The release of Barbie: the Movie pretty much coincides with Venus going retrograde in Leo on July 22. And, judging from the premise of that film, its plot will also pretty much parallel the astrological drama of Venus’ backspin. How so?

The blurb for Barbie: The Movie (starring native daughter Margot Robbie in the titular starring role), goes as follows: “After being expelled from the utopian Barbie Land for being less-than-perfect dolls, Barbie and Ken go on a journey of self-discovery together to the real world.” Presumably, it is there that they will then realise that imperfections make us human and part of a greater whole.

One can already glean from this summary that Barbie Land is probably a quasi-fascist realm that puts way too much pressure on appearance and status. In this sense, its influence is very much like the current Venus-in-Leo transit, which began on June 5th. Leo is our most image-conscious sign. Ruled by the Sun, its energy is all about spectacle and being seen. When Venus (love, money, and beauty) transits through the sign of the Lion, we tend to want to show off more–flashing cash or treating lovers like fancy handbags or pets.

So, Venus-in-Leo can feel like an extra image-obsessed time. And isn’t the current Barbie TikTok trend, in preparation for the release of the movie, a perfect instantiation of this? Verily, it seems the Internet is currently lacquered in hot pink, as gals and guys (progress) go full selfie mania, posting videos and pics that pay homage to the busty plastic doll from the 1960s. While this is all in seeming good fun, the net effect is that Barbie Trend nonetheless forces us into the same kind of society of spectacle so prevalent in Barbie Land.

Our first piece of advice here, then, is to be more like this new Barbie and not try to play the perfect doll, even if that leads to exile from Barbie Land (or, Instagram… same difference). Self-discovery is hard. And it will be made harder due to the fact that Planet Love goes retrograde from July 22 until September 3.

Astrologically-speaking, a retrograde occurs when a planet looks like it is going backward in the sky relative to us on Earth. All planets retrograde – and when they do, their influence on us gets wonky or strange. For instance, when Mercury (communication) goes retro, language tends to get muddled or confused. Or, when Mars (libido) reverses, our sex drive might get weak, like a flag at half-mast.

A Venus retrograde, which happens every 18 months and lasts 40 days, will be apt to make love, beauty, and money more difficult. We may find ourselves not as flush with cash – even while Leo energy is influencing us to show off what we don’t have. And here we come to the chief tension of this retrograde: Leo will be pushing us to be very public about, say, romance, but Venus will be complicating that very thing.

What would Barbie do? If her new movie is any indication, she will be dealing with the real world to find answers through community and humanity there. She is being a good role model here. If romance issues arise due to this Venus retrograde, do not escape or seek answers back in Barbie Land. Be present with a beloved to work through stuff.

Another indication of this retrograde could be that we are tempted to return to romances of yesteryear. Indeed, a retrograde (with its backward motion) inclines us to look back on our lives, too. Since this retrograde will impact Venusian themes having to do with love, we could find ourselves thinking that an old flame burned much brighter than it did (it didn’t).

A far more productive approach than misguided nostalgia is to reflect on the progress you’ve made as a person and as a partner since the last Venus-in-Leo retrograde in 2015. Celebrate how far you’ve come since that point. If Barbie is no longer romanticising her past, neither should we.

Image via: Instagram