Photo: Unsplash: John Schnobrich
Fasten your seat belts!
By Carol Allen — Written on Oct 02, 2018
In discussions intersecting astrology and astronomy, planets in retrograde tend to get a bad wrap. So if you're wondering about the dates when Venus goes retrograde in 2018, there's a good chance you're worried about the effects it will have on your love life and romantic relationships, no matter what zodiac signs you and the person you love were born under.
Venus, the planet of love and romance, is going retrograde on October 5, and it will stay there until November 16.
The good news is that Vedic astrologers like myself love retrograde planets!
When a planet is retrograde, its influence is stronger, meaning the aspects under its domain are strengthened, and you're more likely to experience a breakthrough of some kind in that realm of your life.
Venus retrogrades once every 18 months, and lasts for six weeks.
When a planet is retrograde it appears to be traveling in a "backward" direction, but it's just an optical illusion created by the orbit of the Earth passing Venus on its way around the Sun.
It's also when a planet is closest to the Earth, and so brightest in the night sky.
If you didn't already know, Venus is the brightest natural object other than the moon in the night sky anyway — so bright it's often mistaken for a U.F.O.
You can go outside and try looking for it around dusk or dawn, which is when it's most luminous.
(Note that if it hovers over your head and little green men beam you up, you did, in fact, see a U.F.O. and not Venus ... But I kid.)
So what aspects of our lives fall under Venus's domain?
Hmmm ... Gee ... Let me think ... Only all of the very best things! Things like food, sex, love, romance, art, fashion and music — anything that satiates the senses.
But here's the thing about being satiated. You can get too much of a good thing. Go back and check out that list of things Venus rules over and I'm pretty sure you'll see what I mean.
When a planet is retrograde its influence becomes more powerful. This can cause a power surge leading to challenges if you don't have a "surge protector" of sorts in place.
Because planets in retrograde appear to be heading backward, this is commonly a time when people and situations from the past come back to pay a visit.
Any unfinished business or issues you've been trying to avoid or sweep under the rug may come up and out to be re-exposed or seen by you from a new perspective.
Any issues having to do with partnership will be especially likely to come under the microscope now for reevaluation and restructuring.
So if all of us are feeling this now, what should you do in relation to your own love life?
The answer to that question brings us back to the reason I love retrogrades.
Retrograde energy often causes us to have the proverbial breakdown that proceeds a breakthrough.
You may discover something you didn't know or realize before that's important to your relationship or love life, depending on which signs the planet in retrograde rules.
Venus rules the zodiac signs of Taurus and Libra, the natural signs of income and partnership, so your financial life is also likely being reevaluated or taken to the next level now.
During these six weeks, you may also learn something significant about yourself that you need to heal or address, or you may find yourself revisiting an old pattern or former partner it's time to get past ... or, perhaps, get back to.
So while Venus retrograde is known by many as a time for breaking up, it's also an ideal time for making up, too!
You'll likely find yourself either taking your relationship to a deeper, more powerful place, or taking it to its limit.
Just be careful. When Venus goes direct again on November 16, the decisions you made while it was retrograde — the connections or reconnections you made — could wind up reversing themselves.
If you're single, this is a time when you can gain better insight into your biggest love-blocking obstacles, which means you may finally be able to get past them.
Unfortunately, this isn't considered the best time to get married, though, as Retrograde planets tend to halt external forward progress.
Some astrologers will tell you not to change your hairdo, wardrobe, landscaping or decor now, but I disagree.
This is often exactly the time when you find that dream deal — the perfect shoe, the perfect pants, the perfect price for that hair treatment you've been meaning to get for forever.
So don't be afraid of this special time.
You can leave the house. You can go on dates. You can flirt with strangers. In fact, please do!
As I said, this is commonly when anything that needs to be fixed or healed can come forward.
So, if you're single, you can now learn why and what you need to do about it, and if you're in a relationship, you can get closer than ever.
Enjoy these next few ramped up Venusian weeks, and may God and His planets and stars shower you with love!
P.S. If your Sun sign or rising sign is Taurus or Libra on your astrological birth chart, one of the two signs ruled by Venus, you may have less energy than usual when Venus is retrograde. It's said your vitality is like liquid being poured out of a bottle. So be gentle with yourself, and give yourself extra self-care.
And if Venus rules your Moon sign, you may be more emotionally sensitive, and you may also experience some deepened emotional insights.
Carol Allen is a Vedic astrologer who believes that when it comes to your personal and emotional relationships, looking to a man's Sun sign in relation to yours won't explain how you'll relate. You can learn more about this and so many other amazing truths at the intersection of astrology and love in Carol's free newsletter.