Retrograde Reflections: Navigating Venus & Mercury’s Journey Through Pisces and Aries

Venus and Mercury 

Early February we have two planets moving into new signs whose retrograde cycles mirror each other. Understanding the similarities and differences of these transits can help us become aware of what life areas we need to practise patience and neutrality.

Venus and Mercury are the two planets involved and their movement through Pisces and Aries is significant. These two zodiac signs represent the ending and beginning of cycles, the constant death and rebirth of life, patterns and ideas themselves. With the energies of Venus representing beauty, balance and ease and Mercury representing logic, messages and neutrality we can examine how our thoughts are shifting to align better with our goals and ideals. To me, the energy feels like healing after undergoing a process where your brain has been re-wired and you are experiencing things with new eyes or senses.

This Venus/Mercury cycle begins with Venus ahead of Mercury then ends with Mercury ahead of Venus. In the chart below, which identifies the different stations during this cycle the Leading Planet is identified in Green. They reach their closest conjunction to each other at the end of March/first week of April and Mercury begins to supersede in degrees. ​

Significance of the Retrogrades

From these dates and transits we can see that From January - March we are leading with pleasure and creating balance (keep in Mind Mars is retrograde and in a water sign during most of this so some of our actions and motivations may be more emotional or personal). Venus entering Aries in February can spark sudden urges and needs for comfort or change, at this time people may need to be careful with their money or over indulging. The Retrograde that follows a month later will shine a light on any bad habits or misplaced energy. The Action we put in is for the greater good but will likely be a shock to our senses, good or bad. Mercury coming in to conjunction with Venus also in retrograde at the end of March allows us to rethink our choices and perhaps change some of the patterns we created out of emotionally driven comfort in January. 
March is a time to be careful with your words which is why I wrote about patience and Neutrality earlier in the article. These patterns in the sky provide us with an opportunity to practice patience, and take a more neutral look at life until things have calmed down or energy has shifted (aka, the planets stationing direct in the Springtime). There is also going to be a challenge for others to take accountability in their lives, that is what Aries stands for - not only being a self starter but having a strong self awareness and understanding when you were operating out of a selfish part of yourself or out of self preservation. During these retrogrades we may be asked to hold ourselves accountable so that we can mend relationships with others. 

Don't Forget About Saturn

There is additional significance to this cycle because Saturn is currently in Pisces. Venus and Mercury conjunct to Saturn prior to their retrogrades and again after their retrogrades at different degrees.


I have laid out these degrees and dates below: 

Saturn is the planet of authority, structure and responsibility. Its presence adds additional energy to what I discussed above. It is pretty cool to see this cycle begin in January. With Venus and Saturn being the sole planets in Pisces for the first month of the year, it suggests we kicked off 2025 with a mixture of karma and balance as Saturn works hard to bring in order re-tracing its steps since it went retrograde in the Fall. January 18th brought an exact conjunction of the two planets and it would be helpful for people to reflect on what responsibilities they feel they are ready and willing to take on around this time. People may also gain greater emotional awareness or meaning to their goals which helps them find the motivation and urgency to take action or find patience within themselves to stay consistent. 

We can look forward to Mercury entering Pisces in February and retracing the steps of Venus here - Mercury is the planet of communication and logic so we can expect our brains to catch up to our feelings and perhaps have more mental clarity or information to take some of the actions we are hoping to take. Mercury's presence in Pisces in February also suggests that it is a potent time for creatives and people who may be channelling messages or working with their spirituality. 

While Mercury is in Pisces however, Venus has already moved into Aries and this pattern emphasizes the emotion, passion and creativity that may be superseding logic and order. If you are working on projects and feel guilty that you do not have a plan or structure you may just need to flow and practice being in the chaos until Mercury catches up and helps your energy create the right structure for you. Be patient but do not put your goals on hold for the fear of being messy or disorganized. 

The Retrogrades themselves are the perfect time for you to examine your mistakes, discomforts and perhaps make a few more mistakes so that you can correct them and gain a deeper understanding of what works for you. This is where you should use the attached chart and journal a bit or at least thing through what you are experiencing (AKA re-read this article in a month or two haha).

These retrogrades are particularly powerful as they occur in Pisces and Aries. In astrology we use Pisces and Aries to indicate the ending and beginning of cycles, or progression of a cycle and an opportunity to “level up”, be reborn into an elevated version of yourself, your goals or the responsibilities you are willing to take on. Consider how this is occurring during those retrogrades. *envision a personal montage happening 90s movie style*. No change can come without acknowledgement of what does not work and that is where Pisces' influence comes in, letting go is tough and it is hard for us to release old patterns when we have no control of other people whose actions or influence may still be aligned with the older way of being. This leads to feelings of chaos and confusion. Throughout the Piscean retrograde you need to keep the faith and understand that you are in the middle of a transformation process so things are allowed to look confusing especially with mercury's involvement which has that subconscious influence of your brain being rewired. Do your best to observe your feelings and be present with others but maintain your new boundaries and do not let others influence you as you wade through this period of transformation. 

Reflection Template: 
Consider where Aries and Pisces show up in your astrology. For any of your placements look at what houses are influenced. In the Chart below the Numbers represent the astrological houses activated for your sign
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Use the table above to identify what life areas Pisces and Aries are influencing according to your signs. In this example I am using my Sun sign in Leo ​

Ask your self the following: 

How am I progressing in these life areas? 

What Mistakes or disappointments have occurred? 

How can I practice patience or allow more balance and harmony in these life areas right now? 

How do I need logic or my brain to catch up to my feelings? 

How have things changed after April 7th & April 16th 

(this is when the planets stationed direct or entered aries again) 

What actions am I willing to take to make these changes?