Eroscopes III: Venus Retrograde

Just before 7am MST this morning, January 28th, Venus will enter its pre-retrograde shadow, initiating us into the energy of our next major astrological transit of 2025. This also means that we will begin to experience the effects of Venus Retrograde.

Just like Mars, we don’t experience Venus Retrogrades every year. This transit only happens once every 18 months, making it a rarer occurrence as far as retrogrades are concerned. Also like Mars, this time Venus will bounce back and forth between a fire and water sign - in this case Aries and Venus - during its retrograde period. One thing that’s important to note here is that Venus is exalted in Pisces and in detriment in Aries. This is something that Anthony Perrotta and I discussed in our Venus Retrograde episode which you can check out here:

And from this morning forward through early May, we will be graced with overlapping retrograde energy from both partnership planets. So yeah, you can bet your ass we’ll all be doing some reassessment around love, sex, beauty, pleasure, and romance in general.

Venus is unique from other planets in that we look to much more than just the sign and house it presides in, in order to unlock the nature of this ethereal rose. There is a very important cycle known as the Pentacle of Venus, that forms throughout her orbit thanks to its conjunctions with the Sun. Also known as a Venus Cazmi. Also known as a Venus Star Point. Whenever Venus crosses over the heart of the Sun, it creates one of the points in the star pattern before shifting gears and moving in another direction. Thanks to Venus’ orbit being within that of Earth, there are two different kinds of conjunctions that Venus and the Sun form. The first is an inferior conjunction, which happens when Venus is between the Earth and the Sun. This conjunction happens in the middle of a Venus Retrograde transit - a 40 day long cycle which only occurs every 18 months, as I stated above. “[Venus] is then nearest to the Earth and, from our point of view, dark. Rising before the Sun, Venus appears in the predawn sky about a week after the inferior conjunction,” writes Michael R. Meyer in his article Venus Morning Star - Venus Evening Star. Venus will station direct approximately three week post-conjunction, and 35-36 days later peaks in brightness in the sky. “At this time, Venus is moving at the same speed as the Sun, and gaining,” says Meyer. The Venusian five-fold pattern begins at the inferior conjunction and kicks off a brand new cycle in love for us all. Each Venus Star Point kicks off a collective theme surrounding love and romance, according to the sign it occurred in. This year, the inferior Venus Cazimi will happen on March 22nd at 2 degrees Aries.

Venus Retrograde is the perfect time to begin exploring your sexuality in a deeper way, as this time invites us to reassess what we find to be beautiful, sensual, appealing, and erotic. As we evolve and change throughout our lives, our sexual nature evolves alongside us. I invite you to come get a sextrology reading between now and May, to explore the eroticism and ecstasy that lives within your chart. Right now my earliest availablity is late February if you’re thinking of connecting!

Or, if you’d rather explore these energies on your own, you can pre-order a copy of my upcoming book, Stellar Sex, which will be released on July 8th.

During Venus’ retrograde period, we undergo a transformation. Venus is often said to enter the underworld during this time, making her normal graces difficult to access. While in exile, Venus undergoes a certain death in order to prepare for the phase of renewal that the end of the retrograde signals. We undergo a certain purging of the past to make room for a new set of values and ideals when it comes to love. This rebirth of the heart is something we undergo as a collective during each of the retrograde periods, which we can see both in our individual lives and on the collective scale to a certain extent. The implications of which are interesting to consider when we think about Venus bouncing back and forth between detriment and exaltation.

Venus in Aries:

Here in the first sign of the Zodiac, Aries, Venus is said to be in its detriment, as Aries is the opposite sign of one of Venus' home signs, Libra. Whenever a planet is in detriment, it's believed to struggle in that sign, and thus - in this case - in love and partnerships. Don't let this discourage you, however! As somebody who also has their Venus in detriment (in my case, Scorpio) it's my favorite placement in my entire chart.

Aries is the first sign of the Zodiac; it is Cardinal Fire energy, and is therefore the sign of the Self. It's also a Mars-ruled sign and gives the feminine energy of Venus a much more masculine edge. However, Aries is also the archetype of the Warrior and the Leader, and is therefore a fierce defender of all matters of the heart.

Thanks to the fiery nature of this sign, Venus in Aries is incredibly passionate. One of the most passionate placements for Venus, in fact, and there's a strong need for their partners to be able to match their level of ardor. Aries is a physical sign, period, and needs - perhaps more than most - to express this passion physically.

That's right, people with an Aries Venus are horny as hell. They like to do it, and do it often. Thanks to the natural vitality that Aries placements bring, this makes for an