Something missing from your night sky, love?That would be Venus, taking her leave from the world and the chaotic revelation her retrograde is delivering. In cahoots with eclipse season, in conjunction with Merc's batshit rx, as a cauterising force for irreversible no going back change.

Venus withdraws to contemplate, revise and thus reinvigorate all that tickles and tugs at our hearts this us about far more than avoiding the ex files or changing your lewk. Venus rules those areas of our life that bring us pleasure - or her counterbalance, pain - and which reflect our values, desires, taste and attractions. Her retrograde is part of a far larger revolutionary agenda marked by two lifeshifting eclipses, another retrograde as Merc shifts perception, and the move of our blue planet to this same fire sign.

It isn't really an encounter. More like a spell cast of yearning, thoughtlessly tossed into the wind by a changing mind and a shifting heart. Mars in his twin skin and out of bounds. Venus in Aries taking her leave from the world of men. Their sextile a long distance conversation without voices. Their mutual reception a sleepover at each other's houses while the other is away.

Today Venus passes through the sun in Aries, her cazimi a total eclipse of the heart. This is an initiation into a new relationship with your generative centrepoint and too an ignition point designed to set your heart aflame. Beyond who we love and why, Venus has much to do with what we love and how.

Venus cazimi dances behind the sun and out of sight until she rises again as the evening star in May. Her superior conjunction announces her departure and disappearing act from our skies into the dark beyond. Welcome repose in the heart's sacred underworld that holds all of our stories holy. Venus' seven week journey back into our night sight can initiate us into the next season of our lives.

Hump day lands with more than a smidge of niggle and snark trailing. Even as Venus prepares for her meeting and rebirth through the heart of the sun. Even as the fresh fire of Aries dries up all the rain, if not the tears. Even as the Leo moon bolsters hearts and tosses manes. Grumpy doesn't begin to describe it. Lingering irritation, frustrating limits and finally tumbling out hard truths could all make their needling presence felt today, as Merc and Mars square off from their corners of the zodiac.

In hot pursuit of the sun, Venus strides into Aries for a no holds barred few weeks of self actualisation and ardent conquest. This is heart sparking territory. Despite not being at her most comfortable in the ram's pen, she still brings fireworks. Good to go and searingly effective, Lady Love in Aries commands impact.

Despite a crowded cosmic choreography, this week bows down to our lady Venus in iconic mode. Her passage through Aries has been greatly obscured by the smoke and mirrors of the Mercing through Neptunia. The next few days we will feel the ripples as she stamps her authority and reminds us of the power of our heart to rule.

As the cosmic choreography continues unabated this week, we yet have a little firedancing on our plate. Today our lady Venus spends some quality time with our master revealer Chiron and feels the flames of Aries crucible licking.

Certainly harsh words will be going cheap as Mercury breaks the watery stranglehold and charges into Aries in a few short hours time. A boon for bombastic manchildren in large white buildings everywhere *snore* Mercury's move into Aries is the early warning bell for his impending retrograde.

Not attracting the hullabaloo of her mercurial neighbour, it is easier to overlook the obvious, significant effect of Venus Retrograde on our lives and loves. Our Lady Venus has been in retreat since early March - following a scented heads up late January - and mid April sees her official re-emergence.