When: August 13th, 2023, at 4:16 am PT

What: Venus cazimi (aka conjunction with the Sun) 

Takeaway: When Venus bathes in the Sun’s rays, it creates a golden day in the planet of pleasure and beauty’s retrograde journey. This cazimi brings a glimmer of clarity to whatever you’ve been reviewing or reclaiming in your relationship to intimacy, creativity, or desire. Cast your love spells.

A Venus cazimi is an exact union (aka conjunction) between the Sun and Venus. When Venus — the planet of love, connection, and beauty — approaches the Sun within 1 degree (or 16 arc minutes, depending on your tradition), it enters an enchanted state. The Sun’s rays burn through any sediment obscuring our connection to the planet of pleasure, leaving behind distilled messages about intimacy and our inner and outer beauty.

Venus cazimis can happen two ways: 1) during Venus’ retrograde, when the planet is between Earth and the Sun, or 2) when Venus is moving in direct motion and it’s on the other side of the Sun, as far as it can be from Earth. The Venus cazimi on August 13th is the first kind, marking the halfway point of Venus’ backward trek.

During Venus’ retrograde — in 2023, that’s from July 22nd to September 3rd — the planet’s proximity to the Sun means that it temporarily disappears from our sky. The ancients mythologized this vanishing act as an underworld journey. Venus’ underworld descent corresponds to our own journeys to retrieve an essential facet of our intimate or creative nature. This period forces us to review our intimacy patterns, relationship with desire, and sense of inner or outer beauty. Trudging through the lessons can be tough, and our natural vibrancy might dim during the 40ish days of Venus’ retrograde. 

Cue the cazimi.

The cazimi on August 13th highlights the halfway point of our subterranean quest, which makes its messages for us all the more potent. Flashes of epiphany or subtle ahas illuminate what we’ve been reclaiming in relation to love, intimacy, beauty, and pleasure. Remember: The cosmos doesn’t speak through only one medium. Stay alert around this date for synchronicities, insightful dreams, sudden knowings, and powerful messages delivered by others. Although this underground mission will continue until Venus stations direct on September 3rd, you can continue with a renewed sense of clarity and purpose. 

This retrograde is occurring in fiery Leo, so we are being tasked with retrieving submerged facets of our self-confidence, creativity, and self-expression. Especially in relationships. Think back to what you were unraveling around love and pleasure in July and August 2015, the last time Venus stationed retrograde in Leo. How did your relationship to desire shift? In what ways was your confidence rewired? What did you learn about offering your gifts and talents to others? The lessons you’re encountering now deepen this cycle. Every time we tunnel further into the depths of the same themes, we arise with more radiance than ever before. 

The Venus cazimi on August 13th isn’t only a time for reflection. Because it’s such a gilded moment for the planet of love, it’s also an opportunity to amplify love magic, celebration, and your connection with the muses. Relish life’s sweetness even as you’re undergoing an inner — and maybe outer — makeover. 

Venus is the planet of love, connection, beauty, pleasure, and desire. The following rituals will help you call on Venus’ powers to attract what you deeply yearn for.

1. Scatter rose petals on your altar, walkway, or around your front door, inviting love and Venus’ blessings into your abode.
2. Submerge yourself in art, poetry, music, and beauty. Then share your favorite finds with friends.
3. Make offerings to your muses to invoke guidance for your creative projects. Placing pens, paints, or clay on your altar will do. 
4. Send notes of appreciation to the people that you’re grateful for and bask in the richness of your bonds.
5. Make the first move. This cazimi will bless all attempts to find connection, so reach out to someone you’ve been wanting to spend more time with.
6. Light a beeswax candle and take a bath with rose petals, your favorite essential oils, and pink Himalayan salt to conjure Venusian magic. Focus on your intentions for your relationships or passion projects while you soak. 
7. Adorn yourself with your signature scents, clothes, jewelry, and anything that makes you feel radiant. Doing so will help channel this Venus energy toward a boost in self-confidence.
8. Compliment a stranger (or two, or three…) to spread the sweetness around.
9. Infuse casual events with a celebratory spirit. Surprise your friend with flowers. Play dance music while you make dinner. Underworld journey or not, Venus just wants to have fun. 
10. Stay alert for synchronicities, messages, and omens that highlight what you’re recovering in yourself around connection and pleasure.
11. Re-read the description of your natal Venus placement under the Me tab of the CHANI app and listen to Your Reading for the week of August 7th.
12. Check the app from noon PT on August 7th for an additional Venus ritual, altar suggestions, and journal prompts designed to help you make the most of this lush cazimi.

Aries | Taurus | Gemini | Cancer | Leo | Virgo | Libra 

Scorpio | Sagittarius | Capricorn | Aquarius | Pisces

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