Well, maybe it is just the time of year, or maybe it’s the time of man.
— Joni Mitchell
On July 31, Venus in direct motion passed the degree of Gemini where it stationed retrograde on May 15, entering new territory for the first time since April 11. Just after midnight EDT Saturday morning, Venus will follow the conclusion of its retrograde cycle with an opposition to the center of our galaxy. It may feel familiar.
Every eight years since 1972, in the first days of the eighth month, Venus has opposed the core of our galaxy immediately following a retrograde cycle. The pattern will continue until 2188, a cycle renewing at nearly the same same place on the calendar, from nearly the same places on the zodiac. Symbolically implied are a series of octaves ascending from our ancient understanding of Venus to our more recent awareness of the Galactic Core.
Venus has been part of human consciousness for as long as we have walked the Earth. Only the luminaries, Sun and Moon, are brighter. The mythologies surrounding Venus reflect the human affinity for light. Although the details may vary from one culture to another, Venus consistently corresponds to the strong feelings and prominent values of attraction. Unlike the luminaries, the cycles of Venus are rather long and complex.
Venus orbits between Earth and the Sun. Because of that, Earth is never between Venus and the Sun. That means we never see Venus opposed to the Sun. What we do see is Venus rising only so far, about halfway towards the zenith, before it descends to approach and conjoin with the Sun before re-appearing on the opposite horizon. Venus is now rising in the East in the hours before dawn. By this time next year it will be visible in the West after Sunset. That pattern gives Venus a series of concentric cycles within cycles that return it to nearly the same spot in the sky on nearly the same calendar day every eight years. The Galactic Core, by comparison, is all but fixed.