Every 18 months, Venus, the planet of romance, beauty and harmony spins into a retrograde. During Venus retrograde, we have a chance to pause and reflect about the trajectory of our love lives. Read all about Venus retrograde and the blessing of a “new Venus.”

Venus retrograde astrology

A Venus retrograde is a challenging cycle that can make love, friendship and interpersonal harmony go awry. But there are hidden gifts! When the Sun and Venus unite, they birth a “new Venus”—and grant you a fresh start with your most important ties.

Venus retrograde’s shift from evening star to morning star

Astronomically, Venus retrogrades are pretty profound. These 40-day backspins mark periods when Venus begins her shift from an evening star—bright and visible in the sky near sundown—to a morning star, rising just before the Sun.

In the middle of this transition, Venus vanishes from the sky—well, at least from our view here on Earth. The disappearing act happens approximately two weeks after the retrograde cycle begins—and lasts for about eight days.

The ‘New Venus’ or ‘Venus rebirth’

While invisible, Venus holds a secret session with the Sun as the two meet up at the exact same zodiac point in the sky. In astrology, we call this an inferior conjunction between the Sun and Venus. This planetary playdate (called the “Sun-Venus inferior conjunction” in astro-speak) also marks the beginning of a brand-new, 584-day Venus cycle. Much like a monthly new moon, we can think of this as a “new Venus” or a “Venus rebirth.”

As Venus goes totally dark, you have blank canvas upon which you can imagine the future you want to create—not just in your love life, but also in all of your interpersonal relations. How well do you cooperate and negotiate with neighbors, people who are on your teams? This is a time to take a fearless inventory.

As Venus retrograde winds down her evening star cycle, you may see things that need to be “put to bed,” so to speak: limiting beliefs, toxic relationships, unreasonable demands, destructive and abusive behaviors.

After the Venus rebirth, as she crosses the threshold and becomes a morning star for nine months. In the process, you may become “impregnated” with new visions of what love could be and giving you a chance to bring them to life and to light!

Fun fact: While the Mayans weren’t fooled, the ancient Greeks once thought that Venus was two planets. As such, she has two names. In the morning, she is Phosphorus, which means bringer of light. In the evening, she is Hesperus which means Western since she appeared near the Sun at dusk. It 5 B.C. it was mathematician/stargazer Pythagoras who realized that Phosphorus and Hesperus were one and the same.

Evening star—bright and visible in the sky near sundown
Morning star—rising just before the Sun
Venus retrograde’s orbit

The 8-Year Cycles of Venus Retrogrades

Venus only visits one of five points on the zodiac wheel during its full retrograde cycle of 40 years. And every eight years, the love planet retrogrades back to the same position on the zodiac wheel (minus 2-3º).

If you were to trace the outline of these “hotspots” they actually make the shape of a star. It’s true! Even while retrograde, Venus is still dazzling us with her attention to beauty and detail.

During these eight-year occurrences, old issues with love and money may arise, or even repeat themselves through a new set of circumstances. You may feel like you’re going through a familiar test—or being similarly blessed, depending on what happens!

Couples may revisit an unresolved sticking point or rediscover something they loved doing together. Unexpected expenses may crop up forcing you to reassess your values and find joy in delayed gratification.

The hidden blessings of Venus retrograde

Venus retrogrades are challenging cycles that can make love, friendship and interpersonal harmony go awry. But there’s a hidden blessing. When the Sun and Venus unite in the sky, they birth a “new Venus”—that grants you a fresh start with your most important ties. Write a new love story during Venus retrograde!

Using Venus Retrograde for a Romantic Transformation

Think about the metamorphosis of a caterpillar. Before emerging as a butterfly, the insect seems to disappear. In fact, if you were to crack open a cocoon mid-cycle, it would look empty. In truth, the creature becomes one with the cocoon as part of its alchemy.

Metaphorically, the “New Venus” day might be a moment when all your old stories and hang-ups about love could disappear. Of course, so too can your sense of grounding, safety and trust, which is why this is NOT the day to make any rash decisions or sudden moves.

You might also feel the influence of Venus’ powers in more invisible ways as it affects and directs you spiritually, emotionally and energetically—rather than by delivering any outer events or results. You may not feel clear-headed or able to make rational decisions about romance on a New Venus day. Instead, you simply have to surrender and “just be” in the flow of Venus.

Shortly after her rebirth, you’ll see Venus again, rising as a morning star in the Eastern sky, shortly before the Sun. Her morning star cycle lasts nine months, giving us creative, visionary energy. After that, she becomes a dreamy evening star until her next retrograde cycle.

Preparing for a ‘New Venus’

Before a ‘New Venus’—and throughout the entire retrograde—the cosmic directive is to turn inward and examine your patterns of behavior, particularly the ones that aren’t bringing you the love and satisfaction you crave. This 40-day phase is a powerful time for excavating hidden desires, discovering and setting healthy boundaries, and even exhuming a few past demons you haven’t fully dealt with. As all things Venus-related go dark, you may experience power outages around love, be confused by feelings or forced to grope around in the shadowy feelings you’ve been avoiding (shame, jealousy, resentment, fear of abandonment, isolation, despair).

The prefix “re” is where the magic’s at: revive, reunite, repair, restore, etc. So don’t bolt too fast if there’s a little trouble in paradise. This may just be an opportunity to fortify your foundation and learn more effective ways to communicate in relationships. But some relationships may indeed come to a close during Venus’ retrograde—and in cases like this, Venus can support with deep healing and self-love.

If you happen to have planned your wedding or another epic romantic milestone during Venus retrograde, you are not doomed. Just plan to honor your first anniversary in a deeply meaningful way. Since Venus only turns retrograde every 18 months, you don’t have to worry about the backspin repeating annually!

Opportunities of Venus retrograde:

Healing any issues in your relationship
Discovering hidden blocks to love so you can overcome them
Recognizing when you’re in the wrong match and move on
Gaining closure with an ex…or reuniting if the timing is better
Plunging into deeper dialogues and strengthening intimacy

Challenges of Venus retrograde:

Romanticizing instead of seeing people for who they truly are; falling for the fantasy and ignoring reality
Acting out instead of speaking up (and communicating needs)
Replaying unhealthy romantic patterns
Returning (or hanging on to) a toxic player

Venus direct

Venus, the planet of love, beauty and luxury, lends its decadent energy to every zodiac sign for three to five weeks in direct, forward motion. Who will we fall for…and how? Venus sets the love language of the moment, determining the right romantic moves for pleasure and passion.

How do I find out my Venus sign?

When you were born, Venus was orbiting through a specific part of the sky—and zodiac sign. Wherever that placement was is called your Venus sign. It may be the same as your Sun sign, but not necessarily. And you may have been born during a Venus retrograde!

Use our Venus Sign Calculator below to discover what zodiac sign and house Venus was in when you were born. To accurately determine the house, you will need to know your birth time (if you don’t know it, use your best estimation, or 12 noon). Then, read all about your Venus sign here!