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- When Venus Turned Backwards: The Astrological Rhythms of the 1960s Civil Rights Revolution
When Venus Turned Backwards: The Astrological Rhythms of the 1960s Civil Rights Revolution
Picture Birmingham, Alabama, April 1963. Fire hoses blast protesters against brick walls whilst police dogs strain their leashes. Martin Luther King Jr sits in solitary confinement, scribbling his famous "Letter from Birmingham Jail" on newspaper margins. Television cameras broadcast these shocking images into American living rooms, galvanising a nation's conscience.
What most people don't know is that 42 days earlier, on March 1st, Venus had begun one of its rare retrograde journeys—a celestial event that astrologer Nick Dagan Best discovered correlates with some of the most pivotal moments in American civil rights history.
This isn't a tale of cosmic determinism, but rather an exploration of an extraordinary pattern that weaves through the fabric of social justice movements like a hidden thread in history's tapestry.
The Astrologer Who Connected the Dots
In 2007, Canadian astrologer Nick Dagan Best published a groundbreaking article in the ISAR journal titled "Cycles of Injustice". It was about Venus retrograde and the history of U.S. race relations. There is a startling number of very key events in the history of what some people call civil rights–let's just say that the history of U.S. race relations–that occur during either the Venus retrograde that we have now in Virgo to Leo, or in the mirroring superior conjunction that occurs four years before or after it.
Best's research revealed something remarkable: from the Nat Turner rebellion of 1831 to the Detroit riots of 1967, the most significant events in American racial conflict clustered around specific Venus retrograde periods with uncanny consistency.
Venus and Consensus
But why Venus? Venus also represents art, harmony, and beauty. So those are some basic things. More crucially for social movements, Venus signifies in astrology topics like love, relationships, unions or the concept of union in general, as well as unifying and reconciling things.
In mundane astrology, Venus has to do with consensus. It has to do with agreement and people coming to some kind of mutual agreement. When Venus goes retrograde, this consensus comes under review—sometimes violently.
The 1960s: A Decade of Retrograde Reckoning
The 1960s civil rights movement unfolded against a backdrop of multiple Venus retrograde periods, each one coinciding with watershed moments that would reshape American society.
1963: Birmingham's Bloody Spring
The Birmingham Campaign began on April 3, 1963, to attack the city's segregation system by putting pressure on Birmingham's merchants during the Easter season. This campaign occurred during a Venus retrograde period that had begun earlier that year.
In April 1963 King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) joined with Birmingham, Alabama's existing local movement, launching what would become one of the most televised and impactful civil rights campaigns in history.
The images of police dogs attacking peaceful protesters and fire hoses knocking down children created a national crisis of conscience. The subsequent brutality of the city's police, illustrated most vividly by television images of young blacks being assaulted by dogs and water hoses, led to a national outrage resulting in a push for unprecedented civil rights legislation.
The Pattern of Sacrifice and Progress
This observation reveals a disturbing but consistent pattern in Venus retrograde periods: There is something about this Venus retrograde cycle that has something to do with sacrifice, and I think that's an element of it. It still seems rather unjust and unnecessary, but in so far as the astrology reflects realities in the world, I'd say it's pretty spot on unfortunately in this case.
The Venus Cycle: An Eight-Year Revolution
Venus retrograde operates on an eight-year cycle, creating what astrologers call the Venus Star or Rose pattern in the sky. Every eight years, Venus returns to nearly the same degree of the zodiac to station retrograde, creating recurring themes and connections across decades.
Historical Echoes
This cyclical nature means that civil rights events often echo across generations. There's almost recurring events of a tragedy or a strife that then leads to an improvement on a broader social level as a result of it, or in reaction to it during the retrogrades.
Consider the pattern:
- Nat Turner's rebellion: August 21, 1831 (Venus approaching retrograde)
- Amistad case: August 26, 1839 (19 days before Venus retrograde)
- Civil Rights Act enforcement: October 17, 1871 (Venus stations direct)
- Detroit race riot: June 20, 1943 (56 days before Venus retrograde)
- Birmingham Campaign: April 1963 (during Venus retrograde period)
The 1967 Parallel
Best's research showed that Detroit experienced racial violence during multiple Venus retrograde periods. It was worth including in this chronology, not only because it came close to the cycle, but also because Detroit has since been the scene of mob incident during the Virgo-to-Leo Venus retrograde (see 1967 and 1975).
The 1967 Detroit riots, which lasted five days and left 43 dead, occurred during another Venus retrograde period, demonstrating the cyclical nature of these social eruptions.
The Broader Context: Venus and Social Change
The 1960s weren't just about civil rights—they encompassed a broader transformation of American values around love, relationships, and social consensus. Venus retrograde periods seemed to catalyse challenges to traditional norms across multiple domains.
Beyond Race: Gender and Sexuality
Many are strong women's rights advocates and have a particular soft spot for victims of rigid rules and expectations. People born during Venus retrograde periods often become advocates for social change, particularly around issues of love, relationships, and fairness.
The 1960s saw the emergence of the women's liberation movement, the sexual revolution, and the early stirrings of LGBTQ+ rights—all areas governed by Venus's domain of love, relationships, and social values.
The Counterculture Connection
Their ideas about love, marriage, women's roles, and relationship are not necessarily traditional. This Venus retrograde influence helps explain why the 1960s produced such a profound challenge to traditional American values around family, sexuality, and social roles.
The hippie movement's emphasis on "free love," the questioning of traditional marriage structures, and the challenge to gender roles all align with Venus retrograde themes of re-examining and revising consensus around relationships and values.
Modern Relevance: Lessons from History
Understanding these patterns doesn't mean accepting astrological determinism—rather, it offers insights into the rhythms of social change that might help us navigate contemporary challenges.
The Current Cycle
As recent Venus retrograde periods have coincided with renewed civil rights activism—from Black Lives Matter to #MeToo—Best's research takes on new relevance. 8 years ago there was this racist event in Mississippi [Louisiana], and they had a march in Jena, Mississippi [Louisiana] to protest this event in the summer of 2007 after I posted the article. And at that point, in 2007, this march in Jena was the largest civil rights march since the 1960s.
Preparing for Transformation
The pattern suggests that Venus retrograde periods create opportunities for fundamental shifts in social consensus, but often through crisis and conflict. Understanding this rhythm might help activists and leaders prepare for these intense periods of social reckoning.
Sarah from Manchester, a civil rights lawyer, discovered Best's research during the 2020 protests. "It helped me understand that these explosions of social consciousness aren't random," she told the Wilfred Hazelwood team. "There's a rhythm to how societies confront their deepest contradictions."
The Astrological Mechanics
How might Venus retrograde actually influence social movements? Several factors come into play:
Challenging Consensus
When Venus is retrograde, issues related to love and money may seem to stagnate, dry up, or run cold—it is not at all uncommon during Venus retrograde to face seemingly insurmountable challenges in relationships. On a social level, this translates to challenges to established relationship patterns between groups.
Review and Revision
Venus retrograde invites introspection and manifestation. Societies use these periods to examine their values and make necessary adjustments—though this process is rarely smooth or peaceful.
Bringing Hidden Issues to Light
Venus retrograde periods often expose problems that have been simmering beneath the surface. The shocking images from Birmingham didn't create racism—they revealed it in a way that could no longer be ignored.
The Psychological Dimension
Modern psychology offers frameworks for understanding how these astrological cycles might influence collective behaviour:
Collective Unconscious
Carl Jung's concept of the collective unconscious suggests that societies share psychological rhythms. Venus retrograde periods might activate archetypal patterns around fairness, justice, and social harmony.
Social Identity Theory
Research shows that challenges to group identity often trigger defensive responses. Venus retrograde periods, by challenging social consensus, might naturally activate in-group/out-group dynamics that lead to conflict.
Moral Psychology
Jonathan Haidt's research on moral foundations reveals how different groups prioritise different values (care/harm, fairness/cheating, loyalty/betrayal, etc.). Venus retrograde periods might create opportunities for these moral foundations to be questioned and realigned.
The Business of Social Change
For modern consultants and change agents, understanding these patterns offers practical insights:
Timing Interventions
Organisations seeking to address diversity, equity, and inclusion issues might benefit from understanding when social consensus around these topics becomes more fluid and open to change.
Managing Resistance
Venus retrograde periods often generate backlash against progressive changes. Leaders can prepare for this resistance rather than being caught off-guard by it.
Leveraging Momentum
Just as the civil rights movement used the Birmingham campaign's shocking images to build support for legislation, modern movements can use Venus retrograde periods to create breakthrough moments that shift public opinion.
The Consultant's Perspective
How might the Wilfred Hazelwood approach apply to understanding these social rhythms?
Pattern Recognition
Like Best's identification of the Venus retrograde pattern, effective consultants learn to recognise recurring cycles in organisational and social behaviour. These patterns offer predictive value even when the underlying causes remain mysterious.
Systems Thinking
The Venus retrograde research demonstrates how seemingly unrelated events (planetary movements and social conflicts) can be connected through complex systems. Modern challenges—from climate change to inequality—require similar systems-level thinking.
Strategic Patience
Understanding that social change operates in cycles helps leaders maintain perspective during difficult periods. Progress isn't always linear, and temporary setbacks might be part of larger transformational patterns.
Criticism and Caution
Best's research, whilst compelling, raises important questions about causation versus correlation:
The Selection Bias Problem
Critics might argue that highlighting events that fit the pattern whilst ignoring those that don't creates false confidence in the correlation. A complete analysis would need to examine all major civil rights events, not just those near Venus retrograde periods.
Multiple Variable Challenge
Social movements arise from complex interactions of economic, political, cultural, and technological factors. Attributing causation to astrological cycles risks oversimplifying these complex dynamics.
The Confirmation Trap
Humans excel at finding patterns, even in random data. The Venus retrograde correlation might reflect our pattern-seeking nature rather than genuine astrological influence.
The Scientific Approach
A rigorous examination of Best's hypothesis would require:
Statistical Analysis
Comparing the frequency of civil rights events during Venus retrograde periods versus other times, accounting for the fact that Venus is retrograde about 7-8% of the time.
Control Groups
Examining whether similar patterns exist for other social movements (labour rights, environmental activism, etc.) or in other countries with different cultural contexts.
Mechanism Investigation
Identifying plausible ways that Venus retrograde periods might influence human behaviour through known psychological or sociological mechanisms.
The Practical Application
Regardless of the underlying mechanism, recognising these patterns offers practical benefits:
Historical Context
Understanding that civil rights struggles have operated in cycles helps contextualise current movements within longer historical arcs.
Emotional Preparation
Knowing that periods of social tension follow predictable patterns can help activists and leaders maintain emotional equilibrium during difficult times.
Strategic Planning
Organisations working on social justice issues might time their major initiatives to coincide with periods when social consensus becomes more malleable.
Conclusion: The Dance of Planets and Progress
Whether or not Venus retrograde directly influences social movements, Best's research reveals something profound about the rhythms of social change. His "Cycles of Injustice" study suggests that progress toward justice follows patterns that transcend individual decisions and immediate circumstances.
The 1960s civil rights movement, viewed through this astrological lens, becomes not just a series of heroic individual actions but part of a larger cosmic rhythm that periodically brings societies face-to-face with their deepest contradictions around love, fairness, and human dignity.
The Larger Pattern
Birmingham was only one of over a hundred cities rocked by the chaotic protest that spring and summer, some of them in the North but mainly in the South. This widespread nature of the 1963 protests suggests that something larger than local conditions was at work—perhaps the kind of collective psychological shift that Venus retrograde periods seem to catalyse.
Lessons for Today
As we face our own civil rights challenges in the 21st century, understanding these historical rhythms offers both hope and guidance. The pattern suggests that periods of intense social conflict often precede breakthroughs in consciousness and policy.
The astrological perspective doesn't diminish the courage of civil rights activists or suggest that change happens automatically. Instead, it implies that certain periods offer greater opportunities for transformation—windows when social consensus becomes fluid enough to allow for fundamental shifts.
The Continuing Cycle
Best's research continues to prove relevant as new Venus retrograde periods coincide with renewed civil rights activism. From Ferguson to Black Lives Matter to contemporary LGBTQ+ rights movements, the pattern persists: Venus turns backwards, and societies confront their shadows around love, fairness, and human dignity.
Whether we understand these correlations as cosmic influence, collective unconscious rhythms, or simply a useful analytical framework, they offer a powerful lens for understanding the deeper currents that shape social change. In a world that often feels chaotic and unpredictable, finding patterns—even mysterious ones—can provide both comfort and strategic insight.
The stars may not control our destiny, but they might just help us understand the hidden rhythms by which that destiny unfolds. In the dance between planets and progress, Venus retrograde emerges not as puppetmaster but as timekeeper—marking the moments when societies must look backwards to move forwards, when consensus breaks down to be rebuilt on more just foundations, when the arc of the moral universe, in its mysterious way, bends toward justice.
Scary.
That's how some people react when confronted with correlations between celestial mechanics and human suffering. But perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Best's research isn't the correlation itself—it's what it suggests about the underlying order in historical change, the possibility that even our struggles for justice follow rhythms larger than ourselves, cycles that connect us not just to each other but to the cosmos that contains us all.
In the end, whether Venus retrograde influences civil rights movements or simply marks them, the pattern offers the same profound lesson: that change, however difficult, follows rhythms we can learn to recognise and work with rather than against. In that recognition lies perhaps our greatest hope for creating the more just world that every Venus retrograde period seems to promise, and every generation struggles to deliver.
