Clear your browsing history and delete the questions thread with your festival fuckboy. Not only is romantic Venus retrograde for the entire month of August, but on the 23rd, Mercury joins the retrograde brigade, backing up through Virgo until September 15.

Vibe check: This double feature is almost as weird as last month’s popular back-to-back showings of Barbie and Oppenheimer. Candy-coated naivete and nefarious intentions will be on full display in August, SAG-AFTRA strike and all.

The good news is, you don’t have to hide out in your dreamhouse; not if you follow a few essential retrograde rules—which, of course, we’re going to lay out momentarily. But first, a little astro…

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Venus Retrograde

Venus is retrograde in Leo from July 22 to September 3, a time when the love planet goes from an “evening star” (visible at dusk) to a “morning star” (visible right before dawn). This is an optimal time for putting old love stories to bed and waking up fresh energies for romance. You don’t have to dump your summer bae, but you might want to bring something new to the table. With the retrograde in Leo, themes of passion, playfulness, and courage will be strong. Venus retrogrades happen every 18 months and last for six weeks.

Mercury Retrograde

Mercury, the planet of communication, cooperation, and data reverse commutes through Virgo from August 23 to September 15. These signal-scrambling timeouts reveal places where we need to hit pause and reconsider, review, rewind, and reconnect (note the “re” prefix here.) In work and wellness-focused Virgo, this retrograde’s all about getting organized, setting up systems, and simplifying in the name of stress reduction. Mercury spins retrograde every 3.5 to 4 months for three weeks a pop.

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Rules of the Retrogrades

Follow this planetary protocol to avoid detonating your love life.

Leave your ex out of your friend zone

Reforging a friendship with the person who once shared your bed is difficult enough, but during a retrograde? Exactly how big of a therapy budget do you have? For one thing, keeping it platonic won’t be easy under August’s nostalgic skies. If you’re seeing someone new, these reunions will instantly complicate things. Avoid!

Don’t follow, friend, or casually search for them

Trigger alert! During August’s retrogrades, seeing your ex happy—or worse, happy with someone new—is unlikely to evoke “compersion,” a term that originated in the polyamory community for positive feelings one feels when seeing a partner in love with someone else. This anti-jealousy state requires vibrations that might be too high to ascend to at the moment. Unfollow, stop the scroll, and spare yourself the pain.

Try not to triangulate

Conversations can go off the rails fast during a retrograde. While you may need to “workshop” a relationship issue with a third party, don’t ask people who know (and love) you both to take sides. Not only is this unfair to everyone, but think about the extensive cleanup that will ensue should you and the “offending party” kiss and make up.

Don’t send nudes

Mercury retrograde is particularly culpable when it comes to information winding up in the wrong feeds. There will be plenty of time for erotic self-portraiture come October, but we recommend saving those shoots until after September 15. Silver lining: These retrogrades may finally move a connection off the screens and into the sheets.

Tune in to unspoken vibes…but don’t make assumptions

When Mercury is retrograde, communication is anything but direct. Are you getting intuitive hits that a ghosting may be ahead? Feel disconnected during sex? Wonder if they’re faking half their orgasms? While you’re likely sensing trouble, it’s essential that you approach this like a skilled negotiator, not a Karen. Registering complaints or flinging accusations won’t get you a gift certificate in August. Instead, focus on the win-win. “I’m excited about creating something real here or bringing you more pleasure. Let’s talk about what you want, too.”

Go back to the place where you had your first (fill in the blank)

If there’s anything retrogrades are good for, it’s nostalgia. And with Venus retrograde in romance-junkie Leo, it’s fine to lionize things that are kinda corny: the song that was playing at the diner when you first held hands, a fragrance that was wafting through the ether on your first date. Go ahead and turn everything into an anniversary if you want. Word of warning for Mercury retrograde: With schedule snafus likely, don’t leave the planning up to chance. Make reservations and leave extra early since you might hit some detours along the way.

Figure out which roller coasters are worth riding

Remember that ups and downs are normal in any relationship. If you strongly feel there’s a future worth pursuing, consider August a month for doing deeper work. Both Venus and Mercury retrograde can help uncover underlying issues that need addressing for growth and stronger connections. Dive in!