"The last transit of Venus was June 8, 2004. But don’t be fooled by that proximity in time. Transits of Venus are very rare, plus transits tend to occur in pairs. They occur in a pattern that repeats every 243 years, with pairs of transits eight years apart separated by long gaps of up to 121.5 years. Before 2004, the last pair of transits were in December 1874 and December 1882." - from article titled, "Everything You Need To Know: Venus Transit on June 5-6" from the website, EarthSky
I almost didn't go. My friend called me around 4:30pm yesterday and asked me to come over for dinner and view the transit. The day was warm and clear and I didn't really feel like socializing, but I was curious. How would we view Venus against the sun? So... I went and was glad I did.
He has a great telescope able to track the progress of Venus. I looked through the eye piece and saw a clear yellow ball with tiny black sunspots and in the lower left area, a larger dot, perfectly round and moving. His family and our friends were there, curious and awestruck. We felt that this rare celestial event was important on many scientific levels but also sensed something more in this rarity. Maybe the transit would create a vibrational change or release gamma rays or change the weather. We all wondered about the unknown impact of this event.
I found this article, "Meaning of the Moment', written by astrologer, Shelley Ackerman, which presents some interesting ideas about the results of the Venus Transits:
"What does this week's "occultation" (a transit where one planet gets in between the Earth and another planet) mean and where will it lead us in the years ahead?
Venus rules art, beauty, love, grace, and desire. But the planet, whose very name evokes images of valentines and Botticelli's Titian-haired goddess emerging from the sea, is much more influential than that. She is central in directing the course of our cultural evolution here on Earth."
It seems bizarre yet appropriate that 91 year old, Ray Bradbury made his transit on this special day. He said he was not really a sci-fi writer but a writer of fantasy fiction. He wrote about Venus in the short story "All Summer in a Day", and his fantasy depicted a sunless, rainy planet occupied by people both cruel and kind, very like people on Earth. His vision and talent are rare gifts in the form of wonderful books, all central idea-generators in the cultural evolution of our world.
The transit is over. I look forward to art, beauty, grace, and desire coming our way.
