This Cosmic Shift Could Change Your Love Life

Have you been passively waiting for romance to happen? Starting this May 22, switch your technique to an active one. As cosmic canoodlers Venus and Mars dance into a spicy formation called a “fire trine,” the pursuit of passion becomes a worthy goal. As relationship therapist Esther Perel underscores, “Love is a verb, not a permanent state of enthusiasm.” In other words, effort will be required.

Venus and Mars are astrology’s classic lovers. Sensuous Venus defines how we connect and what we value. Mars rules desire, action, and pursuit. Every two years, they align in a harmonious 120º angle called a trine, where they blend their energies beautifully. On May 22, they’re uniting in fire signs—Venus in instinctive Aries and Mars in theatrical Leo—green-lighting a full-chested pursuit of desire. Yes, it’s giving Emily in Paris, where love is always priority No. 1, even if it has to be worked into a client’s fragrance campaign or an audition for Eurovision.

Sylvie Grateau, Emily’s ever-stylish and unapologetically direct boss, tells Emily in season 2, “You’ve got the rest of your life to be as dull as you wish. But while you’re here, fall in love. Make mistakes. Leave a disastrous trail in your wake.”

Translation for the non-Parisians? To truly experience love, you must also embrace the messiness that is a byproduct of passion and spontaneity. So go forth this spring, and cycle through your own Marcello-Gabriel-Alfie carousel of feelings. Dress for the romantic part you want to play, turning a city into your personal catwalk of couture-inspired looks or cutting your hair into a sleek bob à la Emily’s season 5 style in Rome. What Venus and Mars in theatrical fire signs do understand is this: When you look good, you feel good.

In 2025, this is the third and final installment in a trilogy of Venus-Mars trines. The first two occurred on January 25 and April 6 in sensitive, emo water signs. Venus was in Pisces and Mars in Cancer, a very different vibe. Though both moments carried emotional weight, their full power was tempered. Each took place with one of the planets in retrograde—Mars from December 6 to February 23 and Venus from March 1 to April 12.

The May 22 trine, on the other hand, is completely kinetic. Both planets are now in direct motion, and crucially, they’re in active, expressive fire signs. Where the earlier alignments invited inner work, this one demands outward expression. It’s the culminating spark, the final scene of a slow-burning love story where the leads can no longer confine their feelings.

Coming just 10 days after the May 12 full moon in Scorpio—a sign known for emotional excavation—this trine lifts the veil on hidden feelings. Desire, particularly of the erotic nature, gets a strong reboot from the planets of amour. Curiosity awakens, both in regards to other people’s turn-ons and your own.

If the retrogrades had you spiraling over communication gaps, mismatched expectations, or relationship fits and starts, this full-frontal fire trine signals a fresh chapter this spring. Begin anew, but this time with clearer terms and a stronger sense of your emotional baseline. It’s less about falling in love and more about stepping into love—with all its risk, reward, and radiant exposure.