It's Called Love, the Only Thing Worth Living For
The Venus Cazimi and New Moon in Leo
For the next week, we’re caressed by the charismatic Venus Cazimi, arriving the morning of Sunday August 13, then moving closer to a promising Leo New Moon on August 16.
8/13 VENUS CAZIMI
The Venus Cazimi is said to be an auspicious day for conjuring love, luck and happiness into our lives, but mind your approach to this annual meet cute.
An astrological “cazimi” is “any planet whose center is within 17 minutes of the arc of the center of the Sun” and reputed as a harmonious aspect in the Astro world. The concept of a “cazimi” derives from Medieval astrology, referring to a planet in close conjunction with the Sun, making it appear as if “in the heart” of the fiery solar realm. Paired with Venus Retrograde in Leo, the 2023 Venus Cazimi is a bright alignment for going with the flow and facing forward, if we can leave our baggage and bad habits at the door.
We have waded through Venus Rx for a month and have roughly 3 more weeks of the Love Planet’s backspin until Venus Rx ends on September 3.
While Venus Rx may have us pondering our values or find us being entrapped by aesthetic and orgasmic thirst, the Venus Cazimi asks for a pause to bask in all that is Love! Venus Cazimi wants a real time relish before returning to particulars and the big task of separating our insecurities from desires, material wealth and beauty from substance.
Venus Rx has brought up many contradictions and confusions in how we move through this world and Venus Cazimi invites us to just enjoy.
Recommended experience: tap into the pleasure of “being” as opposed to itineraries of expectations.
This open approach is a little bit of an anti-manifest, even though love spells (preferably ethical) could be quite powerful during the Venus Cazimi. Self-worth is something we often measure against a sick society that praises productivity and surface appearance, which personally does not hold a lot of space here. I find a lot of soul-sucking in the “spiritual community”s obsession with manifestation and visualization, especially if it is super dependent on specifics. We miss opportunities or fail to see the beauty of connections due to them not looking or feeling an exact way. The Universe brings us so much that we tend to write off due to our preconceived notions of an ideal or impossible perfection.
During Venus Retrograde, we may have come across many hiccups that challenge our attachment to outcomes, and in a way such attachment can end up hurting our own feelings. This is especially true when looking at external praise or attention as validation (very low-level Leo) when we could instead be fostering adventure and affection as a gift and butterfly effect of health and happiness around us (Leo optimization achieved!).
The Venus Cazimi is not a time to dig up grudges or to harp on what was not reciprocated as wished. It is not a time to question why we weren’t “good enough” and instead to reclaim that treatment has nothing to do with our worth. Instead, it’s a time of recognizing our interconnectedness and that kindness is not a weakness. It’s a time of reflection and relaxation and most of all… fun! Frolicking in the romance and whimsy of Life, conjuring Joy and getting in touch with how we can feel serene, piqued by interest or in a state of discovery… these curiosities elevate the Venus Cazimi beyond cliches. This is the last bit of Leo Season after all and love and laughter is the order of the day; you can rack your brains with details of your wish list and put pressure on yourself in the time of Virgo soon enough.
Challenging the concept of “love” and its societal limitations as simply sexual or romantic, the Venus Cazimi warms up to a more powerful practice instead: APPRECIATION.
Platonic, casual, community and colleagues all have room for warmth in the Venus Cazimi. Or if feeling a need to decompress, the powers of pampering are also divine. Treats and sensory gifts are still useful for the experience… Venus loves the lovely! (May we recommend Cicatrixia face oils and sprays? Or making a batch of Cicatrixia “Love Tea” from The Sensual World, whose copies are available now for online order.)
Relaxation will be a wise strategy to reset for all the Astro ventures this week and next, especially when Virgo SZN and Mercury Rx make their mark.
8/16 NEW MOON IN LEO
Wild-hearted freedom will set the stage as Venus and the Sun near the New Moon in Leo, convincing us to dig deeper into the artistry that feeds our soul.
The shine of the Venus Cazimi Sunday morning paired with Venus Retrograde in Leo can either fuel the flames or glow as a hearth, but we may find ourselves prey to overthinking once again around the Dark Moon (all the more important to embrace a sensuality and serenity for the Cazimi). Eschewing the pomp of power as an empty pit, the days before the Leo New Moon may stir our self-loathing and dissatisfaction, perhaps a tug of war re: success in superficial measurements and the hallow pursuits that haunt us… but only temporarily.
By mid-week, the New Moon asks us to center on how we can incorporate care and creativity with the hustle and bustle of our busy lives.
The New Moon in Leo are encourages us to be honest-hearted and courageous in our gifts and to be inventive about adding more imagination into our daily routine. More love and laughter, less lament and judgment, very much a follow-up theme from the Aquarius Supermoon. We may find it hard to move away from what we knew to be true. When we allow open exploration during this Astro Meetup between the Sun and Venus this Sunday and further into our New Moon intentions, we give ourselves and others a needed nourishment, free of force or frustration. However, this Leo New Moon isn’t without issue; we just have the option to focus where needed and forgo the superficial.
Unfavorably, this Leo New Moon squares Uranus, shaking up our sense of safety, but Uranus additionally holds hands with Mercury and Mars in Virgo at the same time. Problem-solving skills are primary in this Uranus equation, allowing us to see disruptions as welcome challenges to flex our innovative smarts and shift our perceptions to see a bigger picture. We are encouraged to tap into the collective, swallow our pride and reach out to others, and SHARE. Whether it is resources or our feelings, we will be in an environment that honors more than ourselves and our Egos.
Applying the potency of Venus Rx, the New Moon once again asks us to get real about how our need for control may be robbing us of beautiful experiences. New Moons are a perfect opp to reset and focus on what practices we want to bring forth. Gratitude, seeing the abundance in our lives, instead of the lack, is one aspect of perspective shift. Opening our eyes and ears to avenues we may have not seen previously may be another. In Leo fashion, experimentation may be ready for a proper place in our schedules.
Whether in ritual or play, enjoyment in itself is an enigmatic passageway that unfolds aspects of healing and hope without following rigid directions to achieve some lofty dream. It isn’t easy to give oneself over to a bit of an “unknown” outcome, but there is deep peace in accepting the range of nuance in situations and people that we come across in our journey.
beautiful piece, thank you!!