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Retrograde motion

Revised 2026-03-02 · Contributors · How entries are written

A planet is retrograde when its ecliptic longitude is decreasing as observed from Earth. The motion is apparent, not actual: it occurs because Earth and the observed planet are moving at different angular velocities around the Sun, and the line of sight between them sweeps backward for part of each synodic cycle. The Sun and Moon are never retrograde.

Terms

Direct: Normal apparent motion, increasing in longitude. Also called prograde.
Stationary: The period around the turning point at which apparent motion in longitude is negligible. A planet is described as stationary retrograde or stationary direct depending on which way it is about to move.
Shadow period: A modern term for the interval during which a planet traverses degrees it will cross again during and after the retrograde. Not a traditional concept and not used uniformly.

Approximate frequency and duration

Mercury: Three or occasionally four times a year, about three weeks each.
Venus: Roughly every nineteen months, about six weeks.
Mars: Roughly every twenty-six months, about two to three months.
Jupiter through Pluto: Annually, for a period that lengthens with distance; Pluto is retrograde for nearly half of each year.

Because the outer planets are retrograde for a large fraction of every year, retrograde status for those bodies carries far less interpretive weight than it does for Mercury, Venus and Mars. A statement that Neptune is retrograde is true about 43 percent of the time.

On the popular usage

Mercury retrograde has acquired a life outside astrology entirely, as a general-purpose explanation for technical faults and miscommunication. This usage is not supported by traditional sources, which treat a retrograde planet as weakened or turned inward in a chart rather than as a cause of external malfunction. The Hub records the popular usage as a matter of fact about language and takes no position on it.

The Horoscope Hub is a reference work. Entries describe what practitioners do and what terms mean; they do not endorse astrological claims. Compiled by volunteers — see the contributor list and the editorial method.