What Does Retrograde Mean in Astrology?

Planets look like they move backward because of Earth's own motion. Retrograde motion is apparent: from our viewpoint a planet slows down, stops and drifts westward against the stars for a while, yet it keeps moving forward in its orbit the whole time.

For Mars through Pluto, the planets outside Earth's orbit, the effect appears when Earth, moving faster on its smaller orbit, catches up with a planet and passes it. The middle of the retrograde falls near the planet's opposition to the Sun. Mars is a good example: it turns retrograde on January 10, 2027 at 10°25′ Virgo and stays that way until April 1, 2027, when it turns direct at 20°55′ Leo.

Mercury and Venus work differently, and the last section covers them. The Sun and the Moon are never retrograde, because they do not show this overtaking effect.

A station is the moment a planet seems to stand still before changing direction. The station retrograde is when it turns back, and the station direct is when it turns forward again. Venus, for instance, stations retrograde on October 3, 2026 at 8°29′ Scorpio and stations direct on November 13, 2026 at 22°51′ Libra, after 42 days.

The shadow is the span of degrees a planet crosses three times. Before the station retrograde, the planet first moves over the degrees it will later retrace; this is the pre-shadow. After it turns direct, it crosses them once more in the post-shadow.

Modern practice reads the pre-shadow as the time issues first show up and the post-shadow as the time they get settled. Mercury's retrograde from October 24, 2026 to November 13, 2026 runs from 20°58′ Scorpio back to 5°02′ Scorpio, so the shadow covers those degrees on either side of the backward stretch.

Every planet from Mercury to Pluto goes retrograde, but how often and for how long varies a great deal. From 2020 to 2029, Mercury has 32 retrograde periods averaging 22 days, which adds up to 19% of the time. Venus has only 7 periods averaging 42 days, or 7% of the time.

Slower planets spend far more of the calendar moving backward. Mars averages 76 days and 10% of the decade. Jupiter averages 120 days and 30%, and Saturn averages 138 days and 37%. Uranus averages 151 days and 40%, Neptune 159 days and 43%, and Pluto 162 days and 44%.

The table lays out each planet's periods in 2026 and 2027. Saturn, for example, is retrograde from July 26, 2026 to December 10, 2026, and again from August 9, 2027 to December 23, 2027.

In astrology, a retrograde is traditionally a time when a planet's matters are weakened, slowed or more troubled. William Lilly, in Christian Astrology (1647), counted a retrograde planet among the accidental debilities.

Modern practice reads it more gently, as a time to review, revisit and redo the matters of that planet rather than launch them. When the planet turns direct, those matters move forward again. Mercury governs thinking, speech, writing and messages, so a Mercury retrograde such as the one from June 10, 2027 to July 4, 2027 is often treated as a time to reread, revise and recheck. Mars stands for drive and conflict, so its retrograde is read as a time to rethink how you use your energy.

A planet that was retrograde when you were born is read as working in a more inward, reflective way in your chart. All of this is tradition and self-reflection, not a forecast of what will happen.

Planets inside Earth's orbit, Mercury and Venus, look retrograde when they pass Earth on the inside, around the time they line up between Earth and the Sun. This alignment is called inferior conjunction. Planets outside Earth's orbit, Mars through Pluto, look retrograde when Earth overtakes them.

The difference shows in the numbers. Mercury and Venus, which circle the Sun quickly, are retrograde for short spells of 22 and 42 days on average. Planets farther out have longer retrogrades, up to Pluto's 162-day average, which runs from May 6, 2026 to October 15, 2026 at 5°30′ to 3°04′ Aquarius.

Astronomers group Mars with the inner, rocky planets, but its orbit lies outside Earth's. That is why it is better to call Mars through Pluto the superior planets, or simply the planets outside Earth's orbit.