Venus Retrograde in Leo: July 22/23-September 4, 2023
Venus is getting an extended stay in tropical Leo this year due to its retrograde cycle beginning July 22/23. The last time Venus turned retrograde in Leo was during the summer of 2015. Sometimes it's insightful to reflect on past Venus retrograde cycles, especially if they touched upon significant natal chart positions. You might notice a mysterious connection (literally and symbolically) to events during that time and those of the present cycle. Additionally, as with the 2015 cycle, Venus will interact with Jupiter. During the 2015 cycle, Venus made a series of conjunctions with Jupiter, and this year there will be a series of squares (more on that below).
Venus will be in Leo from June 5 through October 8, 2023. While Venus retrograde cycles occur every year and a half, as I alluded to above, they repeat in the same sign (and very close to the same degrees) every eight years. Thus, we get a longer, more complex Venus transit in a specific area of the natal chart every eight years (but yes, somewhere every year and a half). Additionally, as mentioned, we also get more drawn-out aspects of Venus to other transiting planets, so those themes will likely become more pronounced on the world stage somehow.
Venus' synodic cycle (periodic conjunctions with the Sun) is quite complex, astonishingly symmetrical, and therefore regular. I won't get too deep into the woods related to the bigger, more nuanced picture of Venus retrograde cycles, but it's a fascinating study! I'd recommend reading Anne Massey's Venus: Her Cycles, Symbols, and Myths if you want to learn more. It's a book I've had for years, and I always find it a helpful reference. You can usually get it used somewhere out there online.
What does it mean when Venus turns retrograde? I've written a lot of articles about this over the years, and each time I learn something new. It's one of the most fascinating astrological cycles because it most uncannily connects to themes surrounding fate, serendipity, and "heart-opening" experiences in various ways. For example, meeting kindred souls or "soul mates," or certain pivotal events that somehow catalyze pathways conducive to "following the heart."
I'm not sure every Venus retrograde cycle will be experienced like this, and again, it's helpful to reflect on past cycles in the same zodiacal area because that will likely reveal how significant this cycle will be for you. However, no matter when or where they occur, Venus retrogrades are moments in which we get more in touch with the "heart," align ourselves with our emotional/intuitive center, and lead more through feeling rather than logic, reason, and common sense.
In ancient astrology, Venus was considered the "lesser benefic," meaning it was seen as a fortunate planet but not as much as Jupiter (the "greater benefic). Typically, Venus transits are far too brief to correlate with much significance (and probably why it was considered lesser than Jupiter). Still, during its retrograde cycles, especially during the retrograde and direct stations, Venus spends more time somewhere and thus has more time to "create" this fortuitous magic.
By the way, Venus' retrograde correlations are not always experienced as pleasant. Still, I do believe even the more complicated stuff that comes up during a Venus retrograde cycle leads us to something positive (especially when understood in hindsight). Jupiter sometimes has this impact as well, such as correlating with "happy accidents." I'll explain a bit more of the potential pitfalls of Venus retrograde down below. Everything in astrology has positive and negative potentials (though some carry one potential more so than others).
Also, retrograde and direct stations refer to when Venus first stops to move backward (retrograde station) and then stops again to move forward once the retrograde phase is over (direct station). These occur on July 22/23 (retrograde station) and September 3 (direct station). Within several days especially surrounding these dates, Venus will slow down and hang around a specific degree (28 Leo during the retrograde station and 12 Leo during the direct station). If you have significant placements there, you're more likely to feel and experience this cycle as significant, especially concerning significant life events.
When describing Venusian experiences, I often evoke the experience of "falling in love" and equate it with "fate," specifically a conception of fate that feels predetermined or beyond one's control. For example, we can't control who we fall in love or become infatuated with; it just happens to us. We don't consciously choose what music we like, which movies make us cry, what art we find beautiful, or what places in the world we conceive as our "happy places." These things happen, and we can't help but feel how we feel about them. Venusian experiences are often highly emotional and involuntary, and we often have no choice but to surrender to them (though, of course, we can choose whether to pursue or invest in them).
We could also say that such experiences touch upon our unconscious undercurrents more than our conscious awareness. Venus retrograde periods seem to amplify our inner emotional, aesthetically responsive, and intuitive selves. And thus, during these cycles we are leading more with the heart and intuitive center than with the rational faculties. Obviously, then, there are some pitfalls there, such as "falling" for people or things that might not be so good for us (but feel so in the moment) or investing too much time, attention, or money in things that aren't worth what we think they are in the moment. So, yes, it's critical to be more discerning and skeptical of emerging things that seem too good or too big to be true.
This is especially so due to Venus' square with Jupiter this cycle. In fact, both Venus and Jupiter interestingly station within a square aspect at the beginning of October (Jupiter stations retrograde while Venus stations direct at the end of its retrograde phase). Get-rich-quick schemes or marriage proposals after only a few dates are probably a bit extreme and too cartooned of examples, but you get the idea. Still, there are likely to be some really positive, expansive, and "lucky" correlations with this, especially in early October.
Sometimes, it's best to focus less on taking action with things that emerge during Venus retrograde and more on allowing ourselves to experience and digest it all fully. When the retrograde is over, and we still feel strongly about something, it's likely more solid and aligned for us. For example, because Venus also rules relationships (romantic, marriage, platonic, even professional), we can sometimes experience "changes of heart" or suddenly perceive more deeply the shadow side of a person we never really noticed or reflected on before. This can take a lot of different forms, from a deepening of a connection that was previously more surface level to feeling less connected. It can go either way.
Typically, the best advice is to wait out the retrograde and process what's happening and when the retrograde is over, and take action when you have a more rational and objective point of view. But of course, context is everything, and some things we can't control, so use your best judgment. Sometimes, also, the heart knows more than the mind, and if that voice is loud and clear, it might be wiser to just go with your gut feeling.
As mentioned, this retrograde cycle occurs in Leo. This is a sign of joy, pleasure, fun, and play. It's also a sign that deals with acceptance of praise, applause, recognition, and attention. Of course, the negative side of this could be some hubristic (or "eye roll") displays of overconfidence, arrogance, or self-absorption. In its dark side, Leo can get consumed in subjectivity and neglect the need for constructive feedback, critique, or other points of view. Yet, if you've been struggling with these more ideal features of the Leo archetype (especially in relation to the house position Venus will be in), then this could be a moment that opens our hearts more deeply to these qualities and discover them more intensely in those areas.
For example, if Venus is retrograding in the sixth house, perhaps its time to open your heart (or have a change of heart) to bring more joy, pleasure, playfulness, and fun into your work and routines, or perhaps this is a pivotal moment for receiving well-deserved attention, applause, or recognition for your hard work. If Venus is in your fourth house, maybe this relates more to your connection to your family, or tribe, or a rediscovery of an inner fountain of joy within, such as a profound reconnection to the inner child. In your first house (for you Leo risers out there), this might relate to your persona, personal style, and outer image, helping you liven and lighten up your look and self-presentation. Additionally, like my sixth house example, this could be a time to put yourself out there more, to be seen and recognized.
Venus retrograde cycles can also connect us to the past, and that's where this interesting association with "soul mates" or "kindred souls" comes in, because sometimes when we meet certain people during these cycles, they seem strangely familiar. Maybe that's karma or some past-life connection. I don't have any definitive answers about that. This isn't always likely to happen with Venus retrograde, and perhaps more so when it connects to Venusian or seventh-house themes in the chart. Also, there can be this rediscovery of something or someone from the past, as well as a revaluation of our relationships, the things we value (or place value on), and the things that bring us joy, pleasure, satisfaction, and peace.
Some things we discover or rediscover during Venus retrograde might seem insignificant, like finding an amazing artist, musician, or fashion look, but that's because we tend to culturally devalue such things as frivolous amusement. Yet, beauty is profoundly powerful and helps to keep us sane, soulful, and empathic. My favorite music playlists and podcasts get me through my workouts every week or pick me up on not-so-great days. I don't think humans would do so well without access to beauty, art, and pleasure. They're essential to our humanity. In Leo, Venus amplifies the pleasure principle here and the cultivation of joy and good times.
Lastly, as mentioned, Venus will interact with Jupiter this cycle, but there's also an interesting bigger picture. Beginning in June 2023, Jupiter and Uranus will come into orb of a conjunction (meaning they will be within 15 degrees of each other), and thus the themes of the Jupiter/Uranus cycle will begin to emerge in personal and collective events. This Jupiter/Uranus conjunction peaks in April 2024 and moves out of orb July 2024. Thus, from the time of this writing, we are entering a year of a Jupiter/Uranus fusion!
In Cosmos and Psyche, astrologer/historian Richard Tarnas coined alignments of Jupiter and Uranus "cycles of creativity and expansion" and noted that they correlated with collective upwellings of revolutionary and emancipatory impulses as well as periods of significant creative, scientific, and technological breakthrough and development. Venus will be squaring this building Jupiter/Uranus conjunction this summer, and thus plugging into these potentials and correlations—bringing them more into the domain of fate-like events and most especially amplifying their creative potential.
What might that mean? Considering that squares are aspects of action, strength building, and challenge, perhaps we are prodded into the task of actualizing some seriously groundbreaking, innovative, and liberating expressions of the heart, whether through creative or performative outlets or in the realm of the technical or scientific. Or perhaps, this shows up more exclusively on the interpersonal level of some sudden breakthrough of heart expansiveness or emotional/intuitive realization.
Overall, we can anticipate some level of "whether you like it or not" radical change or revolutionary impulse to infuse into this cycle, relating to a period of profound emotional and creative leaps and departures from the norm. If you've been feeling held back (or holding yourself back) from expressing your creativity, joy, talents, and playful side, this cycle can help liberate those qualities so you can stand out, shine, and receive the attention you deserve.