Venus retrograde: what it means for love, money and worth

Venus rules love, money, beauty and what we value. Roughly every eighteen months she appears to travel backwards through the sky for about six weeks. She isn't reversing, of course. It's an optical effect as she passes between us and the Sun, a bit like a slower car seeming to slide backwards as you overtake it.

She is the planet that spends the least time retrograde, which is why we notice it. During these weeks she also vanishes from the evening sky and reappears before dawn as the morning star. The ancient Sumerians told this as the story of the goddess Inanna descending to the underworld, giving up something at each gate, and coming back changed. That is the pattern of every Venus retrograde: down, through, and back up lighter.

What it's for

Re-evaluating. What you love, what you spend on, who you give your time to, and whether any of it still matches who you are. Old flames, old friends and old spending habits tend to reappear, mostly so you can see them clearly.

Traditionally it's a poor time for new romances, large purchases and anything involving a dramatic change to your face or hair. It's a very good time for finishing things, mending things, and returning to something you loved and dropped.

The eight year echo

Venus retrogrades return to almost the same part of the sky every eight years. So when one comes around, think back eight years, and eight before that. Look at what was happening in your relationships, your finances and your sense of worth then. Whatever theme you find is very likely the one up for review now, and you're meeting it with eight more years of experience.

How to work with it

Notice what resurfaces, and resist the urge to fix or decide. The decisions come once Venus is moving forward again, and they are usually obvious by then.

Venus isn't taking anything away. She's checking you still want it.

If a Venus retrograde is stirring up old patterns around love, money or self-worth, book a session and we'll clear them at the root.