When a planet appears to move backwards in the sky, seen from Earth.
It is a perspective effect: planets do not reverse course, we overtake them along our orbit. In interpretation it is read as energy turned inward, or a theme coming back for attention. SideraMea marks retrograde planets with an R and computes the dates each period begins and ends.
Retrograde planets in your birth chart
If a planet was retrograde when you were born, you will see it with an R beside it in your chart. In astrology this reads as a function lived in a more inward, reflective or personal way: Mercury retrograde can suggest a mind that turns things over at length before speaking, Venus retrograde a way of loving that is choosier and less conventional. It is neither a flaw nor a block.
It helps to know that the slow planets, from Jupiter outwards, are retrograde for a good part of every year, so finding one or more in your chart is normal. The Sun and Moon, on the other hand, never are. More telling is a retrograde personal planet, or a planet born close to a station, when it is almost standing still.
How it works in transits
In transits retrograde motion matters because it brings a planet over the same point more than once. A slow planet approaching one of your natal planets may touch it, drift back over it while retrograde, then touch it a third time once it moves forward again. The theme of that transit opens, recedes and returns, often across several months.
The turning points are the stations: the days when the planet seems to stop before reversing its apparent direction. Traditionally its influence is felt more strongly there, because it lingers on the same degree. So when a major transit coincides with a retrograde period, it is best read as one process rather than three separate events.
Frequently asked questions
What does Mercury retrograde mean?
Mercury turns retrograde about three times a year, for roughly three weeks each time. In astrological tradition these are periods for reviewing, correcting and picking up unfinished business rather than launching something new. They are linked with delays and misunderstandings, but there is nothing to fear: just give a little more care to messages, contracts and travel.
Is it bad to have retrograde planets in your birth chart?
No. It is very common, especially among the slow planets. In astrology it reads as a function that develops inwardly, at its own pace, sometimes in an original way. It may need more reflection before it finds expression, but it does not weaken the planet or make it unfavourable.
Can the Sun or Moon go retrograde?
No. Seen from Earth, the Sun and Moon always move forward through the zodiac, at different speeds but never reversing their apparent motion. Retrograde motion applies to the planets from Mercury to Pluto and to some minor bodies such as Chiron. The lunar nodes, on the other hand, are always retrograde when calculated as the mean node.
See it in your own chart
Calculating your birth chart is free: wheel, planets, houses, aspects and a first reading. All you need is your date, time and place of birth.