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Welcome to the newly structured week aheads!
Last month, I checked in with y’all about how we were doing these, and many of you said you’d prefer a week ahead rather than a month ahead, that it would feel more manageable and easier to incorporate in your daily life.
My hesitation with switching to this format in the past had been that the weeks themselves are variable — some are very packed, some are very light, and some are in between! And I didn’t want y’all to think that I was skimping on material, or that you weren’t getting your money’s worth as paid subscribers, during light weeks just because the planets aren’t talking to each other that much. But y’all said, let’s go weekly anyway.
You’ll be getting week aheads every Sunday, unless there is a collective revolt in the comments begging to go back to month aheads. So here we go!
All times are Eastern
Sunday, September 3
9:20p: Venus stations direct
At last, Inanna, The Queen of Heaven, triumphs. She has descended to the underworld with the seven powers; crossed through the gates; been murdered by her sister and hung on a meat hook; had her corpse bargained for by unforeseen queer helpers; been resurrected; and, at last, having found a soul who could take her place in the underworld (her faithless husband, Dumuzi), her Descent and Rebirth are complete. She returns to the night sky, to the land of the living, to the throne: changed, but unbroken.
In the Roses & Thorns cloister, we worked with the Sumerian Inanna myth through the last six weeks of Venus Retrograde. Digging deep into its roots only highlighted how prolonged and messy the rebirth process actually is.
If this Venus Retrograde has brought about such metaphorical death and rebirth cycles for you, here, on the day of Venus’ return, be gentle with yourself. Rebirth does not happen overnight. It is an ongoing process that impacts every aspect of your life. It changes your relationships: to others, to yourself, to your creative practice. As much as you can, prioritize the classic Venusian principles of pleasure and play in your every day as you learn what you need on the other side of this retrograde.