Retrograde Survival Kit
Don’t Fear the Retrograde
Planetary retrogrades occur when a planet appears to move backwards in its orbit around the sun. Physically, this movement is caused by the varying speeds of each planet’s orbit around the sun. During a retrograde, the energy and influence of the planet astrologically are reversed or turned inward, causing potential disruptions or challenges in different areas of life. Although retrogrades are often feared by many, they can also present opportunities for growth, reflection, and transformation. The key to getting along with retrogrades is to view them through the lens of a teacher instead of as an adversary. Retrogrades are a wonderful invitation to learn more about a planets influence and listen to the secrets it holds for you.
Some Universal Notes
🪩 The Luminaries (Sun & Moon) do not and cannot retrograde ;)
🪩 The sign that the retrograde is in is just as important as the planet! Especially when it comes to how it might affect an individual. The planet tells us what aspect of life we’re dealing with, while the sign tells us the flavor.
🪩 Where the planet is transiting in your birth chart is going to vastly color your experience with the retrograde as well. Looking at the house and aspects gives you even more information. You may need to consult your trusted astrologer to get this deep, but these are just extra things to consider as you distance yourself from the Retrograde Mania that ensues in pop astrology :) (also, you can keep an eye out for when I maybe run Getting Personal again if you want to dive into your birth chart further)
🪩 The “personal planets” (Mercury, Venus and Mars) deal with things closer to home and affect us on a more individual level. We also experience these retrogrades most regularly and/or for shorter periods of time, as they are closer to us in the physical solar system. The “generational planets” (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto) are going to show up on a more generational and/or global scale. They happen less often (usually once a year) and for longer periods of time.
This post is a little “retrograde survival kit” describing the essence of each planet in retrograde and what to pay attention to. Retrogrades aren’t about avoidance or abstinence! I’m not going to tell you what you should or shouldn’t do. Instead, this is meant to be a guide to navigating the stars and planets in their wholeness. They are not good or bad, but rather exist on a spectrum– just like us.
The Planets in Retrograde
(& what they have to teach you)
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Solar Orbit: 88 days
Retrograde Timelines: 3-4 times a year for approximately 3 weeks.
Rules: Communication, short travel, personal technology, close relationships (particularly in the sense of how we use language & symbols to communicate)
When in Retrograde…: We might miss emails, forget appointments, experience “misbehaving” mechanics or personal technology (like your phone or computer… or maybe your washing machine), we might feel like our words just came out wrong or that we are being misunderstood.
Retrograde 🔥Hot Tip🔥:
Slow. The fuck. Down. We always should slow down during retrogrades, but especially when Mercury retrogrades. They’re a fast busy body by nature, and as it rules over the communication aspects of our lives (and we are in constant communication with everyone always these days) these retrogrades invite you to take a deeper look at how you speak, when, and why. It may also be a great time for creative writing~ see how retrograde might influence your sentence structure and word choices! -
Solar Orbit: 225 days
Retrograde Timelines: ~ every 18 months for ~6 weeks.
Rules: The body, our relationship to Earth/Nature and physicality, money (methods and symbols of exchange), beauty, art, inspiration, creativity
When in Retrograde…: We might feel confused about how we see the world, our creative outputs may feel less energized, maybe our ways of earning money feel stagnant, our physical expression feels misaligned
Retrograde 🔥Hot Tip🔥:
Listen to more music. Look at more art. Dance while no ones watching. Take extra care of yourself and what you love. Venus shows us what we love and how we love it, so spend more time during retrograde taking it in instead of turning it out. -
Solar Orbit: 225 days
Retrograde Timelines: ~ every 26 months for ~5 weeks.
Rules: Outward displays of emotion, our protector parts, sexuality and physical drive, motivation, immunity
When in Retrograde…: Emotions are high, tension is as tight as can be, we might feel like we’re walking on eggshells with ourselves or others. We feel barriers between ourselves and the world. We tend to act before thinking.
Retrograde 🔥Hot Tip🔥:
Chillax. It may not be the best time to analyze the feels, just sit with them. Try to just observe them. Be really curious about how you react to things and what the feeling is under those reactions. Depending on where Mars is in your chart and the sign it’s in, you might be extra prone to overreacting. It’s okay. Just breathe. -
Solar Orbit: 12 years
Retrograde Timelines: ~ every 9 months for ~4 months.
Rules: Expansive thinking, farther travels, education and learning environments, curiosity, cosmic fortune (or divine timing… whatever you might call it)
When in Retrograde…: We might feel limitless, adrift in the void, like a kite with nothing holding our string. Barriers between time and space, past and present, may appear thinner than usually, but on a more psychological level than a spiritual one.
Retrograde 🔥Hot Tip🔥:Be present.
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Solar Orbit: 29.5 years
Retrograde Timelines: ~ every 12 months for ~4.5 months.
Rules: Responsibility, duty, Adulthood, discipline, linear time, our place in the social order, structure, institutions
When in Retrograde…: Everything is like an overstretched waistband. The structure of Life may feel outworn, outgrown, outdated, or like it’s just not holding up as it should. Things we’re supposed to be patient with might feel like their picking up speed at an unmanageable pace.
Retrograde 🔥Hot Tip🔥:Saturn in retrograde is another key time to sloooooooow. But it’s going to be quite different and be more of a challenge than our quick Mercury retros. Saturn is naturally slow and takes time and feels out out of wack in retrograde. It’s a great time to examine things and decisions on the Grand Scale. If you have a big life decision you’re thinking about, Saturn in retrograde might be a wonderful time to see it from another perspective.
-
Solar Orbit: 84 years
Retrograde Timelines: ~ every 12 months for ~5 months.
Rules: Technology (like all of it, the whole Human History of tools and methods), Society, Experiments and Innovation, Radical Change
When in Retrograde…: It’s Upheaval Time.
Retrograde 🔥Hot Tip🔥:
Stay up to date with the news. Check in with your communities. Keep your friends close. -
Solar Orbit: 165 years
Retrograde Timelines: ~ every 12 months for ~5 months.
Rules: The unconscious, dreams, mysticism, magic, psychic happenings, creative pursuits (in a more spiritual sense than Venus)
When in Retrograde…: the veil is thin and upside down
Retrograde 🔥Hot Tip🔥:Keep a dream journal if you don’t already.
-
Solar Orbit: 248 years (!!!)
Retrograde Timelines: ~ half the year, every year 😳
Rules: Sex, Death, and Taxes. Transformation. The Unseeable. The Catalyst. True Metamorphosis. Strategy. Deep roots, mycelial networks. Taboos, Crisis, did I say C h a n g e?
When in Retrograde…: Who tf are you/we?
Retrograde 🔥Hot Tip🔥:Also read the news- but maybe with an even closer eye.
