What do you value & How can you step up?
I have put these two Retrograde periods together as one Blog Post as they are intertwined with one another and serve to bring home some very powerful messages and learning for us as they make their Retrograde journeys.
Firstly, lets start with Venus and her Retrograde transit through Aries and then Pisces from 3 March until 13 April 2025 – 40 days and 40 nights. Now Venus moves Retrograde only every approximately 18 months unlike busy Mercury who moves Retrograde 3 times every year for 3 weeks each time. So, this means that when Venus does move Retrograde it’s a massive opportunity for us to re-asses and re-look at our attitudes and perspectives regarding love, money and beauty.
Venus begins her Retrograde phase in Aries and then carries on her backwards journey into Pisces before turning Direct in Pisces on 14 April 2025.
From a visual perspective when Venus moves into Retrograde motion, she moves from being the evening star that rises after sunset, to the morning star that rises just before sunrise.
As we know Retrograde movements are about going inward and taking the opportunity to look at where we are going and whether our inward feelings and beliefs are aligned with what we take action on and/or produce. So, when it comes to Venus, we are being given a chance to re-assess our relationships – are you giving too much or not enough? And of course, any loving relationship we have with another soul can only be as successful and powerful as the loving relationship we have with ourselves. Therefore, one of the most important things we can use the energy of Venus Retrograde for is developing a stronger sense of self-love, self-belief and self-worth. So, you may find yourself triggered under this influence by those that challenge you and perhaps want to gaslight you or put you down. Such experiences are always designed to stimulate you to step up and to put more of a worth on yourself and develop a stronger sense of self-love in every way.
The focus while Venus is Retrograde in Aries will be very much one of self-worth and self-belief. Aries energy is a leadership energy and also a very independent one, so what will be asked of you is to step up and upgrade how you feel about yourself. Venus also represents our attitude towards beauty and so what could be very appealing under this influence is to want to improve the way you look in some way. Treatments such as Botox or other cosmetic surgeries as well as new haircuts or new looks of any kind are NOT a great thing to branch into at this time. When a planet is Retrograde, we avoid taking action, even when though it may feel like we REALLY want too – it is not advised. Remember, we are in a space of re-evaluating things and that takes time, therefore, often actions like the above taken while Venus is in Retrograde can mean that you do not get the results you were after, or that you are simply wasting your time and money here. And once Venus reverts back into Pisces it is even more important to be aware of NOT acting on what you want and desire. Pisces energy can be very illusional and so you might find that any efforts you make to change or beautify your appearance could also mean you end up with a look or result that is NOT what you wanted at all!
As Venus also rules money this will be a time for us to reassess our attitude towards money and what we do with it. The Aries energy here is very black and white making it easy to see where money needs to be spent and where it does not. We also see when it comes to Venus and money, the very important relationship between our belief in ourselves and our ability to make money, support ourselves and be successful in this way. Our self-belief is strongly connected to our ability to make money and to manifest what we desire. During this Retrograde period, we can work on gaining more self-belief by putting our own personal needs first and not being afraid to do so. Once again this is not a time to take action, but rather a time to become aware of what needs action, and then you can do so once Venus moves into Direct motion once again. Once Venus moves out of Aries and into Pisces that illusional energy can pop in once again and therefore it is most definitely NOT a good time to make any major purchases or investments. Rather, do your due diligence and re-visit your money situation and look to act on any changes you need to make here once Venus is moving forward again.
When it comes to love what we can find in Venus Retrograde is old loves returning into our lives. They may return to rekindle old flames, or, they may be reappearing for closure. But this will be a powerful time to be aware of what is not finished, or, of what needs to be finished now. Whilst in Aries Venus can possibly see a lot more clearly what is real and will last and what will not, but once she moves into Pisces that clarity can become very murky. Venus in Pisces is seeing love through rose-coloured glasses and so it would NOT be a good idea to enter into any new relationships under this influence as you may not be seeing the real picture or person here. Many relationships started under this influence will not last as once Venus moves out of Pisces and back into Aries in Direct motion it will be very clear whether that relationship is good for you or not, and chances are it will end. Venus Retrograde in Pisces is also able to take you to a higher view of love and to love more unconditionally and to give more and more love to beautiful wonderful YOU.
The last time Venus Retrograded through Aries was between March and April 2017 so you can look back to what you were working through or dealing with back then to get an idea of what may be presented to you at this time. And I would also encourage you to look back at that time in your life to see where your self-worth, self-love and self-belief were at that time so you can see how far (hopefully LOL) you have come and what you have learned about yourself and who you truly are along the way.
Overall, Venus in Retrograde, no matter what sign of the zodiac she is in, is about re-assessing our personal values to see whether we are who we think we are and that we are moving towards and involving ourselves in things that are good for us in every way.
MERCURY RETROGRADE ARIES TO PISCES
16 March – 7 April 2025
Where can I step up?
Mercury Retrograde we are a lot more familiar with as it happens so much more frequently than Venus Retrograde does. So, Mercury Retrograde is all about re-evaluating, re-visiting and re-looking at what direction we are taking at this time and whether we have all the knowledge, tools and understanding to make it happen. Like any Retrograde it is NOT a time to be taking action or trying to make things happen in your life.
Mercury’s Retrograde journey is very similar to Venus’s at this time as he will also start his Retrograde journey in Aries but transit out of this and back into Pisces before he moves into Direct motion on 8 April 2025. While he is in Aries it is very much about what direction to take, where you can step up more and be more, and, more importantly, it will be about re-assessing your sense of self-belief. This is a very important transit for us to once again be super aware of; whether our inside values, beliefs and thoughts are aligned with what we put out there. Remember 2025 is the year of “authenticity” and so this Mercury Retrograde in Aries phase is a great opportunity for us all to look at what we are wanting to have and make happen in life, and what else we can do to push forward.
Once Mercury retrogrades back into Pisces on 31 March (coinciding incidentally with Neptune’s move out of Pisces and into Aries) we are being asked and encouraged to look at our higher awareness and how we can better communicate what we know, feel and intuit. If you are a writer or creative person you will find this Retrograde period one where you can re-visit what you have been working on and see what else it needs and whether it is a true representation of your talents and who you truly are. Under this influence our intuition and creativity will be heightened and so even if you are not a creative person, you will still find that you are able to express yourself more creatively or perhaps even find yourself drawn to doing something creative that you have not attempted before.
Mercury Retrograde, in any sign of the zodiac, is also a time where old friends and people from the past can turn up in your life once again. That is one of the fun things I feel about Mercury Retrograde; seeing who is going to reappear in your life, and why. Mostly this is not usually as significant as the Venus Retrograde where old loves return for closure or reignition, it’s more about remembering an old connection, and what someone once meant to you or your life. Sometimes there is closure needed, but more often than not it’s more about remembering the friendship and connections you have had before and this can give you good insight into who you are attracting to you now and who you have in your life now, and seeing what has changed here. Perhaps you always used to be the leader amongst your friends and someone comes back into your life to remind you of this, and you are shown how you now take a back seat to others? And perhaps this needs to change….
So, these 2 powerful Retrogrades will overlap and amplify each other’s energy over the next few months and I feel that they are giving us a bit of taste of what is to come when the outer planets Neptune and Saturn shift into Aries later this year. We are being awakened and the awakening is about self-focus and self-belief. We are being asked and encouraged to remember who we are and how powerful we are; we can think for ourselves, we can stand in our own energy and we can self-direct but only when we BELIEVE that we can.
Revisiting the past and what we are doing is always helpful and even though these Retrogrades can feel to some like somebody else has put the handbrake on in your life, it is a necessary thing. We cannot be switched on and pushing GO all the time, we need to step back and re-evaluate ourselves and our lives regularly so we can know that we are on track.
So, enjoy these Retrogrades, they will definitely teach you a lot about yourself and what is important to you in ever way. Blessings xox
