I love retrogrades. Retrogrades are very reassuring periods, it’s like the universe is making sure of a specific aspect of your life for you and letting you excel at it as much as you need. It’s like stepping back and having a very good look at something before you proceed. And this happens on even the smallest scale of the symbolism of the retrograding planet, if you force it’s hand. But we are almost always in a hurry, we want things to happen, we want stuff to work out for us, we want to have the satisfaction of the instant and constant (!) gratification, we want them all and we want it like NOW. Retrograde periods are way too deep for this kind of speed and most of us do not get the messages we need to get, until we bump into an obstacle, can’t have it our way or fall flat on our face.
You don’t have to enjoy a retrograde but you will benefit a lot if you allow yourself to slow down to look what is in front of you and ask and answer some serious questions it throws you over and over, which will help you to adopt the best approach for the road ahead and excel at it.
Universe embraces you if you accept “what is” and move along with it. If you ever face a common experience on a planetary retrograde, it’s almost always a sign that you are missing something on a greater scale. When it happens, it means look at this. Are you sure? What do you need to be sure? Or what do you need to see? What’s your take on this? Is your understanding of this valid and your approach is the best for you? Can it get any better? How? In times of retrograde, “Don’t buy this, don’t do that kind of advice may come from a good place, but it keeps you from seeing the greater truth behind it. If the experience is what you need to reach to an understanding, be glad you had the chance. It might be a pricy way but not more expensive than ignorance which is priceless. And besides, sometimes it might be the only way for you. Trying to avoid unpleasant experiences now, will only delay the valuable message and keep you from embracing an invaluable truth of your life.
Trying to prevent loss: Fear
It makes sense, right? Clever, even. Fear is a valid primal function even a super power which has a purpose, and it helps you get away from dangers and protect your state of being. But, it needs to be managed because fear has a way of spreading and invading spaces where it does more harm then good if you allow it. It might prevent you from growth by just scaring you. You are the only person who will decide if a protection is necessary and super power like fear can be dangerous for your well being without control. I watch people panicking about a transit, or a retrograde and experiencing anxieties and fear over some potential dangers they believe are around the corner. Usually I do not try to write a general overview about what is going on and how it will affect we mortals for the reasons I stated above. But this time, friends and clients kept asking me about it and I thought maybe I can write something that can actually help them.
You can not prevent ALL loss ALL the time and you better not!
Living in a constant state of fear and trying to avoid all kinds of losses all the time is not the best way to be guided by astrology. The way I see it and practice it, is that astrology is an empowerment tool, guiding you through your higher being, helping you to understand what kind of burden you are carrying and how can you help with it. By gaining a better understanding of yourself you get a greater understanding of the universe and be at peace with it. And great wisdom usually comes in with burdens, losses and what you call “a really bad day”s, that is a given.
The lie of “using” a transit in a better way
Your experience of a transit is shaped by your understanding of who you are and how you perceive things. It is not like you become someone else during a transit. You experience a transit in terms of your level of consciousness and your tendencies. Universe will make sure you get the message that is if you are a very down to earth person it wont come in to you in form of higher inspirations or ideas but rather in solid facts and situations. And if you are always anxious about upcoming transits or hoping for that unknown time that “your experience of present reality” will be over, and if you read up to here, you might benefit from this article.
Your experience of a transit is both universal an unique to you at the same time.
There are divine rules that apply to every living thing and then there is your personal experience. If you touch an electrically charged device, current will hit you no matter how compassionate you touch. It is what it does. Laws. If you wish to live the higher meanings of any transit, you need to be the person who can do that, face your fears, get out of your comfort zones, open yourself to contrary viewpoints and raise your consciousness. And this takes awareness, effort, time and the will to do so. After that, all you need is accepting what is and have a good look what is in front of you which is already within you.
Retrograding periods as a way to sharpen your knife
The term retrograde refers to an apparent backwards motion observed from earth, a relative speed. Retrograding times are opportunities for inner growth and self knowledge and all planets go retrograde periodically except the lights- i.e sun and moon. In a retrograding period somehow you need to go back and have a good look at yourself too.
Generational planets are in retrograde motion for the most of the year. The famous Mercury retrogade happens for 3 weeks 3 or 4 times a year. Venus retrogrades in every 18 months for a duration of 4-6 weeks. Mars retrogardes in every 2 years for around 2 months. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto all retrograde at least 4-5 months every year so there is no escape from a retrograde.
So what we need to work on during retrogrades? To be honest, each and every one of the retrogrades deserve an article, but just to give you an idea, let me cut it short:
Mercury retrograde: When the planet of information, communication and transportation retrogrades, it’s time to slow down. The fastest of all planets retrograde to make sure your message gets through. All kinds of transportation are on hold or should proceed very slowly. Work on your ideas, the way you communicate, make sure that you got all information correctly and make sure you made your point to the other side. All forms of communication are under the scope now and assuming things specially while trying new ways can be costly. If your current system is ineffective you might experience break downs and loss of information.
Venus retrograde: When Venus retrogrades, it’s a time to have a good look on what you value in your relationships, what you hold dear and what you really like. Spending is also under focus. Starting new ventures on relationships, shopping carries the retrograde mark on them so be ready to make extra efforts to sort issues out. Specially for women it is a great time to get in touch with their femininity, reflecting on the concept of pleasure, style and taste pays off. Venus retrograde makes sure what you really value.
Mars retrograde: What is your relationship with your desires? What really excites and motivates you or pisses you off? Is your way of moving forward suits your best interest? Are you able to let your anger out or seethe inside? What could be the steps to achieve your desires? Are you sure? These are some of the questions you ask yourself in a retrograding Mars period.
Jupiter retrograde: It’s time to go easy on optimism now. All things related with belief sytstems, religions, higher eduation, travel, generosity, wealth are under focus. What do you truely believe in? Is your faith blind or can you actually see the reality of things? How can you be a cautious optimist? Reality check is on process. Noticing your too good of a luck. Life or death questions about meaning of things. What do you believe in?
Saturn retrograde: What is your relationship with hard truths? Saturn will make sure you know what. Time to rethink your career path, your goals, your life structure and work through your relationship with the authority figures starting from your father makes its way up to government. Why are you here on this earth and to do what? This retrograde helps you sort that out.
Uranus, neptune and Pluto has generational effects rather then personal ones. They might awaken issues relates with their house in your natal chart. Uranus more on freedom, Neptune more on dreams and illusions and Pluto around deep cleansing and removal of toxic unconscious tendencies.
Remember, this is just a general overlook to the retrograding phenomenon. Your natal planet placements and the transiting retrogrades are 2 different orchestras playing two different dimensions of a music. Every person gets his/her own individual version of these transits. So keep calm and enjoy the wisdom of retrogrades!
