Retrogrades, Pop-Culture & Fear-Based Astrology

Fear sells and we live in a culture that is addicted and trained to be addicted to fear narratives over any other kind. Social media (and news) companies often push stories that have emotional morality to them. Language such as “this disgusts me, I am outraged”, or “this is offensive” get targeted and pushed to the top of circulation. It is no wonder that astrology in popular culture has latched on to this trend.

How many times have we seen or heard about fear surrounding a Mercury or Venus retrograde, feeling like our personal lives are basically at risk of implosion and catastrophe?

Culture & Civilization Increasingly More Anxious

The culture and civilization we are making is increasingly full of existential and personal anxiety. The phenomenon of “social anxiety” is on the rise in the last couple of generations. What are the co-factors? The increase of virtual culture, internet jobs and entertainment, and the sheer amount of time on screens have all fed anxiety and depression as modern pathologies out of control. There also continues to be a chasm between the “haves and have-nots” in our classist global economic network. There is anxiety in every echelon about physical and/or emotional safety because the world has been producing more hard edges than soft open arms. We have all participated in some of this in our lives.

What are Astrological Planetary Retrogrades and What Do They Mean?

Astrological fear on the rise in pop culture is no exception. So what are astrological planetary retrogrades anyway? They are essentially optical illusions as seen from us here on earth–when a planet seems to move backward in its orbit. What we see or believe we have seen can provide an opportunity for importance and meaning-making. Regarding the two innermost planets, Mercury and Venus, their retrograde cycles are very noticeable and each has different patterns and stories surrounding them.

We humans channel and interpret those stories for our lives. Astrology carries the belief that the planets affect our lives here on earth. With repeated cycles and studies, we can track just how we are in the cosmic dance with the specific planetary consciousnesses. Mercury is associated with thought, communication, commerce, daily travels, neighbors, ideas, etc. Venus with connection, love (and war), money, beauty, art, music ,etc. During a retrograde period where the planet stays longer in a sign, going backward through the degrees and signs in the zodiac and has retrograde patterns through certain signs, we have an opportunity to take a deeper look at the planetary influence since it will last longer and “go over” some aspects of a chart/time. There could be some challenging aspects to this languoring, or some fabulous circumstances.

Meditation and Introspection Instead of Excessive Fear

In today’s cut-throat internet algorithmic age, outrage and extremism is dominant. People have been immersing themselves in fear. Fear can be a reasonable and normal part of life. In fact, fear is an important survival emotion. It serves to keep us alive and to keep us healthy. But sadly, this is not the usual case anymore. Now we have excessive, unreasonable fears popping up everywhere. Having a Venus retrograde in the 7th house? You might lose all of your friends! You will get divorced! Better watch out, all of those ex lovers are going to come back into your life and destroy your current relationship! It is much more helpful to have a grounded look at all of this.

During a retrograde, there are better likelihoods of certain energies being present and certainly being present for longer. It is a good time for some meditation and introspection often enough. One can take a deeper look at that portion of a chart and its aspects. One can prepare for Mercury or Venus subject matter to come up in various ways. With an empowering framework, we can weather any storm better. We can welcome challenges that help us grow. Most of all, we refuse to add fuel to the fire of fear-based click-bait astrology and instead, choose a wiser path.