Venus makes its “Inferior Conjunction” with the Sun on August 13 at 21 Leo.

This fusion of “Likes and Life” will help us find a new value in re-imaging what we like and why we like it in a Leo-related area of life, and possibly a new appreciation for seeing how ours or another’s ego attempts to sustain “forced inspiration” were frustrated in the past, or we may remember those who tried to fake higher awareness but their ego let them down.

This will help us get a new perspective on something from the past wherever it falls in our charts. Be open to new ways of appreciating and/or valuing what you learned from previous relationships and close contacts. And of course, during any Venus retrograde there is the possibility of the return of old friends and associates as well, especially Venusian and Solar Beings.

While not as rare as the 2012 “Venus occultation event” which only happens twice every 110-120 years, this merging of Venus with the Sun symbolizes a point where the spiritual mind awakens and seeks to merge with the heart and find new ways to interact with others to share spiritual knowledge. In Esoteric Science Venus rules the Throat chakra, associated with Spiritual Knowledge of the Way, whereas the Sun rules the Heart chakra, associated with the Love of the Way. Both are constantly exercised as we move from ignorance to knowledge, and from conditional love to Unconditional Love.

How Is This Inferior Conjunction Similar and Different From Others?

In terms of the mechanics of the process, as I’ve explained before, when Venus retrograde conjuncts the Sun it’s similar to when Mercury retrograde conjuncts the Sun in what is called “an Inferior Conjunction.” However, rather than Mercury as coordinating principle in life being part of the fusion, here Venus is fusing. And because now the Sun is moving much faster than Venus, Life has been chasing Likes, and Light is illuminating Relatedness.

In the cases of both Mercury and Venus, an inner planet conjuncts the Sun while retrograde. In this case, if you’re wondering how it works, substitute Venus “slowing down and looking back” energy for Mercury energy. While Life (the Sun) moves steadily forward, these inner planet energies are moving at a different pace so that life can then move forward beyond the function of these inner planet energies.

Whereas when direct they raced forward ahead of the Sun (as our mind and vanities often do!), when retrograde they internalize, or become receptive to inner energies we may not have paid attention to before then. It may lead to a realization of how we are impacted by (in this case) Venus forces from “the outside” that influence what we like or don’t, why we like what we like, why we believe we’re getting what we want from others or not, and a host of other Venus retrograde possibilities.

As usual, a chart done for the exact Inferior Conjunction should show us elements of things related to this “Venus fused with the Sun” energy. This will impact the months to come between now and the next Venus Superior Conjunction with the Sun at 15 Gemini in June 2024. That will impact the following period until the next Venus Inferior Conjunction with the Sun at 3 Aries in March 2025.

The Sabian Symbol for the Inferior Conjunction

The symbol for the 21st degree of Leo is "Chickens intoxicated." In the Astrology of Personality, where Rudhyar uses the original Dr. Jones' class notes on the symbols, Rudhyar says this is a degree of "forced inspiration which the ego cannot sustain," and "unsteady first realization of spiritual being."

We are told inThe Astrological Mandala that this is a degree of "often-negative and at times ludicrous first experience with spiritual teachings." He states that wine and intoxication are symbols of spiritual experiences, and that "chickens" suggest "we are dealing with human beings who are the standardized products of their culture, and ... undifferentiated specimens of a social norm." These beings, when going through a mystical experience, usually react in a "confused" manner, since they are ego-bound.

A degree of "premature expansion of consciousness," we are warned that ego cannot do much except crash when trying to prop up a supposed "spiritual experience," or "spiritual state of being." So whatever the expansion experience, we are told these "inner openings lack depth and constructiveness, whether or not they produce what appears to be wonderful feelings."

So in coming months we will remember or experience Venusian “blasts from the past” by memories of experiences when ego couldn’t sustain something, or perhaps seeing when others cannot handle an awakening of some sort. He says this degree falls in the Span of Interpretation, Act of Stabilization, and Scene of Release on the Social-Cultural level.

Dr. Jones, creator of the Sabian Symbols, says this is a degree of "the inevitable distress of the human soul whenever it seeks stimulation from elements essentially alien to its own nature," and the "futility of a dependence on physical agency for spiritual results." Here we learn how to use our limitations wisely, not as justification for our inadequacies.

He goes on to say that our limitations "are a reason for achievement, not a cancellation of potentials." He offers the keyword ACCENTUATION, and states that when operating positively, the degree is "the individual's capacity for a creative self-mobilization which will enable (us) to rise to the needs of every possible situation."

So we'll be using our fusion of Life and Likes, Light and Appreciation functions to see the light of social feelings that show us limitations to be transmuted into strengths to further achievement, and whether we or another are trying to use ego to prop up "states of awareness" that are unsustainable since they are fundamentally alien to who we or they are.

During this Venus retrograde period, pay attention to the roundabout or indirect Venusian signs and signals opening you to seeing these things with the eyes of wisdom, as some of this will yield openings when Jupiter crosses this degree three times between October 2026 and June 2027. Again, this is a time to value things we didn’t before, or perhaps remember someone we valued long ago. Here we take a look back and reconsider what we want in enlightened relationships, or find a new way to introduce enlightened relationships in the present, but in an indirect way.

We definitely will get a new look at some old values or possessions, or remember someone who helped us adopt certain values in the past. This time could bring up old issues for re-examination. Remember the Spiritual Brothers and Sisters you’ve known in this life, and honor the ideas they brought you.

So the theme of this conjunction shows the Light of buried or forgotten enthusiasms, loves, playfulness, young people, creativity or spontaneity though subtle signals with others past, present, and future. A different Venus energy is illuminating a promise, a means, or an enlightened value. See what works, and turn away from things which are more effort than they’re worth.

Aspects and Key Factors in Play at this Conjunction

The main inner planet aspects at play for this Venus retrograde conjunction with the Sun (forming or partile separating aspects only) are Moon sextile Mercury, elftile Venus/Sun, sextile mars, sesquisquare Saturn, sextile Uranus, trine Neptune, and opposition Pluto; Mercury is conjunct Mars, trine Uranus, and opposed Neptune; Venus and the Sun are semisextile Mars, square Uranus, biquintile Neptune and quadranovile Pluto; and Mars is trine Uranus, opposed Neptune and trine Pluto. The main outer planet aspects are covered in part 2 of each New Moon, so you’ll get more about them very soon.

The Moon at 19 Cancer sextile Mercury and Mars at 18 and 22 Virgo and sextile Uranus at 23 Taurus is the dominant influence, a “three note chord” of productive stabilization promising very good developments for planets we have between 16 and 25 degrees of Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, and Pisces. And with Mars trine Uranus, opposed Neptune, and trine Pluto, it extends the harmonic zone all the way to the end of those signs. So basically anything we have in the last half of the Earth and Water signs will be benefited by this conjunction in the future.

This is a powerful Locomotive Jones pattern, with the empty span between Pluto which opens and Mars which closes. This will be excellent for figuring out what we’ve stood for and whether we still stand for that, or needs some new “venerable standards.” The imbalance will lead us to power, if we note the seeds of an individual spiritual technique showing us how “to read the tea leaves,” and then wind up with a journey, a trial of endurance, a reward, a union, and inner guidance.

This inferior conjunction will be revealing of that which cannot be propped up by ego alone, with a need to target our heart’s desire and pursue that whole heartedly, without making excuses for not acting. Sudden development will be very favorable if explosiveness and eccentricity can be curbed.

Some will turn away from “society’s dictates” and transform the lower into the ethereal, while others will find disappointments leading to strength, gratitude, and a training which will lead to wielding spiritual power expertly both in late September and next February-March. It will give us a new appreciation of or value for all things Leo in our lives, so look back to prepare to move forward once Venus goes direct in early September.

In Conclusion

All in all, it would seem from this chart that we are attuning to others in our Soul field so we can get a new view of what ego can and cannot do, even as new doors of opportunity are opening wide. We are revisiting the past as a prelude to moving forward in September.

This Inferior conjunction should bring the Light of a greater understanding about how various people in our past impacted our emotions and social attitudes so that we can step back from ego and move toward our heart’s desire. This is helping us be more receptive to that which inhibits our love, our heart, or our natural enthusiasm, so take a look back, shed your inhibitions, and do whatever you need to do with precision and enjoyment!

This Venus retrograde conjunction with the Sun will help us process things from the past, understanding them in a different way. We can now safely look back at difficult people, situations, and memories of the past that we’ve now revisited and left behind. Sometimes we may be going inward and forward, though at times it may seem like we’re looking at who we were and who we might be rather than who we believe we are. Still, let go of inner and outer conflicts and get a broader view.

If you are called by memories or reminders to revisit the past, take a look at how those people and events led to you being greater than you used to be, and gave you a way to transcend your view that impacted who you are right here and now. Again, perhaps this can be a great time to reconnect to what you value about yourself as a result of people from the past. Look back at old relationships, or renew relationships with people from the past presenting themselves who will have significance in the future.

There will be a lot of fusion in the house where we have 21 Leo. This will put the focus on that house in our chart, and over time we should see how that area has opened for us over the past 8 years, and eliminate the last of any lurking emotional or interpersonal hurts or misunderstandings in our subconscious mind that is now being illuminated. Maybe we can see how old relationships which seemed to fail helped us let go of an old hurt, or helped us get clear about where we really didn’t need or want to go. This will lead to a new understanding of the value of what we attracted and let go of long ago.

 Reprinted on crystalwind.ca with written permission from Robert Wilkinson. Copying this article to other blogs is strictly prohibited. It is copyright protected. 

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