Today, October 4, 2026, Venus turned retrograde in the Evening Sky, marking the last days of its eight-month period as the Evening Star. The next Venus Cycle begins on Oct 23, 2026 when Venus makes its exact inferior conjunction with the sun at 00°♏45′ Rx.
Right now, we are in a kind of transition phase between the current Venus Cycle and the next one. Although there is some disagreement in the astrological community about which exact dates mark the beginning and end of each cycle (read more about why I use these dates), all of us agree that we’re in the window of transition, between Venus’ turn retrograde and its heliacal rise as the Morning Star at the end of October. Read more about Venus’ heliacal rise.
A Change in Course
What I find striking is that today, of all days, I am seriously considering changing tacks, and considering ways to integrate some of the more psycho-spiritual interests that I’ve set aside while I pursued ecology and native plants since 2022.
And here this September 24, 2026 episode of the Telepathy Tapes appears to marry my two interests in a way that I’ve been intuiting. In this interview with Dr. Zach Bush, he talks about his work with children with autism and their families. And points directly at the thing I’ve been nibbling at: the healing power of nature and, deeper, the trauma of our dissociated culture. The language he uses to articulate why children with autism are pointing us into the critical gap in our understanding is so fresh, sharp, and specific, that I thought it worth sharing. But listen with a critical mind!
Caveat
Zach Bush was the keynote speaker at the 2021 Blue Ridge Eco Fair, an event that had to be postponed due to Covid, and then was held online. I was part of that team, led by Sustain Floyd. I didn’t much care for Dr. Zach at the time. He seemed like yet another influencer, heavy on charisma, light on substance.
Now, I feel inspired. He has speaking power. He captures something shining and worth considering. His critics decry his science most of all, and the expensive supplements he sells. But Dr. Zach’s description of the grim, depressing, sometimes apalling inundation of the senses you get in places like WalMart or Target goes straight to my heart. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve experienced that. I’ve had to harden over completely to stand it. And the particular way he talks about why this is bespeaks both his gifts and a valuable perspective. It may not be all his own, but he articulates it well.
It is a strange world when our sources of inspiration are so checkered as to require sorting the wheat from the chaff. But in a way, this requires the discernment he recommends we develop to fight our way out of the hell we’ve created for ourselves.
