What is a Venus Retrograde?
The Venus Retrograde will occur approximately once every two years, and for every century to half-a-century, Venus will only Retrograde in the same 5 signs.
A “retrograde” is an astrological term that refers to the time that a planet is appearing to move backward from the Earth’s vantage point. If you were to sit outside in one spot over the next several weeks, if you were in the right location, you would be able to see the planet Venus look like it’s moving backward in the night sky. This is only an optical illusion, however, similar to when an object next to you is moving more slowly than you are yourself, Venus did not really make a U-Turn in the sky, Earth is just moving more quickly.
So why do astrologers always make a big deal about retrogrades? Think of a retrograde in terms of a car hitting an object in a road. During a retrograde, a normal transit (current passing of the planets) may only last a few days to a week, however during a retrograde the same themes could last several months or longer. For example – let’s imagine an object in the road (one of your birth planets in your personal chart). The car (Venus) drives over the top of the object, switches the car to reverse (retrograde), drives back over the object, switches the car into drive (direct), and hits the object one more time for a total of three times. This can make any passing of a planet more dramatic and felt more seriously than a regular passage of the same planet.
During this time period, anything under Venus’s rulership is subject to reversals, review, being re-done, repeated, or backtracked. This is a good time not to make any major financial or aesthetic decisions as you may not be thrilled with them later.
What kind of things are impacted during the Venus Retrograde?
Venus rules many things in the birth chart including: romance, affection, social relationships, personal/romantic relationships, finances and personal income, what we find beautiful, aesthetics & style, art, creativity, & much more.
During the retrograde these themes will come up for review, revision, re-evaluation, and at times complete changes are needed. Sometimes this can involve breakups (both romantic and of friendships), it can involve having to review and re-evaluate finances, and depending on where in your chart the retrograde occurs, you could even feel like changing up your sense of style.
**Side Note** Most astrologers strongly advise against making any permanent appearance changes during the retrograde such as a permanent cosmetic procedure or tattoo.
What is impacted for each person individually will have a lot to do with where Venus is located in your personal birth chart, what planets contact your personal Venus, where the current Venus retrograde will be occurring in your chart, where Venus rules in your birth chart, and what aspects planets are currently making to both your Venus and the currently transiting Venus Retrograde. As you can see it will specifically impact each person very differently.
Who will be most impacted during this time?
Anyone that has heavy Leo placements or any fixed placements may feel this particular transit much more potently than others. If you have a chart that contains a lot of placements in, Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, or Aquarius, or if your Sun Sign is one of these signs, you may end up. being more exposed to the retrograde effects than others.
What specifically occurs would strongly depend on what sign is on the horizon at the time of your birth, as well as what planets are located in the signs listed above – this will give several hints as to what you can expect during this time frame. This can give you a frame of reference as to where to expect the effects of the retrograde to occur.
If you have your birth (natal) Venus in one of the same signs listed above, Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, or Aquarius you may also feel this retrograde particularly strongly – the themes may be particularly intense for you and where these themes tend to show themselves will depend where Venus is located in your chart by house.
How can I learn exactly how this will impact me?
You would need to consult an astrologer in order to weigh all the factors in both your personal chart and the transiting chart (current planetary movement chart) in order to evaluate all the different variables. If you would like to order a Venus Retrograde 2023 report, please fill out the below form and we will be with you shortly to provide information.
Still have questions? Feel free to e-mail at: lauren@astrologyexalted.com
Astrology Exalted 