Hold on to your Venusian butts

I know a shit ton of Libra risings. Like, a surprising amount. In the spirit of trying to help all of my buddies, here are my thoughts on how to survive when your ruling planet goes retrograde*. Whether it's Mercury, Venus, or Mars, the following is based on my experience with Mars (which is my ruling planet) and my observations of other people flailing around.

Pay attention to the sign and house the retrograde is in. Right now it's Leo, which for most Libra risings is their 11th house, which means friends and long-term goals. Most likely, they'll revisit some friendships and decide some long term goals aren't feasible, or... get stuck in some kind of indecision hole on one or both topics. This advice is relevant to everyone, but it's particularly acutely true for Libra and Taurus risings. The sign for Leo is this one: ♌️. Find it around the edges of your chart—that's usually where signs are labelled—and that is the neighborhood where Venus is stuck right now. Look up the meaning of the house where it is and then OBSERVE how this is manifesting in your life. (If you're competent with reading aspects, figure out what aspects slow Venus is making in your chart, and expect mild fireworks.) Retrogrades are about reflection and observation, not doing.

Chill out. What happens if you don't chill out? You either drive yourself crazy, or you get sick and drive yourself crazy. "Your ruling planet" means the planet that rules YOU, which includes your body. If you try too hard to run around controlling things, your body will revolt. When Mars was last retrograde, I had several periods where my shoulder hurt for no reason. I'm a swimmer, so that's a pain in the ass. I knew that this would probably stop when the retrograde ended, and it did, which was somehow even more annoying, because the speeds of planets should not make my personal shoulder hurt, but there you go. Some things Venus rules: the kidneys and the throat. If everyone gets strep all at once this month, suspect Venus! And wash your hands.

Expect things to go wrong. Expect people to make stupid decisions they'll reverse when the retrograde ends. Expect people to be acting abnormally. Most people don't know or understand astrology, so there's a ton of Libra or Taurus risings out there right now who don't understand why they're feeling so lethargic and unmotivated, and after Labor Day, most of them will brush themselves off like almost nothing happened. Don't bother explaining this to them, just smile and say "that's great! I'm glad you're feeling better." Abnormal is normal right now.

When planets that normally move fast appear to move slow, their impact on us is magnified. Do I know why? Not really. What's universally true of retrogrades is the planet in question is closer to earth than normal, so we notice it more. Imagine I'm standing closer to you than normal. You're going to notice if I have coffee breath and you're going to wonder if I always talk so loudly. I'm going to be annoying you somehow, because I'm in your space. I'm going to be more tolerable when I'm not in your space. That's what's happening with Venus relative to earth right now.

As with everything, we’ll get through this.

*If you are Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Virgo, Libra, or Scorpio rising, this information is relevant to you personally. If your rising sign is Cancer, Leo, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, or Pisces, less so, though I guarantee you know people impacted by this, so...share with them, I guess.