Focus: As Venus stations retrograde in Aries on March 1st, 2025, we’re stepping into a cycle of profound reconsideration. Aries is a sign of raw initiation and self-determined momentum. With Venus, the planet of relationships and values, settling in for an extended stay, this transit presents a unique opportunity for growth and redefinition. This unlikely union urges us to forge new values, change done not just for the sake of change, but to outgrow what’s been weighing us down. After a long period of Venusian reflection in Pisces, where nostalgia and sentimentality dominated, Aries demands something new, something real, something individual. We are no longer allowed to just kick the can down the road, or shift responsibility onto others.
But Venus retrogrades are never just about the future. They unearth the past, making us confront unresolved relationship dynamics, artistic identities, financial choices, and, most importantly, the ways we seek validation. The Sun-ruled second decan of Aries, where this retrograde kicks off, makes that confrontation particularly intense. Pride, recognition, and self-expression will all come under review. If you’ve been chasing approval rather than passion, this transit will make sure you feel it.
Attraction, Repulsion, and the Language of Venus
Venus rules what we desire, but just as crucially, what we reject. Attraction and repulsion are its dialects, and because she speaks through attraction and relational thinking, those signals may start flickering during this retrograde. That sudden magnetic pull toward an old flame? A test. The sharp aversion to something you once craved? A revelation. Venus retrograde forces us to reassess what we truly want, often through contrast.
Reevaluation 2025
For some, this will show up as relationship reckonings. Power struggles igniting where once there was ease, or long-standing tensions suddenly making themselves unavoidable. Others will feel this retrograde in their creative work, questioning whether they’re following their own artistic vision or just echoing trends, making yet another derivative copy. It’s not about pretending we exist outside of others’ influence, external validation is part of the game after all. The real question is whether the work has soul, or just another empty nod to whatever’s currently in vogue. Of course this also extends to money. Venus retrogrades often bring financial reviews, but in Aries, the question is primarily about financial independence. Are your financial moves supporting your autonomy, or tying you to something that no longer aligns? Now begins the work of seeking that independence.
Ego Battles and Relationship Power Struggles
Since Venus stations retrograde in Aries’ second decan—a solar-ruled space of visibility and recognition—pride will be a major theme. Who’s getting attention? Who feels overlooked? Old conflicts around dominance and independence in relationships may resurface.
Expect a rise in ego-driven relationship dynamics. If there have been underlying tensions about who leads and who follows, who gives and who receives, those power plays will come to the forefront. For some this could mean an ex returning, not just for closure but to reassert their presence. If past relationships involved fiery, dominant personalities or power imbalances, this is the time those dynamics resurface for reassessment.
The Crisis of Identity, and Making Room for Something New
Beyond relationships, Aries’ influence on Venus means identity itself is up for revision. Aries’ second decan has a bold, radiant presence—this is the energy of self-styling, of projecting an image of confidence and individuality. During this retrograde, people may suddenly question their entire aesthetic identity. The way you present yourself—your fashion, branding, personal style—could start feeling inauthentic thus prompting dramatic changes. Haircuts, wardrobe shifts, and complete rebranding efforts may be tempting but they’ll also be impulsive. Let the process breathe before making irreversible choices.
This extends beyond individuals to cultural trends. Collective aesthetics shift under Venus retrogrades, and this one will highlight a move toward bold self-definition over passive conformity. Expect a move towards much more original fashion styles than the quickly getting tired “pick a trend from before 2006” thing that’s been happening. Additionally, rebellious approaches to traditional fashion styles will crop up, hopefully giving us some inspiration with our looks! I love the Saturn-in-Pisces gem tones and baggy clothes, but geez, we gotta have more than one flavor! At least that terrible, pluto in capricorn depression beige is gone. Maybe we will finally see interior design leave the prison greys behind? Really, it’s time for Venus to go to war on our dismal color palettes in this country.
Notable Aspects & Key Turning Points
Moon-Venus Retrograde Conjunction at 10° Aries (March 1):
As Venus stations, it meets the Moon, intensifying the emotional impact. This is an inward turned aspect, expect to be forced into a moment of self-reflection and evaluation. This degree, still carrying some Martian heat, makes this moment feel sharp and immediate. Expect gut-level realizations about relationships and desires. Some may experience a sudden need for freedom or clarity, while others might feel an overwhelming longing for something just out of reach. This conjunction sets the emotional tone for the retrograde because whatever surfaces here will play out over the next few weeks.
Venus Retrograde Square Pluto in Aquarius (March 21st):
This transit sets an intense tone for the retrograde. Pluto in Aquarius brings hidden power struggles on a larger scale—issues of control, secrecy, and financial manipulation could come to light. In personal relationships, this aspect digs up hidden dynamics around jealousy, possessiveness, and emotional manipulation. Financially, it may expose hidden debts or questionable dealings. In particular, power struggles are highlighted, or paranoia. Pluto also represented buried treasure and hidden wealth, so keep an open mind on how to turn this to your benefit.
Venus Retrograde Conjunct the North Node (March 31st):
A moment of inner clarity. Venus meeting the North Node signals fated shifts in relationships and self-worth, and ties this into your own nodal journey. This is the fork in the road—what do you choose to value moving forward? Venus will yoke you to it with the fiery bonds of fate. You won’t be given a redo. Encounters around this time may feel predestined, pushing you toward growth and a new relational or creative path.
Advice for Navigating Venus Retrograde in Aries
Reflect, Don’t React: If something feels like an attack on your pride, take a beat. Retrogrades distort perception, making emotional wounds feel sharper than they are.
Examine Your Intentions: Are you chasing attention and status, or genuine love, passion, and meaning? This retrograde will expose where you’ve been settling for hollow conformity. Did someone else tell you to do this or does it come from you?
Approach Aesthetic Changes with Awareness: Dramatic reinvention may feel urgent but consider whether the impulse is coming from true inspiration or a temporary crisis of self-worth. Let it breathe.
Be Mindful of Power Struggles: Relationships may become battlegrounds for dominance and recognition. Instead of engaging in ultimatums, ask what’s truly important here… How do we make something greater than the sum of its parts?
The Bigger Picture: Fate plays its hand
This Venus retrograde is about much more than just relationships, money, or style. It’s about self-determination. Aries is the primary cardinal sign, its mission is to initiate! We are reworking our values not because we’re being forced to, but because we must in order to grow. In the process we forge entirely new values out of the Aries fire. This is more thant looking back at the past for its lessons, it’s about what we create in its place.
Whether in politics (where history has already shown us the eerie parallels of Venus retrograde cycles and leadership shifts) or in our personal lives, this transit asks: how much are you willing to own your power to shape your own life?
The world is shifting, outer and inner. Venus will commit you to what you truly love, what you choose through your actions. She will bond you to it through fate from this moment on. Choose wisely, and don’t feel pity for those who willingly choose the safety of the crowd, they never breathe their own air.