Ex return window
Astrology cannot tell you whether an ex will come back. What it does keep is a calendar of the dates its tradition links with old loves resurfacing. Enter two birthdays and the day you parted, and this works out those dates for the next twelve months from the real positions of Venus and Mars, each with the reasoning behind it.
Venus is retrograde now, from October 3 to November 14, 2026, backing up from 8° Scorpio to 22° Libra. It clears its shadow on December 15, 2026. Dates and meaning of this retrograde.
Find your windows
What the calculator looks for
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Venus retrograde, and its shadow
Venus rules love, attraction and what we value. About every nineteen months it appears to move backward for roughly six weeks. Tradition reads any retrograde as a time to revisit rather than begin, and for Venus that means old attachments, which is why astrologers so often say exes reappear during it. The calculator dates each station the way our sky events calendar does, and adds the shadow: the stretch of sky Venus crosses three times, before, during and after the retrograde.
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Venus back at the breakup degree
Astrologers do not only cast charts for people. They cast them for events, and treat a planet's return to its place in that chart as the event's anniversary in the sky. When Venus comes back to the degree it held on the day you parted, tradition says the feelings of that day come up again for review. If you are not sure of the date, the calculator simply leaves this one out.
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Venus or Mars crossing each person's Venus
Your natal Venus is where Venus stood on your birthday. When Venus passes over it, astrologers expect a few warmer, more open days; when Mars does, desire and impatience rise together. The calculator watches both of your Venus points, so you see the days tradition marks for them as well as for you.
Each exact crossing becomes a window of two days either side. No birth times are needed: we place each natal Venus at noon on the birthday in your time zone, and because Venus moves at most about one and a quarter degrees a day, that is usually within about a degree of where it really was, which the extra days cover. Windows that overlap are merged into one.
How to read a window
In the old reading, a window describes a mood in the sky, not a message on its way. A Venus window is traditionally a time for warmth, nostalgia and honest conversation. A Mars window is a time of drive, and sometimes of a short temper. A retrograde is for looking back, and astrologers usually advise holding big decisions until Venus turns direct.
If you chose no contact for your own wellbeing, none of these dates is a reason to break it. The most traditional use of a Venus window is to get clear on what you want, whoever it turns out to be with.
Honest limits
The planetary positions are real, computed with the same ephemeris as our written readings, which agrees with NASA's JPL tables to within a couple of arcminutes. The meanings are tradition, not science. Nobody can promise what another person does, and no date here is a deadline or a promise of anything.
What we keep, and for how long
Never the birthdays or the breakup date. They are used to work out the dates and then dropped. Your plan keeps the two sun signs, your time zone and the dates and sky degrees it found, at a private link that deletes itself after about thirteen months, or straight away when you press Stop on it. If you tick the box about being hurt or unsafe, nothing is worked out or kept at all.
Questions people ask
Can astrology tell me if my ex will come back?
No. Astrology can tell you which dates its tradition links with old loves resurfacing, and why, but nobody can promise what another person does. Use the windows as a calendar for your own reflection, not as a reason to wait or to reach out to someone who has asked for space.
Why is Venus retrograde linked with exes?
Venus rules love, attraction and what we value. About every nineteen months it appears to move backward for roughly six weeks, and tradition reads any retrograde as a time to revisit rather than begin. For Venus that means old attachments, which is why astrologers so often say exes reappear during it. Midway through, Venus passes between the Earth and the Sun and moves from the evening sky to the morning sky.
What is the Venus retrograde shadow?
It is the stretch of sky Venus covers three times. Before the retrograde, Venus moves forward over the degrees it will later back over; afterwards it moves over them again. Astrologers say what stirs in the early shadow comes back during the retrograde and settles once Venus clears its shadow.
Why do you need both birthdays?
The personal windows come from where Venus was on each birthday. When Venus, or Mars, comes back over that point, tradition says the person's way of loving is stirred. Two people of the same sun sign can have Venus in different signs, so the sign alone is not enough.
Do I need our birth times?
No. We place each natal Venus at noon on the birthday, in your time zone. Venus moves at most about one and a quarter degrees a day, so this is usually within about a degree of where it really was. That is why every window spans a few days rather than a single hour.
What if I am not sure when we broke up?
Tick "not sure" and the calculator skips the one window that depends on it, the return of Venus to the breakup degree. Everything else still works. A date within a day or two is close enough, because Venus moves about a degree a day.
What do you keep?
Never the birthdays or the breakup date. Your plan keeps the two sun signs, your time zone and the dates and sky degrees it found, at a private link that deletes itself after about thirteen months, or straight away when you press Stop. If you tick the box about being hurt or unsafe, nothing is computed or kept at all.