Retrogrades
When a planet seems to go backwards
What it is
A retrograde is when a planet appears to move backwards through the zodiac for a while. It is shown in the app as a retrograde label next to the planet.
Why it happens
It is an optical effect. Planets are not reversing. It is like overtaking a slower car on a motorway: for a moment, the other car seems to slide backwards. Earth overtakes, or is overtaken by, the other planets, and from here they seem to stall and reverse.
How often
Mercury goes retrograde about three times a year, for around three weeks each time. Venus does it roughly every eighteen months, for about six weeks. Mars about every two years, for a couple of months. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are retrograde for several months every year. The Sun and Moon never are.
What it means in a chart
A retrograde planet's themes tend to turn inward. Think re-doing, revisiting and reviewing rather than starting something new. Mercury retrograde is the famous one: good for rereading the email, less good for signing the lease in a rush.
Keep it in proportion
A retrograde is not a curse and nothing is guaranteed to go wrong. Treat it as a nudge to slow down and double-check, in whichever house of your chart the planet is passing through.
Retrograde at birth
If a planet was retrograde when you were born, it is not weaker. It usually just works more privately, and takes longer to find its voice.
Now try it on your own chart.
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