Women are from Venus

across the Sun but she's still moving backward through Gemini until June 27. This is creating an energy that feels a little like a Mercury retrograde (Gemini is ruled by Mercury). You may find yourself wanting two of a lot of things or that you are repeating actions from the past. But Venus brings us a bigger opportunity.

This powerful Venus transit is a reminder for women to speak up for what we want. While men sometimes need reminders to state what they want, it's women who consistently put themselves last on the list for receiving. The Roman goddess, Venus' name also brought us words like veneration and venery (the practice of hunting game animals). This is a time to say aloud what's important to you, what you want and what you're willing to fight for.

. The first of this pair was in 2004. And since 2004 women have lost a little ground when it comes to issues we thought were long ago settled. Now topics like equal pay for equal work and access to contraception are in the news again. And these boil down to the very personal right to receive respect for your contributions in your home and relationships.

Sometime between now and the end of June take a few minutes and think about Venus traveling backward through Gemini and whether your life is moving backward, too. If you've been losing ground you can take that ground back and start to move forward again. Tap into your inner power. Venus may have been a small dot crossing the Sun but she held the attention of people in every nation.

Remember, you're important in this world.