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Transform! Why Venus retrograde is important.

By Dana Gerhardt

 

Venus stations retrograde soon, on March 1 (at 10 Aries). The planet stations direct on April 12 (at 24 Pisces).
Consider committing to using this sacred interval to achieve an important desire.

40 days and 40 nights—it’s how long the Buddha sat under the Bodhi Tree before reaching enlightenment.  Jesus fasted this long in the desert while resisting the Devil’s temptations.  Moses spent 40 days and nights on Mount Sinai, listening to God then carving His Ten Commandments into stone.

A few thousand years before these events, 40 days and nights was how long it took Ishtar, the Queen of Heaven, to transform, from Evening Star to Morning Star, again and again.  This wonder still occurs whenever the planet Venus appears to go backward (or retrograde).  For six weeks every 18 months, Venus retrograde offers an auspicious time for positive changes and enlightenment.

Yet what today’s astrologers typically say about this period is “Watch out!  Difficulties with all things Venus lie ahead—she’ll screw with your relationships, your money, your beauty, your overall happiness!”

Venus could entice you with an exciting new love who seems to offer everything that’s missing from your life—until you realize he’s worse than any jerk you’ve ever been with.  And forget about old lovers—they’ll be knocking on your door, but don’t open it!  Don’t make any drastic changes to your appearance—you’ll regret it. And that expensive thing you want to buy?  You’ll pay more for it than it’s worth.  Invest your money now and you could lose your shirt.

As if Venus were standing at an engine grinding out these same dull fates year after year!  Alas it’s what happens when you take the sacred out of astrology.  The gods—who used to use planets to send us divine messages—are now caught in some mechanical assembly line, having lost all intelligence and creativity.

And this is why, often enough, the dire predictions about Venus retrograde come true.  Without a devotional approach to this sacred interval, we can easily fall prey to its subconscious traps.  We can make bad decisions about money or love, especially if we’ve been neglecting our Venus needs.  As the original Venus, Ishtar set the pattern—within which there is broad room for wild creativity.

What’s your best outcome?  During the 40 days and nights of a Venus retrograde, quite simply, you can transform.  You can use the supportive weeks ahead to become a better, more radiant version of yourself.  As Rumi, the 13th century Sufi mystic, wrote:

What nine months of attention does for an embryo
forty early mornings will do
for your gradually growing wholeness.

Take my 40-day Venus Retrograde challenge

Forty is a magically recurring number.*  The Ancient Egyptians were first of many spiritual traditions to believe the dead require 40 days to cross to the other side.  During the plague of the middle ages, ships entering Venice had to sit for 40 days before docking—a practice called “quarantine,” from the Italian quaranta giorni, or “40 days.”  It’s during the first 40 days after childbirth that mothers most need to rest and heal.  Yogic science says it takes 40 days to rewire a habit.  The Prophet Muhammad taught that 40 days of prayer is transformative.

Where can you use this magic?  You may not have a choice.  During the pre-retrograde shadow (where we are now), you may become obsessed or inflamed about some Venus matter.  High emotion is a clue the Goddess is involved.  But you can also work from Ishtar’s strength and patient calm.  You can target a bad habit for extinction, decide to anchor a positive new one, or reach for a longed-for milestone.  You can improve your relationship with your money, your love, or your creativity—you can become enlightened.

Below is the template for Ishtar’s journey over the next few weeks.  Especially with Venus in the Underworld, you don’t need to synchronize yourself like a machine.  Follow your inner timing and flow.  Just observe how you organically pass through the retrograde milestones–the turning inward, the erupting of shadow, the snap of new clarity, the gathering of new strength.

2025 EventActivity
January 27Venus enters her pre-retrograde shadowDiscover and set your retrograde intention. Make a plan to support this. Commit to at least one activity, however brief, that you'll do each retrograde day.
March 1Venus stations retrograde at 10 AriesBegin your 40-day commitment. Especially with Venus in Capricorn, be willing to work for your success. Address important goals that will increase your self-respect.
March 16Venus disappears as Evening StarIshtar's underworld journey begins. Be prepared to meet your crazy sister, Ereshkigal, your shadow (if she hasn't already erupted).
March 22Venus is conjunct the SunA fertile, inseminating moment, when your view of matters may shift. A new clarity may appear.
March 31Venus emerges as Morning StarNurture the radiant strength that begins gathering inside. Venus' actual appearance depends on your horizon line--a moment eagerly awaited by ancient priests.
April 12Venus stations direct at 24 PiscesCelebrate how far you've come! You're free to make new choices based on your 40 days of transformation. Be strategic about your future steps.
May 15Venus post-retrograde shadow endsWell ... to be honest, I've not found the post-retrograde shadow to be all that relevant. Nor did the ancients. Once Venus was visible, she had a warrior's strength.

Take some time to think about your retrograde intention.  Treat these six weeks with the same reverence you’d bring to any sacred ritual or commitment.  For some Venus rituals you’re asked to gather several Venus objects (see the wonderful Venus Santeria Ritual–a perfect gesture for this time).  Yet the magic in the objects is the same magic that’s already inside you.  It’s the act of gathering them that draws you into the properly reverent mood.  Honest reflection can do the same.

Remember that Venus is a goddess of pleasure.  If you’re giving up a guilty addiction, make sure to replace it with something you enjoy.  If you’re forging a new habit, like daily meditation, experiment until you find a style of meditation that’s so pleasurable, you look forward to it.  A common sign that meditation is working is the spontaneous arising of bliss.  Yet this won’t happen if what you’re doing feels like a chore.  So commit to 40 days of meditation discoveries.  Try a new style each day.

Reciting a daily prayer (or affirmation) can be quite powerful.  So can a 40-day program of journaling your gratitudes.  Free yourself from resentments with a 40-day forgiveness practice.   A fine target is to boost your prosperity.  There’s no better magic than what you’ll find in Tosha Silver’s Abundance Change Me prayer (even better—start her eight-week course, It’s Not Your Money).

Maybe you just want to better your relationship with Venus.  Early Ishtar prayers are useful.  I recommend those written by the High Priestess of Ur, Enheduanna, civilization’s first identifed author—who set the template for all magical poetry to come.  And who–when she was banished–called on Ishtar to restore her political power.  And Ishtar did. ***

Choose a daily commitment that is challenging enough to actually change you–yet easy enough that it’s not too hard to keep.  Your daily practice is the boat that carries you toward your major Venus Retrograde test:  meeting your Divine Feminine Shadow.

Why you need a Venus Retrograde rant

Venus isn’t really going backward.  This is an illusion in our planet’s sky.  We’re like fevered dreamers, entering the space of an ancient trance.  This is an internal time.  It’s best to temporarily release the need to stir things up in the outer world as you attune yourself to the inner.  As any good Jungian knows, this is where raw power abides.  It’s stirring in the subconscious, like a volcano readying to erupt. **

The Queen of Heaven knows this.  Dressed in her best, the Shining One descends to grab some power from her Underworld Sister.  Ereshkigal figures this out and is furious.  During this part of the retrograde, there is a rumbling in the psyche—individually and collectively. The Queen of the Great Below has her Heavenly Sister stripped of jewels and garments at each of 7 Underworld gates, until Ishtar stands before her naked, utterly vulnerable, without pretense.  Ereshkigal roars.  She has Ishtar killed.   Her corpse is hung on a meat hook to rot.   The Dark Sister keeps raging.

Hear yourself roar!

Here is your moment of retrograde passion–when your neglected Venus needs make themselves known.  There will come a morning, an afternoon or a weekend when you find yourself at a breaking point.  You can’t stand it.  Life is no fun. You’re angry.  You’re lonely.  You’re disappointed.  You’re overwhelmed.  Whatever it is, listen.  And don’t just politely listen.  Give your Dark Sister a pen or a keyboard and let her go to town.  Let her rant and rave. Ask her to articulate everything. All the unmet desires and needs. Make a long list. An impassioned list.  Begin each sentence with “I want,” or even better, “I demand.”
(“I demand more attention, I demand more money, I want my voice heard, I want my partner to kiss and cherish me, I desire more time to do my own thing.”)

Save this rant.  Frame this rant.  Keep it someplace special.  Later, when the passion has cooled, take it out and have a clear-eyed look.   These are messages from the Goddess who’s been trapped inside your subconscious.  Her complaints are a minefield of unpolished gems.  They are your deepest Venus secrets, what you need for happiness now. The words may be a little rough or even childish—but the power behind them is true.

Ishtar has taken this journey before.  She made arrangements.  As part of the plan, the King (as conscious mind) sends a charming eunuch to listen to every word Ereshkigal says with rapt attention.  Once She’s been heard, She reluctantly allows the waters of life to be poured on Ishtar, reviving Her.  With renewed clarity and fertility the Queen of Heaven returns to the upper world.

(And yes, in some versions of this tale, Ishtar’s upper world lover–who wasn’t exactly mourning Her– is suitably punished and sent to the Dark Realm to take her place.  Hence, the archetypal warnings about old lovers & bad boyfriends. )

Venus Retrograde as playful trickster

Ereshkigal and Ishtar (each an aspect of the One Goddess) aren’t always battling.  They’ve been doing this Dark Sister Act for over 5 thousand years.  Sometimes Girls Just Want to Have Fun. They want to play, shake things up. The planet Venus draws closest to Earth during her retrograde—which means this is a time when the Goddess likes to enter the world.  She whispers in people’s ears, prompts unusual actions, challenges cultural norms.  Look for her involvement beyond love, money, and happiness.  She’s into women’s empowerment, nature, the arts, beauty, fashion, social etiquette and international diplomacy.

As when—during the 2009 Venus retro in Aries, Michelle Obama commits an unthinkable break in protocol and hugs the untouchable Queen (“we were just two tired ladies oppressed by our shoes”).  People still talk about that.  Or when—during the next Aries Venus retro in 2017—President Trump can’t stop talking about “the most beautiful chocolate cake you’ve ever seen,” while deciding to launch missiles over dinner with President Xi Jinping.  That same month the “Fearless Girl” statue becomes a sensation—broadcasting that girls can do anything, even stare down the Wall Street Bull.

Individually we’re likely to meet Trickster Venus in a sudden new desire.  During one retrograde, my college-senior son called to say he’d gotten a nose ring. This is a Libra Moon who’s had a quiet, scrupulous sense of style ever since he was five—piercings and tattoos were never part of his look. “I just had to do it,” he said. But for weeks after, he looked in the mirror and wondered if he did the right thing. That’s the trouble with Venus retrograde inspirations. Our sudden reinventions may not look so good in the light of the upper world.

Over the years I’ve broken many Venus retrograde rules.  I bought crazy outfits that later I never wore.  Once I put a green streak in my hair and I looked like a hag.  I said yes to an old love—launching 14 years of trouble and storms—but also some of the best opportunities of my life.  I wouldn’t do a minute differently.  I’ve had a colored streak in my hair ever since—I just found a better color.

Once when Venus stationed retrograde in Gemini, I was printing one of my Venus Unleashed reports, when I heard an ominous crack from the printer. The next ten pages looked like someone had thrown miniature mud pies at them. Was it Venus?  Gemini is one of my favorite signs for Venus, even though most astrology books have little good to say about her. I find her an artful courtesan, seductively witty and playful. Gemini does rule printers and printing.

I took the printer to the repair shop, where alas, I’d been too many times. But this visit was different. The technicians took it and began working on it right away—unheard of—and odder still, they diagnosed the problem, had the part in stock, and fixed it before I’d left the store.  One of the technicians approached me and asked if I had a sense of humor. “Some days,” I replied.  “Do you work around a lot of chocolate?” “No,” I told him, “maybe I eat a square or two in the afternoon.” “Well, it’s the strangest thing: your printer smells like chocolate. All of us in the back room can smell it!”

***

Keep your eyes open–the Goddess will likely be visiting soon.   I hope you’re inspired to take my Venus Retrograde challenge.

This time she’s in Aries, a sign concerned with independence, initiative, and leadership. In Aries, Venus is a pathfinder and more courageous than usual. How might her Aries retrograde go for you?  This is easy to research.  Every eight years you experience Venus retro in the same sign and house of your chart.  This consistency means that over a hundred year period, Venus retrogrades through just five signs.  These are your Venus transformation zones!  They also represent the five points of the planet’s beautiful star pattern in the sky.   Here are a few recent and upcoming retrogrades:

CapricornVirgo/LeoAriesScorpioGemini
January 23, 2006
29 degrees
July 27, 2007
2 Virgo
March 6, 2009
15 degrees
October 8, 2010
13 degrees
May 15, 2012
23 degrees
December 21, 2013
28 degrees
July 25, 2015
0 Virgo
March 4, 2017
13 degrees
October 5, 2018
10 degrees
May 13, 2020
21 degrees
December 19, 2021
26 degrees
July 23, 2023
28 Leo
March 2, 2025
10 degrees
October 3, 2026
8 degrees
May 10. 2028
19 degrees

 

Know your own Venus.  A fabulous way to get the most from the retrograde is to deepen your awareness of your own Venus.  You’ll find great support and unique insights in my Venus Unleashed report!

 

More Venus on Mooncircles:

If you can’t relate to your Venus sign, I wrote this post for you.

Venus Santeria ritual

 

* In truth it’s 40-ish.  Six weeks is technically 42 days.  The precision of calendars is man-made.  We’re talking about a natural rhythm, which means “give or take a couple days.”  Linguists tell us that in the Bible, the word “forty,” whether indicating days or years, was similarly approximate–it just meant a good amount of time had passed.

**This is a sacred time—but not a time for mindless superstition.  If you have to do something Venus-y, like get married or buy something big and expensive, inspect the details carefully.  If all still looks good, don’t stress unnaturally.  During every retrograde, life goes on.

*** Scroll to the end of this cute little pdf, where you’ll find the opening lines of “The Exaltation of Innana.”  Ishtar and Innana are the same goddess.  Ishtar is the Akkadian name, Innana the Sumerian.

Filed under: Chart Play Tutorials

About Dana Gerhardt

A popular columnist with The Mountain Astrologer since 1991, Dana Gerhardt is an internationally respected astrologer. She has lectured extensively and written for astrology publications on several continents. Her ongoing passions are the moon and living the intuitive life. Dana worked for many years in the corporate sector, where she observed the undeniable influence of natural cycles. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude from Occidental College in Los Angeles and did graduate work in literature at Columbia University and CSULA. Dana can be contacted by email.

Comments

  1. Amit says

    Aug 1, 2023 at 8:06 am

    extraordinary talent and understanding and logic.
    such a positive approach.
    it’s an out of this world article.

    so far one of the best I’ve read and beats all my fellow indian astrologers.

    Reply
  2. Allison says

    Jul 22, 2023 at 9:53 am

    Do you have any Venus type meditations that you can recommend?

    Reply
    • Dana Gerhardt says

      Jul 22, 2023 at 11:05 am

      There are a bunch in my Venus report. Also check out my post on your Venus sign.

      Reply
  3. Amethyst Scales says

    Jul 15, 2023 at 7:52 pm

    Psst… is the upcoming one in Leo or Capricorn?

    Reply
    • Dana Gerhardt says

      Jul 16, 2023 at 10:42 am

      It’s Leo … I thought I updated this, but obviously I missed a spot. Thanks for being my proofreader. I need all the help I can get.

      Reply
  4. Stacey says

    Dec 9, 2021 at 11:34 am

    If anyone here is familiar with annual profections: I’m currently in an 8th house year with Venus as my Time Lord. I’m exactly halfway through and let me tell you, it has been everything you would expect an 8th house year to be. Lots of loss and a massive confrontation with mortality (Pluto conjunct my natal Saturn also put a nice pressure on that one, which is thankfully now beginning to lift!). At the same time, there has been so much healing and regeneration through the death/rebirth process.

    The last Venus retrograde was transformative for my relationship. My then-partner and I made huge adjustments in our communication and we ended up healing so many chronic issues between us. It was a huge blessing.

    Now, I’m single and looking to go through that same healing and reconstructing process in my relationship with work and money. I have a self-study course about exactly this topic that I bought last Venus retrograde but never seemed to have space in my schedule for, which I’m going to work my way through over this retrograde period.

    Thank you for this post. Wishing everyone a powerful and pleasurable Venus Rx!

    Reply
  5. Autumn says

    Dec 6, 2021 at 4:38 am

    Just…sublime Beauty, thank you for sharing your Expressive Being with us All!

    Reply
  6. Stella says

    Dec 2, 2021 at 1:29 am

    Thank you for this amazing body of work and resources. Already I feel upended by the illusion of love. I will draw on the Sacred presence of Goddess Venus to return me to dry land.

    Reply
    • Dana Gerhardt says

      Dec 6, 2021 at 11:34 am

      Ah, Ishtar/Inanna … She who draws us into the underworld and guides us back. But the journey is everything.

      Reply
  7. libramoon says

    May 12, 2020 at 7:21 pm

    Venus Guide Us to Peace
    a meditative poem

    Not just sweetness and light
    There is a strength; there is conviction —
    there is a vibrant dedication to true worth.
    If we can but believe again
    in all the humane virtues —
    Love is sharing,
    in kindness, understanding, supportive regard.
    Love is forgiving and being forgiven,
    when it is clear that malice was not intended
    or malice has been exorcised
    — an acceptance of the positive power
    of change, of growth in spirit.
    Love is the assumption of “we.”
    We are doing being going having creating
    We are able to exchange our labor, knowledge,
    possessions, positions
    We are able to take in more than I — to synergize
    our fortunes into wealth and integral well being.
    Love is not just a song — a pretty set of symbols
    Love is a power and a glory
    and an all encompassing truth.
    Love is addition and multiplication,
    not division or subtraction.
    Love enriches and inspires us.
    Love is not blind, not foolish.
    Love is not denying the self or self interest.
    Love is seeing clearly, knowing wisely,
    understanding and expanding the self —
    expanding outward to take in the universe
    of interconnected, interdependent being.
    Love sees the ugliness; and loves sees the beauty.
    The ugliness saddens; the beauty invigorates.
    Love is to peace as music is to harmony.
    But how are we to love in a discordant world?
    It is within us to pick out the true,
    enduring melody
    to which our essential selves are tuned —
    If we but look to, listen to, open our selves to
    Venus, the Goddess of Love,
    Peace, Justice, Harmony
    as she manifests within us all.

    Reply
    • Dana Gerhardt says

      May 13, 2020 at 8:38 am

      I love this.

      Reply
    • Michelle says

      May 13, 2020 at 9:05 pm

      This is beautiful. Thank you for sharing!

      Reply
  8. Crystal says

    May 11, 2020 at 7:45 pm

    You’ve really inspired me to do a 40 day sadhana inspired practise ❤️. I love love everything in this … so inspired will like expand the challenge to my readers . So good

    Reply
  9. Sunny says

    May 6, 2020 at 8:30 pm

    Aloha Dana,
    Reading this for the second time and sharing with others because you have put together an inspired and dynamic way of working with the Venus cycle, As a recently retired astrologer, who has written about the Venus cycle in newsletters and blog posts, I have great admiration for your work. I’ll be taking your challenge and be making my own Venusian magic, thank you!

    Reply
    • Dana Gerhardt says

      May 7, 2020 at 8:55 am

      Thank you, Sunny–let me know how the retrograde goes for you!

      Reply
  10. Sana A says

    May 5, 2020 at 12:19 pm

    Hi Dana,

    Hope you are keeping well and healthy.

    My life had changed big-time during the Venus retrograde eight years ago, it’s set to change again. To changes!

    Thank you for the article; I am taking up the challenge!!

    Reply
    • Dana Gerhardt says

      May 5, 2020 at 3:09 pm

      Woo hoo!

      Reply
  11. Cristina says

    May 2, 2020 at 12:46 am

    Hi Dana!
    I am very interested in taking this challenge! How much does it cost? Will you do a workshop/lecture about it to help with the process?
    I’ve got Venus 12 degrees Taurus!
    Blessings,

    Cristina

    Reply
    • Dana Gerhardt says

      May 2, 2020 at 10:28 am

      Hopefully you have enough info in the article to set this up for yourself! No cost, no workshop. Just your inner life working in harmony with the time. I’ll have another article on Venus soon–hopefully you’ll find that helpful too.

      Reply
  12. Lisa says

    Apr 23, 2020 at 11:56 am

    Hi Dana, I love reading your articles. I’ve been feeling lost and this challenge is exactly what I need in my life right now. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

    Reply
  13. G. Nix says

    Apr 22, 2020 at 7:19 am

    Hello Dana,

    Your words are always beautiful and thought-provoking, and this is no exception! Thank you so much for your guidance and inspiration.

    Take care and stay safe.

    Reply
    • Dana Gerhardt says

      Apr 23, 2020 at 3:46 pm

      You’re welcome! Whenever what I write is good, it’s because the gods were whispering in my ears.

      Reply
  14. Paula says

    Apr 21, 2020 at 9:02 pm

    Absolutely phenomenal article. I love it!

    Reply
  15. LESLIE KIRBY says

    Apr 21, 2020 at 12:11 pm

    Hey Dana!
    I never take the time to tell you how much I look forward to your Moon News. Your articles help me understand the planets and signs so easily. Stay well, and thanks so much.

    Reply
    • Dana Gerhardt says

      Apr 21, 2020 at 1:24 pm

      Hi Leslie–thanks! My Leo moon loves to hear praise.

      Reply

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The Moon is in its
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Today's Lunar Aspects (Greenwich Mean Time)
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Venus is currently
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Astrologers use a variety of house systems, or methods of dividing up the sky into twelve sections. I use the Porphyry house system; another popular house system is Placidus (this is the default on https://astro.com). If the chart I send you looks different from what you are used to seeing, then likely a system other than Porphyry was used. Whole signs, Equal House, Regiomantus, and Campanus are examples of other systems. If you find all of this confusing, do not worry. It is likely not critical to your report.

m  Conjunction:  Like peas in a pod, planets in conjunction tend to come from the same place. They act together, but it’s also hard to tell them apart. This aspect can increase talent, focus, and intensity (“two are better than one”). Or one planet can disappear as the other dominates. Their connection feels so natural, it’s easy to think everyone blends these planetary energies just as you do—but mostly, they don’t!.

p  Sextile:  Planets in sextile are compatible, though without any fireworks. This aspect doesn’t demand your attention. It quietly presents an opportunity. You can join these archetypal forces. Donna Cunningham has called this the “Oh, that!” aspect, because that’s generally what her clients say when she describes their benefits.  To get the most from sextiles you need to actively work them.

q  Square:  Squares are wild and wonderful—but difficult too. The power struggle between these planets was likely defined in your youth, when they were impossibly challenging. People are usually aware of their squares. They force the issues that make you to grow. And that’s their gift. They ensure you learn your lessons. When you rise to the occasion, they bless you with energy, action, and success.

r  Trine:  Michael Munkasey has dubbed this the “goddess aspect” because it’s so lovely. Identifying talents you may have perfected in a previous life, trines can bring you joy. There’s a nice flow of energy between planets in trine. They support and reinforce each another. But without any struggle, you might take them for granted—neither using nor developing their gifts. An unattended trine can sometimes trick you into negative behaviors.

t  Inconjunct/Quincunx:  Your quincunx planets are innately incompatible. Bringing them into harmonious expression requires constant adjustments. This can be stressful, also motivating. You’ve got to keep changing your process, opinions or attitude—which promotes highly creative solutions.

u  Opposition:  They say opposites attract—and planets in opposition are never far from each other, though they’re constantly bickering. You may be triggered into awareness of this aspect by other people who seem to resist or undermine you.  An opposition can make you feel uncertain, insecure, or discontent, until you can accept and see yourself in both energies. Typically people find it easier to identify with one side and project the other onto unsuspecting others in the outer world.

First House: Personality, physical body, beginnings. Includes the Ascendant and rules physical appearance, the image you project to others, your general outlook on life, how you start things; may describe your role in your family system, often guides your first impression of immediate environment.

Second House: Money and personal finances, sense of self-worth and basic values, personal possessions, talents.

Third House: Communication, thoughts, language skills like writing and speaking, early schooling, siblings and neighbors, short trips, coming and going around town.

Fourth House: Your home, psychological foundations and roots, family, parents, domestic life, instinctive behavior, ancestry, your connection with the past, sense of security, domestic life, real estate. conditions at the end of life.

Fifth House: Children, creativity, romance; pleasure, entertainment, self-expression; all forms of “play”, speculation, gambling, and attitude towards taking risks; hobbies, attitude towards romance, lovers as opposed to partners, attitude towards having fun.

Sixth House: Work and job (as opposed to career), daily life, attitude towards service and coworkers, helpfulness, pets, attitude towards routine and organization, how you refine and perfect your skills.

Seventh House: Partnerships, one-to-one relationships, marriage, the first marriage, the “significant other”, business partnerships, competitors, open enemies, lawyers, mediators, counselors, contracts, negotiations, agreements. clients/the public.

Eighth House: Transformations and crisis, your ability to meet and rebound from crisis and change, sexuality; sex, death and rebirth, rituals and personal growth, your partner’s resources, addictions, psychology, other people’s money, taxes, divorce/alimony, inheritance.

Ninth House: Attitude toward expanding horizons, religious beliefs and personal philosophy, higher education, long-distance travel, morals, foreign languages and cultures, personal truths, publishing, commerce, advertising, your sense of adventure.

Tenth House: Career and profession, your contribution to society, social status, public reputation, material success, how you carve out a public identity for yourself; attitude toward authority figures, parents, caregivers, bosses, governments, attitude towards responsibility, desire for achievement.

Eleventh House: Friends, groups, organizations; hopes, wishes, aspirations, personal goals; your philanthropic attitude, concern for the collective, humanity; like tenth, can bring recognition and honors for fulfilling hopes and dreams.

Twelfth House: What’s hidden beneath the surface, karmic dustbin, limiting childhood/past-life messages, self-undoing, hidden enemies, hidden weaknesses, dreams, secret affairs, lost items, hospitals and prisons, hidden strengths, spiritual studies and soul growth.

A  Sun: Our vitality and magnetism; self-identity, ego.
Roles: The Self, the Hero, the Performer, the King.

B  Moon: Intuition, emotion, nurture.
Roles: The Mother, the High Priestess, the Child.

C  Mercury: Mind; physical dexterity and mental agility.
Roles: The Thinker, the Communicator, the Student, the Trickster, the Merchant, the Thief.

D  Venus: Our capacity for pleasure, receptivity, creativity, and social connection. Also indicates our relationships, self esteem, and financial abundance.
Roles: The Lover, the Seductress, the Artist.

E  Mars: Desire, initiative, anger.
Roles: The Protector, the Athlete, the Warrior.

F  Jupiter: Luck, opportunity, expansion, higher learning, religion.
Roles: The Scholar, the Gypsy, the Traveler, the Monk, the Professor.

G  Saturn: Hard work, commitment, focus, inadequacy, leadership, suffering, loss.
Roles: The Task Master, the Grim Reaper, the Wise Old Man, the Builder, the Cynic, the Boss.

H  Uranus: Change, breakthroughs, upsets, discoveries.
Roles: The Revolutionary, the Humanitarian, the Visionary, the Snob.

I  Neptune: Imagination, spirituality, idealism, addictions, deception, compassion.
Roles: The Artist, the Romantic, the Guru, the Addict, the Martyr, the Victim.

J  Pluto: Transformation, power, psychological dynamics, helplessness.
Roles: The Terrorist, the Detective, the Psychotherapist, the Dictator, shady people.

a  Aries: Pioneering, competitive, selfish, impatient, courageous, reckless, independent, dynamic, domineering, “Me first!”

b  Taurus: Patient, stable, lazy, dependable, practical, sensual, stubborn, artistic, possessive, greedy, gentle, loyal.

c  Gemini: Intelligent, curious, adaptable, quick-witted, restless, clever, scatterbrained, lacking follow-through.

d  Cancer: Nourishing, intuitive, protective, moody, sensitive, maternal, domestic, childish, cautious, creative.

e  Leo: Proud, dignified, vain, expressive, romantic, generous, childish, overbearing, self-assured, creative.

f  Virgo: Perfection-seeking, practical, methodical, petty, critical, studious, discriminating, cautious, never satisfied.

g  Libra: Charming, sociable, peace-loving, refined, diplomatic, artistic, indecisive, apathetic, easily deterred.

h  Scorpio: Passionate, secretive, penetrating, resourceful, suspicious, manipulative, jealous, sarcastic, intolerant, determined, aware.

i  Sagittarius: Freedom-loving, philosophical, optimistic, enthusiastic, careless, impatient, talkative, a know-it-all, broadminded, athletic, honest.

j  Capricorn: Serious, responsible, practical, hardworking, stubborn, brooding, inhibited, status-conscious, domineering, unforgiving.

k  Aquarius: Progressive, individualistic, unpredictable, cold, intellectual, artistic, eccentric, shy, impersonal, scientific.

l  Pisces: Compassionate, intuitive, ungrounded, romantic, impractical, self-sacrificing, seductive, musical, artistic.