STARFIRE

July 2007

July 2007 - Venus Retrograde Bargains.
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Venus Retrograde Bargains

When is a bargain not a bargain?

When Venus is retrograde.

Kaye Shinker says, "Venus represents the money earn one dollar at a time." And when Venus is retrograde, she says, we spend "more than you should on things you don’t need."

Venus retrograde lasts about 40 days, and it’s a long 40 days for those who love to shop. This year Venus retrograde lasts from July 27th until September 8th; there’s not a single good shopping day in August.

July has its problems, too. Mercury is retrograde until July 9th, and shopping when Mercury is retrograde should be limited to daily needs.

Shopping is folly when Mercury is retrograde because the things we buy then don’t work. The worst computer upgrade I ever had was a Mercury retrograde compromise to avoid buying a new computer. In my mind, the operating system upgrade was more like a repair. Wrong! It was a new system, and it took weeks and weeks to get my computer humming again.

Shopping is folly when Venus is retrograde because we think we can fix whatever’s wrong with what we want to buy that makes it such a bargain. Venus must have been retrograde the day I bought a near-orange dress on sale. The only good thing I can say about that dress is that it was always clean and ready to go in an emergency because I never wore it any other time.

When Venus is retrograde, we think we can live with a color we hate. Or we think we’ll paint it, fix it, get the spot out, learn to get along without air conditioning or cruise control.

And then when Venus goes direct, you can’t even give away whatever you bought because it was such a bargain.

You can travel on Venus retrograde and have a great trip–so long as you buy the tickets before Venus goes retrograde. Summer concerts on your agenda? Get tickets early. (You don’t really enjoy standing room only just because the tickets are cheap, do you? With Venus retrograde, that deal and worse may look just fine to your brain–but not your feet.)

So what else can you do on Venus retrograde?

Re-evaluate your goals. Unless you’re on the West coast, Venus retrograde will fall in the 11th house of hopes, wishes and dreams, goals and friendships and organizations, where you live.

So be selfish. Decide now what organizations give you enough joy or confidence in our future that you want to continue to support them. We’re talking time and money here. Take the same look at other items in your budget. Are you still having fun going back to the same beach cottage every year, or would your family like to try Tahiti next winter?

Supreme self care comes on the agenda, too. Time to be totally honest with yourself about what gives you joy, how you provide those joyful experience for yourself–and what gets in the way and deprives you.

Make a list of 100 things you love and begin making room for them in your calendar. When I lived at Sanostee on the Navajo reservation, my Navajo neighbors taught me that sunset behind Beautiful Mountain was more important than dinner on time.

Oddly enough, the things that bring real joy are usually simple, usually inexpensive, and often take no more than seconds or minutes. Watching the sunrise over the Sandia Mountains is always a treat, no matter what the weather is. Reading Lucille Clifton’s poem "Ode to my Hips" eases any day for me. The internet constantly delights me with poems that enrich my life.

Whatever is on your list of 100 loves and delights is worth another look while Venus is retrograde. If Venus is about the money we earn a dollar at a time, it is also about the pleasures we receive a moment at a time.

There is a rich and lovely aromatic abundance candle in my drawer waiting to be lit when the first draft of my novel is finished. In the meantime, small samples of its aroma lift my spirits when the writing drags and seems wooden. Small rewards are gifts to our souls, thank you gifts to ourselves just for being present in our lives, doing the best we can on principle (Venus again) with what we have (still Venus).

And of course Venus retrograde is about renewing old relationships. We usually think of Venus as the ruler of romantic relationships, but Venus also rules relationships with agents, coaches, astrologers, lawyers, and your reading public. If you collaborated on a project with someone and then lost touch, this is renewal time. Whether you strengthen a present relationship by renewing good memories or through therapy, or explore a renewal of a relationship that’s dropped out of sight, Venus retrograde is your ally.

For writers, it’s memoir time. Or perhaps just time to sit with your journal and write about strong emotional periods from the past–good or bad–until you release them, or understand them, and make them into source material for your next work.

Just this morning, an old friend said he’d like to be a character in my book. I’ll have to do something about that while Venus is retrograde, too.

Mary O’Gara, Ph.D.