The Truth About Retrograde





Retrograde. The term strikes fear into the hearts of modern pagan, astrology and magical practitioners. Many blame everything that goes wrong on a retrograde. But what is it really? What does it mean when a planet goes retrograde, and what does it truly mean for us?

The term retrograde means apparent backward motion of certain planets when viewed from earth. At various times in our lives we have all traveled in trains that passed other trains, or in a car that passed a train moving in the same direction. We have noticed when we pass a train which is going slower than we are, the train we are passing seems to be moving backward. Actually, we know it is not. When our earth is moving faster in its orbit than a planet we are observing from earth, the same backward motion of that planet seems to take place. We say the planet is in retrograde. That is what retrograde means in astrology. In the ephemeris it is marked "R". If we were traveling on a train and another train was next to us traveling at the same speed, that train would seem to be stationary. When earth is moving in its orbit at a speed the same as a planet, the planet also seems to be stationary. That is what stationary means in astrology. In the ephemeris it is marked "ST." When a planet is about to go into retrograde from a seeming stationary position, it is marked "ST.M” in the ephemeris. When a planet is about to move directly forward from a seeming stationary position, it is marked "ST.D." in the ephemeris. D. here means direct and indicates that the planet is going from stationary to the faster forward motion. 

When looking at the planets on your charts, be sure to mark them on the chart: R for retrograde, ST.D. for going into direct forward motion or whatever else the ephemeris shows for the planet.
Although stationary and retrograde motion is apparent and not a reality, we, as astrologers, are considering how things appear from the Earth; hence we have to be careful to record all the real or apparent motions in the sky.

What is the effect of retrograde motion in a horoscope? In many circles it is considered evil or negative, but this is a misleading concept. Generally speaking, when a planet is in retrograde, some of the power of that planet is lost. Its potential influence in a horoscope is modified. For example, if, by aspect, a retrograde planet is radiating disharmony, it will not be as powerful as if there were no retrograde. In other words, a retrograde planet can be either good or bad in a horoscope. This will depend strictly upon the aspects involved. However, its influence will always be modified by its retrograde nature. So, retrograde is not always a bad thing. 

When a planet is in retrograde motion at birth, it indicates that the energy is turned inward and must be developed from an inner awareness before it can be fully expressed externally.

So, the next time we have a Mercury retrograde don’t flip out. Just look at what areas of your life are being affected by a difficulty with communication and think about how you could improve it.


Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 18, 2023 at 12:01 AM

    What’s your take on when there are no retrogrades in a chart?

    ReplyDelete

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