*VENUS RETROGRADE IN SCORPIO* THE DESCENT TO THE UNDERWORLD * DARK STAR SAMHAIN ESSENCE *

We are in the midst of such astrologically and astronomically significant times !!

At this moment in time, the evening star of Venus is no longer visible at sunset! She has descended into the underworld of our horizon, towards the Sun before she will re emerge as the morning star!

TODAY 24th October 2026 she will meet the Sun at 0 degrees Scorpio to be burned up and be reborn transformed. Today this is known as a Venus Sun Cazimi - meaning "in the heart of" the Sun

Every 8 years Venus traces a five petaled rose in the sky as she dances her journey. Each petal marks the moment she passes between the earth and the Sun. Her journey from the Scorpio starting point began back in 1930 and today is the last time she will bloom in Scorpio with the Sun until 2181! 

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Going through this initiation, being burned in the light of the Sun, Inanna/Venus morning star was often regarded as the fierce side of the goddess; Inanna/ Ishtar was the goddess of Love and War. In her evening  star embodiment she has travelled through the darkness to be reincarnated. In her incarnation of Venus/Aphrodite, she was born out of violence but came to embody love, beauty and desire.

Inanna's Descent to the Underworld" is preserved on Sumerian clay tablets dated to approximately 1750 BCE, making it the oldest written descent myth on Earth. The narrative survives in over 30 fragmentary tablet versions excavated across ancient Mesopotamia. 

The Hymn of Inanna composed byher high priestess Enheduanna around 2300BCE, is the earliest signed literary work in human history

Inanna's Descent to the Underworld hinges on a single, devastating mechanism. The underworld, Kur, ruled by her sister Ereshkigal, has seven gates. At each gate, a gatekeeper named Neti stops her. At each gate, one of her divine attributes is taken:

• At the first gate, her crown (shugurra), the crown of the steppe.

• At the second, her lapis lazuli measuring rod.

• At the third, her necklace of small lapis lazuli beads.

• At the fourth, the sparkling stones at her breast.

• At the fifth, the gold ring on her hand.

• At the sixth, the breastplate called "Come, man, come."

• At the seventh, the royal robe.

As she is stripped of her divine attributes, she is left bare of power and beauty, having to face her fate as her true naked self . She is killed and hung on a hook, bare and reduced to nothing for three days before she is rescued and brought back to the land above to return as the Queen of heaven.

We see this descent myth again as Persephone is taken by Hades into the underworld. Her mother searches for her for days in her despair leaving a curse on the land, so that nothing can grow, and all is grey and barren. Helios tells her that Hades has taken her, with the permission of her father Zeus.

 So, powerful Hecate, Goddess of Witches with dominion over all three worlds goes to the underworld to support Persephone and help her return, as she is goddess of the liminal spaces. Whilst in the underworld, Hades tempts Persephone to eat Pomegranate seeds, and by doing so she unknowingly becomes bound by Hades. Henceforth he allows her to  return to the land only for part of the year and for the rest she must remain below, and so the seasons commence, as Winter when she descends, nature retreats into the underworlds and dies back, and Spring when she returns and life returns to nature.

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Venus in her Morning Star return will appear on the 29th October, close also to my favourite time of year at Samhain, when the veil between the worlds is thinnest.

So we have many themes of death and renewal, and transformation as always in Scorpio Season.

With this month's Venus retrograde in Scorpio it has given us time to revisit all the Venusian themes, of value, self worth and relationship, with the self and others.

Lets follow Venus into the darkness of the underworld, face our fears, and know we are safe.

It is a time to release old stories you have created about your self worth. 

Embrace the Death of that version of you who has to lose yourself in order to be loved

The sacrifice is no longer needed. 

Over this time of Venus Retrograde Scorpio I created a special edition of this year's Samhain Essence

DARK STAR in honour of the transformational journey into the underworld that we courageously take, with Inanna, Ishtar, Venus and Hecate as our guides. I collected ingredients from Turkey and Crete along the way and went to many ancient places of worship to give offerings to the Goddesses that guide us.

The scent is imbued with luxurious oils of Pomegranate, Poppy and Pumpkin, as well as the Samahin ritual recipe with some added ingredients in honour of Innana’s descent. All oils contain a mother from the original Samhain Essence created back in 2021. This is a darkly sweet woody scent reminiscent of the allure of the underworld as Persephone surrenders to Hades, with Hecate's herbs to guide us through the darkness and back in to the light. 

For a full write up of the Smahain Essence and to order yourself a limited edition bottle of Essence LOOK HERE

***Thank you for joining me on this journey - venture bravely and return anew ***