A Venus retrograde is a challenging cycle that can make love, friendship and interpersonal harmony go awry. But there’s a hidden blessing. On June 3, 2020, the Sun and Venus unite, birthing a “new Venus”—and granting you a fresh start with your most important ties.

The 2020 Venus retrograde is in Gemini, from May 13 to June 25. Astronomically, a Venus retrograde is pretty profound. This 40-day backspin marks the period 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. (Read about the morning and evening star Venus here.)

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.

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 day (Wednesday, June 3, 2020), as a “new Venus” or a “Venus rebirth.”

Venus Retrograde Provides a Blank Canvas

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.

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 (June 3, 2020) might be a moment when all your old stories and hang-ups about love could disappear. Of course, so too can your sense of groundedness, 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 until March 2021 giving us nine months of creative, visionary energy. After that, she becomes a dreamy evening star until her next retrograde cycle (in Capricorn) from December 19, 2021 to January 1, 2022).

Preparing for a “New Venus”

Before the “New Venus” on June 3—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, even if you’ve had to make adjustments to your ceremony because of the coronavirus pandemic. 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:

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:

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

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