The Petals of Venus
eight year rose cycle and the phases of Venus
Your task is not to seek for love
but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself
that you have built against it
Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī aka Rumi - Persian poet, Sufi mystic, Islamic scholar
Every Venus retrograde I love revisiting and refreshing my relationship with this planet and the petals she creates in the cosmos and in our lives.
To honor this moment in the Venus cycle, I am publishing this essay which shares aspects of my research from the past eight years of teaching and learning from the living sky. This has been many cycles in the making and I’m so excited to finally compile it here for you!
Venus will be stationing retrograde March 1st and then making a new star point in the tropical sign of Aries on March 23, 2025. This echos back to a whole garden of roses that have formed over eight year intervals.1
This article is by no means comprehensive and complete, but will hopefully be a beautiful invitation into the garden of Venus and her wondrous weaving of beauty. I continue to learn and expand my understanding, and then forget, and then remember.
Again and again.
If you make it all the way to the end, you’ll see there is an invitation to join me and Astrologer Bronwyn Simons for a special Venus experience.
This class is free for paid substack subscribers — otherwise you can register here: Venus Rose Masterclass to join us on Monday Feb 17th for a deep dive into astrology and creativity. It’s going to be amazing and I hope you can make it!
“Let my love open the door. To your heart.” - Venus and Pete Townshend
A Garden of Venus Roses
Venus has five points in the sky where she meets up with the sun to form a Star Point. These points create petals, these petals create roses.
Each rose adds her beauty and thorns to the Venus Garden of our lives.
Every eight years the Earth and Venus meet up to complete a five pointed star, a pentagram, or a five petaled rose.
These rose petals repeat in the same “family” of astrological signs.
We are living at a time when two major star points are shifting, which is incredible because it takes about one hundred years for a Star Point to move through a sign. The current Venus Star Points occur in the signs of: Leo, Aries (becoming Pisces), Scorpio (becoming Libra), Gemini, Capricorn.
There are various simulations that show the cosmic rose being formed from and earth-centered geocentric pov2 and solar-centered heliocentric pov.3
They are both anchored by the inferior and superior conjunctions of Venus creating the petals or arms of the star, but see if you can spot the differences. It took me a number of years to visualize this so don’t worry if it makes your mind pirouette.
Cosmic Clocks
Along with the Moon, Venus is one of the oldest timekeepers that was tracked by ancient astronomers all over the globe.
Venus spends nine months as a morning star and nine months as an evening star. This length of time is significant. Many ancient cultures must have tracked this movement with an awareness that this mirrored the potential gestational period for humans.
The Venus Tablet of Ammisaduqa are cuneiform clay tablets from Babylonia based on records from around 1600 BCE. These show the astronomical omens of the risings and settings of the planet Venus aka the “Holy torch who fills the heavens.” 4
In the Americas there are astronomical almanacs that survived the Spanish invasion of Mexico even though catholic priests burned thousands of illustrated manuscripts.
The Mayan codex known as the Grolier Codex dated from 11th century details 104-year-long calendar predicting the movements of Venus5.
Both of these required complex mathematical calculations and astronomical observations. All to mark the diamond-in-the-sky presence of Venus!!
Venus Sequence
In the Fibonacci sequence: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34 each consecutive number is the sum of the two previous.
The Venus cycle is connected to this sequence and has a 5:8:13 ratio.
For example, in 8 earth years there are 5 Venus cycles of conjunctions 5 /8 = 1.6
Additionally there are 13 Venus orbits for every 8 Earth orbits around the sun 13/8= 1.6
Also 584 days equal a Venus year/ 365 days in an Earth year = 1.6 years
1.6 = Phi = Golden Ratio
This cosmic clockwork of Venus is so perfectly golden and lends itself to the creative pulse that traces an intricate geometric pattern in the sky!
Venus Returns
You complete a Venus Rose every eight years near your birthday around age 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, 56, 64, 72, 80, 88, 96, 104 years young. These are your Venus years.
These returns can help you track the movement of the Venus energy of pleasure, abundance, and connection to the beauty that blossoms from your heart. There may be a sense of a chapter completing and a new one beginning with each rose.
The patterns of Venus invites beauty into the heart and can help us:
🌸 Communicate our worth and desires more clearly
🌸 Cherish and value ourselves
🌸 Realize that all flourishing is mutual
🌸 Enter a more easeful and receptive state for abundance to flow
Working with Venus is a powerful way to connect with what opens you up to radiance and the desire to invite more love into the relationships with yourself, others, and with the power of the creative nature that pulses through all life.
Birth of Venus Star Points
“If it’s loving that you want the most, it’s loving that you do the best.”
- My dad aka Papa John
Star Points are created when Venus is conjunct the sun. These happens in front of (inferior conjunction) and behind (superior conjunction) the sun from our perspective on earth. These points only occur in five zodiac signs during a given era.6
Every eight years we get a chance to revisit the themes from the house where the previous retrograde star point happened. This can become an intentional time to reassess and revisit your relationships with those themes.
Re-evaluate your values. Renew your vows.
Each point of the pentagram or Venus Rose shifts about 2 degrees clockwise after each 8 year cycle. That means that it takes about 120 years for one point to go through each sign.
The star pattern created by five Venus cycle rotates backwards through the zodiac, completing an entire round once every 760 Venus cycles. This full cycle through the zodiac repeats every 1,250 - 1,440 years and is known as a Venus Age.
The Venus Cycle
A new Venus cycle begins during retrograde when Venus is in front of the sun —similar to the position of the New Moon.
Venus appears to get bigger and brighter in the sky as she gets closer to earth on her orbit. The crescent phase of Venus (both waxing and waning) can sometimes even been seen in daylight!
Venus is the brightest at the crescent phase because of the closeness to earth and the angle of the sun's light. This point in her orbit is called the maximum elongation. This happens both as the morning star and as the evening star 72 days before and after the inferior retrograde conjunction which creates two points on the golden triangle.7 This is where math turns into magic!!
The Orbit of Venus
Like the Moon, Venus goes through phases of appearing, disappearing, then reappearing. Whereas the moon only disappears during the New Moon phase, Venus disappears twice in her orbit around the sun.
The lunar cycle is a template for all cycles that wax and wane. The moon is a “gateway planet” for understanding the phases of astrological cycles.
Venus Phases
The Venus cycle has a “new” phase that begins during the Venus Retrograde period. This is when the planet Venus passes between earth and the sun, disappearing from the night sky before being reborn as a Morning Star.
Venus goes through phases just like the moon:
New Phase (Retrograde Venus and Interior Conjunction)
Morning Star (Waxing Phase - lasts for 9 months)
Full Phase (Underworld Venus and Superior Conjunction)
Evening Star (Waning Phase - lasts for 9 months)
Where does Venus go and for how long?
The longest disappearance happens when Venus is behind the sun lasting for about two months, and the shorter disappearance for about a week when she is in front of the sun during the retrograde period.
A whole cycle from new to full to new again (or from one inferior conjunction to the next) takes approximately 19 months from the perspective of earth. These 19 months create one point of the pentagram or petal of the Venus Rose.
Petals of the rose cycle unfold over 19 months x 5 star points = 8 years. This is my kind of math and it keeps getting better!!
Dual Nature of Venus
The cross-cultural myths of Venus as a Double God/Goddess with a dual nature as morning and evening star provide a symbolic and meaningful example of the nature of duality as a form of wholeness or two sides of the same coin.
Even in tropical astrology Venus is the guardian of two distinct signs: Taurus and Libra. This deserves a whole essay to explore the topic but suffice to say the morning star has more of the warrior qualities of Taurus and the evening star brings more harmonious qualities of Libra.
Morning Star Venus - Waxing
As a morning star, Venus is traveling away from earth towards the “underworld” on the far side of the sun. She is only visible in the wee hours of morning before dawn.
Names for the morning star:
Ancient Greeks called the morning star Phosphoros the "Bringer of Light" and Heosphoros meaning "Dawn-Bringer"
In Roman mythology Lucifer was the"light-bringer" and was the Latin name of Venus as the morning star
In old English the dawn phase of Venus was known as morgensteorra (morning star)
When Venus is a morning star she is waxing to fullness. In the story of the ancient Mesopotamian goddess Inanna, this is when she must surrender a garment at each of the gates (speculated to be the conjunctions with the moon).
The "full" Venus phase is when Venus enters the underworld, and in the story of Inanna this is when she meets her sister and dies to be reborn.
On a symbolic level, Venus disappears behind the sun to face her shadow and be born anew. She travels through the underworld to strip away any falsehoods. She emerges in the evening sky ready to regain her pleasure and authentic self.
Evening Star Venus - Waning
After traveling in the underworld behind the sun, Venus appears at dusk as an evening star. The pendulum swings from day to night, descending to ascending, and battle cries to peace and prayer.
In Ancient Greek the evening star was known as Hesperus which became Latinized as Vesper
In the Christian tradition vespers are evening prayers or hymns
In old English the dusk phase of Venus was called æfensteorra (evening star)
This moment in the cycle is when Venus starts coming closer to earth on her orbit. Her homecoming. The evening star phase is referred to as the ascent, the time for reclaiming healing in relationships.
When Venus is an evening star she is waning and returning back to the "new" phase between earth and the sun. In the story of Inanna this is when she retrieves her vestments in symbolic renewal and rebirth.
The "new" phase is during the Venus retrograde which lasts for approximately 40 days and 40 nights. This is a symbolic time of metamorphosis.
Origins of Venus
It is possible to trace sources of what became known as Venus through the Fertile Crescent, Middle East, Mediterranean, and Northern Africa. From Phoenician Astarte, Sumerian Inanna, Babylonian Ishtar, Egyptian Hathor and Isis, West African Yoruba Oshun, Greek Aphrodite and Roman Venus.
All of these forms and expressions can helps us see the depth of this dynamic goddess that has become flattened into a mere icon that displays superficial beauty standards to sell things in the Western extractive capitalist society.
Venus was meant to be both feared and revered.
May this Aries Start Point and Venus retrograde season remind us that: This girl is on FIRE!!
Want to explore explore the archetypes of Venus in each of her signs and how they relate to the unfolding of the Venus Rose during this Aries retrograde and beyond?!
Venus Rose Masterclass: Retrograde and Renewal in Aries
Monday Feb 17, 2025 from 11:00-12:30 PM Pacific / 2:00-3:30PM Eastern
Astrologer Bronwyn Simons, and April Miller McMurtry, creator of The Moon is My Calendar, join forces for another deep dive into astrology and creativity!
You are invited to join us to explore the rose mandala of the Venus cycle and so much more…
Interactive online workshop includes:
❤️ meditation to connect with the morning star and evening star through energy centers in the body
❤️ creative warm-up to visualize the Venus Rose
❤️ significance of the Aries Star Point personally and collectively
❤️ elemental Venus exploration through all the signs
❤️ the metamorphic underworld journey
❤️ the role of the Retrograde in your life and chart
❤️ inquiries, sharing, and closing
There will be a replay and slideshow available if you can't make it live.
Looking forward to sharing creative practices in community to feel more connected and inspired to face the challenges that seek to diminish all that Venus asks us to embody.
This Masterclass is FREE for all paid substack subscribers otherwise you can register here: Venus Rose Masterclass
Hope to see you on Monday Feb 17th from 11-12:30pm Pacific.
Thank you so much for being here!
With infinite love,
April
I go into the dates of the previous cycles in the weekly private podcast: tracking the venus retrograde cycle
Earth -centered video: Blue earth, yellow Sun, and white Venus. Here, the inner loops are created at the inferior conjunctions.
This time with the sun at the center, can you see how the loops are formed at the superior conjunctions. Yellow = sun, blue = earth, orange= Venus.
Origins of Venus: https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/amgg/listofdeities/ninsianna/
From the article: https://arstechnica.com/science/2016/09/confirmed-mysterious-ancient-maya-book-grolier-codex-is-genuine/
See the book Venus Star Rising by Arielle Guttman for a more in-depth treatment.
This article illuminates the connection between the Venus cycle and the golden triangle: https://earthsky.org/sky-archive/see-venus-at-greatest-illuminated-extent/
Thank you so much for this piece. I have never fully gotten all the math of the Venus cycle before, and your simplified explanation with images has made this easier for me to digest and understand more of the full picture! What a magnum opus and glorious Ode to Venus herself.
Thank you! I’m really looking forward to this class w/you and Bronwyn. I’m currently in her Venus Retrograde Course and very happy to be learning more✨🙏🏼