What's love got to do with it? The title of Tina Turner's hit song is at the heart of two planets that will be moving retrograde together for about a month.
Venus (at any time) and Jupiter (in Libra) share a common connection to both love and relationships of all types. So, when Venus and Jupiter in Libra are both
retrograde at the same time, we are strongly drawn to explore the question:
"What's love got to do with it?".
While retrograde periods are times of reconsideration, at The Traveler's Well Astrology, we do not believe any aspect of astrology is to be feared. Astrology is a guide on your soul's journey and, in that way, astrology directs your path toward knowing yourself better. On this journey, you are the architect and you determine your destiny.
So, what purpose does the concept of Retrograde serve on your unfolding journey?
Simply, retrograde is a time of pausing and going inward to reflect on an aspect of life. Introspect on this aspect and consider looking at it from a different perspective and ask 'is there anything I am meant to learn at this time that will allow me to grow and lead a more joyful life?'
It is best to look at any retrograde period as an opportunity for growth!
Jupiter & Venus Retrograde
Jupiter Retrograde in Libra - First, on February 6, 2017, Jupiter turned retrograde at 23 degrees of Libra. He will continue his retrograde motion until June 9, 2017 at 13 degrees of Libra.
Venus Retrograde in Aries - Second, on March 4, 2017, Venus, the goddess of love, will turn retrograde in Aries until April 15, 2017 at 26 of Pisces.
With these two transits, we have Venus Retrograde snuggled nicely into the larger Jupiter Retrograde cycle.
The last time this combination occurred was in 1993 or 24 years ago. For those of you (including us) that are old enough, it might be helpful to look back at that time for clues about this transit to build on the growth that took place (or didn't) at that time.
Let's start by looking at Jupiter Retrograde in Libra!
Jupiter Retrograde in Libra
Jupiter rules the sign of Sagittarius. In considering the theme for Jupiter Retrograde, we will focus on Jupiter from the perspective of your personal philosophy because it is this aspect of Jupiter's archetype that relates most to a time of contemplation and growth.
Your personal philosophy can also be looked at as the 'big picture' or the way you view some aspect of life and what you believe about it and see as the truth.
Jupiter is a forward looking planet and he is optimistic and he enjoys laughter. So, this is a great time to have fun contemplating your future and how you want to grow and evolve in the present moment.
Putting it all together, Jupiter Retrograde provides an excellent opportunity to reflect upon and consider your singular philosophy related to the themes of justice, love, relationships and beauty.
We will explore habitual patterns/blueprint and the concept of judgement.
Habitual Patterns of Relating & Your Blueprint For Harmony
Jupiter brings opportunity. Libra brings the topic or psychology of relating and what constitutes a true connection. This retrograde energy wants you to re-consider your habitual patterns of the past that have not resulted in joy and harmony in relating.
Our habitual patterns in relating might be formed because of an outdated Blueprint For Harmony.
Finding a life partner is a big Libran topic and, if you are experiencing blockages in this aspect of life, you can use this time to take a hard look at your habitual patterns and also your blueprint for relating.
Regarding your blueprint for relating, when was it formed and is it up to date? Does what you think you want from a partner still match your real needs?
For example, when considering a romantic partner, how important is the financial wealth of your partner at the core of your personal philosophy or blueprint? If it is important, consider asking yourself, if you find this wealthy partner and have your financial needs met, what will you want then? Will the soul-level qualities then become a priority? If the answer is maybe, then consider updating the blueprint to make sure what you want in a life partner represents a harmonious balance between the needs of your soul and the more structural financial aspects.
That is just an example and you can explore your Blueprint For Harmony related to friendships, co-workers and all other relevant relationships in your life.
If you update these blueprints, you may experience a natural shift in your patterns of relating.
Relationships, love and connection are so important to our ability to live a joyful life. Just as you would evaluate your career and business for its overall health and identify areas of improvement, this is an excellent time to do the same with relationships.
Judgement & True Balance
Since Libra is concerned with harmony and balance, this is also an excellent time to examine your personal philosophy related to true balance or harmony via an examination of judgement. How can we be treated harmoniously or experience harmony in relationships if we judge others?
Judgement entangles us. Judgement creates karma. Judgement reduces the wattage of our inner light and how we shine and, hence, inhibits our ability to relate. Judgement messes with the scales of Libra and throws things off-balance.
Consider:
- How and why and when do I judge others?
- How do I feel when I judge others?
- How does judgement limit my ability experience joy in relationships?
- How do others feel when I judge them?
- How do I feel when being judged by another?
- How do I judge myself?
- How does self-judgement detract from my ability to love myself?
Keeping a log of judgements you make during this time might be a good exercise. In this way, you can examine your habitual patterns and consider how judgement potentially hinders true balance and harmony.
That's a lot to consider, but Jupiter, known as the Guru planet, is so key to our spiritual growth.
Taking full advantage of this retrograde opportunity can serve the future in unexpected ways! It is important to remember that Jupiter is a benefic planet and he wants you to be joyful.
So, he will help guide you during this time! There is still plenty of time early June to work on these important themes.
Sidebar - further considerations..... Since most of our clients are very connected to their soul and have strong intuition, we bet you are feeling something that Jupiter Retrograde is energizing. It might be a theme bigger than relating for you based on the parts of your chart that Jupiter transits and the connections Jupiter makes during his retrograde period.
This theme will most likely be related to the house that Jupiter is transiting for you (see image entitled House Themes for clues).
The theme may have started presenting itself in the middle of November 2016.
For example, here at The Traveler's Well we both have chart wheels that are nearly the same, we each have Jupiter transiting our 4th house during this retrograde period and topics related to house, home, family and heritage are also being re-explored in depth at this time.
So, this is another way to use this retrograde period to reconsider a theme in your life related to your personal philosophy and personal truth.
Venus Retrograde While Jupiter is Retrograde in Libra
Until April 15, 2017, Venus will be retrograde while Jupiter is Retrograde in Libra honing your re-consideration of love and relating.
Venus is the goddess of love. Venus Retrograde is about re-considering the meaning of love and relating. Venus rules the sign of Libra and this Venus Retrograde period will occur within the longer Jupiter Retrograde in Libra transit. So, the stars are aligning to again provide a great time to reconsider both love and relating.
Let's consider the similarities and differences between Venus and Libra:
- Venus, the goddess of love, is concerned with the physical spark of passion, attracting a partner to share love and to be in love with.
- Libra shares an interest in relationships, but from a slightly different perspective. Libra is an intellectual energy or in astrological terms, an air sign. Libra wants relationships also to have an intellectual quality.
The symbol for Libra is a set of scales and this reveals a concern that relationships should be harmonious and have true balance. Ultimately, Libra wants the scales to be balanced.
Libra is truly not interested in a relationship that is out of balance.
Harmony and balance means things like:
- We share similar interests and goals in life.
- My partner understands me and I understand my partner.
- So, our interests and goals are pretty much the same.
- My partner and I each make the little compromises that are necessary in life.
Putting Venus and Libra together:
Venus wants there to be a physical attraction
that leads to love and making love.
Libra wants you to be joyful waking up with that person
the next day and for the next 20, 30, 40 years!
The combination of Venus and Jupiter Retrograde in Libra is the perfect time to re-consider the topic of lasting love that exists in the bed of true harmony.
Whether you are in a long term relationship, a relationship you a questioning, or are looking for your "soul mate", let Venus and Jupiter be your guides for the next month.
Venus Retrograde in Aries
Specifically, Venus is directly retrograde in the sign of Aries. Aries is the sign that opposes Libra so again love and relating are highlighted in this starry equation. Mars, the ruler of Aries, will be in Aries at the same time.
Libra is about US and Aries is about ME!
Simply put, this retrograde period is also an excellent time to examine what you need from a relationship and what you want from a relationship in an Aries way. Why?
Too often we simply give ourselves away in relationships.
It takes hard work and real commitment for each partner to harmoniously recognize their soul-level connections to one another. For example:
- I need to honor my passions
- I need to honor and trust myself
- I want my partner to appreciate what makes me unique
- I want my partner to enjoy travel with me
- I want my partner to understand what is most important to me
- I need financial goals to matter
- I want my partner to understand my philosophy of life
This is a great time to create a list of what you need and what you want and evaluate each of your relationships to see how these aspects are or are not integrated into your relationships. If your needs and wants are not integrated into your relationships, this is a great time to consider how you can incorporate these aspects into your love and relating patterns!
So, the real you comes forward and you take the first steps to finding a partner who can relate to you on this level.
You might want to ask yourself a very Aries set of questions:
- In what ways do I make my needs known?
- In what ways do I make MYSELF known?
- In what ways do I hide my needs and myself?
Then, because Libra needs balance, ask:
- In what ways do I try to understand what others need?
- In what ways do I try to encourage others to share what is unique about them?
- In what ways do I help others to no longer hide?
So, 'what's love got to do with it'? Everything - put it all on the table and lovingly review it!
