We’ve watched the Sun and Venus draw closer and closer together. Late Saturday afternoon, they will meet at 29° 26’ of Libra.
The conjunction is the moment when Venus, the Sun, and the Earth, all three, are aligned.
This will be a ‘superior’ conjunction. The next one will be ‘inferior.’ And I really wish those particular terms were not used!
It’s impossible for us in this achievement-oriented era not to read superior as better, and inferior as less. Yet that’s not what the terms mean.
A bit of astronomy:
All planets reach conjunction with the Sun. Only Venus and Mercury have inferior conjunctions, which happen when the planet is between the Earth and the Sun. Only Venus and Mercury are located between the Earth and the Sun.
Superior conjunctions occur when the planet is behind the Sun, from our view on Earth.
Venus weaves a lovely pattern in the sky. Google “Venus orbit pattern” to see the five-pointed rose she creates.
This Venus rose remains in the same signs of the zodiac for roughly 100 years. The pattern is not exact, but clearly visible, and beautiful.
This cazimi at the end of Libra falls at the threshold between Libra and Scorpio. For the last 100 years, Venus has returned to Scorpio for this point of her pattern. Now we’re shifting into Libra.
Scorpio, whose ancient ruler is Mars, is not a comfortable home for Venus. She is intense, deep, and courageous in Scorpio, but not as powerful as in Libra, her own sign.
What will it mean to have a stronger Venus tracing her patterns in our skies? A flowering of the arts, perhaps. More focus on diplomacy and less on war. Strengthening of the roles and rights of women, and anyone not traditionally masculine.
We’ll be watching this unfold over the next 100 years.
Venus has been hidden in the Sun’s fires for some time now, and won’t emerge into visibility until early December as the evening star.
At this moment of cazimi, though, she is powerful, radiant, and illuminated. We will wait until she can share what she learned, when we see her again.
In this moment, we know she is shining.
Title image is an original Midjourney render.