Retrograde planets in your birth chart

Sharla

When I was learning astrology in the 1970s from the gurus of "psychological astrology," retrogradation meant an internalization of the planetary energy, such that it wouldn't manifest clearly in the realm of outward affairs. Interception had a similar connotation, if I recall. It seems that combustion can do something similar in traditional astrology, in that the Sun "washes out" the planetary influence.

Hmmm well this mercury rx in my chart, has had enough of an effect on me. Its like i have all this stuff in my head but when i try and speak it, it comes out in all a mumble jumble.

Infact i even struggled at college because of this, my tutor even thought i had dyslexia and told me to take a test for it....but i knew it wasn't this and could never figure out what was wrong with me, i always used to sense it was just some sort of mental block....well at least now i know what it is.

I doubt id ever be able to do face to face readings because of this either, im much better at typing something out.

I find it hard to explain myself at times, and i can get tongue tied, i can also feel like people think i'm stupid and childish when i speak to them....this as you guessed then makes me just not speak at times, so then i'm perceived as either being rude or shy, i can't win.

So in regards to internalization of the planetary energy and not manifesting clearly outwardly, then yes very much so.
 

Barleywine

I have natal Mercury and Venus both retrograde and combust in Cancer, which should make me completely tongue-tied and socially locked down. In fact, I did have a stammer and terminal shyness as a young teenager (probably not atypical), but outgrew both, maybe when Mercury and Venus went direct by progression or moved out of combustion (or both). I have a secret weapon for that pair. Although I seldom use minor aspects, my Mars in Virgo on the MC is technically peregrine, but it is tied to Mercury and Venus by a very tight quintile, the "artistic" aspect, from the 8th to the 10th House. I studied graphic design for a while (as you might imagine, I wasn't very "painterly") and still use it today, but my real skill was in creative writing of a practical type, which I parlayed into a 31-year career in professional technical writing that was often published (anonymously) in the US Federal Register. Earlier, I had tried my hand at both poetry and science fiction writing, but I was a little too "clinical" for either one. Today, if I still felt like working, I could probably be a text editor; instead, I create tarot spreads and do spread analysis.
 

decan

Interesting, thanks.
I think we have to adapt and to be reasonable concerning interpretations.
Personally I have no combustion and no retrograde planets, but my chart is far to be a dream!

ETA: actually among the three outers I have Uranus and Pluto retrograde, but I am not sure concerning an effect. Having said that, Pluto is far to be a dream in any case!
 

obeygravity

OH! I've actually become VERY obsessed with natal retrograde planets. I only have one planet in retrograde in my natal and it's Jupiter. It's also in my 7th house and everything I found about that placement in relationship to my natal was so undeniably upsetting and dark! So I ended up doing A LOT of studying about what retrograde planets can actually mean and taking the time to look at them as lessons being offered with the possibility of truly learning to master what skills they can give you.

I actually started my own Astrology blog where I've been keeping up with my studies and made a rather long and extensive post about natal planets in retrograde that can be viewed here: http://readbetweenthecharts.tumblr.com/post/154906174633/planets-in-retrograde. A lot of the information referred to in the post is worded in respect to transits but I feel like they can just as easily be applied in relationship to the natal as well.
 

winter garden

Ive been doing some research on exactly the same thing, as i've got mercury rx in my chart, and also being ruled by mercury it has quite a big impact on me with regards to how i think, speak, communicate

During mercury rx transits in a year....you can guarantee i have issues with communication with everyone, my thinking goes funny, no-one understands me, my mind goes into overtime, there's arguments, and i think about things a hell of a lot more than i usually do.

I've not done too too much research myself, as i only have one rx planet ....but having 6 planets rx, i'm sure must be having some sort of impact.

There's a link here, just incase you've not seen it yet.http://gregoryrozek.com/en/retrogradeplanets/

Thanks for this link, Sharla - it's very informative :)

I don't have Mercury rx in my chart, but I've heard from a few friends who do, and their issues during Mercury rx transits throughout the year are the same as yours. It's must be incredibly frustrating, as I find it a trying time without the mercury rx in my chart!!
 

winter garden

The Moon's Nodes (North Node and South Node) are always retrograde, it's normal. The Moon and the Sun are never retrograde, it is normal as well.
Concerning Uranus-Neptune-Pluto, well, they are retrograde during long periods of time each year, therefore I am not sure that their retrogradations are relevant with regard to an individual; maybe, I'm not sure.

Mercury-Venus-Mars-Jupiter-Saturn can be retrograde and sometimes we can read that there could be continual disruptions (and sometimes "contradictions", "discords", "damages") with regard to what a retrograde planet represents. A retrogradation is seen as an affliction that weakens the planet that is retrograde.

I much appreciate this info, Decan. I really know very little about Astrology, so every bit of input here is of great help to me.
 

winter garden

This isn't as easy to answer as it seems. However, I'll start with simply being Retrograde. All three outer planets are regularly retrograde, so the chances of picking up at least one is quite high. Mercury is also Retrograde quite frequently, indeed the most frequent of the classic seven. On the other hand to get Venus retrograde is quite uncommon.

Three or four planets retrograde is not uncommon. But to have six is uncommon (as it to have 0).

The difficulty comes in interpretation. The modern approach is highly psychologically based, and therefore the interpetations are given according to the focus of the planet being more inward than outward. It's something of an introvert/extrovert measure (Personally I don't take that approach).

In reality, being Retrograde is part of a planet's cycle with the Sun. All planets but Sun and Moon can be Retrograde (which means that you only have two planets that could be Retrograde but are actually Direct). It's best to see it as part of that cycle, which begins and ends with the conjunction with the Sun. Sometimes the planet rises before the Sun, sometimes it sets after the Sun and sometimes it isn't seen at all (during the phase of conjunction). Being Retrograde is therefore better than actually being obscured by the Sun, but it's not as good as being Direct and moving away from the conjunction.

If you follow a psychological approach, then Erin Sullivan has a very good book on Retrograde planets.


Wonderful information, Minderwiz - thank you! I'll look up the book you suggested, and do some additional reading. Funnily enough neither Mercury or Venus are retrograde, but it seems from your other post I shouldn't be too concerned about the outer planets, so I just checking what that leaves.
 

winter garden

If you do have all three outers retrograde, I wouldn't worry about it. They can be retrograde for around 40% or more of their time. Most Modern Astrologers don't seem to add anything to their interpretation because of it. However those who use transits and make predictions, will take the retrograde cycle into account for transits of those planets.

That leaves two out of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Mercury is most likely, followed by Saturn, Jupiter, Mars and Venus. Their exact interpretations would depend on their position in the chart but you shouldn't get to hung up on the Retrograde nature. It can be balanced by other factors.

Mars, Jupiter and Saturn along with Pluto, Uranus and Neptune :) What sort of factors would balance them out? I really know next to nothing about Astrology, although I am trying to learn.
 

winter garden

I have seen it sometimes meaning (well astrologers saying)...that a retrograde planet in a chart means you have a strong influence of that planet because of it being "closer" to the earth.

But having a strong influence of that planet is not always good and not always bad. Sometimes it can be a positive thing and sometimes having excess of something can be a negative.

I think to really know if the strong influence of a planet (when retrograde) is bad depends on all aspects of the chart and what the chart is pointing to. If the chart points to a lot of positive qualities in the person it's probably not likely for the retrograde planet to be bad.

Alternatively, I have notice (personally) that when someone has a retrograde mercury in their chart and we go through a retrograde mercury time period..it actually works in the favor of the person because ideally they already know how to handle that energy in their life.

Just a young astrologer's two cent.


Thanks, Cosmic. It's all a huge learning process for me, and it to be honest I'm finding it quite overwhelming to comprehend what is going on with my chart. No Mercury retrograde for me, which is pretty in and of itself in a way given the total of six planets retrograde.
 

winter garden

When I was learning astrology in the 1970s from the gurus of "psychological astrology," retrogradation meant an internalization of the planetary energy, such that it wouldn't manifest clearly in the realm of outward affairs. Interception had a similar connotation, if I recall. It seems that combustion can do something similar in traditional astrology, in that the Sun "washes out" the planetary influence.

You clearly don't ascribe to that idea now I take it? I have read a few sites that suggest personal growth may be affected by retrogradation, and that the individual may feel as though their progress in life has been slow which absolutely applies to me. Do you have any thoughts on this?