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Retrograde planets

Retrograde planets in 2026

13 retrograde periods of Mercury through Pluto and Chiron touch 2026. Each lists the station retrograde, the station direct and their degrees.

What each retrograde means

Times in Eastern Time (ET)

Mercury

  1. Pre-shadow begins
    Stations retrograde
    · 22°33′ Pisces
    Stations direct
    · 8°29′ Pisces
    Post-shadow ends
  2. Pre-shadow begins
    Stations retrograde
    · 26°15′ Cancer
    Stations direct
    · 16°19′ Cancer
    Post-shadow ends
  3. pre-shadow
    Pre-shadow begins
    Stations retrograde
    · 20°58′ Scorpio
    Stations direct
    · 5°02′ Scorpio
    Post-shadow ends

Venus

  1. retrograde
    Pre-shadow begins
    Stations retrograde
    · 8°29′ Scorpio
    Back into Libra
    Stations direct
    · 22°51′ Libra
    Post-shadow ends

Mars

Mars is not retrograde in 2026. Its next retrograde begins on Jan 10, 2027.

Jupiter

  1. Stations retrograde
    · 25°09′ Cancer
    Stations direct
    · 15°05′ Cancer
  2. Stations retrograde
    · 27°01′ Leo
    Stations direct
    · 16°59′ Leo

Saturn

  1. retrograde
    Stations retrograde
    · 14°44′ Aries
    Stations direct
    · 7°55′ Aries

Uranus

  1. Stations retrograde
    · 1°27′ Gemini
    Back into Taurus
    Stations direct
    · 27°27′ Taurus
  2. retrograde
    Stations retrograde
    · 5°41′ Gemini
    Stations direct
    · 1°40′ Gemini

Neptune

  1. retrograde
    Stations retrograde
    · 4°25′ Aries
    Stations direct
    · 1°36′ Aries

Pluto

  1. Stations retrograde
    · 5°30′ Aquarius
    Stations direct
    · 3°04′ Aquarius

Chiron

  1. Stations retrograde
    · 27°09′ Aries
    Stations direct
    · 22°35′ Aries
  2. retrograde
    Stations retrograde
    · 0°52′ Taurus
    Back into Aries
    Stations direct
    · 26°15′ Aries

Mercury retrograde dates

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 a second, independent ephemeris. 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.

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