2025 Venus Retrograde in Aries: What to Expect

And why you shouldn't freak

What: Venus Retrograde in Aries

When: March 1 - March 27, 2025

Who’s Impacted: EVERYONE, but esp. Aries and the other cardinal / fire signs

Takeaway: with the planet of love, money, and creativity backtracking through Aries, it’s prompting a serious revaluation of your relationships, finances, and pioneering prowess.

The word revaluation means “the action of assessing the value of something again,” (Oxford Languages); it’s not to be confused with the word re-evaluation, which has a similar definition (“to assess or evaluate something again”) except it’s missing one crucial word: VALUE. With Venus Retrograde, everything centers on value. Sure, 2025 Venus Retrograde will certainly see you reassessing relationships, finances and creative projects, but you’re not just appraising them for what they are; instead, you’re scrutinizing their value.

Wait. So, why is VALUE such a big theme here? Because Venus is the planet of values! Yes, Venus is the planet of love, romance, relationships, social cohesion, connection and togetherness; and yes, Venus rules your style, aesthetic, artistic inclinations, as well as your spending habits, earning potential, and self-worth. So, all of those things will be under review from March 1 - April 12. But that’s because all of those things are reflections of your values. If you think someone is valuable (as a partner / friend / lover), you date / friend them. If you find artwork valuable / beautiful / desirable, you buy it—or create it.

So, desirability and worthiness fall under Venus’ rulership—and they’re both going to be under the microscope come March 1. Because that’s when Venus stations retrograde. That’s when you start the five-week appraisal of your relationships, creative projects, finances, and values. Now, this particular Venus Retrograde is promptly followed by Mercury Retrograde (also in Aries / Pisces), so things are going to slow down in March. You are going to wonder why everything STILL feels so slow, stalled, or crunchy. But you still shouldn’t freak out about it.

Venus Retrograde in Astrology

Venus Retrograde happens about every 18 months and lasts approximately 40-43 days. Venus Retrograde urges you to reflect on what is or isn’t working in your: relationships, business / romantic partnerships, money habits, creative projects or creative self-expression, and self-worth. Collectively (and personally, really), Venus Retrograde pulls focus to any and all social justice issues that are already hiding in plain sight.

Venus Retrograde is often associated with Inanna’s Descent to the Underworld, a Sumerian myth about the goddess Inanna (aka Venus). Rather than comb over the details, here’s its connection to this transit: During Venus Retrograde, you strip away your illusions about all Venus things—love, money, beauty, and self-worth—assessing your true values, so you can be reborn. In the myth, Ereshkigal is the “shadow” side of Inanna, her darker, subterranean self. Inanna has to remove all her ornamental symbols of beauty in order to face Ereshkigal. And the servants who save Inanna? They do so by echoing back to Ereshkigal her pain and woes. In other words, they see Ereshkigal, they acknowledge her, and in doing so they help bring Inanna back to life. The Venus retrograde cycle encourages something similar: a revaluation of self—the darker, shadier, more subterranean parts of you—and a resuscitation / retrieval of your power.

Basically, Venus Retrograde strips away romantic illusions, financial security blankets, self-worth tied to external validation. When Venus stations direct—as it will on April 12—you (hopefully) emerge with a new understanding of love, money, and self-worth. You face your shadows and acknowledge your “underworld” in love, in your creativity, in your relationships, finances and self-love, to emerge more authentic.

2025 Venus Retrograde in Aries

So yes, Venus Retrograde is as much a revaluation period as it is a retrieval period. With Venus retrogrades, you first look at what is valuable / invaluable, what is fair / unfair about a situation—be it romantic, platonic, creative, financial—so that you can adjust the scales and retrieve balance and harmony. With Venus Retrograde in Aries—the sign of the Self—the scales of self-esteem, self-regard, egotism, courage, boldness, bravery, and heroism need adjusting.

This first leg of 2025 Venus Retrograde, when the love planet backtracks through Aries, really emphasizes the revaluation of self-love, self-worth, and authenticity. Venus Retrograde in Aries is not subtle, because Aries is not subtle. It’s bold, brash, and burning up your patience when it comes to love, money, and self-worth. This phase demands a deep-dive reexamination of how you pursue relationships (romantic, platonic, financial, creative—pick your poison) and whether that pursuit is coming from a place of confidence or desperation.

Do you chase validation? Do you bulldoze into things without considering if they’re actually aligned with your values? Do you mistake independence for isolation? These are some questions for Venus Retrograde in Aries. This period can be like realizing that you’ve been rejecting love, beauty, and balance, but perhaps for a good reason. While it may be bold and fiery, it can also lead to burnout. Also, with Venus Retrograde in Aries, you want to pay close attention to what you were leading, pioneering, jump-starting, igniting or initiating back in 2017 (or what you were too afraid to do). Because I guarantee you that’s coming back for another round of reassessment and review.

Venus moves in an eight-year cycle, meaning every Venus retrograde echoes events and themes from eight years prior—so, think back to 2017. That was the last time Venus was retrograde in Aries and Pisces. What was happening in your love life, finances, or self-worth back then? What were you creating? Who were you with? What were you pioneering or wanting to pioneer?

Venus Retrograde in Aries for the Collective

The mission for Venus Rx in Aries is to retrace your steps to reclaim your confidence, reclaim your value and power, and redefine what’s worth fighting for. Collectively (in America and the world at large), we’re fighting for freedom and democracy; we’re reflecting on our collective values—the hyper-masculinity, the inching towards authoritarianism, the so-called “strong man” approach to leadership—and we’re asking ourselves, “is this really what we want?”

People have already answered—and loudly. We’re already seeing protests against budget cuts and funding. We’re seeing constituents expressing their outrage at town halls, demanding answers on behalf of those who have been fired for no (apparent) reason. People are raising their voices and fighting for the underdogs. These are some of the best qualities of Aries in action right now. Aries is a fire sign and it can be me-focused, sure, but Aries is also idealistic, chivalric, and passionate—about equality, transparency, and doing the right thing.

As we near March 1, we’re already seeing a resurgence of all the good and bad qualities of Aries and Venus Retrograde themes. One such example: Andrew Tate, a self-proclaimed sexist / misogynist / worthless “influencer”, has literally come back to the U.S., after being charged with human trafficking in Romania. Another example: the economic blackout protest, organized by the grassroots group, The People’s Union USA, which aims to fiscally protest big corporations for their support of DEI rollbacks. These current events echo, but don’t necessarily mirror the protests and movements we had in early 2017, which include: The Women’s March, Venezuela protesting Dictatorship, and the Me Too movement. So, what does this mean for us in 2025? Patriotism (both “good” and “bad”), gender issues / equality, questioning leadership—they’re all on the menu.

Venus Retrograde in Aries for YOU