Of all the planets factored into astrology, Venus and Jupiter are the ones we tend to look forward to the most, and with good reason. These planets are known as the “benefics”—planetary bodies that deliver some benefits. But when they station retrograde, as Venus will do on March 1, 2025, the benefits these planetary friends offer aren’t so straightforward.
Venus is the planet associated with love, relationships, sensuality, art, beauty, and the social contract we all share. When we’re having a positive Venus transit (when an orbiting planet interacts with a planet or point in our birth chart), we might feel cute, fall in love, get super creative, or experience erotic pleasure. Venus retrogrades bring depth and complexity to our relationship with all of the above. But more than anything, these phases ask us to interrogate our relationship with self-love.
What is a Venus retrograde?
What’s actually going on in the solar system when planets station retrograde? They’re not literally moving backward, but the slowdown in their orbit and distance from the Earth makes them appear to be going backward. From the perspective of astrologers, however, human perception of planetary events is what matters the most.
You’re probably (agonizingly) familiar with Mercury retrograde, not just because the trickster planet stations retrograde three times a year, but because it tends to unsettle and break down our communication, technology, and travel: the very things we rely upon in every moment of our daily lives. Think of dropped calls, missed emails, confusing conversations, computer malfunctions, and canceled flights.
Unlike Mercury, Venus experiences a retrograde phase around every eighteen months, making it more rare and dramatic. Venus retrogrades last approximately 40 days, while Mercury’s last for three weeks. But there are other significant differences, too. While Mercury retro phases can upend our day-to-day lives, Venus retrogrades intensify and amplify the topics that Venus rules. We’re more aware of the dynamics of our love lives, desires, and relationships with money and creativity. Yes, partnerships can break down during Venus retro phases, but it’s usually because we realize we’re at a crossroads in our relationship with ourselves.
The five-petaled star of Venus
Over eight years, Venus will retrograde five times in different signs. If we track the orbit of Venus across the sky from sign to sign across this cycle, part of the retrograde phases form a five-pointed star or a pentagram, depending upon your preferred imagery. The Mayans were the first culture to note this phenomenon.
Venus is hidden as an evening star for eight months before a Venus retrograde phase.
During this time, Venus “comes out” as a morning star, getting loud and prominent in our lives and culture. Venus is closer to Earth during its retrograde phase than any other time in its orbit—another reason this planet’s properties are so noticeable in our lives when it’s in a retrograde phase. Think of it like this: Venus has been hanging out backstage for a minute but steps into the spotlight during the retrograde. This is when Venus is like: look at me now.
Venus retrograde on a cultural level
One fascinating (and fun) way to assess Venus retrograde is through a cultural lens. Movies, music, and political movements featuring women and femmes are often notable collective cultural moments that remain in our consciousness for years to come. Feminist causes can explode on the scene and catch fire in our culture.
The last time we experienced Venus retrograde was in the summer of 2023. That year, Venus stationed retrograde in Leo (a fire sign associated with drama and spectacle) in late July, the day after Barbie was released, and stayed in reverse motion until early September. Remember wearing hot pink and cracking up about “I’m Just Ken”? That was Venus retrograde in Leo in action.
Eight years ago, we experienced the last Venus retrograde phase that most closely resembles the one we’re entering in 2025: Venus stationed retrograde in fiery Aries on March 4, 2017, and stationed direct in Pisces on April 15 of that year.
This year’s Venus retrograde
This time, Venus will station retrograde on March 1, 2025, at 10 degrees of Aries, reentering Pisces on March 27 and returning to direct motion at 24 degrees of Pisces on April 12. Venus returns to Aries on April 30 and remains there through June 8. If you have any planets in Aries, they’re officially in a long-term relationship with Venus this spring, and you should track them closely.
Venus in Aries is fierce and unapologetic about what it desires. Even though Venus is its detriment in Aries (in short, Venus is less than comfortable expressing itself here), it’s incredibly powerful in its subversiveness and unafraid to flirt with abandon. This is a red lipstick and black leather motorcycle jacket Venus. This is a “get the hell out of my way” Venus. This is a Venus that kicks ass and takes names as a way of expressing desire.
When Venus is retrograde here, we might feel angry about pressures to comply or look a certain way. This can show up directly in our relationships. If a partner doesn’t want to acknowledge our needs, won’t listen to us, or takes our sexual satisfaction for granted, we might get angry, even if we’re the type of person to gloss over this sort of thing typically.
During this period, especially when Venus is retrograde in Aries, we can plunge into the depths of our authentic longings and renew our commitment to our erotic energy. It can help us deepen our erotic self-awareness and review how we’ve grown throughout the last five Venus retrograde phases.
Venus returns to Pisces, where it is most comfortable during the last two weeks of the retrograde. This awakens our romantic and sexual intuition and can make our erotic entanglements feel almost spiritual. We might dream about or run into exes who always felt like soulmates. But often, after Venus stations direct, we realize we are the deity we’ve been waiting for all along.
Tracking Venus retrograde through your chart
Another way to deepen your understanding of the upcoming Venus retrograde is to note which house of your chart is ruled by Aries and Pisces, as this is where Venus will slow down, stop, and reverse, retracing the steps it’s made since January 18, when the shadow of the retrograde began. Think of the shadow phase of a retrograde as a period when you can sense a vibe that something is a bit off but can’t quite put your finger on it. Even though Venus will station direct in mid-April, the closing shadow doesn’t end until May 16. You may not have all the romantic/sexual/relational/creative answers you’ve sought until around this time.
The flavor and feeling of each Venus retrograde differs depending on what part of your chart Venus is moving through and whether it’s impacting any planets. You’ll feel Venus retro in any house, but it affects your relationships more when it hits your first, fifth, seventh, or eighth houses. (Alert for Libra and Virgo risings: the 2025 Venus retrograde will move through your seventh house of partnerships. This can bring exes of the woodwork and make you rethink your long-term relationships.)
One way to better understand Venus retrograde phases is to recall what was happening in your life during the prior phases. Consult this list of the last five Venus retrograde phases, note which houses of your chart they rule, and see how they align with your experiences.
- Venus retrograde in Leo: July 22 to September 3, 2023
- Venus retrograde in Capricorn: December 19, 2021 until January 29, 2022
- Venus retrograde in Gemini: May 13 to June 25, 2020
- Venus retrograde in Scorpio and Libra: October 5 to November 16, 2018
- Venus retrograde in Aries and Pisces: March 4 to April 15, 2017
Bottom line
RVenus retrograde phases aren’t a reason to freak out, break up, or forego dating entirely. They are a time to deeply investigate your desires, relational patterns, and whether you’re getting enough authentic pleasure from a current partnership. You might do some deep inner work that inspires you to try couple’s therapy, experiment with sex toys, spend more time with your girlfriends, or even date someone you never considered your “type.” There is no one right path—and you might find that entirely new paths open up this March and April.
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