I’m baaaaack! And talking about a topic within astrology that I love….which is retrograde planets.

Hahahaha, honestly I have been so busy these past (about) 4 months that I just haven’t had a spare moment to actually add to my astrological ramblings. And I’m truly SO eternally grateful for this, for the people that have hired me to do readings for them and kept me so busy. Practicing astrology (and being able to ACTUALLY practice astrology for clients) is one of the great loves of my life. So, to everyone that has hired me to do work for them, thank you so very much 🙂

Over the past few months I have had several clients with a shitload of retrograde planets in their natal charts. Not only that though, but I have also seen an influx of questions on the different forums that I frequently creep on/answer questions on about what it means to have whatever planet in retrograde (and we could be talking about any planet here, except for the Sun and Moon, which never go retrograde). I tend to look at retrograde planets through more of the soul’s journey kind of lens, meaning I believe they tend to be things that our soul wanted to learn about and understand in a myriad of different ways throughout our different incarnations on Planet Earth/this 3D dimension. Thinking about it from this point of view helps to put it all into perspective for me. For some reason, the soul really wanted to understand something about its mind (Mercury), its drive (Mars), etc. while incarnating on Earth in a more personally “focused” way when a planet is retrograde. There is also more introspection given to the energy that these planets express naturally, and the energy is “introverted” instead of the more “extroverted” sort of expression of energy that is more prevalent with direct planetary motion. The whole purpose of these retrograde planets is to understand them at their core essence and what they mean to the person that has them (regardless if this planetary expression makes sense to anyone else). Because society at large is so focused on keeping up with “The Jones’s” and living and operating like the status quo would have you live and operate, this can make retrograde planets a particular challenge. The more planets that a person has retrograde in their chart, the more the person might feel an internal calling to break away from the status quo regarding things the retrograde planet wants to express. For instance, a person with Venus retrograde might feel their values are very different than that of the status quo (and this could be a challenging thing for then to feel comfortable expressing). Something that should also be paid attention to is your chart ruler; should you have a retrograde chart ruler, well, this kind of gives the person (and their chart) a “retrograde-y” flavor. When the chart ruler is a planet in retrograde motion, you tend to find someone who is very introspective (regardless of the planet involved), though how exactly this introspection is actually expressed inwardly and understood by the sense of self will depend on the planet and sign that we’re talking about, and the house that the chart ruler falls in. Here is an example of such for your viewing pleasure (hahaha) and understanding:

**As far as the following ideas go, you would need to take the whole chart into account to know exactly how any retrograde planet (or planetary body) actually plays out in your life. For the sake of understanding, the house the retrograde planet falls in will show the areas of life involved, the sign of the retrograde planet will show how the energy is expressed, and the aspects fill in the rest of the story.**

Mercury Retrograde: When Mercury falls retrograde in the natal chart there is a need for the soul to learn what is actually important for it to take in as far as learning and communication goes. The soul is probably coming from lifetimes where it took in too much information that just wasn’t necessary for it to take in. Personally, I think of the sort of soul who knows a whole lot of “extraneous” information that may help other people (or would help them in some sort of game show/trivia situation), but doesn’t end up actually serving them in the long run. In this lifetime, the soul wanted to tune out all this extra noise as far as what it takes in through communication and different modalities of basic learning. This can cause these people some difficulties with both in this lifetime. Since they are geared towards only taking in what is necessary for their soul to evolve (and for this information to serve a personal purpose), any sort of communication or learning that doesn’t serve this need for soul growth may not seem to “stick” in the same way that it does for people with Mercury direct. This can prove incredibly difficult in our society which (overall) has a tendency to believe that people should learn and communicate a certain sort of way, and this certain sort of way isn’t usually the way these people operate. The Mercury Retrograde person can really shine when they are able to understand and personalize anything they are taking in.

Venus Retrograde: Venus in Retrograde is an interesting one. Since the retrograde motion turns the energy inward (or introverts it), and Venus deals not only with the concept of love but also about what one values (among other things), it is very important above all else that the Venus retrograde person is able to really love and value themselves. Venus naturally rules over BOTH Taurus and Libra, but in the case of the retrograde motion, it tends to exemplify Taurus more so than Libra. Libra energy is naturally more “social” which doesn’t quite fit the introverted quality of the retrograde motion (but Taurus energy certainly does, especially with its needing to find security and stability through self-worth and self-love). The more that the Venus Retrograde person is able to relate to other people from their own personal values and concepts of love, the more they will find what they need from other people (and not just trying to relate to people from the other person’s views, values, and concepts of love).

Mars Retrograde: Mars in Retrograde has a soul purpose to only be driven to go after things in this incarnation that actually serve their soul in the long run. Depending on the chart of the person, this could create someone who seems to have a lack of drive (which isn’t true), or someone who is incredibly driven and on at all times (though the appearance of such would probably end up being more evident to the person in question due to the introverted way of the retrograde motion – other people might not SEE this as easily). This person will need to understand what actions that they need to take and WHY they need to take them (rather than the quick acting and/or reacting that Mars direct is so familiar with). The important thing here is that the Mars Retrograde person actually figures out what exactly does drive them and channel their energy into this. The lack of proper channeling of such energy can cause the person to turn all of this energy on themselves (which can cause all kinds of health ailments, sexual issues, and other sorts of things that aren’t pleasant).

Jupiter Retrograde: Jupiter in Retrograde in a natal chart shows a need for the soul to create their own beliefs and personal truths for themselves, regardless of what this looks like to other people. These people are probably coming from previous incarnations where they weren’t able to create these beliefs and personal truths for themselves (or completely of themselves), and are needing to shed all the old skin of beliefs that just don’t serve them any damn good. Because the assimilation of information is more personalized here (and again, very focused on beliefs-maybe beliefs that are very different than that of the mainstream), this can cause these people to feel that they aren’t as intelligent as the rest of the population (which isn’t true), which can cause them to be a little quieter (or cause them to not really speak up and out at all). They may feel that by staying quiet and going along with everyone else they will be able to be (or at least appear) more “normal” than they actually are. By operating in this manner, though, they probably aren’t living their own personal truth, which is of premium importance to these souls this time around.

Saturn Retrograde: When Saturn is found retrograde in the natal chart, there is a need for the soul to create its own reality in this incarnation, to go and do things their own way regardless of what is considered “normal” or “acceptable” in the society that they live. This is usually made easier or more difficult depending on the way that they were raised and the sort of person that did the “raising” (and oftentimes it seems there is a past life/karmic linkage to one’s parents here). Having had a parent or parents that were more accepting and allowed them to be different and create their own reality for themselves will make everything so much easier for these people in the long run. However, as seems to often be the case, if a parent/the parents are more authoritative and less accepting of personal differences in general this can cause difficulties with the Saturn retrograde person’s view of authority (how they handle their own personal authority and that of other people). Regardless of the sort of parents they had and the family they come from, these people need time to go inward within themselves, to retreat, and to make sense of things in life that actually fit their own notion of reality (and they need to be given the time and freedom to do so).

Uranus Retrograde: Uranus found retrograde in the natal chart shows a soul that needs to learn to see things from a birds eye/omniscient point of view (to detach from not only emotions from a certain degree, but also to detach from the self somewhat). This need is usually due to some kind of trauma that the Uranus Retrograde person has carried with them from a previous incarnation that needs to be worked through, and can only probably be worked through by being able to see outside of themselves and beyond the scope of the person they are in this lifetime (along with the person that they have been in a previous incarnation). There is a sense of feeling different as well that is carried over from another life, and this can make one more likely to make friends with different people and groups that are strictly just like them (and this is usually done from the soul level as a way to not feel as “different”). This is why learning to see things from a birds eye point of view is so important, as is embracing these inherent differences that actually makes them the individuals that they are. Uranus in general (in any planetary motion) tends to be where our soul memories are stored. However, with Uranus in Retrograde (and the retrograde motion turning the energy more inward), these people have a unique ability to actually be able to access these soul memories in this lifetime, to heal any trauma from previous lives, and really grow.

Neptune Retrograde: With Neptune Retrograde in the natal chart, there is an innate understanding that all people are connected to one another and that we are all connected to The Creator (there is actually no division here). Though this understanding is probably more felt from the collective unconscious place that Neptune dwells, and such has a great impact on the psychology of the person in question. They are able to pick up on things, feelings and vibes from other people without meaning to (and maybe even without wanting to). This ultra-sensitivity is better understood and handled psychologically when the understanding that we are all linked and no one is really separate from one another is more consciously understood. Another way that this is all understood is through the dreams that the Neptune Retrograde person has (and these people can have some very crazy dreams). This can be a way for them to internally process everything that they feel in this lifetime and to help them make sense of such.

Pluto Retrograde: When Pluto is found Retrograde in the chart, there is a strong drive to both reunite with The Creator that is inside of all of us, but also just a strong drive to evolve in general (and for the soul’s evolution to happen at a more rapid pace). Until the person with Pluto Retrograde goes towards this need to reunite with The Creator (and goes more into the spiritual realms), there can be a sense of unhappiness or that they aren’t doing what it is that they should be doing to make themselves feel happy and whole. Mind you, this spirituality that I’m talking about doesn’t strictly adhere to any sort of dogma or religious belief (I certainly don’t mean it that way). It’s more about what resonates with the person and their soul. There will be much energy directed in an inward fashion towards the soul’s evolution and in figuring out how to do so, and the unhappiness mentioned above should be used as a catalyst for such.

Chiron Retrograde: When Chiron is found Retrograde in the natal chart, I tend to see this as the person’s “core wounding” being something that initially stems from a previous incarnation. Oftentimes when I see this come up retrograde in a chart, there are aspects made to the person’s Chiron that tie in with their previous life story in some way (which is where this theory comes from). That doesn’t mean that the wounding ONLY comes from a previous lifetime, but that this core wounding is carried out in this lifetime from a previous lifetime just begging to be worked through. There is also an internalization and introversion of this wounding that speaks here to this; this core wounding from a previous life that is sort of played out again (though in maybe a different way) and is taken incredibly personally (probably from being intimately familiar with this wounding from another lifetime), from having lived through something like this before. It is also a wounding that, due to the inward nature of retrograde motion, might not be visible to anyone outside of the native.

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