Mutations in 77-Month Recurrence Pattern since 1960
Over the next nine months, because of a six-week retrogression of Venus in October and November, there will be three Venus-Mars conjunctions between now and May 2011. These three alignments will fall in the signs of Libra, Scorpio and Taurus, and are part of a recurring 77-month cycle. They are also part of a longer 32-year cycle of Venus and Mars. (1)
Astrologers of a certain age will be taken back in their memories to the time period from August 1978 until May 1979, when this sequence of triple Venus-Mars conjunctions last recurred in these same three signs of the Zodiac. For those already practicing astrology during that era, 1978 was the year that Cycles of Becoming, the classic treatise on transit cycles by Alexander Ruperti, was first published in America. It was this book, which was a summary of the humanistic approach to astrology first elucidated by Dane Rudhyar, that taught many of the younger astrologers of that period about recurrence patterns in the transiting Mars-Venus cycle, and about patterns in other inter-planetary synodic cycles.
What Dane Rudhyar and Alexander Ruperti had researched was that, although Venus and Mars formed conjunctions about every two years, a cycle of five conjunctions was found to recur in which Venus was retrograde in nearly every fifth conjunction between these two planets. The alignments of retrograde Venus and direct Mars recurred approximately every 77 months, and were part of a longer recurrence pattern wherein the conjunctions would form in the same sign every 32 years (within 7-8 degrees of the last conjunction).(2)
Additionally, the alignment of retrograde Venus and Mars would take place as the middle conjunction in a sequence of three lasting about nine months from the first to the last. For example, from the 1920s until 1960, this recurrence pattern played out like clockwork. However, after 1960, an aberration in the Venus-Mars transit cycle began to take place.
These tables were calculated using Solar Fire for Windows, v.5
© 1994-2001 Esoteric Technologies Pty. Ltd.
Ven Cnj Mar Jan 9 1921 03° Pi 40′ D 03° Pi 40′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Apr 7 1921 09° Ta 31′ R 09° Ta 31′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Oct 3 1921 08° Vi 42′ D 08° Vi 42′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Aug 23 1923 24° Le 43′ D 24° Le 43′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Jul 11 1925 09° Le 26′ D 09° Le 26′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Jun 9 1927 02° Le 16′ D 02° Le 16′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Aug 30 1927 22° Vi 51′ R 22° Vi 51′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Feb 13 1928 19° Cp 01′ D 19° Cp 01′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Jan 2 1930 03° Cp 12′ D 03° Cp 12′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Nov 18 1931 14° Sg 17′ D 14° Sg 17′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Oct 13 1933 03° Sg 12′ D 03° Sg 12′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Jan 24 1934 21° Aq 44′ R 21° Aq 44′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Aug 2 1934 11° Cn 53′ D 11° Cn 53′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Jun 19 1936 26° Ge 08′ D 26° Ge 08′ D
Ven Cnj Mar May 7 1938 09° Ge 45′ D 09° Ge 45′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Apr 9 1940 05° Ge 28′ D 05° Ge 28′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Jun 6 1940 13° Cn 12′ R 13° Cn 12′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Dec 2 1940 08° Sc 16′ D 08° Sc 16′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Oct 23 1942 24° Li 01′ D 24° Li 01′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Sep 10 1944 08° Li 00′ D 08° Li 00′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Aug 8 1946 29° Vi 43′ D 29° Vi 43′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Nov 7 1946 00° Sg 23′ R 00° Sg 23′ D
Ven Cnj Mar May 18 1947 27° Ar 51′ D 27° Ar 51′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Apr 2 1949 09° Ar 26′ D 09° Ar 26′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Feb 16 1951 19° Pi 42′ D 19° Pi 42′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Jan 17 1953 13° Pi 51′ D 13° Pi 51′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Mar 21 1953 01° Ta 06′ R 01° Ta 06′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Oct 3 1953 12° Vi 17′ D 12° Vi 17′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Aug 23 1955 27° Le 51′ D 27° Le 51′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Jul 11 1957 12° Le 51′ D 12° Le 51′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Jun 14 1959 08° Le 26′ D 08° Le 26′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Aug 14 1959 15° Vi 45′ R 15° Vi 45′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Feb 16 1960 25° Cp 04′ D 25° Cp 04′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Jan 4 1962 08° Cp 04′ D 08° Cp 04′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Nov 20 1963 19° Sg 09′ D 19° Sg 09′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Jul 17 1964 21° Ge 09′ D 21° Ge 09′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Aug 26 1964 17° Cn 40′ D 17° Cn 40′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Oct 18 1965 10° Sg 36′ D 10° Sg 36′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Jan 8 1966 13° Aq 21′ R 13° Aq 21′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Aug 3 1966 15° Cn 49′ D 15° Cn 49′ D
Studying this table of Venus-Mars conjunctions from 1921 until 1966, one observes:
1. The retrograde Venus alignments recur every fifth conjunction.
2. The retrograde Venus conjunction is in the middle of a sequence of three.
3. This sequence of three conjunctions is spread out over a nine-month period.
4. The retrograde Venus conjunctions recur about every 77 months.
5. Every 32 years, the conjunctions recur in the same sign (i.e. 1921 + 1953).
6. An aberration in the regularity of the cycle began after 1960.
7. Two extra conjunctions took place in the pattern between 1959 and 1966.
The humanistic approach to astrology, as outlined in the books of both Dane Rudhyar and Alexander Ruperti, made recommendations for spiritual growth when consciously working with the Venus-Mars synodic cycle. This nine-month period containing the three conjunctions of Venus and Mars, which recurs only about every 6 1/2 years and into which we are about to enter (between now and May 2011), is ideally, at the middle conjunction, “a significant turning point in one’s emotional life and provides an opportunity to change one’s values and to find a deeper spiritual significance to one’s individual actions”. (3)
If the retrograde Venus conjunction falls in a degree that conjoins a Luminary or an angle in the nativity, then this period would be especially potent for a personal metamorphosis. The upcoming middle conjunction of Venus and Mars in early October is in 12° Scorpio, and the natal house into which it falls will also be activated for the next several years.
In modern times, since 1960 an aberration has occurred in the Venus-Mars transit cycle in which the retrograde Venus conjunction no longer recurs exactly every 77 months as before. In the view of your correspondent, this has contributed to a societal decline in personal reflection taking place within marriage that would have led to an improved self-awareness about one’s personal responsibility for problems in relationship. As a result, without that necessary introspection, society has evolved relational patterns that repeat over and over again in a counter-productive sequence of ongoing serial monogamy. (4)
Since the retrograde Venus conjunction with direct Mars in January of 1966, the cycle’s historical aberration has caused some subsequent conjunctions (recurring every 77 months) to occur when Venus and Mars were both in direct motion, or to be missed altogether. For example, in May 1972, the next expected alignment after January 1966, the conjunction occurred with both planets direct in 02° Cancer 31′. Venus did not station retrograde until 26 May 1972, some 10 days after that conjunction.
Ven Cnj Mar May 16 1972 02° Cn 31′ D 02° Cn 31′ D (Venus SRx 5/26/72)
Ven Cnj Mar Oct 21 1978 22° Sc 16′ R 22° Sc 16′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Feb 27 1985 18° Ar 30′ D 18° Ar 30′ D (Venus SRx 3/13/85)
Ven Cnj Mar Jul 25 1991 06° Vi 33′ R 06° Vi 33′ D
Ven Cnj Mar Dec 22 1997 03° Aq 20′ D 03° Aq 20′ D (Venus SRx 12/26/97)
Ven Cnj Mar Oct 3 2010 12° Sc 36′ D 12° Sc 36′ D (Venus SRx 10/8/10)
Because of this aberration within the Venus-Mars cycle, the seven expected conjunctions of retrograde Venus and direct Mars recurring every 77 months since 1966 have not gone anything like clockwork. There have been only two retrograde conjunctions, in 1978 and 1991, and in 2004, the expected sequence of three conjunctions did not even transpire. The next retrograde Venus conjunction with direct Mars will not take place until 2015. (5)
This year, the middle conjunction of three on October 3rd will have both planets in direct motion, with Venus not stationing retrograde until October 8th. The recurrence pattern was even further disrupted during the last two years, when a sporadic sequence of three conjunctions took place out of schedule between September 2008 and June 2009.
Looking ahead, the cycle of Venus and Mars will not return to “normal” until 2060 when, at that time, every fifth conjunction will regularly recur with a retrograde Venus and will continue in that predictable pattern until the year 2258. Looking backwards, prior to 1960, this recurrence cycle had repeated like clockwork since 1761. What is the astrologer to make of this century-long aberration in the Venus-Mars transit cycle, preceded by and followed by two centuries of regularity? (6)
One may hypothesize that human relationship requires a fluid and dynamic evolution in order to grow and change with the times. After two centuries, the social pattern has become stagnant and thus needs to transmute into a different form. As we have seen since 1960, when the birth control pill and the feminist movement radically altered roles for men and women, it is not unreasonable to expect that the social disruptions brought about by the changes to the relational patterns could take an entire century to stabilize. If this is the case, one can predict that it will take another 50 years for stability to return.
One can carefully study the degrees in which the once-in-77-month conjunctions fall and see if any of these Venus-Mars alignments may have conjoined a natal Luminary or angle. (7) If Venus was retrograde at the conjunction, then necessary self-reflection about one’s spiritual values at that time will have led to a personal metamorphosis. However, if Venus was direct at the time of the middle conjunction, there is the risk of having resisted an important period of reorientation, with the result being a continuation of old patterns.
To share a personal story with you, your correspondent was living in Vermont in 1978 at the age of 24. He received initiation into an Eastern Spiritual Path on August 13th of that year, exactly on the day of the first Venus-Mars conjunction in the sequence of three. It was like enlisting in the spiritual Marine Corps, as the four required vows stipulated 2 1/2 hours of meditation per day, a strict lacto-vegetarian diet, no drugs or alcohol, and no sex outside of lawful marriage. Of course, all four vows were eventually broken over time!
As you can see in the above tri-wheel chart, the middle conjunction in the sequence of three had a retrograde Venus aligning with a direct Mars and formed an exact conjunction with your correspondent’s Sun in 22° Scorpio. Looking back, he would have to say that over the course of his life, that was the year of his greatest personal metamorphosis.
caption from the back of photo:
Initiation, E. Calais, Vermont
August 13, 1978
Mr. Robert Paul Blaschke and Mr. H.F. Weekley
Now, 32 years later as the Venus-Mars recurrence cycle repeats itself in Libra and Scorpio, your correspondent, ailing with cancer and trying to stay alive, will have to face another metamorphosis, one in which he commits to fasting for six weeks twice a year and also transmuting into a raw food diet in order to heal the body. With the middle conjunction of this upcoming sequence of three occurring with Venus in direct motion in 12 Scorpio, exactly conjunct his progressed Ascendant, any resistance to the required reorientation this time will result in death. Sounds like a Scorpio’s fate, eh?
© 2010 Robert P. Blaschke
Footnotes:
1) One observes that these three signs place Venus and Mars in either dignity or detriment.
2) Ruperti observed that 77 and 32 in numerology add up to the number 5; associated with the Venus cycle and its 5-pointed star.
3) Cycles of Becoming, 2nd Edition, Alexander Ruperti, Earthwalk School of Astrology, 2005, pg. 89.
4) The ubiquity of on-line dating has certainly accelerated and enabled this trend!
5) This middle conjunction of retrograde Venus and direct Mars in September 2015 takes place at a rare 59-month interval.
6) 3000 years of Venus-Mars conjunctions can be found at Richard Nolle’s site: www.astropro
7) The secondary progressed Lights and angles should also be taken into consideration.
30 Comments
I was with someone very special back then when that last three some occured…remember it well 🙂
Hi Robert
Thought I was the only person on the planet investigating this cycle! So great you have shared this, thankyou so much. I am presently writing a book about the Venus Mars cycle. Presented a talk in Brisbane in Jan and will be presenting a workshop in Seattle in October. I began studying astrology in 1980, but all these years have not come across Ruperti’s book. Must now get hold of it!! It is the most amazing cycle. I have been totally absorbed in researching it for the past two years. Thanks again Robert.
Dear Robert
Sorry to read about your sickness. But I wonder, raw food is taking to much from the digesting system. It will taking to much from the enzymes. It’s better if you look for a Ayurvedic or blood group diet.
Well, I’m born with Regulus, Mars, Venus conjunction in the first house.This year this conjunction will fall in my solar card in the first house in Scorpio.
So I wonder what will be “new” under the sun!
I do hope you can read this English!
with Divine greetings Dhyana
Oh Robert-Thank you for such an exquisite explanation and analysis of such an important cycle. You so accurately picture the results of not heeding the great benefits from a planet’s retrograde cycle. You also put all us alive today in context with our struggles in relationship. We are part of the unfolding of the forming of new more healthy patterns of relating. I am so relieved to hear from you.
THANK YOU for your efforts even as you are in your own personal struggle. Much love
Thank you for sharing the rarity of these aspects with us. I know a 25 Scorpio Sun and will be watching for significance this time around.
My best to you ahead.
Thanks for this timely reminder, Robert, and all the best to you on your healing journey.
Robert, thank you for a wonderful insight into this phenomenon and helping us prepare to optimize our experience of it. Just a suggestion: contact Robert Roy about using the Two Feathers healing formula for your cancer; this unique native American herbal formula has a centuries long reputation for helping people overcome cancer. Along with your fasting and raw food, it will ensure the disorder doesn’t return. Rob Roy: 775-324-4889.
Salud!
Bob
Thanks Robert, for another great article. I’ll be paying attention to this Venus-Mars cycle thanks to you.
Great article Robert – as always. And so wonderful to hear from you! Much love, Amanda
Thanks great article by Robert.
I’ve got this conjunction in my Solar chart but then Venus is my ruler will be stationary. 7th October.
Thankfully she will be trine my natal Asc/Mc/saturn/Moon and in my fifth house.
Dear Robert-
I have a Scorpio stellium involving the Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Neptune spanning 11 to 22 degrees and, I, like you, find myself with life-altering health problems. I have a “stellium” of spinal problems that result in horrific, almost daily, pain. And the thing of it is, my condition is not necessarily life-threatening. I could go on for years and years like this, but… who wants to, y’ know….
Seems there’s no middle ground for us Scorps when it comes to pain. It’s all or nothing, eh?
To paraphrase the great Aries astrologer, Linda Goodman – fitting in this time of such compelling emphasis of the Aries archetype – we Scorps would do well to always remember the Scorpio/Phoenix connection, giving us the ability to rise from the ashes, to overcome even the most ravaging of illnesses.
-*I would quote Goodman directly, but I can’t seem to locate my battered copy of “Sun Signs”, which I suspect lies hidden somewhere in the dark reaches of my budding-astrologer-Scorpio son’s room. Hehe.*-
Anyway, if I recall Goodman’s wise observations correctly, she regarded the awesome Pluto power to regenerate and renew to be Scorpio’s birthright, ever-present; and she encouraged us to unfailingly draw on it in times of need.
Aarrgh…. so much easier said than done….
Hm… I think I needed to write this to myself as much as anyone, as I just had another surgical consultation yesterday. Hehe….
Here’s to successfully tapping that powerfully positive Pluto potential.
So, from me and my Capricorn husband, who is so intimately involved in my ordeal and without whose steadfast support I would be lost:
Best wishes and be well, fellow Eagle.
Robert, please check out the Gerson Therapy.
Link to a quick overview: http://www.healingdaily.com/conditions/Gerson-therapy.htm
The Gerson Therapy is a safe, natural treatment developed by Dr. Max Gerson in the 1920’s that uses organic foods, juicing, coffee enemas, detoxification and natural supplements to activate the body’s ability to heal itself. Over the past 60 years, thousands of people have used the Gerson Therapy to recover from so-called “incurable” diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease and arthritis.
http://www.gerson.org
Thanks for a great article, best wishes on your rejuvenative healing journey, Robert
Thank you for an excellent source of information regarding these conjunction cycles of Venus and Mars. Also, thank you for bringing in Ruperti’s Cycles of Becoming, which has been so valuable to me over the years. I wish you well in your current health crisis. I fear your raw food diet will tax your digestive organs unnecessarily, so I also encourage you to consider another course of action. The body only has so much it can give us, so we must choose wisely. Good luck to you.
I am overawed by all your research into the Venus/Mars cycles. You might also consider the Venus parallel Mars cycles, which are understood to be equivalent to conjunctions (we had one of those last week), if you are looking to do further research.
Regarding cancer therapy, I would recommend you go with the Gerson therapy recommended by Vicki, above.
Also take digestive enzymes with everything you eat. Bowel cleaning out is good too, even if coffee enemas are a messy business. There are herbal bowel cleaners like aloe vera and cascara sagrada.
You might also consult a metaphysical hypnotherapist to look into WHY cancer hit you NOW
–i.e. what past-life or future-life problems you are slated to deal with at this time in your life. If you can find out the spiritual/energy causes, you will probably be able to heal your body faster.
Get well, please. We cannot afford to lose good astrologers!!!
Dear Robert,
Thanks for the great blessing of all your work including this most recent article. Your books are enlightening and have taken me much deeper in my astrology practice. My prayers are definitely with you. Be well and thanks again!
Doris
Dear Friend Robert,
Thanks for your usual creative genius re this article. I will be willing to do some shamanic healing on your behalf if you give me permission. I used the Gerson therapy very successfully, but I trust your highest intuition will guide you to what is best.
All the best to you,
Diana Stone
Well, this is certainly going to be interesting. My ASC is 12 degrees Scorpio. So Robert, what’s in store for me? I’ve been long term unemployed since December 2008 with three college degrees.
My birthdate is January 3, 1953 3:00 am CST Tulsa Okla.
Just Wondering since I’m soon to be 99er.
We love you, Robert! You are our Astrology Guru here in Madison, WI. Keep your body alkaline and cancer cannot thrive. Not necessarily raw foods, but low fat meats (buffalo is great, turkey, lean chicken with no skin), fruits, vegetables in abundance, juicing, and many vitamins. A naturopath saved my life from antibiotic poisoning using this diet, with colonics and high-powered good bacteria. 5 days of fasting after I was strong enough.
Love to you – you excel as an astrologer and person.
Sheri and the Madison Gang
Dear Robert,
Thank you so much for this information I was not aware of. I have been calling the Tsquare alignment (around the 8/10/10 new moon) of jup/ura vs. sat/mars/venus T pluto for the ‘Firegate’: The fiery painful gate into a time/opportunity of healing between the sexes and old karmic wounds/trauma in that department (the heart). I felt the following 40-odd days of venus and mars walking hand in hand after was the healing space beyond that gate This adds a whole new dimension, a much stronger confirmation of that.
May God bless you in this trying time, and thank you for still finding the time to share your wisdom and art with us. Stay strong. Many blessings and prayers!
Dear Robert,
I have appreciated many of your articles and your study of the Venus Mars cycle is an significant contribution to the body of astrological knowledge. I will continue to meditate on the information and perspective you’ve given.
I sense that the upcoming Venus direct on your progressed Asc may be an opportunity to receive the grace of love and transformative healing from others. Now that you’ve broadcasted this information, perhaps you could specifically ask your friends and community to offer you their loving intentions on the dates of the Venus Mars conjunctions. I will join this opportunity to think of you with loving thoughts on those days.
May you be whole. May you be healed. Blessings to you.
heartfully,
Jacqueline
I did not ask to be born.Neither did anybody else.The size and complexity of the universe makes me feel so small and free of responsibility.It makes me feel that the only meaningful thing to do is to try and have a good time. You feel that sometimes?
We met years ago in Vancouver or Seattle I forget exactly. You can do it. You have much to contribute still. Bless you and your continued journey. Have you tried yoga, I believe it can heal anything. I literally breathe in the positive and expel the negative. Chanting the words of God is very cleansing as well. Illness happens on the physical level last.
Love and Light
Tannis
Hi Robert:
I have been thinking about you and praying for your recovery. Thank you for sharing your amazing genius intellect and insight with us even through your personal very trying time.
Dear Robert,
Thank you for this fine article and your observations regarding your own life. 32 years ago I was amid a personal transformation of love, marriage, and a long distance move. Your article made me realize that these series of MarsVenus conjunctions are significant now to me, with the same events occurring 32 years later! I wish you a speedy recovery and it is always wise to embrace transformation and thank the Universe for all these lessons given to us for our spiritual growth.
Blessings to you,
Cathy
I am a huge fan of your work. Thank God you haven’t stopped working..This article was heaven sent, as they usually are when it comes to your work. Enlightening and inspiring. And food for thought..
Ever since I heard news of you being ill, I have thought of you frequently. Many people love your work and I join the choir of good blessings and prayers for healing…
Lots of love to you in this time.
Never paid a whole lot of attention to it, but find it interesting that my Dad (May 12, 1906), myself (Jan 12, 1953) and my daughter (April 6, 1981) all have Venus Mars conjunct in our charts. Not exact conjunctions, but interesting nonetheless. And the degrees are 3, 2, 1 apart starting with Dad’s chart. It will be really fascinating if my daughter has a child with an exact conj, eh?
So happy to see that you are alive and well! Loved this article and am looking forward to many more. Please get in touch if there is anything I can do to help you on your healing journey.
Sending healing light and many blessings.
Dear Robert : thank you for sharing your observations.
It gives me and interest for something I had almost no time since many months. Homeopathy had take all my time and astrology was a little “sleeping“.
What a beautiful man you must be to receive all these love e-mail. They don’t know you: so be a full cup of tenderness, and I wish you passion in your life for the next conjunction and more.
I was reading Edward Bach (floral-quintessences) three days ago, and he said: la vie ne nous demande pas de grands sacrifices, live does not ask to us big sacrifices: just doing our best. The next conjunction at 12 degrees Scorpio, will be on my Neptune in my natal chart. All I see is another way to do things with passion and make it in a spiritual way.
In my natal chart, Venus is in conjunction with Mars, so your article gives me the interest to go
further.
I discoverd a very interesting website tonight, yours… in full Moon….and tonight the garden with Moon in the middle is like a mystic silver circle…and she jumps and jumps over the trees and I wish to you jumping in the sky too !!!
Thank you again.
Good blessings.
Sending spiritual lights.
Deb
Robert, You’ve been in my thoughts. I so enjoy your disarming humor and the intellectual exchange you offer. You are timeless. With love and wishing you divine health, Ginger
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