The 2015 Venus retrograde runs from Jul 25 until Sep 6. This is usually lasts about forty days and forty nights. Forty is mentioned in the bible often, but most famously when Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness for forty days. Could this be referring to the astrological phenomena of Venus retrograde? After all, Venus has two sides to her. She is the goddess of love and war according to the Babylonians. The word Lucifer (which is often confused with Satan) venus-rx4means light-bringer and refers to Venus in her morning star phase. The ancients said the first few days of her Lucifer phase was a particularly dangerous time. People born with Venus as a morning star are said to rush headlong into love affairs and are very passionate. Venus as an evening star is has more of the receptive, traditional meaning of Venus, this phase is called Hesperus. The retrograde period I think describes very well the transition between the two modes of Venus and her descent into the underworld before she resurrects as the wildly passionate, but occasionally treacherous morning star.