Creativity, beauty, love, resilience, charm, frivolity, and vanity-- all of this and more is encompassed by Venus. She's a celestial powerhouse that governs our romantic relationships, creativity, presentation, and even our social lives with effortless grace and charm.

That is, of course, until Venus enters retrograde.

Venus entered retrograde on March 4 beneath Pisces sun and will move direct on April 15 beneath Aries sun. Why does it matter? It's directly affecting your interpersonal relationships as we speak. Retrograde, simply explained, is when a planet appears to move in an opposite motion to its usual orbit when viewed from Earth. It's not a matter of the planets actually decreasing the speed of their orbit, but rather their angle in relationship to our planet.

Astrologically speaking, retrograde essentially means stalled energy. We're moving in slow motion. You may feel like you're hitting a wall right now with your loved ones. Right now definitely wouldn't be a good time to consider starting a romance, as it has the opportunity to sour as soon as Venus moves direct and your head clears. Emotions are muted. You may feel like you've become fixated on your motivation, or lack thereof, to keep up appearances, and the desire to spend needless money or time on fruitless items or ideals might be crippling. Venus' natural desire for instant gratification is trying to outweigh your intelligence and rationality.

Of course, your Venus sign indicates what kind of trouble and triumph you'll be having over these coming weeks. An Aries Venus might try to involve past lovers in current affairs while a Pisces Venus might fall head over heels for someone too quickly while their past simultaneously haunts them. Aquarius Venus might become more aggressive and have less capacity to create while a Leo Venus might create too much and spend too much. Alright, alright. You get my drift.

This is the perfect time for retrospection. Ask yourself about your connection to your own creativity and feminine energy. Are you out of balance? Are you more aggressive or insensitive to the needs of others? Are you actively trying to confront parts of yourself or your past that you're suppressing? Venus retrograde loves to drag all of those little insecurities and nostalgic problems out of hiding.

To best use this retrograde, do a little bit of soul searching. Affirm what your core values and beliefs are. Dig deep into yourself and discover who you are and what matters to you. Reconnect with your passions. A retrograde isn't nearly as scary as it sounds. Just because progress happens in slow motion doesn't mean progress isn't happening. Learn to embrace the most creative, encouraging you.

Learn to accept change. Let go, look for long term satisfaction, and don't put the needs of your heart over the needs of your soul, head, and body.