4 Things You Should Not Do During Venus Retrograde

Hang onto your hearts, stargazers. The latest Venus retrograde will arrive this Friday, October 5, and throw our love lives into uncertainty — if not total peril. Of course, nothing is certain when it comes to planetary retrogrades. There's still hope that you'll survive this backspin. For all we know, you may even enjoy yourself while Venus is retrograde. The trick is to know what it's planning to throw at you.

Venus retrograde is astrologically associated with the past, romance, and all the ways that those forces can mess with our current state of being. Unlike Mercury retrograde, which can have a jarring effect on our everyday routines, Venus' retrogrades drift into our lives with greater subtlety, aiming for our hearts rather than our schedules.

The planet of love and beauty will be retrograde until November 16. Until then, we'll be subject to its whims and rather sneaky influence. In the name of staying several steps ahead of Venus' influence, we've rounded up four things you should absolutely not do during this period — and what you should do instead.