Venus’ Retrograde motion occurs fairly frequently, about once every one and a half years, for around 42 days. The transit of this fast-moving planet is very significant and may symbolize an emotional, affective crisis, a time of questioning of some of our values or relationships, a need to take a step back, or thought and reflection about what we are feeling…
Venus is the planet of love, magnetism, the forces of our attraction, the arts, beauty, and money; more broadly, it represents our sense of values, and its retrograde motion is bound to have effects on various levels…
In some cases, it reveals differences between people’s character or ways in which they are incompatible, favoring break-ups, material or financial constraints, or certain health issues that involve Venusian analogies.
It’s important to pay close attention to what is happening in terms of our relationships during this period of time, and if we go out and meet new people, with Venus retrograde we might act against our usual tendencies, so we may be attracted to unusual people who differ from our normal preferences and who may not even be compatible with us according to traditional astrology.
Help ! Venus is going retrograde : what do I do ?
The first thing to understand is that this period of time will require you to listen more directly to your feelings and emotions, and of course we are not all equally good at this !
- Those people who are already able to easily access their emotions under normal circumstances may be in danger of being submerged by them.
- Those people who have a hard time getting in contact with and expressing their emotions run the risk of not being comfortable with these forces, which require them to make a bigger effort to be receptive…
And of course our cerebral and emotional sides may clash in a more direct way !
Broadly speaking, we may think one thing in our head, using logic and intellect, but intuitively feel something different in our heart, and we may have certain desires that are very significant and baffle our rational side.
In some cases, what may have initially caused us to be attracted to someone becomes something that we either no longer care for at all or see differently, and this leads to changes in behavior (for both people).
It’s often shocking to realize just how differently we can “open our eyes,” and how Prince Charming can quickly turn back into a frog !
Venus retrograde may require us to take stock of all of this, learn how to really listen to what we perceive, and inevitably come to the right conclusions in the end.
It may be a good time for setting limits : Venus’ retrograde motion can indicate a sort of “shutdown time”, and thus may in this way to force us not to accept things as they were before and reveal a sort of emancipation (the duality of our freedom/emotional security may be more important)…
The second thing that we need to understand : Venus never acts alone !
When it comes to affectivity, and especially connections with others, it’s of course necessary to have two separate entities, and so a magnetic polarity comes into play. In addition, the traditional pairing of Venus and Mars needs to be analyzed more carefully, both in terms of where they are in the sky at the time of the transit and in relation to one’s birth chart (yours and the other person’s chart, as well as the connections in your Synastry chart, which also have an effect).
In some cases, it’s Venus’ pairing with the Moon, the Sun, the social planets, Jupiter and Saturn, or even the transpersonal planets (Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto) that gives clues about the deeper symbolism of this period of time and regulates the expression of our affectivity.
Dialogue : a miracle remedy ?
Venus possesses an energy of opening up to others, and to this end it calls on us to learn how to improve our confidence, both in ourselves and in others, and better love ourselves in order to know how to better love others; to some degree, these variables are all part of a single equation.
In this way, we also know that Venus possesses mighty powers of “illusion”. It can easily “make people starry-eyed” (especially Libra archetype), and while this of course initially serves a “purpose” in a relationship and in terms of affectivity (and also anthropologically and sociologically), Venus’ retrograde motion can also definitely have an effect here, favoring a sort of emotional “haze”, a bit like a “pink filter”…
Disillusionments and disappointments are the downsides to this over-idealization; they may easily take hold, especially if this over-idealization is highly developed and takes hold over a period of time.
In a way, Venus’ retrograde motion may force people to strengthen certain connections and take them back to a specific period of time from their past, sometimes to old relationships, such as relationships with exes, for example, which may have more intense nostalgia associated with them (we feel a need to relive a period of time, sometimes a time when we feel we were happier, and we have regrets about the way in which time is passing). As a result, regrets and old memories surface, though this is inevitably useful for learning lessons from the past, from trauma, or from unresolved problems.
It may be difficult to face an external gaze with these energies, because such a perspective may put us face to face with a particular choice that we made and our own values, and inevitably this is an opportunity to face up to them and thus potentially, in the best-case scenario, take responsibility for them.
Dialogue may represent an important part of this whole framework of our development : the notion of sharing is key to the overall expression of Venusian energies because “the other” may represent a mirror that aids us in our development during this time period.
And inevitably our various interpersonal Projections will be more numerous and may influence us to a greater degree.
How does Venus’ retrograde motion relate to our natal Venus ?
Our natal Venus inevitably resonates in a specific way with this particular transit. Venus’ retrograde motion may force us to face our desires, which may be somewhat hidden or suppressed under normal circumstances, and this may require us to become invested in them in a long-term way, to make them last, to know how to recognize them, and to accept them.
If you already have Venus retrograde in your birth chart or in your Progressions, this period of time may involve quite a lot of resonance, and paradoxically you may be more at ease and have an easier time understanding, perceiving, and accepting emotions and affectivity, and you may also have an easier time expressing these things, perhaps out of necessity.
Perform a global analysis of what is happening in your 7th House, because this sector may give important bits of information about the different influences that apply to your interpersonal relationships and overall affectivity, whether it be in your birth chart, Transits, or Progressions.
For example, if at this moment in time Jupiter’s transit is activating Saturn in the 7th house of your birth chart, Venus’ retrograde motion will undoubtedly have a very specific, significant influence in a social context.
Beware of consumerism as well, as Venus may cause you to compensate for emotional, romantic, and affective frustrations by irrationally spending money, by compulsively buying things for pleasure, and, in terms of food, with sugar, especially in ways that fit the influences of your natal moon; these are the kinds of behaviors that may already naturally be present in your birth chart, and which might resonate in a very specific way with Venus during its retrograde period.
A few pointers for managing this retrograde transit
Accepting this ordeal/challenge/test can be a good way of getting ready for this period of time, so that there are at least some things that you will potentially have control over…
In some cases, this may take the form of a needed break in a relationship, introspection, or expression of our emotional and artistic side, which all of which will help us in terms of our personal growth and in giving us the understanding necessary for our development : we need to learn how to listen.
If the relationship in question is new, and especially if this is the first time that Venus has gone retrograde, Venus’ retrograde motion may take on a very specific meaning, as a sort of first reality check, leading to a crisis where we take stock of our values and either accept the new psychological aspects of our partner or not.
This period of time may also be an opportunity for a “second chance” if our feelings remain and if we feel that our connection will be useful for our own development, that it will still benefit us, and that there are still potentially good experiences to be had with the person (see my article on Understanding our romantic relationships and the differences between structural and temporal connections).
Here’s a tip, one good practice during this period of retrograde motion may be to write a true love letter: on paper, the old-fashioned way. Having something “in writing” may in any case be better suited to retrograde forces because it forces us to express and explain what we feel, and the other person also has to read it differently…
Should I get married or civilly united with Venus retrograde ?
We can’t really answer categorically yes or no here…
Let’s just say that essentially, on principle, it’s best to avoid periods of retrograde motion for really setting out to do things if possible; these periods of time are not favorable for taking action or making definitive decisions, but rather lend themselves to thought and reflection. So, if you really have control over the date, try to avoid this period of time.
Nevertheless, many things may go against these generalizations : the nature of each person’s natal Venus, their 7th houses, other things going on in parallel at that time, interaspects, and certain elements may give rise to circumstances that make this time period highly appealing and favorable !
Thus, this really needs to be analyzed on a case-by-case basis…
