INTERPRETING “RETROGRADES”

Avoiding reverse interpretations!

March 2024

copyright © 2024 by Judith Hill

The occasional student asks about how to interpret retrogrades, assuming they universally “weaken” any planet in this condition. Because this popular notion reverses itself in some specific conditions, lets learn how! This understanding will help us avoid the pitfall of an accidentally reversed interpretation. This interpretive error occurs when the practitioner misinterprets an enhanced planetary influence as conversely meek, or somehow ineffectual.

Sometime each year, a planet will appear to move backwards through the ecliptic plane in zodiacal longitude, in reverse of their normal forward motion. This is called “retrograde motion”. Retrogradation cycles are an optical illusion created by a planet’s unequal rate of motion as compared to Earth’s orbit. This is understandably hard to grok unless you actually see it in motion - where it easily observed. There are plenty of books and websites that can train you in the technical side of retrogradation. However, from the astrological standpoint, not all “retrograde” is equal. Our first consideration would be what planet is retrograde?

Mars and Saturn, our two classical “malefics”, are stronger when moving backward, not weaker! When retrograde, they present a situation that is seemingly inescapable, or at least more deeply entrenched.

This traditional reasoning is reversed for the two traditional “benefics” Jupiter and Venus. It is held that a back-stepping Benefic is, in fact, weaker, and less likely to deliver its lucky goods. In my experience, this is often quite true, although it can alternatively mean that their promised good fortune is delivered partially, or later in life, or qualified in some way, or after a long wait.

The reader must view the entire condition of the planet concerned, not just “is it retrograde or direct?”

Our second consideration is to discern just how close is the retrograding planet to its “station”? This is the indicated date where the planet appears to stop in the sky, stand still, and prepare to reverse motion to resume its forward direction through zodiacal longitude. This whole process is speedy for tiny Mercury but can take a week or more on either side of “station” to complete with slow planets like Neptune or Pluto.

Should the planet concerned be very close to retrograde, and either already stopping or very nearly so, its influence is doubly strong, no matter if yet still on the “retrograde” side of the line. For instance, a large, slow planet like Pluto, or Neptune will show no discernible movement in your ephemeris for several days on each side of “station”. Even Jupiter will move only one minute (!) for a few days on either side of station. Planets are incredibly strong in influence at this time - quite possibly more so than at any other time in respect to their retrograde cycle. At all costs, avoid interpreting a planet within a few minutes orb of standstill, or “station” as somehow ineffectual!

For greater clarity, one can envision a candle as the stationing planet, and your hand as the Earth. If you hold your hand directly few inches above the flame, you will experience the candle’s heat far more intensely than if merely passing over it. Ouch! You can now see just how powerful a retrograde planet can become near its station!

Experiment by studying what happens with real people. Find a friend born on the day of a planetary station, or within the few days of a station - provided the planet doesn’t appear to move more than one or two minutes from its zodiacal degree and minute of station, (while still technically “retrograde”). Now discern the strength of this planet in this person’s character, interests, activities, and life circumstances. You might be surprised at what you find!

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