The First Venus Gate

The First Venus Gate December 2, 2010
by Cayelin K Castell




Waning Crescent Moon with Venus at the First Gate Dec 2, 2010


On December 2, 2010 Venus enters the first gate into the Underworld when the waning Moon conjuncts Venus (1 Scorpio) representing the seventh chakra. The Sumerians described the cosmological cycle of Venus through the Story of Inanna, Queen of Heaven, as a way to understand and to keep track of the Venus cycle.

The story begins when Inanna decides to attend the funeral of her sister’s husband, Gulaganna (a.k.a the Great Bull of Heaven as this also described the death of the age of the Bull or the age of Taurus).
Inanna puts on her full ceremonial regalia and begins her journey into the Underworld. When she reaches the first gate she is told she must enter the underworld like everyone else and is required to give up one of her vestments. Each gate represents a chakra and this gate represents the 7th chakra where she is asked to give up her crown.

The first gate is also known as the Gate of Divine Authority and the release of her crown represents the release of any distortions she has with her direct connection to spirit and the divinity that she innately is. One way to get a sense of this is to see it as a Fall from Grace… In Sobonfu Some’s book Falling Out of Grace she says:

…If we are going to achieve our purpose in life, we must be willing to fall out of grace and accept its lessons. When we feel righteous about ourselves or deny our brokenness, we are fighting against the higher states of grace that await us.

Here is something…I have had to learn over and over again through experience: To fall out of grace is a gift, one of the greatest gifts that one receives in life.

When we are in grace, we begin to take things for granted and we actually stop working on ourselves. Falling out of grace shakes us up. It reconnects us to the larger universe in order for us to see ourselves anew. It forces us to rediscover where our true center begins. And, to learn what needs to be set aside.

Inanna’s journey to the underworld requires her to relinquish her divine knowing – making a full underworld initiation possible. She is willingly falling out of Grace and embracing an initiation into the unknown realms while also releasing the references that have defined her past knowing of who she is.

To work with this gate ceremonially consider surrendering your current understanding of your divine nature even if you feel you have a healthy understanding and experience of it. This is an opportunity to surrender what you know so you can enter into the unknown and grow in ways that wouldn’t be possible if you were not willing to take this journey.

Ways to engage this with ceremonial intent are varied. You might try breathing practices that draw your attention and breathe to your crown chakra including meditation, chanting, brain balancing entrainment practices, using the violet flame, amethyst crystals, wearing violet colors, using the essential oils of frankincense and lavender and so on.

If you are turning 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, 56, 64, 72, 80, 88 etc between Nov 4, 2010 and June 11, 2012 then you are in a personal eight year synodic Venus return for this entire window of time. The eight year Venus return is a deepening initiation around your current life exploration of the divine feminine. Working ceremonially with this and the other Venus Gates throughout the cycle is highly recommended for those in a personal Venus Return as well as those who have Venus in Scorpio or for anyone who is interested in deepening their relationship to this powerful aspect of the Divine Feminine.


Shamanic Astrology.com