Venus Retrograde in Capricorn (12/18/21-1/29/22) and December Solstice (12/21/21)
My new home is nestled among robust yet graceful Pinon pines and watched over by the spirits of the high peaks that rise dramatically to the east. Just a few steps from my house is a historic log cabin of which I am now the steward. This cabin has a magnetic quality. As you approach it, it seems charming and inviting.
But on closer inspection you can see where the roof is leaking and how the interior has been ravaged by weather and time. With continued neglect this sweet bit of history would eventually succumb to rot, give in to gravity and return to the earth. But my heart is somehow in this cabin and it has been since the first time I saw it. My heart longs to preserve it… not only to protect it from further decay but to resurrect it… to bring it back to life.
There’s something about a log cabin in the woods that whispers to my soul. Maybe it’s because I had a teenage passion for Thoreau and his cabin-life on Walden Pond. Maybe it’s a past life thing or maybe I’m tapping into a collective nostalgia for a former time… a simpler time… a more nature-connected time in our collective story. For whatever reasons, my heart sings a song of rejoicing at the thought of giving this old structure a new life and a new purpose.
My Inner Accountant hears my heart’s song and interrupts abruptly, “Be realistic. What will it cost? Is it worth it? Will your frivolous bit of nostalgia turn into an all-consuming money pit? Don’t be foolish.”
Meanwhile it’s winter. Snow and wind thrash at the cabin, prying into its weaknesses. My heart is sensitive to the ticking of the clock… minutes turn into hours turn into seasons turn into years… and time will continue to take its toll on rotting beams and floor boards.
My Inner Accountant is on edge. She nervously taps her pencil and scowls at the balance sheet. In her estimation the potential costs vs. return on investment don’t look good. The Accountant makes her pronouncement, “I think you better re-evaluate the worthiness of this endeavor.”
Dear reader, here’s where you come in because here comes Venus Retrograde…
Re-evaluate Everything
I’ve got a bunch of questions I’m asking myself right now and I’m inviting you to join me in the inquiry. No, I’m not asking you to help me decide whether or not to renovate the cabin. I’m encouraging you to evaluate or re-evaluate various aspects of your own life as well as aspects of our collective human experience. That’s because Venus, the planet that guides your personal values and the material things that you value such as money, resources and possessions, is turning retrograde on the Full Moon (Dec. 18).
She wants to know if you’re living in alignment with your values. How are you using your resources? What are you investing in and why? Shiny Venus will also illuminate issues of self worth… Are you valuing yourself enough? Are you basing your own value on someone else’s value system? Last but not least, Venus will be asking you to re-evaluate your relationships.
As Venus turns retrograde she’s hooking up with Pluto and they’re both trekking through the sign of Capricorn. Powerful transformative Pluto has been rocking our collective foundation (Capricorn) for the past several years, especially since early 2020. The rotten structures of the power-over paradigm have been inspected more closely and a process of deconstruction has begun. We’re deep in a Plutonian process of death and resurrection.
Now it’s time to start thinking about the possibilities for massive renovations. How much of the old needs to be demolished? Where’s the rot in the floor boards of our social, economic and political systems? What can be salvaged? What new structures do we want to put in place? How can we evolve beyond a value system that’s been based on division, othering, lack, greed, abuse of power, and disrespect for Mother Earth and the Divine Feminine? Is it really possible to build a new paradigm with a whole new foundation… a foundation of unconditional love?
What Will It Cost? What’s It Worth?
Here are some of the questions I’m asking myself in regard to the cabin. Which of these questions apply to situations or relationships in your own life?
*How much of the old structure can be saved? How much needs to be torn up or torn down?
*What is the value of this thing/situation/relationship? What’s it worth in its current condition as well as in its potential?
*Do I love it enough to invest in it? Do I love it enough to commit to it?
*What makes it meaningful/important/valuable to me? What is its highest purpose?
*Does it align with my values? Does my value system need to be re-evaluated?
*What value might it have that can’t be counted in dollars and cents? (e.g. aesthetic value, value as a legacy for future generations, value to the community, value to the ancestors of this place, value as a sacred space for dance/ceremony/prayer/healing)
Building Anew
At the Solstice (December 21, 2021) the Sun joins Mercury, Pluto and Venus in Capricorn. It’s a veritable convention of builders, planners and investors. They are re-evaluating everything.
The Moon will be in Cancer exactly opposite Venus and Pluto. That means that all of our re-evaluations and our plans for building, rebuilding or demolition need to be guided by the heart… guided by love.
The new paradigm needs to be built on a whole new value system… values of the heart.
The heart values love, care, nurturance, safe spaces, emotional intelligence and vulnerability. The heart wants everyone’s needs to be met. Love cares for the Earth, the ancestors and our legacy for future generations. The heart values loving relationships with all our relations… family, friends, lovers, partners, community, all of humanity and all creatures great and small. The heart values balance between the Divine Feminine and Divine Masculine. Love wants to build a paradigm that honors what is sacred and upholds thriving life for all beings.
Now let’s add a few more questions to our Venus Retrograde re-evaluation inquiry:
*How would love choose to rebuild this situation or relationship?
*How would love value me and treat me?
*What new vision and new structures might love create?
Meanwhile Back at the Cabin…
I’m still not sure what I want to do with the cabin. I’m going to wait until February when Venus will be moving forward again and then I’ll make my decision. Until then I won’t be taking action nor making a financial commitment. I advise you to also wait before committing to any major financial investments. If you’re re-evaluating a relationship, don’t make any big changes in the relationship until after Venus goes direct.
May you be blessed to listen to your heart, evaluate with your heart and build anew with your heart.
Postscript: While I was writing this article, a couple of men came by the house to do some work. One of them was admiring the thriving Pinon forest around my house and said, “You’re surrounded by Christmas trees. You should open up a Christmas tree business.” That’s certainly one way to look at the value of the trees… to think of them as a commodity to monetize. But those aren’t my values. I value the trees for their beauty, for the way they protect the soil and breathe oxygen into the air, for their abundance of nuts that nourish birds and chipmunks, and their sturdy branches that hold baby birds safe inside their nests.