Venus is currently retrograde, and it has many of us walking around with a feeling of dread. You probably know about the havoc that can be wreaked by Mercury retrograde: when it strikes, all the things ruled by Mercury (like travel, communication and technology) seem to stop in their tracks.

Venus, on the other hand, rules love, art and beauty. It’s a wonderful planet, but the idea of all of those things getting messed up is enough to strike fear into the heart of the boldest babe!

This can be a weird time, for sure. You might find that old crushes or ex-lovers come out of the woodwork, that you have a series of lightbulb moments about your relationship or intimacy issues, or that you suddenly find yourself extremely intolerant of anything less than absolute beauty.

Of course, it’s not all bad news. Retrograde periods can be extremely positive if you know how to harness them. Whenever any planet goes retrograde, it’s the perfect time to reflect and reassess. Venus is retrograde until September 6th 2015, so take this next month to look at your patterns and behaviour as relates to love, sex, art and beauty.

Here are five ways to make the most of Venus retrograde…

EVALUATE THE BEAUTY AROUND YOU

While you probably don’t want to go wild with big purchases or make any huge changes, this is a wonderful time to take a critical eye to the art and objects around you. What are you surrounding yourself with, and how does that make you feel? What are you wearing on a daily basis and how does that make you feel?

Take some time to sit down in silence and conjure an image in your head of how you’d like your home to feel, how you’d like to dress, and what colours you’d love to surround yourself with. Once you have some mental pictures that make you smile from ear to ear, it’s time to make some changes! Go through your closet and do a big purge. Take down the photos that don’t make you feel good. Get rid of the things that you do not believe to be beautiful or know to be useful.

I did this myself the other day. A few hours spent hanging pictures, rearranging the art above my desk, and taping up photographs felt great and infused my space with a whole lot of fresh, positive energy.

GET SOME THERAPY

If you’re currently experiencing some holy shiz, wake up and smell the coffee-type moments about your personal psychology, trust me when I say that you are not the only one. You might be realising some poignant truths about your intimate relationships, or have come face-to-face with just how shallow you can really be. Ouch! Or maybe it’s just that you’ve finally decided, once and for all, that you deserve an amazing orgasm every time you have sex. (Hip hip hooray!)

No matter what you’re dealing with, sometimes the issues are just too multi-layered and complex to tackle alone. Having someone to guide you through the process can be immensely helpful (and can also keep you accountable and on-track).

You can choose your own therapy, of course, but I’m a huge fan of EFT (tapping) for resolving pretty much any issue you can think of, and working with a certified practitioner can help you massively. I love and recommend Nancy Morris and Annie Siegel!

CREATE SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL

This can be a tumultuous time, and you may feel like you’re buckled into an emotional rollercoaster! The best thing you can do with those feelings is turn them into something positive. Since Venus rules art and beauty, why not pick up the paintbrush? Write that poem, paint that portrait, or simply go for a walk with your camera. You never know what you’ll stumble upon!

If you find yourself going through old photo albums and reminiscing, you’re right on track with Venus retrograde! Why not take some of those old memories and use them as the jumping-off point for a whole new form of expression?

Of course, it’s a good time to make art that relates to past loves, too. For inspiration, see Everyone I Have Ever Slept With and My Bed by Tracey Emin, Unsent by Alanis Morissette, and No Time For Love by Chloe Sevigny.

GET REALLY CLEAR ABOUT WHAT YOU DO AND DO NOT WANT

No matter whether you’re in a relationship or not, it’s essential to know what you’re looking for in a partner. Love is a gamble, of course, but some people are good for us and enhance our lives, while others simply aren’t and don’t.

For example, if you want to start an animal rescue but your long-term girlfriend has a terrible dander allergy and hates being around furry creatures, that’s going to present problems. Ditto if you want to get healthy and start running marathons, but your lover prefers deep-fried Oreos and dozing on the couch!

Here’s an exercise from The AstroTwins…

Grab a notebook and draw three columns on a page. In the first, jot down the names of all your significant crushes, love affairs, hookups and relationships—even if they were technically one-night stands or utterly unacknowledged secret obsessions. In the other two columns write down “What I Adore About You” and “What I Abhor About You.” This illuminating exercise can bring some white light insights about qualities you are attracted to and the common curses that drive you crazy. — The AstroTwins

What is it that turns you on and what is it that turns you off? What have you historically been attracted to, and why didn’t that work? Once you know the answers and they’re clear in your mind, it will make it so much easier to pick a partner who really makes you happy.

DIVE HEADFIRST INTO A RADICAL SELF LOVE AFFAIR

It’s always a good time to start loving yourself but Venus retrograde is a particularly powerful and auspicious time to break negative old habits and radically upgrade your self-care routines.

As Louise Hay says, “Remember, you’ve been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.”

Spoil yourself! Choose a bit of hedonism over so-called practicality. Skip work and go to an art gallery, turn off your phone and go out on a radical self love date, or go to a spa for an afternoon of bliss. If you have a copy of Radical Self Love, buy a notebook and start doing the homework! Buy yourself a big bunch of lavender roses and give yourself at least one orgasm every day. In the immortal words of RuPaul, “If you can’t love yourself, how the hell are you gonna love somebody else?!”

Meow,

For additional reading, check out How To Survive Venus Retrograde With Your Love Life Intact from the AstroTwins, and Mystic Medusa’s Illustrated Guide To Venus Retrograde if you’re a member, which you should be, and you can join up right here.

Neon signs by Tracey Emin and anonymous.