Love is a many-splendored thing; however, it might not feel that way in April. The planet of love and beauty, Venus, takes a double hit as she moves backward through the heavens and squares up to serious Saturn for much of the month. It’s as if there’s something she forgot. Perhaps a lesson was missed, and so she decided to head back and pick up where she left off. As if that isn’t enough, Mercury turns retrograde too, making the bulk of April uncharacteristically heavy in the sense that progress in both love and business will be very slow or nonexistent.

Since I have written about Mercury retrograde many times, I am going to focus most of my attention on the Venus retrograde transit. This is partly because she only heads back through the sky once every eighteen months and partly because the constant square to Saturn implies that some very serious lessons need to be learned.

So how will the Venus transit affect you through this lovely spring month? Much depends on your sign, of course, and the area of life that Venus will activate. As a rule, expect the themes of relationships, money, possessions, and self-worth to be brought to your attention. For example, Venus retrograde often tends to highlight problems in relationships. This can be any relationship, not just romantic ones, and when she shines a spotlight on the flaws, it can be quite difficult to tolerate. Therefore, many people feel inclined to distance themselves from someone or even end a relationship while Venus is retrograde. With the square from Saturn, this is even more likely to be the case as severe feelings of disillusionment set in.