Hiya! Sam here. Sterling and I are so excited about our pivot to monthly transit reports and rising sign horoscopes, and we hope youâve found these posts informative and enjoyable. Many thanks to everyone who has become a paid Venus Gays subscriber â weâre endlessly grateful for your support.
A bit more housekeeping: Todayâs post is the first installment of Venus Vibes, a new monthly series weâre launching for all subscribers.
These posts will center on our newsletterâs namesake, the planet of art, pleasure, and relationships. Weâll explore Venusâs upcoming transits with a mixture of philosophical musings and practical advice. Each dispatch will also feature a song recommendation that captures the vibes we cover. Fun, right?
October is a busy time for our girl Venus. She starts out the month by tying up some loose ends from her retrograde this summer before we segue into eclipse season. Keep reading to learn more.
Okay, friends. In the words of my favorite womenâs studies professor from college, letâs circle up. Gather âround, âcause itâs time for a little check-in.
How is your heart?
The astrology of this summer wasâŚtenderizing. Venus retrograded in Leo from late July through the beginning of September. Sheâs spent about four months in the same sign; for context, a typical Venus transit is about 30 days. As Iâm writing this, sheâs still in Leo and about to clear the degree where she initially stationed retrograde. That means sheâs nearly out of the retrograde shadow period and finally regaining momentum.
Venus governs our values, desires, aesthetic choices, and relationships. When she retrogrades, weâre prompted to review these topics in our lives (and potentially others depending on how the transit interacts with your birth chart â for clues this time around, look to your Leo, Taurus, and Libra houses). It can be beautiful, and it can be brutal. Breakups, dramatic haircuts, and stylistic departures are all par for the course.
Outside of interpersonal relationships, though, each and every one of us has our own relationship to pleasure. Leo is such a confident, self-oriented sign; I suspect that for many of us, this transit was really about turning inward and examining our personal values and desires. This work is essential, but it may require some of that classic Leonine courage. After all, once you get in touch with what you want, it becomes very hard to ignore situations or relationships that are out of alignment.
So, tell me â what did you uncover about yourself and your desires during Venusâs trek through the underworld? Her back-and-forth contact with Uranus, the planet of innovative thinking and sudden shake-ups, may have generated some eureka moments.
These insights will come in handy as October unfolds. Although Venus is no longer retrograde, sheâs a major player in this monthâs astrology. Hereâs a short list of the major Venus transits with corresponding dates:
Venus enters Virgo on Sunday, October 8
Venus in Virgo opposes Saturn in Pisces on Monday, October 9
Solar Eclipse in Libra on Saturday, October 14
Venus in Virgo trines Jupiter in Taurus on Saturday, October 21 / Sunday, October 22
Lunar Eclipse in Taurus on Saturday, October 28
Thatâs right: Eclipse season, a notoriously chaotic time, is imminent. I included these transits because theyâre occurring in Libra and Taurus, the two Venus-ruled signs of the zodiac. As a result, Venusian themes will likely be emphasized. (For an overview of all the major transits this month, check out our transit forecast for October.)
As astrologer Jo OâNeill astutely pointed out, the North and South Nodes â two points where eclipses occur â shifted onto the Aries-Libra axis in July, when Venus was already in Leo and about to station retrograde. That means this 18-month nodal transit, including Octoberâs eclipses, is connected in some way to the events of this summer.
If reading the previous sentence made your heart rate soar â babe, take a deep breath. Youâve already made it to the other side of Venus retrograde! If there was a hard lesson to be learned, chances are youâve already done it and gained new perspective. And you can put that wisdom to good use if any tricky stuff reemerges during eclipse season.
In case you need a reminder, youâve got this. Tumultuous astrology is inevitable. Whatâs not inevitable is future-tripping over transits. Eclipses are gonna eclipse, soâŚlet them. Expect the unexpected, and lean on this monthâs practical, service-oriented brand of Venusian energy to look after yourself and the people you love.
There are some bright spots this month, too. Venusâs trine to Jupiter on the 21st/22nd is a biggie. This decadent transit is begging for sensual delights. Remember, pleasure isnât something you have to earn. Itâs your right.
How â and I cannot emphasize this enough â is your heart? In this moment, what do you desire most? Is there anything you need to let go of in order to make space for it?
These are some key questions to consider in October and beyond.
Song Recommendation: âFloat (feat. Seun Kuti & Egypt 80)â by Janelle MonĂĄe
âI used to walk into the room head down / I don't walk, now I floatâ
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