The last time I talked to Caitlin Rose, we were exiting the last shadows of Mercury Retrograde, a concept that has streamlined itself into mainstream media and generic self-help. Most friends, who do not obsessively study astrology the way I do, but who do obsessively study the going-ons of their own personal lives, will ask me when their lives seem to be in shambles: “Emily! Tell me mercury is in retrograde!” No, it’s not, honey. You’ve just done gone and messed up somehow. Don’t blame everything on the planets above.
This summer, however, we’ve entered a more vaguely dark and less frequent period: that of Venus Retrograde. Let’s refer to this two-month long episode as the purveyor of untimely nostalgia. Most of you probably remember that in Greek Mythology, Aphrodite is the Goddess of Love and Beauty, an idyllic representation of Venus rising from below the sea. Imagine then, a period of time in which everything that encompasses love, beauty, and relationships spins backwards on an axis of memory, resurrecting old haunts, past lovers, and the complex inner workings to seemingly innocent friendships. In the second half of Venus’ retrograde, love begins to bloom as it did in a Mid Summer Night’s Dream; temptation becomes our closest companion, dark lust slides into our psyches to fuddle our connections and perhaps lead us into the land of regrettable mistakes. New connections that may seem to delight and dazzle to our superficial eyes, undoubtedly hold a karmic lesson behind their voluptuous outer attractions. Also, you may fall victim to a really bad haircut.
Cue Caitlin Rose’s newest playlist for the blog- a collection of songs to help us navigate through this time of karmic relational stress. The list is meticulously crafted to exhibit twisted tales of love, from classics by Etta James and the sweet sounds of West Side Story to the local grunge played by our very own Turbo Fruits. “Astrology is certainly not everybody’s thing and, to be honest, I’m not all that well versed myself, but with Venus Retrograde in such heavy swing right now and so much being written about it, I wanted to put together some of my own thoughts/feelings on our sister planet’s backwards little dance of love,” says Rose. “Being not at all articulate enough on the subject to churn out my own “how to survive venus in retrograde” blog post,I put together a soundtrack culled from my own experience and understanding to share with you, my friends. As always, with suggestions both musical and zodiacal, feel free to ‘take what resonates and leave the rest.'” Whether you believe in the power of the planets to influence our daily lives, or simply enjoy basking in the torment of worn love, tricky temptations, and fluctuations in self-image, Caitlin has prepared a timeless playlist to accompany the soulful through the rest of our southern summer.
Listen here and catch Caitlin Rose tomorrow at City Winery with John McCauley – we aren’t exaggerating when we stay that these are two of our favorite modern songwriters, and you’ll be very, very sore if you miss it.
– Emily K.
Lockeland Springsteen 