The Goddess Descends to the Underworld
Venus has now gone retrograde in the sign of Scorpio. She moves back into Libra on 8th November then turns direct on the 19th. By the end of November she returns to Scorpio until January 8th next year.
So what does this mean?
The last time Venus went retrograde in Scorpio was 8 years ago, so think back then for some idea of what you may experience this time.
Venus is the Goddess of Love, and after the Moon, the brightest celestial object in the night sky. Venus at the moment is an Evening star. As she moves backward (as seen from earth) she joins the Sun on October 29th, close to Halloween and Samhain.
This is a ‘death’, a transformation and a rebirth, for when she reappears she will be a Morning star.
Melanie Reinhart writes:
“These retrograde loops are times of profound inner movement, and precious times of healing. Venus spends 40 days retrograde, mirroring the 40 weeks of human gestation and the archetypal 40 days in the wilderness.
There are also roughly 9 months between the different conjunctions of Venus and the Sun. The retrograde zones, when plotted around the zodiac circle, make a 5-pointed star, which symbolizes the power of the mind. Indeed, intentions drawn during these times are infused with great significance.”
The Female Archetypes
Venus travels backward (as seen from earth) in Scorpio and then into Libra. These archetypes represent different aspects of the Goddess. (This is the inner woman for a man, and what he seeks in a woman.) Libra is the archetype of the Wife, The Partner and the goddesses Hera and Athene (as the creative mind).
SCORPIO is the Sorceress and Witch. Scorpio is the most intense sign of the zodiac associated with death and rebirth. Her intent is to experience the most profound emotional and physical realms and then master them. Honour her ability to consciously experience and share the deepest emotions of sexuality and to experience the current of life, death and rebirth as the path to Goddess.
Goddesses for Scorpio are Kali, Durga, Pele, Hecate, Medea and the Cretan Snake Goddess.
Descent of the Goddess- Inanna’s story
Inanna and Persephone’s stories relate to the descent of the Goddess into the Underworld. The Babylonian Goddess Inanna is Queen of Heaven and Earth and is (modern day Iraq) and pre-dates the Greek and Roman gods who are predominantly masculine.
Inanna’s story is described in full on my website, but it’s about the meeting of Inanna ‘Queen of Heaven’ with her own “dark side”, her twin sister-self, Ereshkigal who is Queen of the Underworld.
She descends to the Underworld to visit her sister who is mourning the loss of her husband. However, she is caught in her ego as Queen of Heaven and fails to comprehend what her sister is going through.
Ereshigal kills her. Inanna is brought back to life and rescued after 3 days and then proceeds to send her husband down to take her place as he has betrayed her.
It can be interpreted as an archetypal story about the psychological power of a descent into the unconscious, realizing one’s own strength through a period of death and the loss of self, and acceptance of one’s shadow and negative qualities.
Letting Go
The stories of both Inanna and Persephone are stories of being pulled down into the Underworld, of death and immense grief. Death brings us to our knees and our deepest emotions.
During this cycle it’s time to surrender, to reveal and share our dark side with support from others and dive into intimacy. Scorpio needs intensity, but can stir up trouble and create a drama story, just to have some passion in the relationship. It’s time to forgive betrayals and let the past be the past. Scorpio is also known to be very secretive but respects honesty, emotional courage and integrity.
Ask the Goddesses for help to fight your inner demons and conquer your addictions!
The night of October 8th began the Hindu Festival called Navaratri. It’s an auspicious Hindu celebration over 9 nights, celebrating 3 Hindu Goddesses, Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati.
The word Navaratri literally means nine nights in Sanskrit, ‘nava’ meaning nine and ‘ratri’ meaning nights. During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Shakti/Devi are worshipped.
Komilla Sutton describes this festival:-
First three days The goddess is separated as a spiritual force called Durga also known as Kali in order to destroy all our impurities. Durga is fierce and pictured right on her tiger. According to the Puranas, Durga fought the demons and emerged victorious.
These wars are the wars we fight with our inner demons so that we can progress on the path of self realisation.
The nine days are nine steps to moksha (enlightenment) and the goddesses give our power to find our higher self.
Second three days The Mother is adored as a giver of spiritual wealth, Lakshmi, who is considered to have the power of bestowing on her devotees inexhaustible wealth, as she is the goddess of wealth. (Pam adds that Diwali, Lakshmi’s festival is celebrated at the New Moon on November 6th.)
Final three days The final set of three days is spent in worshipping the goddess of wisdom, Saraswati. In order to have all-round success in life, believers seek the blessings of all three aspects of the divine femininity, hence the nine nights of worship.
Being Happy For No Reason
Vedic Astrologer James Kelleher makes a profound point abut Venus, which is the planet of desire. He says:-
“If you think about the various things signified by Venus, you will realize that it represents almost every sensual and emotional pleasure in life.
As a result, it is responsible for some of the greatest joy and happiness in the material world. In the modern world we are obsessed with the things of Venus, and most people consider these things to be essential to their happiness. A life without love, friendship, affection, pleasure, beauty, comfort or affluence is considered to be a life devoid of happiness.
The basis of any kind of enjoyment is awareness. Most people think that when they enjoy an outer experience, that the object they are experiencing is the source of the pleasure or enjoyment. In fact, the pleasure and enjoyment is taking place in the mind. The object only acts as a catalyst.
Because the mind, at its basis, is pure bliss, it is capable of producing pleasure and enjoyment even without an outer reason.
Most people have had the experience of occasionally getting up in the morning feeling fresh and rested and being happy for no reason.
On such days, even mundane tasks become the source of enjoyment. This is because happiness resides in the mind not the outer world.
Happiness is the very nature of consciousness itself. The problem is that most people lose their self awareness and become consumed by sensual experience. This results in a corresponding loss of the ability to enjoy.
This is a month to meet the dark Goddess and the shadow aspects of ourselves. It’s a time of letting go, of honouring those who have left us. It’s also a time to bring beauty into our lives, and feel happy for no good reason!
blessings, Pam x