The Venus cycle begins when Venus is in Retrograde. This is her Metamorphic phase. The phase that bridges the end of one cycle and the beginning of another. In Retrograde, Venus is high in the Sky and very close to the earth. Her full cycle spans 584 days, and creates one Interior Conjunction Star Point cycle. Or in other words, From one Interior Star Point to the Next Interior Star Point. Our current Venus Cycle began in March 22nd in the sign of Aries and will end when Venus next stations retrograde on Oct 23rd at 0 Degrees Scorpio
The sign that Venus occupies when she makes her interior (retrograde) conjunction becomes the “overtone” of the Cycle. Or, the “MetaGoddess”, who’s archetype colors the entire cycle. Therefore, we are in a Aries overtone cycle. This is the MetaGoddess of the Spiritual Warrioress
Her cycle has many phases. Cycles within cycles like Russian Nesting Dolls. She has an eight year cycle. Which is the time it takes for her to trace the full Venus rose around the earth. Inside that cycle she has five 584 day cycles which creates a full petal on the Celestial Rose of Venus. Or one point of her pentagonal star. And inside of that smaller cycle she has several distinct phases. Metamorphosis—> Descent —> Underworld —> Ascent —> Back to Metamorphic Again.
PHASES
Her Ascent Phase begins when Venus emerges from the far side of the sun, low on the horizon. She then spends the next nine months ascending in the sky, traveling closer and closer to earth each month until she goes retrograde and begins the cycle once again.
The first phase begins at her helical rise as Morning Star. This happens just after her conjunction with the Sun during Venus retrograde at the beginning of her cycle. In this latest cycle that happened on March 22nd when Venus met the Sun at 2 degrees Aries.
The Metamorphic Phase is Venus’ 40 day retrograde which begins the cycle. In retrograde Venus is high in the Sky, traveling close to earth.
The Descent Phase is characterized as a slow, nine month descent as Venus travels further and further from earth.
The Underworld Phase happens when Venus appears to dip below the horizon. In reality, she is making her trip around the far side of the Sun. In the Underworld she makes her superior conjunction. This conjunction adds a secondary “tone” to the Venus cycle (see below)
She spends almost nine months, the same amount of time it takes to gestate new life, in her Morning Star phase as she descends through the night sky. This is why Venus is connected to the woman’s mysteries and cycles of creation. Each month She descends towards the horizon until she finally disappears from view.
If we are using the Hymn of Inanna as a template for the Venus Cycle (which is legitimately a Venus Sky Story) this is the period in which Inanna is descending through the gates on her way to the Underworld. Leaving one of her ME, or Royal Vestments of Power, behind at each gateway.
When Inanna is finally stripped naked, and bowed low before sister Erishkagel in her throne room, THIS BEGINS HER UNDERWORLD PHASE, the midpoint of her 585 day cycle. She stays invisible, or below the horizon for between 60-90 days. This is the point in the myth where Inanna is murdered by her sister, and hung on a meat hook. Until supernatural creatures come to her aid by sprinkling her “60 times” (days) with the Water and Bread of life”. Which is the precise amount of time that Venus was invisible to the astronomer priests who manned the ziggurats (star watching towers) on the flat lands of the Mesopotamian Desert. For other places on the Planet, where the horizon is occulted by mountain ranges, or hilltops, Venus can spend as many as 90 days in the Underworld.
The Underworld-superior Star Point conjunction in this cycle happens on January 6th 2026 at 16 degrees Capricorn when Venus is below the horizon on the far side of the Sun. When the Sun makes it’s Superior, or second conjunction of the larger 584 day cycle, it adds another “tone” or “harmony” to the “meta-goddess overtone”. We are at the tail end of this part of her cycle now. Her Rise as Evening Star is just days away.
In the case of this Cycle, Aries is the “Overtone”, and Capricorn is the secondary harmony or, “Undertone” coming in at the Superior Underworld Conjunction.
After Venus travels between 60-90 days below the horizon, She then makes her triumphant return from the Underworld, at Her Heliacal Rise. This is when Inanna begins her ascent from the Underworld, back up through the gates, low on the western horizon. This begins her Capricorn Evening Star phase, in which she climbs to a higher and higher altitude, reclaiming her royal vestments. This phase again lasts roughly nine months. It ends when Venus turns retrograde.
https://www.redmoonrevival.org/insights/overview-of-the-venus-cycle
