So, first things first, if you are not yet fully sure what ‘retrograde planet’ refers to, I recommend first reading my blogpost titled ‘What it means for a Planet to be ‘Retrograde’.
With a basic understanding of what a ‘retrograde planet’ is, we can then delve in a little deeper and get into the 3 Phases of a Retrograde. And as you know I like visuals, do make sure to take note of the cover post as a reference as it illustrates what we would note in the night sky (the bright dots) if we were to go out at exactly the same time each night and from the same location, tracking a particular planet as it travels Direct and then Retrogrades. In addition to this, I have noted each phase by a distinct number and colored arrow.
With each phase, I will discuss the science or astronomical phenomenon, showing an illustration from SolarSystemScope (using Mercury as an example) and then get into the spiritual or astrological relevance. So let’s begin.
Looking at the very top photo, starting at number 1 (with a circle around it), this point marks the beginning of what is called the Pre-Shadow Phase; where the planet begins to go over the part of the sky which it will go back over during the Retrograde (illustrated by the bright green arrow).
While many overlook this particular phase, it is actually the MOST CRITICAL one of them all, as this is marks the time that we usually get into a situation in our lives that we will be retracing steps on during the Retrograde.
I do like to add a bit of fun to these, so with this in mind…picture a 3-part comic strip of a man walking and a banana peel on the floor In this phase, the man (representing us) slips on a banana peel.
The image to the left is a representation of Mercury (using SolarSystemScope.com) at the location of number 1 in the above photo (in this case, on April 7, 2023, a day that Mercury has gone into Pre-Shadow).
Looking at the very top photo, starting at number 2 (with a circle around it), this point marks the beginning of what is called the Retrograde Phase; where the planet begins to go BACK OVER the part of the sky it covered during the Pre-Shadow phase (again from Earth’s perspective).
In our personal lives, this is when we tend to retrace steps when it comes to decisions or situations we got ourselves involved in during the Pre-Shadow phase.
In the 3-part comic strip, this is the part where the man is starting to stand up from slipping on the banana peel, possibly rubbing his head (or whatever part of his body he fell onto), looking at the banana peel, wondering how he missed it.
The image to the left is a representation of Mercury (using SolarSystemScope.com) at the location of number 2 in the above photo (in this case, on April 21st, a day that Mercury officially goes Retrograde – I am writing this prior to this date).
Looking at the very top photo, starting at number 3 (with a circle around it), this point marks the beginning of what is called the Post-Shadow Phase; where the planet starts to move in a direct fashion once again (and again, from Earth’s perspective), covering the part of the sky that it went over in both the Pre-Shadow and Retrograde phase.
In our personal lives, this is when the universe sends us a ‘test’ or situation that is similar to what happened during the Pre-Shadow phase (could be same characters or completely new ones, yet similar plots) seeing if we have learned our lesson. As always, when we are clearing a ‘shadowy’ behavior within ourselves, we must acknowledge the deletion of that behavior by not repeating it.
In the 3-part comic strip, this is the part where the man continues walking, comes across another banana peel on the street; this time walking around it (hopefully).
The image to the left is a representation of Mercury (using SolarSystemScope.com) at the location of number 3 in the above photo (in this case, on May 15, 2023, a day that Mercury officially goes Direct and begins the Post-Shadow phase – again, I am writing this prior to this date).
So there you have it, the 3 Phases of a Retrograde!
Now, I do want to add that this is more notable with the Personal Planets (Mercury, Venus and Mars) as they move faster in the sky – meaning, their Retrogrades phases span a much shorter time than the slower moving planets and much of what happens is still in our short-term memory banks, yet all planets have each phase listed above. And of the Personal Planets, Mercury is the easiest to track, not to mention that it Retrogrades 3 times a year, whereas Venus and Mars retrograde once every 1.5-2 years.
With that in mind, I do have some special added notes on Mercury Retrogrades.
