Now, what the hell is a retrograde?

A planet doesn’t literally start moving backward through space. From our perspective on Earth, its movement appears to reverse. Astrologically, retrogrades are periods of review, reflection, revision, and returning

Instead of pushing forward, we look backward.

We revisit old patterns. Old people. Old interests. Old desires. Old versions of ourselves.

Sometimes things come back because they belong in our lives again. Sometimes they come back so we can finally understand why we left them behind.

So when Venus goes retrograde, all of those Venusian topics go under review:

Love. Money. Beauty. Pleasure. Relationships. Standards. Self-worth. Attraction. Boundaries.

Basically, Venus is conducting an audit, and unfortunately she found the receipts.

The timeline
Venus begins her retrograde in Scorpio on October 3, slips back into Libra on October 25 at 5:09 AM ET, and stations direct on November 13 7:27 PM EST, the same day Mercury stations direct. She’ll finally re-enter Scorpio on December 4.

Scorpio: bring it up
October 3 – October 25
Venus starts her retrograde in Scorpio, where we dig underneath the surface.

Scorpio brings up intimacy, trust, vulnerability, power, desire, jealousy, attachment, and the things we don’t always want to admit to ourselves.

Something isn’t sitting right? Scorpio wants to know why.

Libra: sort it out
October 25 – December 4

On October 25 at 5:09 AM ET, Venus retrogrades back into Libra.
Now we take everything Scorpio dragged to the surface and actually look at it.
Libra asks about balance, fairness, reciprocity, boundaries, and our relationships with other people.

Is this balanced?
Am I giving more than I’m receiving?
Am I compromising, or am I abandoning myself?
Is this what I actually want, or is this just what I’ve gotten used to accepting?

This is where we get to reorganize our thoughts and emotions around what Scorpio brought up.

Because retrogrades aren’t about living in the past. Sometimes we have to go backward and look at something again before we understand how we actually want to move forward.

Venus stations direct in Libra on November 13, the same day Mercury stations direct. We’re still working through Libra territory, but now we can start taking everything we’ve reconsidered and figuring out what moving forward looks like.

Back to Scorpio: now what?
December 4 - January 7

On December 4, Venus re-enters Scorpio.

We’re back where we started, but hopefully we’re not coming back as the exact same person.

Now we get to take what we learned in Libra and apply it.

What am I willing to invest in?
What deserves deeper intimacy?
What needs a stronger boundary?
What am I no longer willing to tolerate?

Scorpio brings it up.
Libra helps us sort it out.
Scorpio asks what we’re going to do about it.

That’s the retrograde.

Your birth chart will show exactly where this review is happening for you, but everyone gets an invitation to reconsider their relationships with other people, themselves, and the things they value, including money, pleasure, beauty, desire, and how they spend their time and energy.

Do
-Revisit the music, art, fashion, hobbies, and interests you used to love.
-Put on the music you were obsessed with in middle school or high school. Yes, seriously.
-Reconnect with parts of yourself you abandoned somewhere along the way.
-Reevaluate boundaries, standards, spending, relationships, and what actually makes you feel good.
-Notice where you’re over-giving, people pleasing, settling, or accepting crumbs.
-Pay attention to old relationship patterns showing up again.
-Ask yourself whether your current relationships reflect your current values.
-Get curious about what you want now, not what you were taught you were supposed to want.

Don’t
-Make huge romantic commitments just because something feels intense.
-Rush into a brand-new relationship without getting very clear about the why, your needs, and your boundaries.
-Confuse an ex resurfacing with divine intervention.
-Completely reinvent your appearance on an impulse.
-Spend a ridiculous amount of money trying to become a “new you.”
-Assume every relationship realization requires immediate action.
-Panic because something from your past comes back around. Sometimes the universe gives you a retest just to see if you’re still going to pick the same stupid answer.

Venus retrograde is less “burn your life down” and more:

“Wait...do I even like this anymore?”

And honestly, that’s one of my favorite questions.

Revisit. Reassess. Renegotiate.

Remember who you were before everyone else had an opinion about who you should be.
And maybe make yourself a playlist from 2007 while you’re at it.

Astrology for the Hearth is written by the incredible Megan Hope @elemental.sage