Retrogrades are a breath out.
At least, that’s what they invite us into.
They are a pause, a reflection, an invitation to go inward, and a space holder to reframe, reconsider, realign, and recenter ourselves and our path before we move forward once again. The retrograde planet brings us backwards with them as they retrace their steps, journeying us through our past actions, selves, experiences, desires, and expressions.
Retracing and reliving what is still awaiting our presence. The emotions that ask to be witnessed so they may be healed. The endings that never fully ended needing either a reviving or final closure. The old ideas that entered our consciousness before we were ready – are they aligned now, or do we release them completely? And the stories and perspectives that simply need an update, a reframe, a refresh that comes from looking at them with the new eyes we have gained since their moment in time.
In ancient Astrology, it was perceived that when a planet turns retrograde, it was descending into the underworld and taking a part of us with them represented by the planet in question. They journey us downward and backwards into our shadows that sit beneath and within waiting to be acknowledged, witnessed, claimed, loved, and re-integrated into our consciousness. So that as we emerge from this descent, we do so with these parts of ourselves, and therefore, we emerge as more of who we are.
When is Venus Retrograde 2023?
Venus begins her retrograde in Leo on 22 July 2023, stationing direct on 3 September 2023.
Venus retrogrades every 18 months, spending approx. 40 days in her descent. Of all planets, Venus spends the smallest proportion of time in retrograde, and generally speaking, is therefore felt the most. This, naturally, will differ for each of us. However, if you have Venus or Leo in a significant place in your Natal Chart, this retrograde holds deeply personal invitations.
What does Venus Retrograde in Leo mean?
If Venus lived as an archetype within us all, it would be the layers of ourselves represented by and concerned with love, intimacy, partnership, connection, beauty, and desire. Venus draws us into pleasure, art, and romance. It is the value and worth we place on ourselves, others, concepts, places, and money. And while in retrograde, these are the themes that are highlighted in our lives, asking to be reviewed, witnessed, reframed, visited, and healed, renewed.
During these 6 weeks of Venus retrograde, we are being invited to journey into the depths of our heart, as ruled by Leo, to witness all the spaces within us that have felt loved and unloved, nurtured and neglected.
We are being asked to hold the space for a judgement-free exploration of if our needs are being met, whether within partnership, intimacy, the way we value ourselves or how another values us. This time invites a reflection of our relationship with money and earnings, the worth we place on our skills and creativity, how we appreciate art and beauty, and the way in which we feel secure in ourselves, or not, to express who we are.
This retrograde may feel like a mirror, whispering insights into how our past experiences with relationships, money, and expression seep into the present creating current dynamics, and how our present seems to reflect our past continuing stories that began years ago. What wounds or experiences from the past are influencing your present? What patterns and narratives around love, intimacy, worthiness, or beauty are you ready to bring love to, heal, and rewrite?
Venus Retrograde Horoscopes
In Astrology, the planets translate what is happening in our skies (in this case, Venus). They are the invitations. The mirrors of transformation which occur both within and without in our lives.
The zodiac sign that the planet is expressing itself through shows us how (in this case, Leo) these invitations are presenting themselves and the themes through which they are offered.
The houses found in our natal chart then show us where in our lives this transformation is occurring and showing up.
By looking at your Ascendant, also known as your Rising Sign, we are shown where in your life this retrograde is taking place. With this, we move a step closer to hearing the invitations that Venus Retrograde is whispering uniquely to you.
Please take note with any horoscopes they cannot be completely individualised without seeing your entire natal chart. Due to the nature of the placidus chart, Venus may still be transiting through house earlier or later than stated below.
There may also be aspects and other transits shaping your experience of Venus Retrograde, which you can unpack with a 12 Month Ahead Astrology Reading here.
Aries Rising
Creation doesn’t only come from the mind. It comes from your unique light that shines brightly from within. It pours forth from our lived experiences, our perspectives of the world, our identity, and our joys. It overflows from our relationship with ourselves, both light and dark. And as Venus journeys through the underworld, she invites you with her to explore your underworld, and how this depth within you influences your creative expression.
This Retrograde is an opportunity for you to reconsider, realign, and revive your creative pursuits and expression of Self, Aries. Whether this asks you to be with hurtful narratives around shining your light, a revisiting of old ideas, or a rekindling of your passions to pour into your art. There is an intention held that as you emerge from this retrograde, your joy, your message, your creativity, and you will be in a new space.
Dive in deeper with a personalised Astrology Transits Reading.
Taurus Rising
Venus Retrograde is a descent into your roots, your younger years, and your lineage, Taurus. There is an invitation present to explore the deeply rooted beliefs and narratives around love, pleasure, and worthiness and to follow their trail down and down, until meeting their origins. Have wounds been passed through generations? What about strengths and gifts? What were the narratives shared in your family home that are embedded deep within? Were there experiences in your formative years that shaped the way you love and receive love, sink into pleasure, or witness your worth?
These six weeks can be felt as an opportunity to re-parent yourself, meeting the needs of your younger and present self as you retrace those beliefs down to the origin, and back up into the present day.
Dive in deeper with a personalised Astrology Transits Reading.
Gemini Rising
As Venus moves through her retrograde there is a beautiful opportunity to realign your mind, Gemini, as if opening the curtains for light and adorning it with fresh flowers every morning. Meditation, journaling, hypnosis, or affirmation practices offer deep inner healing throughout this time, with the intention to re-write the narratives shaping your reality, the colours of your daily thoughts, and the space, or lack of, that you offer yourself in your mental sphere.
There is a journeying through your belief systems around love and worth, beauty and connection, and any past experiences with these themes that you are ready to revisit with the new eyes you have gained since their origin in time.
May you express only that of love to and about yourself, and may the thoughts in your mind be kind enough to speak to your loved ones.
Dive in deeper with a personalised Astrology Transits Reading.
Cancer Rising
There is a sense of belonging that is ready to make its way back into your felt experience throughout this time, Cancer. A reconnection with security and stability, and an embodied worthiness to be in this world, in your reality, creating your life.
Venus rules the way in which we value ourselves as well as the value we place on things around us, including money – and these seem to be inextricably tied together. What is your current relationship with money, whether receiving, building, or giving? How does this reflect your sense of belonging in the world, your perceived self-worth, and the security you feel in your reality?Â
Like all retrogrades, this time is an invitation to reflect upon, to see from new eyes, to reclaim what has been left behind, and to renew and realign. There is healing available for you here.
Dive in deeper with a personalised Astrology Transits Reading.
Leo Rising
A personal retrograde for you, Leo, as the planet of love journeys through the underworld there is an invitation to review your light. The light you shine into the world. How bright it comfortably sits. How much space it takes up. If it changes in certain spaces or around certain people, dimming or brightening. How it reacts to identities you or others place on you, or memories still held in the heart. If there are certain practices, rituals or habits that support it or otherwise.
Retrogrades offer us the space to realign and recenter ourselves before we move forward once again. In your sign, there is an entire self-realignment desiring to take place. Whether your identities, your narratives, the path you desire to take in this lifetime, or the way you approach life – and your light, the way it shines will be your compass throughout this realignment. Follow it, and you will emerge renewed.
Dive in deeper with a personalised Astrology Transits Reading.
Virgo Rising
Retrogrades offer space, both internally and externally. They slow things down so that we can find the spaciousness between the actions, the thoughts, the movements, the busyness. This space is where your medicine lies, and this retrograde invites an element of inner retreat for you, Virgo.
It is through this space and inward retreat that your body and subconscious is offered the opportunity to communicate what is ready to be brought into your awareness, especially around themes of intimacy, vulnerability, pleasure, and love both with yourself and others.
Move slowly and delicately, offering yourself graceful support each step of the way, listening to the way your body shares its fears and wounds and giving it the space it needs for healing. As this retrograde journeys through the realm of the subconscious, you may even find healing held within your dreams – a dream journal practice may provide deeply insightful.
Dive in deeper with a personalised Astrology Transits Reading.
Libra Rising
Nothing exists in isolation. Not us. Not the Earth or the planets. Nor our dreams or our goals. And as Venus retrogrades over the next six weeks, she invites you on a journey of reflection, moving through your inner world collecting scattered pieces and insights, revisiting memories and ideas, exploring relationships and inner narratives, all so that you may pull them together revealing the undercurrent of dynamics, and your connection, or lack of, with the greater ecosystem that you live within.
The groups that support and build you. The groups you support and build. The friendships that see you, your vision, your goals, your desires. The causes you desire to feed into and the causes that feed into you. The hopes you hold for the future for both yourself, and the collective as a whole. As the planet of love moves through her retrograde there is an invitation to stand back and look within so that you may look clearly without, to who you want to be in the larger body of humanity. As you take the space to reflect on your unique needs and desires, the more this vision can become clear.
Dive in deeper with a personalised Astrology Transits Reading.
Scorpio Rising
Leo is ruled by the Sun. The Sun that, through simply being itself and shining because it is its nature to do so, offers all of humanity light, warmth, vitality, spirit, and joy. While there may be a nature of privacy to you, Scorpio, there are parts of you that are here to shine, to be seen by the world. And through simply being you, offer others your gifts.
As Venus retrogrades it invites a reclamation of the parts of you that desire to shine, especially in your professional and public spheres. Your journey through this Venusian underworld is a journey through the undercurrents that drive your career, the connections involved, the fears, the desires, the pleasure to be found here, and your felt worthiness for your vision. Throughout this retrograde period, we go within so we may be with what creates the without. The patterns and narratives, the drives and desires, the wounds and hurts.
Dive in deeper with a personalised Astrology Transits Reading.
Sagittarius Rising
As Venus guides you inward through this retrograde, there is an invitation to re-trace the experiences that have shaped your perspectives of the worlds. The beliefs you hold about the vast existence of reality, the philosophies, the subjects and teachings, and the wisdom gained either through a book or a hike up a mountain.
How have your experiences shaped the way you view the world? Is the way you view the world still in alignment with who you are? Are there some past experiences or teachings waiting patiently to offer even deeper insight? There is something beautiful about allowing life into our hearts deep enough that we can’t help but be changed by it, whether it’s a fleeting moment with a flower or some life changing teachings. Connecting to a vaster energy throughout this time will hold your answers.
Dive in deeper with a personalised Astrology Transits Reading.
Capricorn Rising
Both Venus and Leo invite a level of vulnerability, Capricorn. Love requires vulnerability. Creativity and expression require vulnerability. And collaboration and partnership with another, whether that’s a loved one or a business partner, requires vulnerability. If we want to realise and embody the dreams that are ours, or swim in deep intimacy with a loved one, we must tend to the walls we place around ourselves and our hearts. This is where this retrograde welcomes you.
Throughout these next six weeks, allow yourself the space to curiously review the areas of your life that ask you to open to greater vulnerability. The areas of your life where you are required to trust another just as they must trust you. What does this bring up in your body? Do you feel safe here? What within you desires to be tended to with love and acceptance, so that you can begin to flourish in these partnerships?
Dive in deeper with a personalised Astrology Transits Reading.
Aquarius Rising
Venus Retrograde invites a descent from the head and into the heart, Aquarius. It is all about love for you. Your experiences with love. Fears around love. Stories around love. Perspectives that shape your partnerships, whether romantic, business or friendship. Perspectives that shape the way you approach, or stop you from approaching potential partnerships. Perspectives around what you deserve and are worthy of in those partnerships.
However you explore your inner world, allow yourself to sink deep into those spaces over the next few weeks. The invitation is to understand the undercurrents within you that are shaping your outer reality in relationships. Whether that is journaling, movement, talking it out with a trusted person, or in support with a professional of some kind, allow your curious and objective nature to show you the way deep into your heart.
Dive in deeper with a personalised Astrology Transits Reading.
Pisces Rising
These six weeks hold a beautiful invitation to realign your daily movements, your small steps, the rituals that hold and support you, and the habits that bring you closer to yourself.
Swimming through the underworld of all things Venusian, how do you adorn your days with beauty and pleasure to support your actions? How do you offer yourself love and appreciation when you take a step for yourself? How can you celebrate your daily movements, no matter how small they feel?
As Venus journeys through the underworld, there is an opportunity to reflect upon your relationship to worth, work, habits, your body, and structure. Rituals that invoke a sense of love and adoration for yourself do not need to be earned through hard work, rather they can be what buoy you into the habits that you know are good for you.
Dive in deeper with a personalised Astrology Transits Reading.
