Retrograde planets
Seen from Earth, every planet from Mercury to Pluto seems to back up through the zodiac for a while each cycle. This page explains each one; the year pages list every station.
Retrograde now
Times in Eastern Time (ET)
Pluto
in progress- Stations retrograde
- · 5°30′ Aquarius
- Stations direct
- · 3°04′ Aquarius
Neptune
in progress- Stations retrograde
- · 4°25′ Aries
- Stations direct
- · 1°36′ Aries
Saturn
in progress- Stations retrograde
- · 14°44′ Aries
- Stations direct
- · 7°55′ Aries
Uranus
in progress- Stations retrograde
- · 5°41′ Gemini
- Stations direct
- · 1°40′ Gemini
Venus
in progress- Pre-shadow begins
- Stations retrograde
- · 8°29′ Scorpio
- Stations direct
- · 22°51′ Libra
- Post-shadow ends
Mercury retrograde
Three or four times a year, Mercury overtakes Earth on the inside and appears, from here, to move backward through the zodiac for 19 to 24 days — retrograde, apparent only, never a real reversal. As symbol rather than force, that doubling-back reads as a cue to review: reread, revisit a conversation, notice what you skimmed. Decide and travel as you please; just take a second look.
Venus retrograde
Venus is retrograde — seen from Earth it appears to slide backward through the zodiac, though it never reverses in orbit; it's overtaking us on the inside, passing between Earth and the Sun for about 40 days. Astrology reads that backward look as review: what you value, who you keep close, what you've been paying for in effort. Revisiting, not retreating.
Mars retrograde
While Mars is retrograde, it only seems to move backward through the zodiac, an illusion that arises as Earth, on its faster inner orbit, overtakes it. Astrologers link Mars to drive and assertion, so these 60 to 81 days are often read as a chance to revisit how you pursue what you want — where anger goes, what effort has stalled — rather than a reason to hold back.
Jupiter retrograde
When Jupiter is retrograde, it appears to reverse through the zodiac — Earth, on the faster inner orbit, is passing it, and the illusion lasts about four months. The symbolism turns inward on growth: the beliefs you expanded into, the commitments you said yes to. Which of them still fit, and which did you outgrow without noticing? Nothing here says wait.
Saturn retrograde
For about four and a half months each year, Saturn seems to drift backward through the zodiac — apparent motion, caused by Earth overtaking it on our faster inner orbit. Astrology reads that backward look as a review season: a chance to revisit the structures you've built and the commitments you keep, and ask which rules are genuinely yours and which you inherited.
Uranus retrograde
Uranus is retrograde: from Earth it appears to slide backward through the zodiac while our quicker inner orbit carries us past it — roughly 150 days, about once a year. Symbolically, the stretch invites you to revisit changes you once wanted: which break from routine still fits, which was borrowed. You keep deciding; the question is what freedom means now.
Neptune retrograde
For about five months each year, Neptune appears to drift backward through the zodiac — an illusion of perspective as Earth, moving faster on its inner track, passes it by. Read symbolically, the long stretch invites a second look at what you imagine or idealize: a person you've filled in with hope, a dream held loosely. Where does the picture differ from what's there?
Pluto retrograde
Pluto never truly reverses course; Earth, moving quicker on the inside track, passes it, so for roughly 162 days each year the slow outer planet appears to retrace its steps, pausing (stationing) at each end. Astrologers read that as a turn inward toward power and compulsion — where you hold control, where something holds you. Nothing is on hold; you're just invited to look closer.
The interpretations on this page were drafted with software assistance and checked against our voice guidelines by an automated reviewer.
Year by year
How these times are computed
Every time here comes from our own engine, built on astronomy-engine, an open-source ephemeris, and checked against independent references: the U.S. Naval Observatory's Moon phases, NASA's eclipse canon and Swiss Ephemeris outputs. The page is written in Eastern Time (ET); your browser shows the times in the zone you pick.
A station is the moment a planet seems to stand still before it appears to reverse. Retrograde motion is apparent: seen from Earth the planet looks as if it moves backward, while in its orbit it never does. For Mercury, Venus and Mars we also give the shadow: the pre-shadow begins when the planet first reaches the degree where it will later station direct, and the post-shadow ends when it returns to the degree where it stationed retrograde.
Astrology is a symbolic language, not a science: the positions are exact, and what they mean is interpretation.