The Goddesses of Descent…and Dissent

Oct 26

Venus Rx in Scorpio...and the art the sting

Is the light of autumn not the best?

September, for me, is yellow. It’s the month of giant sunflowers and bushy rabbitbrush. The first peaks of yellow leaves appearing as Libra welcomes the sun.

October is red. Rowan berries weigh the branches of our elder tree so low I can gather bunches with ease. Rich red maple leaves dot a landscape otherwise filled with evergreens. And yes, a few late season wild strawberries still dot our spreading patch.

The Libra sun brings a darkening. Just as earthly gold turns to ruby, the light-filled sky tips towards longer nights.

We’re invited, cosmically and ecologically, to enter the dark.

Libra, as a reminder, is ruled by Venus. And Venus is a powerful planet brought to life through many goddesses.

The immensely Libran goddess Ma’at is an essential ally for these times. She is the ancient Egyptian neteru and divine principle that so perfectly represents Libra’s ideals: truth, fairness, order, harmony, and value.

For those not familiar with this goddess, she is most famously known for holding the scales — the very scales that Libra adopted in its archetypal imagery — that weigh our hearts against a feather. For only the light of heart, those who have released guilt, shame, regret, and the heaviness that weighs all of us poor humans down, may pass through to the afterlife.

This all takes place in the Halls of Ma’at. And do you know where these halls are found? In Duat. The Underworld.

Yes, Venusian Libra, the sign that emerges at equinox and is most known for balance and beauty…is also an underworld sign.

Astrologer Adam Elenbaas recently shared a podcast episode in which he explored balance as ephemeral — not something that can ever be enduring, in this reality at least. I love this reminder.

Libra holds the scales in perfect balance for but a moment of earthly time — a reminder that balance is an ideal but not a sustained reality. What a relief ;)

Immediately following the perfected equality of the equinox, the darkness returns to outweigh the light once again. Yet, somewhat paradoxically, this is balanced on a cosmic timescale: we need the dark to balance our long, light-filled days.

And so we travel through darkening skies towards the darkest sign of the zodiac: Scorpio, perhaps inspired by the Egyptian goddess Serket — if you don’t know her, read this one! I’m quite happy with it ;) In short, she’s an Egyptian scorpion goddess of magic and poison and healing and breath…and a beautiful expression of Venus in Scorpio.

This Libra loves this darkening time of year. ;)

Many of you know I’m a triple Libra — new moon baby. With Saturn and Black Lilith and Pluto there too…I like to joke that I’m very unbalanced in the sign of balance.

But I have some serious Scorpio vibes in my chart, too. No one who just sees my blond hair expects the underlying darkness of my psyche, lol.

All this to say…it’s my birthday month! And I have a present for you :)

This month, I’m opening up our monthly Rewilding the Temple ritual to everyone, free of cost.

These gatherings are always so powerful — to meditate, anoint, and journey together in sacred circle is such a much-needed practice for these wild times. And I know our circle under the Libra new moon will be an especially beautiful one.

Again, you can join for freeeeeee — but you do need to register!

I’ll share a replay with everyone who registers :) Join me!

Rage on, my loves.

Back to Venus — who is currently traveling through Scorpio. This is kind of a big deal — one that makes this Libra-Scorpio autumn pretty f-ing intense.

If you’re a woman right now, you’re probably like I know. My witches and I are gathering for a rage circle tonight. Wanna come?

But the men? Do you know??? Do you know how much the onslaught of news around what is happening to girls and women — and what men are getting away with — is digging into our psyches and activating the rage of the dark goddess right now?

I don’t think a lot of men do know. I scrolled through my man’s YouTube feed the other day. News, weather, mountain biking (lol)...a bunch of dude stuff. But seriously. A whole breaking news section — and not one mention of “the essays” or Clavicular or any of the other shit we’ve been seeing this year.

Stats say 1 in 4 women has been sexually assaulted at some point in her life…and it’s probably higher. Every woman you know knows multiple women who have experienced assault. So why do men think they don’t know any men who have assaulted?

(Not all men, of course. I appreciate the awareness Toby Morton is creating, among others. And since humor helps, I’m appreciating Michael Pavano’s take.)

This month, Venus is diving headfirst into Scorpio’s underworld territory. She is training down there. Battling demons, sharpening skills. Becoming queen.

And not only is Venus in Scorpio…she’s going retrograde October 3.

Venus goes retrograde all the time — every 18 months or so — so the call to revisit Venusian themes around love, beauty, sensuality, the feminine, and what we value is nothing new. In Scorpio this means revisiting existing underworld themes that have still not been addressed: the places our Venusian feminine has been abused and repressed will awaken and demand a reckoning.

This Venus in Scorpio is especially significant for two reasons — one, it’s revisiting the themes from 8 years ago, the last time Venus was retrograde in Scorpio. And two, it’s wrapping an almost 100-year cycle — this is the last time in our lifetimes that the new Venus cycle begins in Scorpio.

Let’s start with the recent past. Do you know what was happening at this time 8 years ago? Brett Kavanaugh — who had just been accused of sexually assaulting another student when they were teenagers — was confirmed to the Supreme Court. Women around the world felt as if we’d been punched in the gut…and worse. Again.

Go back to the first Venus Rx in Scorpio for this cycle and we hit November 1930 — curious as to how our Venusian themes might have been showing up, I did some digging…and found quite the article.

Turns out The Atlantic has their archives online, and you can read the entire November 1930 issue, including a fabulous article entitled: The Dilemma of the Educated Woman by Mabel Barbee Lee. Just take a look at the opening paragraph:

THE innumerable books which man has written about woman are evidence of the fact that she has been an age-long problem to him. No other creature in life, perhaps, has been so persistently baffling as this female paradox who is at once his inspiration and despair, the joy and bane of his existence. And just at those times when he has thought that he had her nicely subdued, she has suddenly upset his plans, and shattered his nerves by undertaking some absurd adventure like going to college, or getting a job, or running for office. It then became necessary to begin all over with his original thesis, showing that she is first and last a biological phenomenon, that her duties lie plainly within the home, and that her greatest service can be found only in ministering to the needs of men and their children.

You can read the entire article, which dives into more cringe-worthy historical examples of women’s oppression alongside the emerging yet still relevant dilemmas of women who want work, love, and to generally enjoy being a human being. Read here.

And here we are. This year has had no shortage of abuses towards women and girls. And right now the rage is peaking.

A Cosmic Quarantine is Coming…

So let’s talk about the cosmic weather, why this season might feel especially intense, and the Venusian goddesses of the underworld who can be our guides.

On October 3rd, 2026, Venus goes retrograde in Scorpio. Then, on October 23rd (after some super-fun-time squares with Mars and Pluto — jk…if you don’t know what these squares mean, just know things get intense, destructive, and dark…in the best way possible) Venus meets the Sun at 0 degrees Scorpio, which means that a new Venus cycle is born.

Then Venus keeps going backward and returns to Libra — so now Venus is retrograde in a sign she rules. And finally, on November 14th, she goes direct again, reborn as the Morning Star. Here, she’ll finally get some cosmic support with sextiles from Jupiter and Mars.

Now, if all this astrology is a bit blah blah blah — don’t worry. This archetypal energy is also found in the goddess mysteries. And by looking at the two together, we find a map for the season ahead.

…Because Venus Rx lasts 40 days.

Sound familiar? Yeah…just a whole Jesus in the desert era vibe.

In a recent Astro Butterfly post, they shared even more about the significance of 40 days: Noah’s 40 days and 40 nights of rain. Moses on Mt. Sinai. 40 days to break a curse or undergo a transformation in folklore.

Even the word quarantine comes from the Italian phrase quaranta giorni, meaning forty days.

40 days is a container for transformation — and Venus, in her feminine and cyclical glory, leads us through this alchemical process.

With Libra, she takes us into the dark.

In Scorpio we unearth the treasures there.

And then, just a week before fiery Sagittarius, we emerge into the light — our descent empowering us to dissent from the toxic patriarchal soup that oppresses all things Venusian: love, beauty, and justice.

Enter the Cave and Retrieve Your Crown

Persephone and Inanna are essential guides through the dark passages ahead.

I’ve written extensively about Persephone — exploring her abduction and sovereign reign…how Hades, god of the underworld, is the same as Pluto — a planet of destruction yet also the god of wealth.

I often feel as if Persephone is Venus in Libra — the equinox crossing, descent, and cosmic empowerment through just rulership. The sensuality of the pomegranates and the respectful relationship with Hades in the end all serve the cycles of life that create the cosmic balance Libras hold so dear.

>>> I have a fabulous 90 minute workshop, with an in-depth ebook, that takes you through this journey. For Persephone’s season, I’m pairing it with her botanical perfume — get both a full-size perfume + the entire class for only $60.

Similar to Persephone, the Sumerian goddess Inanna finds her power through the trials of the underworld. Much has been written about this story, so in short: Inanna is queen and goddess of love, sex, and war (heyyy Scorpio).

She decides to visit her sister in the realm of the dead, and must pass through seven gates. She removes an item of clothing at each gate, and by the time she enters the underworld, she is nude, stripped of her regalia and power. Her dark sister then kills her and hangs her corpse upside down. In the dark, the goddess has been dismembered.

Yet through various mythological events, she is revived with the food and water of life and returns to the surface…only to see that her husband, rather than grieving or trying to find her, has taken her throne.

I mean — the metaphors are not lost on me here. You?

But, with the power of the underworld and her divine rebirth behind her, Inanna sends her husband to the realm of the dead in her place. For someone must stay there — it’s part of the bargain.

Inanna then, is Venus in Scorpio. A full on death march and rebirth. A sovereign queen who takes no shit and stings the husband who betrayed her.

Both of these goddesses descended to dissent — Persephone against the idea that a woman can only be valued in her youthful innocence. Inanna against the patriarchal overtaking of sovereign rulership.

As we travel through the underworld with Venus this season, we too have a 40-day container to excavate the underworld and mine the gold that awaits us. And we too just might return with a sting of dissent for those who would suppress our drive to restore this earth to cosmic order alongside Ma’at.

Psst: If you want one more underworld queen to explore, I write about the gnome world here. It’s a totally wild and wonderful ride ;)

Aromatic Rituals for the Underworld

Perfume is ritual. Every time you anoint yourself, you re-engage with the intention and healing held within each bottle.

Anointing with pure plant perfumes has the potential to call our soul home. To ignite memory beyond the mundane and help our souls remember who we really are.

Across a 40-day container, this type of aromatic ritual can become a daily descent practice in miniature: one small, fragrant threshold, tended every morning until Venus rises again.

Here are a few ways to anoint your way through this retrograde:

Gather in ceremony.

Each new moon, we come together to plant seeds for the lunar cycle ahead through sacred oils, ritual, meditation, and seasonal attunements. Our Libra new moon circle lands early in this 40-day container, and it’s free for everyone this month. The Scorpio new moon circle follows in November, still inside the retrograde, and paid subscribers can join every month.

We’ll anoint with rose for Libra and myrrh for Scorpio — such a potent, feminine combo ;)

>>> Join the October New Moon Ritual for Free

Wear the goddesses.

For Libra’s descent, and this time of year in general, I’ve been anointing myself with Persephone perfume daily.

Kind words about Persephone Perfume: “Persephone’s fragrance is beautiful and luscious. Flowers and trees combine to create a scent that is complex and works with my chemistry almost magically.”

>>> Persephone Botanical Perfume

For Scorpio’s descent, Inanna is a beautiful guide and a favorite perfume. Her perfume carries roses and resins — a protective blend that helps us ground spiritual wisdom into our bodies and minds.

>>> Inanna Botanical Perfume

Travel the underworld with Ma’at.

If you didn’t begin your journey with Ma’at at the equinox, Venus Rx offers another perfect container. My course pairs 42 days of Ma’at’s ideals with intentional anointing practices. Venus’s retrograde runs about 40 days, so you’ll get a couple of extra days for integration. ;) The overlap between her 42 days of anointing and Venus’s descent is just too perfect.

>>> Cultivating a Featherlight Heart: 42 Days with the Ideals of Ma’at

Devote yourself to sacred aromatics in all forms.

I didn’t plan to teach my in-depth Sacred Aromatics program during this Venus Rx, but it opens right in the thick of the retrograde and carries us through Venus’s return as the Morning Star. I’m trusting the cosmic timing here ;)

Together, we’ll spend 6 weeks exploring the history, ecology, and profound energetic frequencies of sacred scents and oils.

If you already love aromatics and have an anointing practice, this will bring you the depth to feed the inner hunger I know you still have — perfect for a season of descent. Because there is more here. More ritual, more resonance, and more confidence in working with sacred aromatics in your personal spiritual practice.

We begin October 14th.

>>> Join me here.