Well, get ready folks as this is going to be one very ‘plot-twisty’ month ahead and one no doubt which will most likely leave many with a bit of a ‘foot in mouth’ syndrome, particularly those that tend towards ‘follow the herd’ or ‘group think’ scenarios which have them often misplacing their ‘critical thinking’ hats. That being said, no one is going unscathed – we all will be undergoing a mass overhaul on our value-system when this is all said and done.

Not only is Venus about to go Retrograde in Gemini, having us reevaluate our values on what we think we know, but so too are more and more truths going to keep coming out with the slow, yet ‘snow-ball’ (or, shall I say ‘sh*t-ball’) type of effect that Jupiter conjunct Pluto tends to bring in (which happened back on April 5th).

But first, let’s go over the basics of the Venus Retrograde…

Anytime a planet goes ‘retrograde’, it means we ‘go within’ to review the aspect of our lives that it affects.

Venus, the planet that affects our values, relationships and money-related matters, is about to go retrograde on May 13th, which it does once every two years. It will be retrograde until June 25th.

As with any retrograde, there is a period BEFORE and AFTER the retrograde, also known as the ‘Pre-Shadow’ and ‘Post-Shadow’ phase, respectively. These periods are often overlooked when it comes retrogrades, yet they are quite critical when it comes to the tests that come with any retrograde season. That being said, here are the date ranges for each phase and what each part brings:

Pre-Shadow Phase: April 9th – May 13th (Issues are first presented)
Retrograde Phase: May 13th – June 25th (A chance to review our ‘errors’)
Post-Shadow Phase: June 25th – July 27th (Final tests on lessons learned)

Strolling ‘Memory Lane’ to the Last Venus Retrograde…

The last time Venus went retrograde was in the Fall of 2018, when it went retrograde in the sign of Scorpio, one of the ‘darker’ signs for Venus to go retrograde in.

Scorpio is quite an intense sign for Venus, as Scorpio deals with sex, taboos, things kept hidden, power, manipulation, submission, and in general, how we merge (or get ‘tangled up’) with others. So, needless to say, things can get rather messy when Venus goes Retrograde in the sign of Scorpio if we aren’t careful when it comes to being choosy about the people we allow into our ‘more intimate’ circles.

History tends to repeat itself, so this is a great time to reflect on what happened at that time in our lives to better prepare for this one. That being said it will be in a completely different sign, meaning it will bring up different aspects of how we formulate our values, which in turn, affect how we choose relationships and business-related pursuits.

Venus Retrograde in Gemini…a little different than the last…

Gemini rules all things communication, perception, our intellect, critical-thinking skills, how we express ourselves, and how we take in information. At higher vibrations, it can bring out a healthy exchange of information that adds rich flavor to our lives. At lower vibrations however, it can take the form of ‘gossip’, making ‘face-value’ judgements of others and situations (the whole ‘judging a book by its cover concept) and a society more concerned on appearance over character.

When it comes to our personal lives, Venus retrograding in the sign of Gemini brings in a period where we will be reevaluating misperceptions and false-expectations which we have inadvertently allowed to influence what we deem ‘valuable’…and of course, since it is Venus, it has all to do with relationships and money-related matters around us. Where we may have discounted someone based on their title, rather than looking further into the quality of their work or character, chosen a partner based on outward appearance, rather than true emotional connection, purchased ‘designer’, rather than the same quality (if not more) of a product with a ‘lesser known’ brand, etc.

On a more collective level, a period of reevaluation when it comes to misperceptions we have with the world at large, particularly those based on information we may have gathered from schools, social media, news-networks, journalism (including those celebrity gossip columns…for those that call that ‘journalism’) and technology in general (with the internet being a big factor in this). Where we may have reposted a political meme without first questioning the ‘propoganda’ that could be behind it; based our political position based off of what our favorite celebrity’s was; followed fashion trends because everyone else was doing it; turned a ‘blind-eye’ to things that questioned our belief system ‘too much’ (no…that could never happen…could it?); or allowed ourselves to stock up on toilet paper for the next 5 years in a state of panic because some news channel said there would definitely be a world-shortage with a pandemic that was set to kill millions of people.

In a world where ‘celebrity’ is idolized, anyone can legitimately be an ‘influencer, ‘fake-news’ is real news (and real news has become quite questionable), ‘free-speech’ is slowly being curtailed, and most people are ‘too busy’ bent over their mobile phones to read a book/article or in general dig deeper into the information they are being fed….well, you get the picture of what this Venus Retrograde Season (in Gemini) is going to dig up….quite a lot of bullsh*t to go with all that hoarded toilet paper.

Let’s break it down, shall we?…..

PRE-SHADOW PHASE (April 9th – May 13th):
This is the period of the retrograde season where we are presented with issues or challenges that we will later be reviewing to see just how well we handled it. Of particular note, I would say pay close attention to what comes in from April 15th to April 26th and May 3rd to May 5th, especially in regards to information coming in.

Being that it is April 19th as I write this, I have noticed quite a flurry of all sorts of news about what is going on with this ‘pandemic’, lots of heated words exchanged about who is to blame for this or that, etc. It’s not all bad though, I have also seen a couple of notable recent documentaries that have come out as well, and ones that demonstrate or back up their claims with names, dates, etc. that inspire the viewer to ‘do their own research’ to look further into the matter.

It is so important for us to review everything coming in with a ‘fine-toothed comb’, not take everything at ‘face-value’ and double-check facts. That is, if we don’t want to risk having to pry our proverbial feet out of our proverbial mouths later on.

RETROGRADE PHASE (May 13th – June 25th)
This is where the ‘real fun’ begins, especially that by the time this rolls around, we will not only have Venus Retrograde, but so too Pluto (ruler of lies and that which is hidden), Saturn (ruler of structures and karma), and Jupiter (ruler of false-expectations being swept under the rug of too much ‘love and light’) all retrograde as well.

Suffice it to say that no matter how prepared we are, somewhere in our lives we have all made ‘errors’ in judgement (some of course, maybe a bit more than others).

Dates of note during this time are May 21st & May 22nd (around the time of the Gemini New Moon) and then again from May 29th to June 10th, not only in regards to what is taking place in our personal lives, but so too with the collective at large.

POST-RETROGRADE PHASE: (June 25th – July 27th)
This is a time where the universe throws us final-test papers on all that we have learned, making sure we have integrated the lessons it was trying to teach us, particularly around July 8th to July 13th and then again on the very last day this phase on July 27th.

How to know in what aspect of your life it will affect you personally?Take a look at which house(es) Gemini falls on your chart, particularly between the degrees of 5° and 21° (see list of houses below and descriptions).

1st House – Self-Identity & Physical Appearance
2nd House – Income & Self-Worth
3rd House – Communication & Perception
4th House – Home, Family & Emotional Foundation
5th House – Creativity, Passions & Romantic Ventures
6th House – Work- ambitions, Daily Routines, Health & Lifestyle
7th House – Relationships of all kinds
8th House – Long-term Commitments and Investments, Deeper Bonding
9th House – Higher-learning, Spiritual Beliefs, & Foreign Travel
10th House – Reputation, Social Status & Career
11th House – Friends, Networks & Associations
12th House – Fears, Spirituality, Subconscious

(Photo Credit: Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash.com)