This year the Venus retrograde cycle is pretty special because it coincides with the momentous event of Neptune entering Aries for the first time in 165 years. Venus enters her retrograde shadow in Pisces on 28th January and stations retrograde in Aries on 2nd March, crossing paths with Neptune along the way and then back again after she goes direct in April.

The entire retrograde cycle runs from January this year to January 2026 although it officially begins when Venus conjuncts the Sun at the inferior conjunction in March. Here are the key dates for your diary:

• 28th January 2025: enters retrograde shadow at 24° Pisces
• 2nd March: stations retrograde at 10° Aries
• 23rd March: inferior conjunction with the Sun at 2° Aries
• 13th April: stations direct at 24° Pisces
• 16th May: leaves retrograde shadow at 10° Aries
• 6th January 2026: superior conjunction with the Sun at 16° Capricorn

When Venus goes retrograde it provides an opportunity to explore your feelings about the people and things you value to see whether they align with your deeper instincts and needs. You can use these periods to evaluate your relationships, business partnerships, finances, creative projects, and feelings of self-worth. You can find out how you really feel about everything in your life and how you feel about yourself and realign with your soul’s deepest needs.

The last time Venus went retrograde in Aries and Pisces was 8 years ago in 2017. You may want to revisit what happened in your life back then to get a feel for the themes that may come up for you this year. Remember that life rarely repeats in exactly the same way but you may get some interesting clues for what you need to focus your attention on this time around.

In this cycle, Venus will cover the degrees between 24° Pisces and 10° Aries so this is the area of your chart that will be affected. This is where you’ll need to evaluate your feelings and let go of anything that no longer reflects the person you’ve become during the last 8 years. Thanks to the retrograde Venus will spend longer than usual in these signs: about 2 months in Pisces and almost 3 months in Aries. Basically it breaks down like this:

• January = Pisces
• February and most of March = Aries
• April = Pisces
• May = Aries

Venus entered Pisces on 3rd January and stays until 4th February then returns on 27th March before leaving on 30th April. Venus is exalted in Pisces making this a good time for romance, imagination and creativity. You may feel sensitive and compassionate with a desire to reach out to others in kindness and charity. Or you could be inspired by daydreams and uplifting fantasies that allow you to escape harsh reality.

However, during the retrograde phase in April your emotions could become stormy with eruptions from the depths that create problems in your relationships. You could be prone to deception and disillusionment or unsure what you really feel making you evasive. You may try to deal with these confused feelings by drinking too much or indulging in other kinds of addictions.

When Venus enters Aries it will feel totally different as these signs are almost opposites in the way they operate. Venus enters Aries on 4th February and stays until 27th March and then returns on 30th April where she stays until 6th June when she finally enters Taurus.

Venus isn’t happy in Aries where she tends to be impulsive, passionate and fiery and values independence and freedom in relationships over oneness and harmony. Your feelings may become clearer allowing you to express yourself more directly but this could backfire if you’re too blunt and forceful. You may have increased energy to put into creative projects and relationships where you might want to try something new. You could also receive new ideas for improving your finances and boosting your self-worth.

However, during the retrograde phase you could become argumentative or reckless and things could get messy as the truth is blurted and hearts are broken. But you could also free yourself from situations that aren’t right for you, finding the courage to stand up for yourself and fight for your needs.

Aries brings out the instinctive side of Venus, the darker side of the goddess of war. At the start of the retrograde Venus is in her love goddess phase and enters warrior mode at the inferior conjunction with the Sun. In the current cycle this happens in Aries on 23rd March so things could get spicy – especially once Venus becomes visible again as the morning star, although she’s back in Pisces by then.

The morning star phase of the Venus retrograde cycle is associated with war, as Erin Sullivan explains in Retrograde Planets:

“The Maya believed that the point at which Venus reaches her helical rising, about six or seven days after the inferior conjunction, was when political situations were particularly unstable and leaders insecure and fallible.”

Unfortunately, world leaders are pretty insecure and fallible most of the time so perhaps it just gets worse when Venus is retrograde. She also mentions that Bruce Scofield found these periods related to:

“a time of failure or resignation on the part of leaders and often coincides with a major accident or storm.”

The conjunctions also seem to be associated with uprisings and coups according to Nic Dagan Best. See the Rhythm of the Venus Synodic Cycle.

This cycle is also significant because it triggers the mini triangle configuration between Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, and the Saturn Neptune conjunction just as Neptune crosses into Aries. The mini triangle locks into place on 21st April 2025 when the Uranus Pluto trine returns to an 8-degree orb. More on this configuration here.

The Saturn Neptune conjunction enters an 8-degree orb on 3rd March, the day after Venus stations retrograde. She then moves back over both planets during her cycle triggering the conjunction and unleashing political and economic upheavals around the world.

But as if that wasn’t enough, Mercury will also be going retrograde in almost exactly the same place at the same time! Venus retrograde conjuncts Mercury on 11th March just before Mercury stations retrograde in Aries on 15th March. The Mercury inferior conjunction with the Sun happens on 24th March, a day after the Venus conjunction on 23rd March:

Venus retrograde conjuncts Neptune in Pisces on 27th March, while Mercury enters Pisces on 30th March and conjuncts Neptune the same day. Neptune then enters Aries on 30th as Venus and Mercury go off together into Pisces towards Saturn…

None of this will go unnoticed! But I hesitate to make predictions because it’s all so chaotic, especially when you factor in the solar eclipse on 29th March in Aries. There’ll be so much going on I doubt anyone will be able to make sense of it for quite some time.

Venus makes many aspects during this retrograde cycle and most are pretty helpful. She stations retrograde while conjunct the Moon and Mercury, square Mars, and sextile Jupiter, none of which is especially difficult unless you have issues with your temper. Here are the other aspects Venus makes during the rest of the cycle:

• Venus conjunct Neptune: 27th March retrograde in Pisces, 2nd May direct in Aries
• Venus sextile Pluto: 21st March retrograde, 6th May direct
• Venus trine Mars: 6th April retrograde, 22nd May direct
• Venus conjunct Saturn: 7th April retrograde, 25th April direct
• Venus sextile Uranus: 8th April retrograde, 20th April direct

The conjunctions to Neptune and Saturn could be tricky depending on your chart and whether these aspects trigger sensitive points. But you can also work with the energies to create a new beginning in the Pisces and Aries parts of your life. The harmonious aspects to Mars, Uranus, and Pluto can all be used productively and creatively to feed that new beginning and liberate yourself from anything that needs to be left behind.

You can find out more about the Venus retrograde cycle and how to make the most of this time by using the Venus Retrograde Workbook available here! This is a comprehensive guide to working with Venus retrograde transits that includes worksheets to track your experience. Click the image to find out more!

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