Venus retrograde is a stretch of about six weeks, coming roughly every year and a half, when Venus appears to move backward through the zodiac as seen from Earth. Astrologers associate it with reviewing relationships rather than starting them: old feelings resurface, exes get in touch, and questions about what you value in love come to the front. Many astrologers treat it as a time for reflection. It isn't a reason to panic, or to end something good.
This guide is about what it means rather than when it happens; for dates, any up-to-date ephemeris or astrology calendar will list them.
What Venus retrograde actually is
Venus orbits the Sun inside Earth's orbit, completing a lap in about 225 days. Roughly every 584 days, a little over 19 months, Venus catches up with Earth and passes between us and the Sun. Around that pass, for about 40 to 43 days, Venus appears from Earth to slow, stop and drift backward against the background stars, then stop again and resume its usual direction. It doesn't actually reverse. The backward motion is an effect of watching one moving planet from another.
Astronomers call the moment Venus passes between Earth and the Sun an inferior conjunction. It's also roughly when Venus switches from being an "evening star," visible after sunset, to a "morning star" before sunrise.
Venus retrograde is far less frequent than Mercury retrograde, which comes around three or four times a year (our Mercury retrograde page has those dates). And because five Venus cycles take almost exactly eight years, Venus retrogrades recur in roughly the same part of the zodiac every eight years, drifting slowly over time. Some astrologers use that rhythm to look back at what was happening in their love lives eight years earlier.
What astrologers associate with Venus retrograde in love
Venus is the planet astrologers link with love, attraction, beauty, pleasure and values, including money. When a planet is retrograde, its themes are traditionally read as turning inward: less about new beginnings, more about review, reconsideration and returns.
In relationships, that's usually interpreted as:
- Reflection. Questions about what you want, what you've outgrown, and whether a relationship still matches your values.
- Old feelings resurfacing. Memories of past relationships, or feelings you thought were settled.
- Re-evaluating attraction. Noticing that what drew you to someone has changed, or finding a familiar person newly appealing.
- Self-worth. Since Venus is also linked with what we value, the retrograde is often described as a good time to look at how you value yourself in relationships.
These are interpretations, and astrology isn't a science. But as prompts for reflection, they can be useful whether or not the sky has anything to do with it.
Do exes come back during Venus retrograde?
This is the most searched part of the subject, and the honest answer is: sometimes, and they do outside it too. The "re" words, revisit, reconnect, reconsider, are why astrologers link the retrograde with exes resurfacing. People also tend to notice the contacts that fit the story and forget the ones that don't.
If an ex gets in touch, the useful question isn't what the planets want. It's what you want, and whether anything has really changed since you parted. Taking a day or two before you reply is rarely a mistake. If you're weighing a reunion, tarot cards for reconciliation looks at the cards readers associate with it, as a prompt for reflection rather than an answer.
And if the ex is someone who treated you badly, no retrograde changes that.
Should you start a relationship or get married during Venus retrograde?
Astrologers traditionally advise against beginning important Venus matters during the retrograde: new relationships, weddings, dramatic changes to your appearance or large luxury purchases. The reasoning is that things started under a retrograde may be revised later.
But relationships that begin during Venus retrograde are not doomed, and plenty of people meet partners or marry during one. If you've found someone kind and you're both happy, astrology is a poor reason to stop. If you're choosing a wedding date and you enjoy electional astrology (picking dates by the sky), you might prefer to avoid the retrograde. That's a preference, not a warning.
How to use Venus retrograde well
If you'd like to use the period for reflection, try a few prompts:
- What do I value most in a partner now, compared with five years ago?
- Is there a past relationship I haven't made peace with?
- Where am I giving more than I receive, or less?
- What would help me feel more loved, and have I said so out loud?
- Do my spending habits match what I actually value?
Write the answers down. Talk them over with your partner if you have one. A retrograde can be a quieter season for repairing things rather than replacing them.
Born with Venus retrograde
Some people are born while Venus is retrograde. Because Venus spends only about six weeks of every nineteen months moving backward, it's a fairly uncommon placement. Astrologers often read natal Venus retrograde as a more inward, reflective or unconventional relationship with love and self-worth: someone who takes longer to know what they want, or who values things differently from the people around them. Our guide to retrograde planets in the birth chart explains more, and a free birth chart will show whether your Venus is retrograde.
To see where a coming Venus retrograde falls in your own chart, a transit forecast traces it through your houses. Either way, your Venus sign is the place to start.
Questions readers ask
How often does Venus go retrograde?
About every 19 months (often rounded to every year and a half), for roughly 40 to 43 days. That's much less often than Mercury, which turns retrograde three or four times a year.
Is Venus retrograde bad for relationships?
Not inherently. Astrologers associate it with reflection and review, which can be uncomfortable but useful. A healthy relationship doesn't fall apart because of a retrograde.
Should I text my ex during Venus retrograde?
That depends on why you want to, not on Venus. If you're looking for closure or a genuine reconnection and the relationship was respectful, think it through and decide calmly. If you're lonely, or the ex was unkind, wait.
What should you not do during Venus retrograde?
Astrologers traditionally suggest avoiding big new beginnings in love, major cosmetic changes and large luxury purchases. Treat that as gentle advice. Nothing terrible happens if you get a haircut.
