The Meaning of Venus in Retrograde – A Long Look at Love and Material Comfort
What happens when Venus, the Goddess of beauty and love, goes retrograde? Well, despite the bad reputation that some retrogrades get, this one might pleasantly surprise you. Venus is the smaller sister of Jupiter, and it also brings optimism, joy, positivity, and opportunities that could help us expand our potential.
When this planet goes retrograde, its blessings are not diminished but rather, changed a little bit to accommodate our current needs. Here, I’ll talk about how Venusian energy can impact your life and the secrets to make it work in your favor.
Venusian Vibes
Venus represents love, harmony, beauty, and the finer things in life. This planet touches all things related to aesthetics and it can also influence our finances since it’s a planet that likes comfort and even luxury. Venus, the ruler of Taurus and Libra, is also exalted in Pisces, where its cosmic aura shines bright.
This planet, also known as the Lesser Benefic (Jupiter being the Greater Benefic), aims to improve our lives and help us reach our greatest desires. Venus’s sensuality impacts our relationships, how we acre for and love others, and how we expect to be loved and appreciated by others. It influences the way we express our innermost emotions. It can even influence our personal style, and the look of our homes and other surroundings.
Venus touches everything with a dash of magic and aims to improve your life as well as help you activate your divine gifts. The house Venus is in in your birth chart shows the area of your life you are most likely to experience its blessings while its sign speaks of the energy you invest in this life sector.
What Happens During Venus Retrograde?
Venus goes retro roughly once a year and it stays retro for about 40 days. Like all retrogrades, this doesn’t mean that the planet changes its trajectory, but rather that it appears to move backward from our earthly perspective.
During this time, Venus gets very close to the Sun, forming an “inferior conjunction”, which makes it go from being the Evening star to the Morning star.
This period calls for us to reassess what we want to get out of our present and future. It’s also the perfect time to think of old events that altered our lives and how we transformed some of them into positive changes. If you haven’t had a chance to do that yet, this time could bring forth a new, healing perspective on them. This is a time to place old life chapters firmly aside so you can open new ones.
With Venus representing the Goddess of love, this retrograde also has the potential to affect your relationships. Seeing as Venus is linked to material comfort, its retrograde can also bring clarity to your financial situation and longterm life goals.
Embrace its Energy
This time brings certain changes in your life but most of them start with yourself. You can look at your thoughts and feelings from a different perspective and that affects the way you express yourself. So, expect changes, but also expect clarity. Here’s how to maximize the cosmic potential of these 40 days!
Listen to Your Heart
Venus works directly with your heart so the best way to embrace the energy of this retrograde is to know what your heart needs. Whether it’s new relationship or a new hobby, make sure these things bring you the happiness you deserve. If you feel trapped in circumstances that keep you in survival mode rather than thriving, Venus in retrograde may give you the strength to break free and reclaim your path to thriving.
You deserve to be loved just the way you want and this is not the time to settle for anything less. Venus encourages you to take a step back and focus on your emotions and desires rather than act out of impulse or trying to please other people. These 40 days are all about yourself and the changes you make in your inner world will reflect a better life back to you.
Cultivate More Patience and Grace in Your Interactions
Venus is the most gracious of planets and when it goes retro, it can remind us to be patient and more understanding and courteous towards others. Take your time to think before making a decision even if it seems to be an easy one. What you decide during this time may impact you more than you realize so try to think of the effects and consequences of each action.
To make the most out of this brief period of time, try not to rush things no matter how badly you want the outcome. What is meant for you no one can take. Everything is down to divine timing, so whatever is destined for you will manifest at the right time.
Be Kind to Yourself
Venus wants you to love yourself because otherwise, you will not be able to love others and invest in your relationships from a place of abundance. But you might want to work with this Venusian energy of self-love even more during its retrograde. Try not to beat yourself up over past mistakes but learn from them and use those experiences to contribute to your personal development.
Guilt has no place here and if you have to end an unhealthy relationship, give yourself time to do so in a way that helps you heal. Don’t dwell on emotional grudges and make peace with your past self so you can better nourish your present self.
Understand Your Desires
Be careful what you wish for during Venus retrograde! You want to understand where your desires come from to manifest the Venusian energy inwards before you see it manifesting through your relationships and financial situation.
Decide if your desires come from you or if they were seeded in you by others. Do you want things that help you get closer to your divine potential or have you got lost in hedonistic wants that will not contribute to your life in the long run?
How to thrive and what to potentially avoid
Like all retrogrades, this one comes with its dos and don’ts that will help you make the most out of it and avoid unnecessary drama. Before we get into how to handle this retrograde, know that you have the opportunity to set your inner world in order during this phase and you want to prioritize yourself over everything else!
Dos During This Time
Address Unresolved Relationship Issues
If there are complicated topics that you avoided discussing with your partner but feel you should, this is the best time to address them. You can focus on resolving any potential issues in your relationship so you can move forward with a clean pattern as Venus goes direct.
Communication is key here so try to maintain an honest approach and cultivate mutual understanding and acceptance. Relationships are not all sunshine and rainbows and Venus retrograde aims to help you overcome complicated situations without sacrificing the good bits of your relationship. With that being said, if aren’t sure whether or not your relationship is a healthy one, take the time to work on it before making any drastic moves.
Resist the Call of Nostalgia
You might feel the call of the past during this period. Maybe you get nostalgic over a past relationship or miss the way you felt back then. It’s also possible that one of your exes might re-appear or you could feel the urge to contact them. Think twice, or more times, before taking a step in that direction. Things end for a reason and even if you long for the good old days, you have to choose what is best for the present version of yourself.
Prioritize The Things That Make You Feel Better
Try to do the things that you enjoy; indulge in your hobbies and interests, and find new fun things to do. And don’t forget about self-care. You need to balance your mind, body, and soul to build a harmonious life with healthy relationships. This period can provide an additional boost of optimism.
Align Your Actions with Your Values
Another important item on your to-do list is to ensure that you want the right things for yourself. Sometimes, things don’t go according to plan—not because we don’t invest enough effort or we lack good fortune, but because they aren’t meant for us. It takes self-awareness to identify what genuinely aligns with your purpose in life. If you can be totally honest with yourself about the direction you’d like to take in life, I assure you that you’ll reach greater satisfaction in less time and with less hassle!
Don’ts During Venus Retrograde
Start a New Relationship
This period might bring one or more affairs your way, being the sensual energy that it is, but try to keep your involvement at a realistic level. If you get too attached during this time, the connection might not last once Venus begins to go direct again.
Don’t Be Too Self Critical
This isn’t the time to become your worst critic (not even if it takes place in Virgo). This time is meant to focus on your qualities and acknowledge your weaknesses without beating yourself up over them. Become your best friend rather than your worst critic and lift yourself by channeling the positive vibration of Venus.
Use your time to develop yourself and indulge in your favorite hobbies and passions. If you’ve always wanted to try something in the past but never had the time, this period could support you in exploring it. For instance, you may suddenly find that you have the time, or a friend makes it easy for you by buying you a course.
Get Lost in Fantasy
This time might encourage your fantasy world but make sure you stay connected to reality. Keep your feet on the ground even if your head feels like its in the clouds. Try to maintain a practical routine and don’t let your imagination get the best of you!
Keep those wild ambitions for when Venus goes direct again because it can support them a lot better then. During its retrograde motion, it’s best to work with realistic desires that are also easier to achieve.
Splurge on Things You Don’t Need
Venus wants us to have the finer things in life, but when it’s in retrograde, it’s not the best time to splash out. You might feel compelled to go all out and treat yourself to something hideously expensive, but it’s probably wise to choose a treat that you can manage financially. Instead of buying an expensive new car, for instance, just visit favorite restaurant or buy an new outfit to satisfy that urge.
Change Your Look Too Dramatically
You might feel a bit more impulsive than usual at this time, especially when it comes to your image. I encourage you to embrace style improvements and even a daring shopping session with your friends but be cautious about going for a radical haircut or color you might be considering.
Tips for This Period
This is a time to nurture your soul and listen to your heart before you make any important decisions going forward. Remember that this time is all about what you want, rather than what others expect from you. Realign your desires with your greater purpose and learn to pursue the things that were meant for you.
Self-awareness is only part of this process. Once you discover what makes your soul smile, you need to implement it into your life and watch everything else bloom! Check any aspects your Venus might make with Venus retrograde transit and the sign of the retrograde to highlight the cosmic potential of this phase and access your divine potential!
