Articles
The Venus Cycle


Venus - Morning Star, Evening Star
by Sandra Mosley

Venus' high visibility has made her the most closely observed planet throughout human history. Her synodic cycle of 584 days has two distinct phases of approximately 263 days, each of which are separated by intervals when she is totally obscured from sight.

The shortest period of darkness marks the beginning of the cycle, occurring when Venus is closest to Earth and making an interior conjunction to the Sun. After only 7-9 days of invisibility, she reappears dramatically, rising before the Sun in the east. The Greeks referred to her as Lucifer ("the light bearer") during this morning star phase. She reaches maximum brilliancy about 3 weeks after her first appearance, then she slowly decreases in light before disappearing a second time at the exterior conjunction.

The exterior conjunction occurs when Venus is at her greatest distance from Earth and passes behind the Sun. During this interval, she is out of sight for almost 60 days. She reappears from this much longer period of darkness as an evening star in the west, called Hesperus ("setting in the west") by the Greeks. There she sets a little later each night while increasing in brilliance, until about a month before her next interior conjunction with the Sun.

Dane Rudhyar, the great astrologer and philosopher, wrote that people born with Venus as a morning star (before the Sun in the zodiac) are socially impulsive; they rush into life and love, acting before thinking. People born with Venus as an evening star (after the Sun in the zodiac) tend to reflect before acting and they are more able to identify with society's rules.

In mythology, the goddess Venus was called Aphrodite, "the golden"; the classical poets imagined her appearing to her lovers bathed in golden light. She was the bringer of all delights, all sensual joys. Grass and flowers sprung up at her feet. Known as the goddess of love and beauty, her jealous and vengeful instincts are most often overlooked in favor of her more attractive pleasure-giving nature. Although she was married, her long adulterous affair with Mars was much more publicized. She was unfaithful and possessive, with a reputation for taking jealous retribution on those whose beauty rivaled hers.

Astrologically, Venus is associated with women, love and money. Venus in the natal chart describes what one is attracted to and what one attracts. She is the indicator of that which is valued: beauty, art, and pleasure. She is acquisitive, magnetic and receptive. Appreciation is a Venusian word, whether it's used sentimentally in terms of a personal relationship, or financially in terms of increasing value. Transiting aspects from Venus to planets in the natal chart are usually experienced as pleasant and harmonious.

Venus's 40-day retrograde period begins while she is visible high is the sky as an evening star and ends about two weeks after she becomes visible in her morning phase. Retrograde, the Venusian energy turns inward; affection is generally more difficult to receive or express and financial returns are apt to be delayed. Beginning a new relationship, buying luxury items and investing in objects of art or items of beauty is discouraged during the retrograde period. However, it is a good time to reflect on your values, review your relationships and donate your energy to a charitable cause. Old friends and/or lovers often reenter your life at this time. Venus going retrograde on May 17, 2004 signals a time to resolve relationship issues you've been working on since October of 2002.

Babylonian and Mesoamerican astrologers paid close attention to Venus, particularly to her first appearance as a morning star, which was considered a dangerous time. The Babylonians called Venus the double phased Ishtar -- the morning star of war and the evening star of love. The Mesoamericans linked the morning phase of Venus with Quetzalcoatl, one of their major gods, believing that this was a time when leaders are struck down and natural disasters occur.

Bruce Scofield, astrologer and researcher, has observed certain types of events occurring around the time of the interior conjunction and Venus rising as a morning star. He states that typical news items are of airplane crashes and the discrediting, resignation or loss of power of public figures. He warns that individuals who are "ruled" by Venus may suffer upsets of an emotional or biological nature at these times.

The last time Venus formed the inferior conjunction with the Sun was October 31, 2002. Former Enron CFO Andrew Fastow was indicted on fraud charges, SEC chairman Harvey Pitt resigned, Representative Richard Gephardt announced that he would not seek reelection as House minority leader and the Republican takeover of the Senate in the November 5 elections were among the week's top news stories.

Previous events:

  • March 29, 2001 - the arrest of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic made major headlines, along with news of the emergency landing of a US spy plane in China after the plane's wings were clipped by a Chinese fighter jet.
  • August 20, 1999 - news stories around this time include Mexican pop star Gloria Trevi's career-crashing sex scandal involving minors, the FBI reverses position on actions in Waco siege, Serbians rally to demand the resignation of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, questions regarding then presidential nominee George W. Bush's cocaine use publicized.
  • January 16, 1998 - the beginning of the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal.

Venus's next interior conjunction with the Sun is June 8 is an especially rare event as Venus transits the Sun for the first time since 1882. Watch the news media from June 8 (conjunction) to June 15 (heliacal rising) for pertinent events during this critical period. Venus resumes direct motion on June 29. At that time, unresolved matters from May 1996 are likely to resurface, which will need to be dealt with in some form before the next 20-month cycle begins on December 24, 2005.

Read a New Age perspective on the rare transit of Venus
Read more astronomical information about Venus as an evening star


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About Sandra Mosley



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Sun/Venus Cycles
1996-2008
06/04/96
disappears from evening sky
06/10/96
Rx conjunct Sun (interior)
20 Gemini
06/18/96
appears in the morning sky
07/02/96
Venus Stationary Direct
11 Gemini
02/18/97
disappears from morning sky
04/02/97
conjunct Sun (exterior)
12 Aries
05/11/97
appears in the evening sky
12/26/97
Venus Stationary Retrograde
3 Aquarius

01/10/98
disappears from evening sky
01/16/98
Rx conjunct Sun (interior)
27 Capricorn
01/23/98
appears in the morning sky
02/05/98
Venus Stationary Direct
19 Capricorn
09/22/98
disappears from morning sky
10/29/98
conjunct Sun (exterior) 
7 Scorpio
12/10/98
appears in the evening sky
07/29/99
Venus Stationary Retrograde
6 Virgo

08/16/99
disappears from evening sky
08/20/99
Rx conjunct Sun (interior)
28 Leo
08/25/99
appears in the morning sky
09/10/99
Venus Stationary Direct
19 Leo
05/06/00
disappears from morning sky
06/11/00
conjunct Sun (exterior)
21 Gemini
07/18/00
appears in the evening sky
03/08/01
Venus Stationary Retrograde
17 Aries

03/27/01
disappears from evening sky
03/29/01
Rx conjunct Sun (interior)
10 Aries
04/04/01
appears in the morning sky
04/20/01
Venus Stationary Direct
1 Aries
12/04/01
disappears from morning sky
01/14/02
conjunct Sun (exterior)
24 Cap
02/25/02
appears in the evening sky
10/10/02
Venus Stationary Retrograde
15 Scorpio

10/25/02

disappears from evening sky

10/31/02

Rx conjunct Sun (interior)
7 Scorpio

11/7/02

appears in the morning sky

11/20/02

Venus Stationary Direct
0 Scorpio

7/10/03

disappears from morning sky

8/18/03

conjunct Sun (exterior)
25 Leo

9/25/03

appears in the evening sky
5/17/04
Venus Stationary Retrograde
26 Gemini

6/2/04

disappears from evening sky

6/8/04

Rx conjunct Sun (interior)
17 Gemini Rare Venus Transit

6/15/04

appears in the morning sky

6/29/04

Venus Stationary Direct
9 Gemini

2/15/05

disappears from morning sky

3/30/05

conjunct Sun (exterior)
10 Aries

5/9/05

appears in the evening sky

12/24/05

Venus Stationary Retrograde
1 Aquarius

1/8/06

disappears from evening sky

1/13/06

Rx conjunct Sun (interior)
23 Capricorn

1/21/06

appears in the morning sky

2/2/06

Venus Stationary Direct
16 Capricorn

9/16/06

disappears from morning sky

10/27/06

conjunct Sun (exterior)
4 Scorpio

12/7/06

appears in the evening sky

7/27/07

Venus Stationary Retrograde
3 Virgo

8/14/07

disappears from evening sky

8/17/07

Rx conjunct Sun (interior)
25 Leo

8/22/07

appears in the morning sky

9/8/07

Venus Stationary Direct
17 Leo

5/11/08

disappears from morning sky

6/8/08

conjunct Sun (exterior)
19 Gemini

7/13/08

appears in the evening sky

3/6/09

Venus Stationary Retrograde
16 Aries


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