Venus is heading retrograde 19 December 2021 until 29 January 2022 in the sign of Capricorn – and it’s a pretty major deal. Here’s why…

Venus is the planet of the heart. She is the Goddess of love, beauty, and harmony.

Where this second planet from the Sun (and our closest neighbor) sits in your personal astrology chart says a lot about your attitudes to love and relationships, and how you seek balance and beauty in your life. And when she moves retrograde, you will often find that these things all become a challenge.

What Does Venus Retrograde Mean?

Retrogrades occur when, from the viewpoint of Earth, a planet appears to be moving backward on its orbit around the Sun. And as with all of these celestial events – whether it’s the panic-inducing thrice-yearly Mercury retrograde, an imploding Mars retrograde, or the gentler, dreamy and often confusing Neptune – these retro-motioning waves of cosmic energy can feel like a real spanner in the works.

They slow us down.

They force us to look back, re-check, re-think and re-evaluate things we thought we’d already dealt with and put to bed. But that’s because we’re human and we like to be moving forward, making progress and – especially in these crazy, high-speed times – NOT looking inward or backward. SO for lots of people, planetary retrogrades feel a lot like wading, uncomfortably, through treacle.

What does Venus Retrograde Mean for YOUR Zodiac Sign?

The details of what this transit means for you will depend very much on your personal astrology chart. Look up your Venus sign, as this is an energy which you’ll be bringing to the table at this time. For a really in-depth prediction, look at which houses and signs it crosses on your chart as this will reveal a lot about the particular area of your life most likely to be affected. (Take particular note if it transits through your 8th house, which is the house ruled by Scorpio).

But for general guidance on how your sign is likely to be affected, read on…

Be sure to look up your Sun (Zodiac or Horoscope) sign and for an added layer of understanding, also read your rising sign (if you know it).

Aries (March 21st to April 19th)

As the most pioneering, forward-focused sign, this retrograde cycle is likely to test you in ways which will force you to slow down and put other people first.

How considerate are you in relationships?

How often do you put your significant other first? And not just because you should, but because you really, truly care about the way they feel and what they experience?

As a born leader, Aries, you’re probably used to others looking to you for the answers, but sometimes the best thing you can do is allow others to have a voice. You may not always put beauty, sensuality and partnership as your number 1, but Venus in retrograde may just need you to re-frame your priorities. This could be a really good time for you to let your ego drop and lean into the art of surrender. Try it, Aries. You may not love it, but your nearest and dearest will love YOU for it.

Taurus (April 20th to May 21st)

As the sign ruled by Venus, this retrograde cycle will affect you. Think about it, the planet most aligned with the themes and values that fuel your life, is spending 40 days in reverse.

You may find yourself questioning your motives, attitudes and core beliefs around love, money and what you give value to.

People from the past may appear.

You may be offered opportunities to re-visit things you used to love doing.

And at the very same time, some of the people who currently take up space in your life, and some of the things you currently spend time doing may reveal themselves to be unworthy. SO how you approach all of the revelations offered up at this time is important.

Use this time to stay devoted to yourself. But not to your routines (expect these to need to shift).

Hold what you love close, but let go of what you no longer need.

Relationships with people are vital to you, Taurus, but so is a relationship to your truth.

Gemini (May 22nd to June 21st)

With your lively mind, you’re often seeking intellectual stimulation and connection with others, but how deep are you willing to go? True love needs devotion, Gemini, and the next long days of Venus retrograde may just ask you to show it.

With Mercury as your ruling planet, your tendency can be to question everything you’re told, to just keep the rapport going. Expect to be challenged to find stillness. To sink into the spaces in between, to wait, to pause and seek the value and beauty which lies there.

As a sign fueled by the masculine, intellectual, rational mind, this very fluid, feminine planetary retrograde could send you off balance. So use this influx of energy to feel into your emotions just a little more deeply than is comfortable. Trust them just a little more than you usually do. You may not love it at first, but you’ll learn a lot along the way.

Cancer (June 22nd to July 22nd)

As someone who cares deeply, affectionately and SO lovingly for the other people in your life, the challenges brought up for you during this transit are likely to be to do with the sheer amount of love that you give (what else?!)

Ever question how much of those constant showers of emotion that you give (and receive) are really serving other people, and how much they’re really serving you? It’s likely that whatever rises for you during this time, the issue of boundaries will be a central theme.

As someone who can tend to look back fondly – sometimes with a sentimental gaze – on the past, it’s also likely that your lessons will involve either people, places, memories or long-buried secrets from many years ago.

Keep things in proportion. Don’t allow Venus’ retrograde energy to create an intensity you can’t handle. Ensure that the present (and the people who are here, with you now) are prized as much as the past, as the now is what truly matters.

Leo (July 23rd to August 22nd)

Leo, in love and in life you most certainly stand at the center. Because of this, you probably find that drama follows wherever you lead. This Venus retrograde will be no exception. In fact, it may force you to address what (or who) is the common factor in the drama of your life.

So instead of waltzing on by, try to stay with the trouble when it finds you. Dive into the moment, see what it has to offer (and see what everyone else has to offer you, too). In relationships, your job, Leo, is to lift your partner up (in fact, in all situations, you are the King of this role) so give it a go. Selflessly. Doing this, consciously, with effort, may trigger you, but this is the point! Ask yourself why it’s so hard.

Virgo (August 23rd to September 22nd)

You’re a natural details-person, so analyzing and retracing your steps isn’t a foreign concept to you, Virgo. Mercury, your ruling planet sees to that. Adding emotions into the mix, however, could make this Venus retrograde a little trickier.

Don’t become over critical (or yourself, of the significant other(s) in your life. This can be your default mode when things get tough, but try rising up to see the bigger picture instead.

What do you value?

What do you love?

Who do you love?

How can you show them?

The world needs your voice and your efforts, Virgo. This planetary cycle could plunge you into self-doubt, and spiral you into a place where you doubt your own value but do not stay here. Build on the power of the elemental earth that you contain, and rise up. Greet change with open arms.

Libra (September 23rd to October 22nd)

Libra, you are all about relating! To other people, places, situations, to everything and anything outside of yourself. Like Taurus, Venus is your ruling planet so this astrological transit is likely to affect you more than most.

Love, relationships, sex, intimacy and partnerships are your lifeblood, so whilst these themes are under cosmic review until November 15th, you could feel like your world is breaking apart. But before you give up completely … use this time to strengthen yourself.

In times of doubt and change, Libra, you’ve been known to rock the boat, just to test the strength of the sides (and just to check how quick, and how effective the rescue mission is).

Avoid your old patterns.

Break the cycles of dependency.

You ARE enough, and you are complete. It just may take the next 40 days for you to realize.

Scorpio (October 23rd to November 22nd)

Venus is in detriment in your sign. Which means that the Goddess of love, beauty, and harmony can tend towards her alter ego, and when in the clutches of the scorpion, transform into the Goddess of war. The Babylonians knew this about her, and by November 15th, so will you.

You feel more strongly and more deeply than any other sign, Scorpio. Fact. This means that in love, you are fierce, devoted, possessive and all-consuming. But when things aren’t going well, when you’re challenged, triggered or upset, you can freeze, and all those emotions plunge into the underworld, where they stay.

These are old patterns that you will be asked to break, by this Venus retrograde. So instead of silence, Scorpio, you must speak. But instead of fury, you must offer gentleness. Instead of attack and defense, offer understanding and compromise. NOT easy for you, Scorpio, but try it.

Sagittarius (November 23rd to December 21st)

The lessons in love that Venus brings you, Sagittarius, are likely to revolve around your deep need for freedom.

Can you have both – love, and freedom?

There is no one answer to this, and you are the leading edge (as we all are!) in figuring this game out. But despite being a forerunner when it comes to so many aspects of life, you can sometimes forget that you’re a rule-maker as well as a rule-breaker!

Venus retrograde is likely to rub up against some real edges for you, regarding commitment and future plans. And Sagittarius, honesty is always the best policy, even if the answer is “I don’t know”. But you could try saying yes. You could try easing into a plan, or a routine, or an engagement which you can’t wriggle out of, and see if there’s anything of value to find whilst you’re there?

Capricorn (December 22nd to January 20th)

Capricorn, your understanding of love can be pretty conventional. And that’s just it, in your striving for a logical, measured, box-ticking “understanding” of what love is, and how it fits into the story of your life, you can forget the feeling part. The part that happens in the heart.

But Venus is likely to throw you a few curveballs, Capricorn, forcing you to look at love in a different way, and see beauty in places you perhaps had never thought to look before.

You have always needed a firm foundation from which to experience life, but what if you stepped beyond it? What if you let Venus tip you over the edge and show you what’s around the corner?

Flirt with a different way of perceiving the world.

Look with fresh eyes.

Feel with a fresh heart.

You may discover pieces of your Soul that you didn’t know were hiding deep within.

Aquarius (January 21st to February 18th)

Depending on the rest of your chart, this planetary retrograde can tricky for you to navigate, Aquarius. Not someone who favors personal closeness, you may be plunged into situations where you’ll be asked to be vulnerable. Or perhaps you’ll need to let somebody in, when you’re not used to the closeness they desire.

Venus retrograding will be a time of edge-pushing for you, Aquarius, but you’ll still be in charge of deciding how far you’re willing to go (and that’s the real challenge).

As someone who SO selflessly gives their time and energy to the collect, Venus in retrograde could also be a wake-up call for you, to re-examine what YOUR true values are. You’re probably so used to saying “yes” and supporting cause, after cause, after cause, that your own true north could have become quite neglected? Boundaries. And self-care are your secret weapons, for the next 40-ish days and nights.

Pisces (February 19th to March 20th)

Pisces, you are romantic, affectionate and emotional. Your sense of who and what you love is clear to you, so it’s unlikely that this retrograde will offer up any surprises in that department. But – like your sister water sign, Cancer – a clearer and firmer set of boundaries may need to be considered, as your flow of feeling isn’t always the most useful, or welcome, addition in every situation.

Expect Venus retrograding to throw up challenges over the next 40 days, to help you examine your generosity in love. Your willingness to give AND to receive the emotional energy which is swirling around in any given moment. You are a porous creature, so you need to stay safe and protected, lest you absorb every emotional reaction that flares during this time. If you’re not careful, Pisces, YOU will be the sponge that mops up every felt experience, of this delicate, Venusian spell.

What’s your sign?

Are you feeling the moves of Venus, as She swings back on her orbit around the Sun?

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