Understanding Retrogrades & Shadow Periods
It took me the longest time to get the hang of what was actually happening when a planet went retrograde and what the heck a shadow period was. Mercury is the planet we most often hear of being retrograde because it happens 3-4 times every year, but all planets have retrograde periods and it’s helpful to know what that means.
What is a Retrograde?
Retrogrades happen when a planet appears from our perspective to be moving backwards, because it’s moving so slowly around the sun compared to the speed of the earth. Even though it’s not physically moving backwards from its own perspective, its apparent retrograde motion is significant, since astrology is all about the movement of the planets from a geocentric viewpoint.
Have you ever been on a train and seen a train on a neighboring track appear to go backwards when actually it’s moving slowly forwards but your train is going faster? It’s the same phenomenon.
What is a Shadow Period?
Maybe you’ve also heard talk of retrograde shadow periods and wondered what they are all about. Here’s another analogy I’ve found helpful for explaining this. Imagine you are hiking a loop trail and it’s getting hot so you take off your sweater and tie it around your waist. You walk on for a while and then suddenly look down and realize your sweater isn’t there any more – it fell off without you noticing. You turn around and retrace your steps and sure enough, a little way back you see your sweater lying on the path. Relieved, you pick it up and proceed forward again. Eventually you pass the point where you noticed it was missing.
Let’s use the Mercury retrograde at the end of 2024 as an example and see if the lost sweater analogy helps!
Mercury enters their shadow period at 6° Sagittarius on November 7th. This is equivalent to the moment the sweater is dropped. You continue moving forward but will return to this point later:
Mercury stations retrograde at 22° Sagittarius on November 26th. This is equivalent to the moment when you realize you dropped the sweater. You immediately stop and start moving backwards, heading for the point (6° Sagittarius) where you dropped the the sweater:
Mercury stations direct at 6° Sagittarius on December 15th. This is equivalent to the moment when you reach the dropped sweater and pick it up. You stand still for a moment and then commence moving forward again:
Mercury leaves their post-retrograde shadow at 22° Sagittarius on January 2nd. This is equivalent to you and your sweater eventually passing the point where you first realized you’d dropped it. You don’t move backwards again but it’s still a significant point on the path:
What Does This Mean in Real Life?
Retrogrades often have a similar vibe to the dropped-sweater story. We think we’re happily moving forward and making progress and then something happens and we have to retrace our steps. Instead of just traversing that part of the trail once, we pass the same trees and landmarks three times. So that part of the path becomes more significant, especially if we have planets or important points in that region of our natal chart. Instead of being activated once by the transiting planet they will be activated three times. During the pre-retrograde shadow period it can be illuminating to pay attention to what you’re working on in that particular area of life and then notice if you have to go back and re-do some aspect of it during the actual retrograde period. Oftentimes the third pass (the post-retrograde shadow period) will be the time you properly fix whatever was broken and likely find the final solution is better than the original one, even though it’s taken way longer to complete than you intended.
Interpreting Specific Retrogrades
Each planet has its own symbolic nature so a Mercury Retrograde will tend to feel qualitatively different from, say, a Venus Retrograde. Mercury has to do with communication and technology (amongst many other things) and so it’s pretty common during a Mercury retrograde to experience seemingly random issues with our devices and/or our ability to make ourselves understood. Venus signifies love, beauty, art and creativity so a Venus retrograde may bring roadblocks in creative projects or frustrations in relationships (it’s super common for ex lovers to reach out during a Venus retrograde!) Additionally, the area of life affected by a retrograde is determined by the house(s) through which the planet in question is transiting. For example a Mercury retrograde in your 6th house might signal communication issues with your boss, vs. communication issues with siblings if it’s taking place in your 3rd house.
Advice for Navigating Retrogrades
In recent years the concept of Mercury retrograde seems to have become widespread and a lot of drama and fear mongering has whipped up around it. This is unnecessary and unhelpful in my opinion. Some people will tell you you should never do certain things during a Mercury retrograde such as signing a contract or traveling long distances. Given that Mercury spends 9-12 weeks every year in retrograde motion (not even counting the shadow periods) this is impractical to say the least. Yes, retrogrades can be frustrating or tiresome, especially if we’re in a hurry to get to a destination or if the planets in question are more challenging ones. Revisiting the hike example, if we’re pressed for time it can feel like the universe is against us when we realize we have to waste valuable time going back to correct a careless mistake. However, if we’ve left plenty of time and are in a relaxed headspace it’s not that big of a deal. Maybe it’s even pleasant to get more familiar with that section of the trail. By the same token, if we know a retrograde is coming up it’s smart to add in some extra padding to our schedule if possible. Prepare for things not to take the fastest route from A to B and then it won’t be so disruptive when detours or revisions need to happen.