Retrograde planets ► What are they? How do they influence your life?

Have you ever heard about retrograde planets? I bet so. And more: I’m sure you got confused and didn’t quite understand what it means. You just thought it was something bad you should prepare for, didn’t you?

By definition, a planet is retrograde is moving backwards in the sky. However, in Astrology, the meaning of a retrograde planet is much deeper and more complex than just an apparent motion.

On average, we have at least one planet in retrograde motion at about 80% of the timeand understanding the true meaning, dates, and effects of each retrograde can be a powerful tool.

In this article, we will show you the effects of retrograde planets in our life, their connection with our past lives and in addition you will find out if you have a retrograde planet in your birth chart.

What are retrograde planets?

Astronomically, retrograde motion happens when the Earth is passing or being passed by other planets. From Earth, we get the impression that that planet is moving backwards in the sky.

However, as the planets always revolve around the Sun in the same direction, a planet apparently moving backwards is an illusion. The appearance of retrograde motion is due to the relative difference in speed.

It’s something like when you’re sitting at a traffic light and the car next to you unexpectedly moves forward. Instinctively, you may find yourself slamming on the brakes because of a temporary sensation of moving backwards. It’s exactly that feeling we get when the planets are closer to Earth.

In short, retrograde motion is an illusory side effect of planetary proximity.

And retrograde movement is not simply a matter of going backwards. Before and after the retrograde proper, the planets make great inroads into looping of the ecliptic, where its motion varies in both the vertical and horizontal dimensions.

They exist eight basic shapes that these loops assume, depending on the relationship between the location of the particular retrograde and the location of the planet’s nodes (the locations where the planet’s orbit intersects the Earth’s orbit or the plane of the ecliptic).

But for Astrology, what does this movement mean?

Astrologically, when we try to understand the meaning of a planet moving backwards, the first thing to notice is that it is an unusual occurrence. The vast majority of planetary motion is direct, so direct becomes “normal”.

Most of the time, the planets move in a forward motion, or relatively parallel to the ecliptic, which we can consider as the main road.

Simply because it is contrary to normal flow, retrograde movement represents an exception, or perhaps even a challenge, to this sense of normalcy.

But as retrograde planets move away from the main road, it is perhaps more appropriate to think of them as seekers or explorers who roam the heavenly paths in search of something not available on the main road.

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types of rewind

Because of the different loop shapes, there are at least eight different types of rewind for each of the planets.

During their respective retrograde motions, Venus, Mercury and Mars approach Earth closer than the Sun, penetrating the inner space at the heart of our system. These movements are more extreme as the planet moves away from the ecliptic, which makes their loop shapes more exaggerated.

Thus, we can interpret the setbacks of Venus, Mercury and Mars as being the most personal, the most challenging and requiring the greatest adjustments.

Jupiter and Saturn perform the retrograde motion in a third of the time. As they have flatter and less extreme shapes of their handles, we interpret their movements as something less personal, less challenging and requiring minor adjustments.

The other planets perform their retrograde motion in the outer space of the solar system. They perform this movement more often, in about 40% of the time. That’s why most people have at least one of them retrograde in their birth chart.

See how long each planet takes to perform retrograde motion:

Saturn retrogrades for 140 days and remains stationary 5 days before and after.
Jupiter retrogrades 120 days and is stationary 5 days before and after.
Mars retrogrades for 80 days and is stopped 3-4 days before and after.
Venus is retrograde for 42 days and is stationary approximately two days before and after.
Mercury retrogrades for 24 days and is stationary one day before and after.

Each planet has its own percentage of time when it must retrograde. They are:

36.39% – Saturn
30.24% – Jupiter
19.76% – Mercury
09.33% – Mars
07.22% – Venus

What are the effects of retrograde planets?

When a planet is retrograde, everything it governs seems to come to an abrupt halt. How many times has your computer crashed during a Mercury retrograde?

Because of this influence, many people find retrograde planet energy problematic, but it doesn’t have to be. You may experience your energy as disruptive. Is breakup really a bad thing?

Getting off the path we were on doesn’t have to be disturbing, especially if we have a plan B. Also, lowering our expectations, I understand that in life nothing is guaranteed, is very beneficial.

As we explained to you, retrograde movement is a side effect of proximity. So perhaps the biggest problem that you will see during a time when a planet is retrograde is because you are very close to someone, so close that you cannot see that person objectively.

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What to do at these times?

Take your time! Stay a little distant and change perspectives. In the end, a change in perspective can give you access to an opportunity you would have otherwise missed.

The potential of retrograde planets is to be flexible, to twist things, to make them uncertain, to teach their message in a roundabout way, to see life differently from others.

By doing this correctly, they can grow stronger and become adaptable, original, innovative and different.

If you look at retrograde planets through this lens, perhaps this movement is not bad, but transformative.

The individual can handle the quality of their retrograde planets in a positive way or they can use their potential in an entirely negative way. The essence is there to do good or bad on the planet, but it’s up to the individual to use it in the right way.

Retrograde Planets in the Astrological Chart

The retrograde planet in the birth chart shows that you need to deviate from the norm from time to time. Most people have two or three retrograde planets in their natal chart.

With Mercury, Venus or Mars retrograde, there can be a focus on the inner life. The person may have a tendency to perceive things very subjectively in relation to the affairs of that planet.

With Jupiter and Saturn retrograde, a person may feel out of step with the dominant culture or with an intense desire to effect change in society.

Retrograde outer planets can signify generational or cross-cultural forces in a person’s life, making them feel a little out of step with current trends.

More than three retrograde planets are relatively rare and signify a person who may be largely out of step with the world around them – and heavily dedicated to finding their own way in life.

To know if you have a Retrograde Planet in your Astrological Chart, you need to do it and analyze it. Here at , you can get one for an incredible price and with the full content!

Retrograde Planets and Reincarnation

Retrograde planets are energies directed inward. Rather than going out of you to others, these energies enter your inner self, your past lives and traumas, repeating them over and over again. It is as if you replay an event in your mind over and over again to analyze it again and learn more from it.

Retrograde planets are linked to specific traumas or learning events from your past lives that made such an impact that you want to revisit them again and extract as much learning from them as possible.

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The planet that is retrograde in your birth chart can indicate what kind of trauma or event you have experienced in past lives. Check it out below:

Mercury – perhaps in your past lives you have abused your power, logical analysis and communication and caused harm to a large group of individuals.
Venus – Possibly in your past, you and your soulmate were separated by forces beyond your control and you never learned how to have a mature relationship. If you never learned what self-love is, loving the other is also not possible.
Mars – Perhaps in your past life you were a bandit, soldier or slave. That is, someone of significant physical power who served a master or king. Most likely, your master made you perform atrocities against your will, which harmed a large number of people. You followed your master’s cruel orders, but your inner conscience accuses you.
Jupiter – In your past lives, you left society, either by force or by choice, by following unconventional spiritual beliefs. Maybe you were a witch or a sage. So you learned to keep your spiritual beliefs within you for fear of persecution. This is bad, because the cycle has to be complete. If you learned something from someone, you must pass it on to others, so that your inner balance is achieved.
Saturn – In your past lives, you may have been enslaved, tortured and abused by your masters. You never learned to talk about the injustice being done to you. You worked like a slave, dominated, bullied and without identity. You are stuck in this viscous cycle and now you need to learn to break out of a servile mindset.
Uranus – In past lives you wreaked havoc in the lives of a large group of people by leading rebellions. His led revolts were successful. However, then the loss of the establishment ruined the lives of several individuals. This is the trauma you are carrying. You cannot go on experiencing revolutions.
Neptune “You, in your past lives, ran away from responsibility. You are still avoiding this lesson of living and functioning in the real world.
Pluto – In your past lives, there is a trauma where you were blamed, made a scapegoat and punished for something you may not have done. You were alone at the reception and the whole community was against you.