Checking in on Venus

CHECKING IN ON VENUS

This week features the evening star rise of Venus from the Inanna Underworld. Venus will have been invisible on the other side of the Sun for 46 days (the symbolic 40 days in the wilderness) starting back on September 14. These dates are all based on allocating a 10degree orb for determining visibility. In experiential practice, as morning star, Venus during some cycles, can be seen for days after the 10degree point, as was the case this past September, witnessed by our Cosmology training group this past Equinox time. This situation is far less common when Venus rises as an evening star. Nevertheless, it’s worth looking for her now.

Thursday, December 1, is when the exact 10degree from the Sun is reached: Sun at 9Sagittarius51 and Venus at 19Sagitarrius51. But even Monday, November 28, shows them 9degrees11minutes apart. All week is the theoretical time of first possible visibility. You could choose December 1 just after sunset as a ceremonial rise of Venus. If blessed by clear skies and a low Western horizon you may be blessed by her presence. Alternatively, you could look each night until you do see her! Mercury will be quite close above her.

5000 years ago in ancient Sumer, records remain of the ceremonial descent of Venus, known as Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth. What is often missed is the reason for her underworld journey. It was to attend the funeral of the Great Bull of Heaven. The incursion of the patriarchy was replacing matrifocal ways of life. Certainly, there was much to grieve as the Age of Taurus was being replaced.

Inspired by Venus/Inanna’s sacred journey of shamanic death and rebirth, what have you been willing to grieve? I have been influenced by Martin Prechtel and Stephen Jenkinson’s thoughts about grief. There is so much worthy of grief: the increasing estrangement and separation from Mother Earth, the disconnect from our indigenous souls, the rapid die-off of animals, insects and plants, the lack of nutrients in our soil and food, the toxicity of the air …. the list is long! The high strangeness of the last three years had added: the breakup of families, husbands, wives, and friends, and mass dislocation from homeland and culture.

Grieving is an essential activity of an open-heart, because genuine grief can only happen when there has been deep love. And out of that grief arises creativity and beauty.

Unlike Inanna grieving the end of matrilineal Goddess oriented life, I hope few today will be grieving the necessary end of patriarchy as we have known it. We can grieve about the damage that the last 5000 years of Kali Yuga in a great Turning of the Ages has wrought. Fully grieving this means that you have truly loved the Earth and Sky, and as organic human beings have a connection to soul and spirit and have valued the experiences of empathy, compassion and personal love.

A desire of mine is to not have to grieve a disconnect from Christos/Sophia (many other names you know can be used here), should the powers that shouldn’t be succeed in their plan to merge human with inorganic AI. Should that occur, possibly few will even remember how to grieve at all.

As Venus rises in the West, thank her for her sacrifice. Celebrate her return, as we witness her over the next 260 days becoming a radiant and beautiful evening star.