Venus Sign Calculator
Your Venus sign is the zodiac sign Venus was in when you were born. Enter your birth date to find it, with its degree, whether Venus was retrograde, and a reading of what astrologers link it with in love, taste and friendship.
Your Venus sign is close to your Sun sign
Venus orbits inside Earth's orbit, so from here it never strays far from the Sun: at most about 47 degrees, a little over a sign and a half. That gives a simple, checkable rule. Your Venus sign is always your Sun sign or one of the two signs on either side of it. If your Sun is in Gemini, your Venus can only be in Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer or Leo, and in practice it is most often in Gemini or a sign next to it.
Venus usually spends about four to five weeks in a sign. About every 19 months it turns retrograde for around six weeks, and in those stretches it can stay in one sign for roughly four months. People born in those months share a Venus sign across a much longer window than usual.
How your Venus sign is calculated
The calculator turns your birth date (and time, if you give it) into Universal Time and computes Venus's geocentric ecliptic longitude in the tropical zodiac, plus its daily speed. A negative speed means Venus was retrograde at your birth, which we show. Venus moves around a degree a day or less, so the birth date alone is enough unless Venus changed sign that very day; then the calculator asks for the time or shows both signs.
The positions are checked against NASA JPL's ephemeris; the method page has the figures.
What astrologers read in Venus
In astrology Venus is the planet of attraction and value: what you find beautiful, how you show affection, what feels like pleasure and how you like to be courted. It is one of the first placements read in a relationship chart. Venus traditionally rules Taurus and Libra, is said to be exalted in Pisces, and is said to be in detriment in Aries and Scorpio and in fall in Virgo. Those labels describe how comfortable the planet is said to feel in a sign, not whether a placement is good or bad: a Venus in Aries is often read as direct and enthusiastic in love, which many people would count as a gift.
A Venus retrograde birth is traditionally read as love and values that turn inward and are reconsidered over time. It is common: Venus is retrograde for roughly 7% of all days.
Common Venus sign mistakes
- Expecting the Sun sign's opposite. Venus can never be opposite your Sun or even square to it from Earth, so a Venus sign three or more signs away from your Sun sign is a sign of a typing or time zone error.
- Reading Venus alone for compatibility. Astrologers look at Venus together with Mars and the Moon, and above all at how one person's planets contact the other's. The synastry chart does that properly.
- Mixing zodiacs. A sidereal (Vedic) chart puts Venus about 24 degrees earlier, often in the previous sign.
Venus, Mars and the tarot
Venus is usually read with Mars: Venus as what you are drawn to, Mars as how you pursue it. Both appear in the full birth chart with their houses and aspects. In the Golden Dawn system used by the 1909 deck, Venus belongs to The Empress, and its two signs to The Hierophant (Taurus) and Justice (Libra). For a reading on a relationship question, try the love tarot spread.
Questions
What is my Venus sign?
It is the zodiac sign Venus occupied at your birth. Enter your birth date in the calculator above. It is always your Sun sign or within two signs of it.
What does my Venus sign say about love?
Astrologers read Venus as your style of attraction and affection: what draws you, how you show care and what makes you feel valued. It is a symbolic description to reflect on, not a prediction about any relationship.
Do I need my birth time for my Venus sign?
Usually not. Venus moves about a degree a day or less, so the date is enough, except on the rare days Venus changed sign. Then the time decides, and the calculator shows you both possibilities.
What does Venus retrograde in a birth chart mean?
It means Venus appeared to move backwards from Earth's point of view when you were born, which happens for about six weeks every 19 months or so. Astrologers often read it as values and affection that are thought over and reshaped in private.
Why is my Venus sign different from my Sun sign?
Because Venus can be up to about 47 degrees from the Sun as seen from Earth. Only part of the time does it share the Sun's sign; the rest of the time it is one or two signs ahead or behind.
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