Mercury · Venus · Mars
Retrogrades.
When the planets appear to move backward, life often does the same thing — old conversations resurface, old lovers reach out, unfinished business asks to be finished. It's not punishment. It's editing.
A retrograde is an optical illusion — a planet appearing to move backward in the sky from our view. Astrology has long noticed that the themes ruled by that planet seem to soften, slow, or replay during these weeks. None of it is fate; all of it is invitation.
Mercury Retrograde — Communication
The famous one. Mercury rules speaking, listening, traveling, writing, and the small machinery of daily life. During its retrograde, conversations get misread, devices misbehave, plans shift.
Use these weeks to revisit, re-read, re-think. Hold off on launching new things if you can. If you can't, build in extra time and double-check the details.
Venus Retrograde — Love & Money
Venus rules love, value, beauty, and money. When she goes retrograde, old lovers can resurface, relationships can be tested, and questions about self-worth can come up loudly.
An ex calling during Venus retrograde is not the universe choosing your future. It's an invitation to look at why that connection lives in you the way it does — and whether it's still asking to be lived or asking to be released.
Mars Retrograde — Action & Desire
Mars rules drive, anger, sex, and the pursuit of what you want. In retrograde, energy turns inward — frustration can rise, projects can stall, and decisions about what you actually want clarify themselves.
This is not the season to start a fight or quit a job in a flash. It's the season to sit with the question underneath the impulse.
When Old Lovers Return
People often write in during retrograde season because someone they hadn't heard from in months — or years — has resurfaced. The questions are always the same. Is it real? Is it different this time? Should I answer?
There is no calendar answer to that question. It is a question for a real conversation. Sit with it, and when you're ready, bring it to a private reading.
Common Questions
Will my ex come back during Venus retrograde?
Sometimes someone from the past does resurface during Venus retrograde — but a knock on the door is not a future. Whether anyone returns to actually stay has to do with both people, not the calendar.
Should I sign a contract during Mercury retrograde?
Where possible, read the fine print twice and don't rush. If a contract truly can't wait, sign it — and check your details.
Are retrogrades all bad?
No. They are slower, more reflective, and often surface things that needed to be looked at anyway. Used well, they're some of the most useful weeks of the year.
Want deeper clarity?
When the cards open a question only a real conversation can answer, sit down with Kate Larson for a private reading.
Continue Exploring