Rose's Astro Academy | An Astrology Podcast

E11 The Scoop on Retrogrades: Meanings and Interpretations

September 18, 2024 • Rose Potts • Episode 11

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In episode 11 of Rose's Astro Academy, we explore the topic of retrogrades. We look at the astronomy behind retrogrades, debunk common Mercury retrograde clichés, and examine the different stages of the retrograde cycle, looking at how each stage changes the general interpretation of a retrograde.
 
We also go over some concrete examples of how we can use retrograding planets to make interpretations. Tune in to get the scoop on what's the deal with retrogrades. 

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Speaker 1:

Hello and welcome to episode 11 of Rose's Astro Academy, where we demystify the system of astrology piece by piece For our topic talk. This week we're responding to a listener question. This is from our listener, matt. He wanted me to talk on the subject of retrogrades. He asked what's the deal with retrogrades? I hear about them all the time, but I have no idea what they really mean. So thank you so much, matt, for your question, and we will get into that today Before we begin. If you want to send in a question on a topic in astrology for me to address in an episode, you can send that to rosesastroacademy at gmailcom.

Speaker 1:

And it is perfect timing for this talk because, as of right now, we have Pluto, neptune and Saturn retrograde, uranus just turned retrograde and Mars will soon be turning retrograde as well. So we've all heard of Mercury retrograde constantly, which is blamed for electronic failures and delays when traveling. It's said not to sign contracts during a Mercury retrograde and while there's a sliver of truth to some of these cliches, collectively we're really missing the actual point. When it comes to retrogrades, we hear about Mercury the most because Mercury is the one doing it most often. Mercury goes retrograde three to four times a year, whereas Venus goes retrograde once every 18 months, mars once every two years and the rest of the planets only go retrograde once a year. So what does it mean when a planet is retrograde?

Speaker 1:

To get into this, we're going to start off by unpacking what's happening astronomically, because in ancient astrology, symbolic meaning is derived from the astronomical movements of the planets. Normally, planets are seen to be moving forwards in the sky through the zodiacal constellations. We have something called a zodiacal order, and normally planets will follow this order as they move. We all might have heard that the zodiacal year begins with Aries and each sign has 30 degrees. So a planet will move through Aries to the 30th degree and then move into the next sign, which is Taurus, and then move into the next sign, which is Gemini, and so on. During a retrograde, this normal forward movement is reversed. So if a planet were at the 29th degree of Aries, instead of moving into Taurus, it would actually start to move backwards through Aries. Planets can also move backwards into the preceding sign, as we just saw with Pluto moving backwards into Capricorn. Now we need to clarify something here. The planet isn't actually moving backwards, it just looks that way from our viewpoint on Earth. Astronomically, when a planet appears to be retrograding, it's doing so because Earth is overtaking the other planet in its orbit. It's like when you overtake a car on the highway and then, once you pass the car, it appears as though the car is going backwards from your perspective, even though both the cars are moving forwards. Now, the fact that retrogrades boil down to an optical illusion doesn't mean we shouldn't read any importance into them and throw them out the window.

Speaker 1:

Astrology is a system of deriving meaning from these types of events, even if they are just illusion, because the meaning is derived from what we perceive as we look up at the stars from our viewpoint on earth. In ancient astrology earth In ancient astrology the movements of the planets served as symbolic markers reflecting the unfolding of fate and the will of the gods. When the marker for the will of a god suddenly changes direction in the sky, even if that's only from our perspective on earth, it's still a powerful symbolic omen that should be paid attention to. So let's dig a little deeper. Planets in their normal forward motion, represent the planet acting out its own agency and will. The reason for this is quite complex, but essentially there is something called primary motion, and this is the motion that all of the fixed stars of the zodiacal constellations are moving in. Then the planets in our solar system actually are moving in the opposite direction as this. So in their normal forward motions the planets are moving opposite to the primary motion of all of the other stars. This is how ancient astrologers first started conceptualizing these planets as agents of the will or marking the intentions of the gods, because they seemed to have their own free will. In their movements they moved against the grain of the rest of the stars. Thus they were seen to have something of their own agency.

Speaker 1:

Then, in retrograde motion, a planet is moving in reverse from its forward motion, so it's actually moving with the grain of the primary motion of all of the other stars. So in retrograde, it's as though a planet is moving with the flow instead of moving against the flow. When we understand a retrograde planet in this way, we can see why it was said by ancient astrologers that a retrograde planet has lost some of its agency. It's now moving with the grain instead of against it, so it's lost its own autonomy. That's one big signification with retrograde planets. Other significations would be reversals of circumstances, loss, delays, a turn of fate. These all have to do with the motion of the planet reversing in the sky. Reversing in the sky, a retrograde planet is also said to be weakened. This comes back to its loss of its own autonomy.

Speaker 1:

With a transiting planet going retrograde, there is often a process of revising, a chance to do things over, retracing our steps. People or circumstances from the past may also come back around. We may face setbacks or obstructions or feel that we have less of our own volition to act in the ways that we want to. When someone has retrograde planets in their birth chart, it can mark many things like big reversals or delays that that person will face in their life. Perhaps things really surface later in their life as well, like finding true love later For a retrograde planet ruling the house of your relationships, for example. It doesn't have to be the case, but it can be an expression that we see. There could be blocks or challenges associated with the goals of the planet, or simply it could mean that the hands of fate take over more in this area of life and the person has less of their own free will to enact in this area. It's very nuanced and dependent on what houses the planet rules in the chart and is located in other aspects the planet is making, and there's a whole list of other factors that we can include. It also depends what stage of the retrograde the planet is in has it just turned retrograde or is it about to go direct again? These nuances offer a lot of different levels of interpretation, and in a bit we're going to go through each of the stages of a retrograde and how it can nuance the interpretation of the retrograde itself.

Speaker 1:

For now, though, I wanted to turn to Mercury's retrograde. It is such a hot topic that gets thrown around, and I wanted to do some clarification and talking about these different cliches and figuring out if there's a grain of truth to any of them. So what are some of these cliches again? Well, don't sign contracts. Travel delays, x's coming back from our past, and electronic disruptions or failures are pretty much the big ones that usually get tossed around. So how did we get to all of these significations?

Speaker 1:

Well, let's start with signing a contract. Mercury represents writing. Communication. Documents definitely are under the realm of Mercury. He also represents merchants and negotiations and things like that, so signing a contract is a very mercurial thing. The other thing is that when we're signing a contract, we're essentially moving a process forwards. Now the retrograde shows Mercury moving backwards, so a simplistic reduction of Mercury retrograde could be oh, you're not supposed to move mercurial things forwards during a Mercury retrograde because Mercury is moving backwards. But in my opinion this is way too simplistic and is missing the point. The point here is that Mercury, yes, is moving backwards, but he's showing a process of retracing the steps that he's already taken through the sky, and thus the Mercury retrograde could signify a process of reviewing the contract, revising the contract, a back and forth negotiation with the contract, perhaps delays with the signing of a contract. When we're signing a big contract during a Mercury retrograde, it's probably safe to assume that there is going to be a little bit more of this back and forth process and it's not going to be as cut and dry as we maybe at first assumed it was going to be. So that's my take on the signing a contract cliche.

Speaker 1:

Let's talk about exes coming back into our lives during Mercury retrograde. I can't tell you how many times I've heard this and honestly, I don't see it. Mercury, yes, represents communication. So on one hand, I can see past communication coming back up, and that can look all sorts of different ways. One example from my own life is that during a mercury retrograde last year, I was reunited with a suitcase full of my old journals and poems after being away from it for a few years, and I spent a day just like pouring through these old writings and reminiscing on the past versions of myself that were contained in this suitcase. That's very Mercury retrograde, these past communications coming back to me, and that can look a lot of different ways. We can hear from old friends, old acquaintances, yes, perhaps even old relationships, but remember, venus is more the ruler of love, so I would save exes coming back into our lives. More for Venus retrogrades and I don't know why people just tend to pin that on Mercury for some reason.

Speaker 1:

Okay, travel delays, your layover is delayed and you miss your flight, and your first thought is to curse Mercury's retrograde. There is a grain of truth to this one. Mercury rules travel, partly because he moves the fastest apart from the moon, of course and he's always flitting back and forth with the sun. In ancient astrology, he was said to signify the god Hermes, which is the winged messenger who is always traveling back and forth delivering the messages of the gods. So again, retrogradation being delays and setbacks and reversals, there can be more delays and just annoyances with travel in general.

Speaker 1:

And finally, technology. So so, so many times, especially when you're hanging out with other astrologers, whenever it's a Mercury retrograde and there happens to be a technology glitch because we're doing a lot of Zoom calls and conferences to talk about astrology and stuff every single time it's like oh, it's Mercury retrograde, of course this is happening and ha ha ha, moving on, and it's funny. You know it's a cliche that we toss around and it could just boil down to a confirmation bias where it's on our mind, more during Mercury retrograde. So we notice it more, we name it more. But you know, it would be really cool if someone did a study one day and just said, like, are there actually more technology glitches during Mercury retrograde or is that all in our heads?

Speaker 1:

For me, I really tend to pick up on the just technology setbacks and frustrations and glitches that I personally deal with during Mercury retrograde. But again, it could be a confirmation bias. But you know, mercury was also the archetype of the trickster. So often during Mercury's retrogrades there are more than the usual amount of these little glitches, little annoyances, little setbacks, and it's just like this Mercury's trickster energy is almost coming out at these times, but in all honesty, mercury's retrograde usually isn't that important on a collective level because it happens three or four times a year. There are instances where Mercury's retrograde is paired with other important transits happening, and then it can really get the spotlight and make a big splash, but most of the time it really is an overhyped topic. I think it's overhyped because it's recognizable for beginners in astrology or people who don't know too much about astrology, and on social media, content creators are looking for ways to bait people into watching their videos or liking their posts or whatever. So it becomes really easy to overhype these mainstream astrological events like new and full moons and Mercury retrogrades, because those things are just in our public lexicons now, whereas Venus retrograde, mars retrograde, all of the other retrogrades, we don't hear about them as much because they're not as in our public awareness. Now let's shift gears and talk about these stages of retrogrades, because this allows us to get a lot more nuance about retrogrades and how we're thinking about them.

Speaker 1:

A retrograde isn't just like an on-off switch on a light. There are several distinct stages to a retrograde and each has its own unique nuance of interpretation to add to the overall retrograde interpretation. The first stage is when a planet is slowing down and preparing to turn retrograde. This is the pre-shadow of the retrograde, where some of the themes of what the retrograde will be about may be starting to surface. The second stage is called a station. This is where the planet actually looks like it pauses in the sky and this can last for a few days or even longer. After the station, the planet begins its retrograde motion. The station to retrograde point is often when we see those sudden reversals in circumstances. Things get flipped on their head.

Speaker 1:

It's also said that if you're born with a stationed planet in your birth chart, then the significations of that planet will be much stronger. I was born on the day that Neptune stationed directly square to my moon at the midheaven. That Neptune stationed directly square to my moon at the midheaven and that's astro speak. For there's going to be some really big Neptune themes in your life and because of that square to the moon at the midheaven it's going to feature prominently in your public persona, because the midheaven shows what others see us doing on a daily basis, usually for career. So becoming an astrologer is, in my opinion, very Neptunian, because in the collective psyche. Astrology is known as this kind of airy, nebulous thing that's very radical, very out there, that's quite Neptune. But also on the other end of the spectrum there's a lot of imagination and working with my capacity for imagination that goes into thinking about and working with the archetypes in astrology. That makes for a successful astrologer. Something else that I find interesting is that my other vocation, which I don't yet make money with but hope to, is that I write fantasy Very, very Neptunian.

Speaker 1:

Anyways, putting that aside, the station to retrograde is where the script gets flipped. It's usually a big moment that is felt individually and collectively when a planet stations to turn retrograde. The third stage is the actual retrograde motion of the planet, which can last from a few weeks to many months, depending on the planet. During this stage we will see the significations come to light that I have spoken about previously the process playing out of revisiting things, revising things, doing things differently, dealing with the consequences of a sudden reversal, loss of agency, all of those things that I've already spoken about. The fourth stage is the station direct. This is where the planet pauses in its backwards motion and stays still in the sky before turning direct. A station direct is often more favorable than a station retrograde. This is because the topsy-turvy situation of the retrograde is now getting corrected. We're regaining our agency, the revisioning process is coming to completion, the setbacks or delays are getting sorted out and so on, and the final stage is after the planet turns direct. It will spend some time picking up speed until it returns to its normal speed.

Speaker 1:

In ancient astrology, the speed of the planet was said to say something about the strengths of the planet, which is its ability to act of its own volition. So when a planet is gaining speed, it's gaining back more and more of its own free will and its own ability to act. Now these nuances might seem a bit like we're splitting hairs, but when reading someone's birth chart, these differences have vital importance. Say, someone is born with a planet that looks like it's direct but it's actually about to hit that station to turn retrograde. If an astrologer did not consider that, then they could give the client an interpretation for a direct planet, not realizing that the planet is more so embodying the energy of a planet about to have a reversal. Say, the planet looks retrograde but it's about to station to turn direct. Again, the same thing the astrologer could give an interpretation about the retrograde planet, not considering that, whatever the circumstance of the retrograde is, the planet isn't actually embodying the reversal of that to the direct motion. Finally, say the planet looks direct, okay, fine, but what if that planet just turned direct and it's still moving very, very slowly and picking up speed and we don't consider that in our interpretation? That's very, very different as an interpretation from a planet that's moving at its full speed already. These nuances can also be really important for reading transiting planets.

Speaker 1:

Say I'm doing a reading for someone and they tell me that they just got a new job and they want to know if it's going to go well. Let's say Uranus just entered their 10th house of career, the planet of sudden change. New job makes sense, okay, great. But say I can see that Uranus is about to turn retrograde. This is a bad sign for that new job as it shows there's an upcoming sudden reversal, delay or setback in relation to their career. So it's very likely that that new job might not work out in the way they're expecting it to. But let's say someone comes to me and they tell me they've spent a lot of time applying and a lot of time revising and reworking their resume, honing their interview skills and they haven't had any luck so far and they want to know if their luck is going to change. And I see uranus has been retrograding through their 10th house of career but is about to turn direct. This is great news because here Uranus's retrograde shows this process that they've been going through and the delays and setbacks they've been facing, and the change in direction to the direct motion shows a sudden reversal of their current circumstances. So if they haven't been having luck so far, a reversal of that would be that they're probably about to get a big break. It shows that the wheel of fortune is turning in their favor.

Speaker 1:

Retrogrades are an amazing tool because we can get really nuanced with them. The significations of the planet that's retrograding itself will help tell us what the retrograde is about. But very often it's important to look at what whole sign house the retrograde is happening in in your birth chart. So this has been a little bit on retrogrades. Perhaps it's raised more questions than it's answered for you, and that's okay. Learning astrology often does that at the beginning, even when we're far into our studies.

Speaker 1:

I find that the more I learn about astrology, the more humbled I feel about how much I actually have yet to learn, but at its basic level, when a planet goes retrograde, the things that it represents can get turned on their head. The hands of fate are coming in and taking over. There can be delays, reversals, setbacks, revisions, a chance to do things over, do things differently. There's a process playing out and we may feel a loss of agency or will in this area of our lives. If you had any questions come up when listening to this episode, feel free to email me at rosesastroacademy at gmailcom. But anyways, that's what I've got for my hot little take on retrogrades.

Speaker 1:

This has not at all been an exhaustive talk. There is a lot of other dynamics, like Kazimis and a planet being under the beams and all sorts of things that I'm just not even going to touch because, layer by layer, bit by bit, and understanding that this is not a comprehensive astrology course, this is a podcast, probably with a lot of casual listeners, but I hope that I've helped to demystify the topic of retrogrades for you here just a little bit. I want this podcast to be a co-creative space, so if there's a topic in astrology that you would like me to talk about, please email it to rosesastroacademy at gmailcom. New episodes air every Monday and Wednesday. If you want to book a reading with me, you can find out how to do that in the description or on my website, rosesastroacademycom, and you can follow along on my Instagram, rosesastroacademycom. And you can follow along on my Instagram, rosesastroacademy.

Speaker 1:

Finally, if you enjoyed this episode and you want to see this little seedling of a podcast grow, you can help out by leaving a review of the podcast. Each and every review is so, so helpful for telling the algorithms hey, there is a little jump here and more people should listen to it. And finally, you can also share it with some astrology loving friends, or share it with the skeptics in your life to show them that there's maybe a little more to this whole astrology business than they first thought. Well, that's all I have for you. See you soon for a new episode to this whole astrology business than they first thought. Well, that's all I have for you. See you soon for a new episode.