Retrograde planets: what retrograde means in astrology

What's going on in the sky

No planet ever reverses its orbit. Retrograde is an illusion created by watching from a moving Earth. It works like passing a slower car on the highway: for a moment, the other car seems to drift backward against the trees behind it, even though it's still moving forward.

The outer planets, from Mars to Pluto, look retrograde when Earth overtakes them on the inside track. Mercury and Venus look retrograde when they swing between Earth and the Sun. Before and after each retrograde, a planet seems to pause in place. Astrologers call that pause a station, and they treat the days around it as the most noticeable part of the cycle.

The Sun and Moon never go retrograde, because their apparent path around the zodiac always runs forward.

How often each planet goes retrograde

Each planet keeps its own rhythm. Mercury has the busiest schedule: three or so retrogrades a year, each lasting about three weeks. Venus retrogrades least often of all, once every year and a half or so, and each one lasts about six weeks. Mars takes a turn roughly every 26 months, staying retrograde for two to two and a half months.

The slower planets spend a big part of every year retrograde. Jupiter and Saturn each go retrograde once a year, for about four and four and a half months respectively. The three outer planets go retrograde for around five months at a stretch, every year.

That's why so many birth charts show at least one retrograde planet. If you have Saturn or Pluto retrograde, you share it with a large chunk of people born the same year.

What retrograde means in astrology

In astrology, a retrograde planet turns its themes inward. Many astrologers think of it in terms of words that start with re: review, revisit, repair, reconsider. A retrograde period in the sky is a good time to look back at whatever that planet rules before charging ahead.

So Mercury retrograde, which covers thinking and talking, tends to bring up old conversations and unfinished paperwork. Venus retrograde turns attention to past relationships and what you value. Mars retrograde asks you to check whether you're pushing toward the right goals. The slow planets' yearly retrogrades are subtler and mostly felt by people whose charts they touch closely.

Retrograde planets in your birth chart

If a planet was retrograde when you were born, your chart shows a small R or ℞ next to it. That placement still works, in a more private or roundabout way. A person born with Mercury retrograde might think through ideas several times before saying them out loud. Someone with natal Venus retrograde may take longer to figure out what they like in a partner, then hold to it firmly.

Retrograde personal planets (Mercury, Venus and Mars) stand out more, because they're less common. Retrograde outer planets are so widespread that most astrologers barely weigh them, unless the planet sits right on your rising degree or makes a tight aspect to your Sun or Moon.

Note which retrograde planets you have and the houses they sit in. Those houses often describe areas where you do your best work on a second pass, like the person with Mercury retrograde in the 6th house who rewrites a work email three times and ends up sending the clearest one in the office.

Getting through a retrograde in the sky

Mercury retrograde gets the most attention, mostly as a punchline. Phones break and people text their exes, and the retrograde takes the blame. In practice, retrogrades are a reasonable time to double-check details. Reread messages before sending them and give plans a little more slack.

Astrologers also talk about a shadow period, the stretch before and after a retrograde when the planet covers the same degrees it will retrace or just retraced. Some people treat the shadow as a gentle warm-up and cool-down. You can use a retrograde to return to a hobby you dropped or to fix something you've been putting off.

Myths worth dropping

Retrogrades don't cause bad luck, and nothing in astrology forces you to cancel plans or freeze your life for three weeks. Astrology on Skyprint is for reflection, and a retrograde is a prompt to slow down a little. Plenty of good things start during retrogrades.

It's also a myth that you can't start anything new. Some astrologers like to use retrogrades for projects that build on something already begun, which is a matter of taste. If a retrograde lines up with a move or a new job, the day-to-day effort you put in matters far more than the sky's timing.

The idea that everyone feels a retrograde the same way doesn't hold up either. Mercury retrograde in Gemini says more to someone with a Gemini Sun or Gemini rising than to someone with nothing in that sign.

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