Monday 19th of June so start taking notice of what themes arise between then and July 23rd when Venus stations retrograde. This is your heads-up about what bigger revelations will unfold during her retrograde and the next larger 19 month Venus cycle.
Venus also represents our more feminine energy and interestingly Mars, who represents our more masculine energy… so our drive, will and how we take action, is also currently in Leo until Tuesday 11th July. Black Moon Lilith (BML) is also in Leo!!
BML isn’t a physical object but the mathematical point along the Moon's orbit which its farthest from Earth and represents the shadow feminine… the accumulation of emotions and feelings that have been repressed in our subconscious and psyches, from all the ways in which the feminine has been exploited, suppressed, abused, betrayed, and subjugated throughout history. Think of rage, anger, shame, resentment, and bitterness… that is a lot of potential power hidden deep within us all that may want to emerge.
BML will be activated, firstly when Mars meets with her on the 21st of June, then will be activated again on the 28th of June when Venus meets with her. On the 24th of June, BML will actually be sandwiched between Mars (our masculine) and Venus (our feminine)!
Hmmm… this will manifest for everyone differently but I do suggest marking those dates in your diary and if you get pulled into any conflict, particularly with your partner, significant other or in relationships of any kind… remember you are simply playing out these dynamic energies. Try to see the bigger picture of what any arising emotions triggered by others, want to teach you.
After all, each of us regardless of biological sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity, have these energies within. We all have the energies and drives of Venus, Mars and BML within. But we tend to project any shadow parts of these energies onto others. In other words, we need other people to reflect back to us the parts of ourselves that we are yet to integrate, accept, and love.
Also remember that if you were biologically born a female, you agreed when you incarnated to help transmute and shift the collective unconscious feminine energy programmes, just as biological males chose to help transmute the unconscious masculine energy programmes that humanity has created. They are the stories that have played out for centuries… examples could include that men are lazy and women are bossy, that emotional men are weak and women are too emotional, that men can’t multitask, that women don’t have their needs met by men etc. a kind of victim and abuser, or shame and blame dynamic.
However, our job as awakening and enlightened beings is to go beyond these old distorted stories and patterns of polarity and to merge our own inner masculine and inner feminine (our Yin/Yang) so that we can achieve an inner union and sacred marriage of polarity. That is oneness, that is ultimate inner power and what we all seek, even if we don’t consciously know it.
So I suggest using this Venus in Leo journey, to dive deeper into your own heart, from there you can cultivate more self-compassion and self-love… then only when we fully love and accept ourselves exactly as we are, can we truly and unconditionally love another. Which then manifests as more healthy, harmonious and balanced relationships.
Sparkly love Emma xxx
