September 12, 2022
by Daniel Giamario
Venus has been a morning star since January 14 2022, as the morning star phase of the Capricorn synodic Overstory. On Tuesday September 13, a rapidly setting Venus will come within 10degrees of the Sun and in most places will be obscured by the glare of the morning Sunrise.
Ancient peoples saw this as the entrance into the Underworld. With modern scientific objectivity, Venus can be seen as disappearing behind and on the other side of the Sun. Our school refers to this as the exterior Underworld. This includes the Sun/Venus conjunction on October 22 at 29Libra27. This is the conjunction that is not retrograde.
In the Venus synod, this is what we call the Inanna underworld, when Venus/Inanna, the Queen of Heaven, has gone through a comprehensive surrender, relinquishing her various vestments and attachments, and going through shamanic death and rebirth. It is also where she meets Ereshkigal, whom our school feels to be the feminine expression of Pluto/Hades, existing long before the Zeus cult allocated the underworld to brother Hades.
Venus will be invisible until December 1 2022, a total of about 79 days. This is quite a profound time-frame where the Goddess, or archetypal feminine, for both women and men, becomes capable of grieving, and developing a wisdom and maturity necessary for her evening star apparition to come. Surrender and vulnerability are not generally the most natural states for the Capricorn Goddess archetype. This is the greatest clue for how the Capricorn mystery school, for both women and men, can best navigate these next 79 days.
It is interesting to remember that the purpose of Venus/Inanna’s journey to the underworld for the ancient Sumerians was to grieve the end of the Age of Taurus, as the patriarchal ways were fast overtaking the matrilineal ways of life. The main purpose of her journey was to attend the funeral of Gulaganna, the great Bull of Heaven. Her journey was not because she was some vain and arrogant Queen.
What is most important to grieve? What would the Venus synod Overstory of Capricorn most grieve? Could it be for some – both men and women – losing the material benefits of knowingly or unknowingly supporting the patriarchy? Perhaps also grieving the loss of connection to the natural world and no longer feeling the love and compassion coming from the Great Mother, who has been so marginalized from 5000 years of patriarchy. It can be important to feel Her pain.
It is interesting to note that Venus will be in the underworld, within 10 degrees of the Sun, at the time of the United States election as well as the upcoming eclipse season.