Top 5 Dos and Don'ts for Venus Retrograde

On July 22, 2023 Venus, the planet of love, beauty and art enters it’s retrograde period, where it will be until September 03, 2023. A retrograde period is when a planet, in this case Venus, appears to move backwards in the sky. Of course, it does not actually change direction, it only appears to due to the differing speeds at which the Earth and the planet are moving in relation to each other. You have probably heard of Mercury retrograde, the most famous of them, but each planet goes through a retrograde period, which varies in length and frequency depending on the planet. In Venus’ case, the retrograde period lasts about 40 days and occurs every 18 months or so.

 

Astro Codes Oracle

 

This year Venus goes retrograde in the fiery, dramatic and extroverted sign of Leo. And while all Venus retrogrades have some similar themes, the sign it occurs in will add a slightly different tone to the period. Below is my guide of Top 5 Dos and Top 5 Don’ts for this summer’s Venus retrograde in Leo.

 

Top 5 Don’ts

 

1. Don’t Take Back Your Ex (unless you want drama) – Venus retrogrades are notorious for bringing old flames back into your life. Venus is about love and when she moves retrograde she is busy looking back on the past, which can make us nostalgic for what was. It’s easy to remember the good times and forget about why you broke up with your ex in the first place. If you are single this may not be the worst thing, as you might need to revisit what was and confirm to yourself why you left. However, leaving a present good relationship for someone from the past is not a good idea. By the time the retrograde is over in September, you will most likely have broken up with them again.

 

2. Don’t Get Involved in Scandals – Venus retrogrades have a tendency to expose all sorts of scandals, and with this one being in Leo, you know that means lots of drama. If you have been up to something you shouldn’t have, it may come to light at this time. If it does, do your best to lay low. There will be fall out and consequences, but avoid making things worse with dramatic declarations and displays. For all of us it is a time when we often hear of shocking secrets and scandalous behavior, particularly when it comes to people’s romantic lives.

 

3. Don’t Cut Your Hair – I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people I know either cut their hair or dye it dramatically during a Venus retrograde, only to hate it afterwards. While this can be a good time to experiment or to think about changes, hold off on any long term or permanent changes to your appearance. If you want to make a change, wait until October and see then if you still want it. And definitely do not get anything permanent like a tattoo!

 

4. Don’t Throw Out Your Clothes – Venus retrograde wants us to reevaluate our style, but hold off on pitching your closet until afterwards. It is a good time to experiment and try new looks, but again, you may feel differently once this transit is over. You can sort clothes and put any you don’t like aside for now, but be ready to reevaluate it all again in the Fall.

 

5. Don’t Do Major Renos to Your Home – Venus is all about aesthetics, and during her retrograde phase its natural for us to reevaluate our style. Not just our fashion sense, but also our environments too. It can be a great time to do research, and to think about what we might want to do to our home and to make small changes. Avoid any long lasting renos or remodeling, for the same reason as above. Once the retrograde phase is over you may have a change of heart and then be stuck with those changes to your home for quite a while.

 

Top 5 Dos

 

6. Do Review Your Relationships – This is a great time to reassess what you want from the relationships in your life. If you are in a couple, it’s a great time to reflect on your partnership and see if it still working for both of you. Relationships that are on the rocks often come apart during a Venus retrograde. However strong relationships don’t need to worry, as the time to reflect and review will only make things better for the future. For single people this can be good time to think about what they want in a potential future partnership. It’s also a time to review not only romantic partnerships, but friendships too, as Venus rules these relationships as well.

 

7. Do Get in Touch With Old Friends – Is there a friend you haven’t spoken to in ages? Someone you would love to catch up with? Venus retrograde is the perfect time to reconnect with old friends. Whether for a trip down memory lane, or to resolve an old issue, this time can be great for healing old friendships and reconnecting with those from your past. You may also experience people you haven’t seen or heard from in a long time reaching out to you. Be open to the messages those from your past may be sending you now.

 

8. Do Look to the Past for Inspiration – Venus retrograde is a great time to get your “retro” vibes on. When the planet of beauty looks backwards it is time to get inspired by what came before. You might notice more vintage and retro styles popping up and may find yourself looking to trends from past decades. Or you may look to styles you rocked in your own past for some inspiration.

 

9. Do Experiment With Your Style – While it is good advice not to do anything long lasting or permanent to your personal style, this is an excellent time to do some experimentation. Venus is in review mode, so it’s a good time to reevaluate your sense of personal style, and ask yourself how you can refine it to make it more you.  As Venus is in Leo she wants us to have fun and dare to be a little more bold and dramatic this summer. It’s a good time to have some fun with makeup and clothes and wear things we may not usually. When the retrograde is done, we will end up with a better sense of what fits us and what doesn’t.

 

10. Do Enjoy Activities from the Past – Leo rules youth and childhood, and when Venus is in retrograde here, she wants us to have fun revisiting activities from our past. What did you used to love to do but haven’t done in a long time? Has it been ages since you went to an amusement park? Or went to the beach? Did you used to love going to the park with friends but can’ remember the last time you did so? This is a great time to relive some of those fun childhood and youthful memories. Its summer time, so let yourself have a little fun again.

 

Overall Venus retrogrades are not as disruptive or stressful as some of the other planet’s retrograde periods. It can be a great time to evaluate your relationships, both romantic and friendships, to reconnect with those from our past, and to reassess our style. Just don’t do anything to long lasting to your look and avoid letting that toxic ex sweet talk you back into their arms and you should be okay. If you want to learn more about astrology, you can check out my Patreon for educational videos, or if you want your own personalized reading, you can check out my Etsy shop.