Venus Retrograde – a love story
Every eighteen months or so, Venus, the planet of love, money, beauty, and pleasure decides she’s had enough of moving forward and stations retrograde. She slows, she stops, she turns around, and she makes us look back at things we thought we’d sorted out. Relationships we thought were closed. Creative projects we’d quietly shelved. The ex we definitely don’t think about anymore.
In 2026, Venus stations retrograde on October 3rd at 8°29′ Scorpio and doesn’t station direct again until November 13th at 22°51′ Libra. The shadow period begins even earlier, on August 31st, so the themes have been building long before the official station.
Here’s what makes this particular retrograde genuinely worth paying attention to. Venus in Scorpio is in detriment, which means she’s uncomfortable, operating under pressure, and somewhat out of her usual grace – that means, you too maybe dealing with circumstances and connections that feel somewhat uncomfortable. Scorpio strips Venus of her pleasantries and forces her into depth. The positive though is that what comes out the other side of Venus’ time in Scorpio is rawer, more honest, and considerably less interested in keeping the peace for the sake of it.
Then there’s the matter of three (yes, three!!) squares to Pluto in Aquarius, happening on September 15th, October 20th, and December 9th. Three rounds of Venus being hammered by the planet of power, death, and transformation. Power dynamics in relationships become impossible to ignore. Karmic entanglements that seemed manageable suddenly aren’t. The first square arrives while Venus is direct, the second during the retrograde itself (that October 20th square is the most confrontational date of the entire cycle. Hot tip: don’t schedule anything fragile for that week.
The good news, and there genuinely is some, is that Venus makes three sextiles to Jupiter in Leo on August 17th, November 4th, and November 28th (Venus’ three graces!) Jupiter is generous. Sextiles open doors. These three dates are the grace notes of the whole cycle, the moments when something warm and genuinely expansive is available.
On October 23rd, Venus is cazimi in Scorpio, the last one in the water sign of Mars for many years to come, making this date and cycle a major moment of reset and rebirth. What becomes clear on that date is the seed of the entire next Venus cycle. It’s the most important single day of the retrograde, and it deserves to be treated as such.
Venus also stations direct on November 13th on the degree of 22°51′ Libra, her home territory. After weeks of retrograde activity, Aphrodite turns direct. On the same day, Mercury also stations direct in Scorpio. A rare double direct station, the fog lifting in both the heart and the mind simultaneously. Whatever was murky, unclear, or unresolved through October and early November begins to crystallise from November 13th onward.
Author: TJ
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