"When I pick a tarot card, I always secretly hope it’s The Lovers. As one of the most iconic cards, you don’t need to know much about tarot to understand what it signifies. The Lovers is the card for romantics, for dreamers, for anyone hoping their crush will ask them out. But it’s way more than that, too. It’s about beauty, friendships, connection, and big choices. And its corresponding celestial body? The planet Venus.
I like to draw this comparison to explain exactly how Venus manifests in our lives. While planetary meanings might seem complex—especially when you get into Houses, Transits, and Retrogrades—at its core, Venus is just like The Lovers.
So you can understand why Venus is one of my favorite planets. In the words of Charli XCX, Venus reminds me that “everything is romantic.” With a Venus Retrograde coming on March 1, I’m preparing to channel the energy of this planet to completely rebrand everything from my relationships to my Instagram presence. Venus Retrograde is always a good time to reflect on major themes in your life, especially money and love, but this Venus Retrograde is particularly powerful, making it ideal for manifestation and reflection.
What is Venus Retrograde?
Out of context, the concept of retrograde might sound scary. That’s probably because of the dreaded Mercury retrograde that happens three or four times a year. Even if you don’t know exactly what goes down while Mercury is retrograde, you probably know your favorite astrology girl is freaking out, your flights are delayed, and all of your tech glitches. That’s because Mercury rules communication, so when it goes retrograde, communication goes awry.
To put it simply, retrograde flips everything on its head. The term itself is a scientific one. In astronomy, a planet goes retrograde when it looks like it’s spinning backward. It’s not, though. This phenomenon occurs during orbit when the Earth passes the planet in question and causes this backward optical illusion.
Venus goes retrograde approximately every 18 months. And since Venus rules relationships, beauty, and career, all those aspects of our lives come under the microscope during Venus Retrograde. It doesn’t necessarily mean things go bad (though, honestly, it can). It just means we’re forced to re-evaluate our habits, priorities, and mindsets regarding relationships and finances around this time.
Venus Retrograde lasts for 40 days and 40 nights. If that sounds familiar, it’s because it’s a recurring timeline in multiple religions. Often, 40 days and 40 nights signify personal transformation and revelations about purpose. These realizations are what Venus Retrograde is all about—who you are, how you relate to the people around you, and how you use your money.
So, mark your calendars for March 1 to April 12, and prepare to navigate lots of change.
What Venus Retrograde 2025 means
Venus Retrograde comes back to the same sign once every eight years. This means you might recognize the themes coming up for you this year from their impact on your life in 2017. Like back then, Venus is starting retrograde in Aries and ending in Pisces. Aries is a sign that, at its best, is passionate and creative but, at its most challenging, can be impulsive and reckless. Venus in Aries might mean conflict in your relationships or impulsive spending (often leading to regret). Unlike Aries, Venus in Pisces is dreamy and expansive. However, Pisces can also be a little delulu and even vulnerable to being exploited.
“Past flames might return, big expenses might come up, and relationships might hit the reset button. Arguments may arise, and some people may even experience breakups or relationship backslides.”
Knowing how these signs interact with Venus can help us make a plan for Venus Retrograde. The shift from fiery Aries to dreamy Pisces encourages you to take a more intentional and imaginative approach to your inner and outer world, not just in your relationships with others but also with yourself.
As with any Venus Retrograde, your connections will be put to the test. Past flames might return, big expenses might come up, and relationships might hit the reset button. Arguments may arise, and some people may even experience breakups or relationship backslides. But don’t let the chaotic energy get the best of you. Consider how you might be holding onto any lingering misconceptions about your relationships—and your finances, too. These bubbles will burst when usually dreamy Pisces demands a dose of reality. Look deeper at how you want to live and make sure your current reality reflects that. Evaluate your limiting beliefs and get ready to shed them to unlock a whole new era. So when that ex texts you out of the blue, ask yourself: Does this align with the person I want to be?
This isn’t any ordinary retrograde season. This Venus Retrograde is bolstered by the stacked Astrology of February and March. Strap in; it’s a lot.
A series of eclipses are also in motion. The lunar eclipse in Virgo on March 13 helps you see clearly without the nitpicky tendencies that often come with Virgo. It says forward motion is coming, but it might not be easy. These difficulties come to light during the solar eclipse in Aries on March 29, which pushes us to be bold in our relationships, but finding a balance will be necessary.
Shortly after, on March 30, Neptune moves from Pisces and enters Aries, making the opposite move that Venus is making. But this is a much rarer transit that only happens once every 18 years. Neptune is about the big things: our values, our ideals, and how we interact with the collective. Pisces is about dreaming. Aries is about action. For those keeping score at home, all these shifts amount to a lot of change. Your values, your relationships, your habits, your finances: All of them are about to change. And it all kicks off during Venus Retrograde, which imbues you with the idealism to make a change.
How to manifest during Venus Retrograde
As you can tell, Venus Retrograde is a time for deep reflection. So, get your journal out. By aligning your priorities on relationships, connection, and creativity, you can weather the unpredictability of the retrograde.
Alignment will keep you grounded, and curiosity should guide your manifestations. One rule of any retrograde: Don’t make concrete plans—or at least, don’t allow yourself to feel too tied to them. Instead, lead with curiosity about what might come next.
In Pisces, expansion is key. Whatever long-held habits you might be holding onto or patterns you think you can’t change are called into question. After you realize what those are, imagine a world where you are free of them. This practice is called shadow work. Digging deep into the dark, hidden parts of your subconscious can unearth the keys to your future success. Some prompts you might ask yourself include:
- Where are you avoiding taking action for your desires?
- What unhealed parts of you are you filling with material things?
- In what areas are you afraid or lacking confidence? What would it look like to be brave?
Venus’s tie to creativity inspires you to think outside the box. Here is where manifestation comes in. Allow yourself to live in your biggest, wildest dreams. Tap into that Pisces imagination and expand it into Venus’s core themes: money and relationships. But this is important: Don’t just dream your dream and be done with it. Write a day in the life of a future you living your dream life. What does her day look like, the good and the bad? Then, ask yourself what you need to let go of to be that person, whether it’s procrastination or your comfort zone or something else entirely.
At the end of the day, this retrograde is about going from dreaming to action. But to do that, you need to remove the roadblocks standing in your way. Are you ready to confront your inner wounds to become who you want to be? Venus Retrograde will tell.
Langa Chinyoka, Contributing Writer
Langa is a Los Angeles-based writer and strategist. She is currently an editor and content strategist at a marketing agency. Her work has appeared in The Paris Review, British Vogue, Highsnobiety, Eyeswoon, Camille Styles, The Good Trade, and more.
Feature graphic images credited to: Elen31 | Adobe Stock