What do retrogrades mean? Every planet explained (and how to get through them)

2 days ago

5 min read

Has your phone autocorrected something awkward this week? Has the wifi dropped halfway through a call, or a message landed with the wrong person? Maybe a flight was delayed and someone shrugged and said, "It is probably Mercury retrograde."

If you have ever nodded along without quite knowing what that means, you are in very good company. So let us ask the real question together: what do retrogrades mean, and is it only Mercury, or are there others?

Mercury turns retrograde on 24 October, which makes this the perfect moment to walk through all of them. I will keep it light, plain and a little bit fun. Many people find retrogrades a gentle reminder to slow down, and that is how I like to treat them.

What do retrogrades mean?

A planet in retrograde simply looks as if it is moving backwards across the sky. It is an optical illusion, a bit like watching a car beside you on the highway seem to drift back when you speed up past it. The planet is not actually reversing.

In astrology, though, these periods carry meaning. Astrologers often describe them as times to review, revisit and reconsider rather than rush ahead. Think of the little word "re": rethink, reconnect, rest, revise.

Each planet looks after a different part of life, so each retrograde tends to shine its light on a different area. Here is the whole cast at a glance.

Every retrograde at a glance

Planet	What it looks after	How many people say it feels	How often it happens
Mercury	Communication, tech, travel, paperwork	Mixed-up messages, delays and gadget grumps	Three or four times a year
Venus	Love, money, values, self-worth	Old feelings resurfacing, rethinking what you value	About every 18 months
Mars	Drive, anger, energy	Frustration, a short fuse or a stop-start feeling	Only some years (Mars sits out 2026)
Jupiter	Growth, luck, big-picture beliefs	A pause on big plans while you reconsider the dream	Once a year
Saturn	Responsibility, boundaries, structure	A nudge to look at commitments and routines	Once a year
Uranus	Change, freedom, surprises	A restless urge to shake things up, then second thoughts	Once a year
Neptune	Dreams, intuition, spirituality	Foggy, dreamy, a little unsure what is real	Once a year
Pluto	Power, transformation, deep change	Old patterns bubbling up for a good look	Once a year

Mercury retrograde: the famous one

Mercury is the planet of communication, so its retrograde gets all the attention. It happens three or four times a year, and 2026 has three of them. The latest runs from 24 October to around 13 November, and this time Mercury is travelling through Scorpio, the sign linked with trust, secrets and deeper feelings.

You know the moments. The text meant for your sister that went to your boss. The email you swore you attached. The flight that sat on the tarmac for an hour. The friend who replies three days late and then apologises with a very long voice note.

Whether you believe it is the planets or simply a busy time of year, these little wobbles are what many people blame on Mercury retrograde. The good news is that most of it is solved by one gentle habit: slow down and double-check.

Venus retrograde: love, money and what you value

Venus looks after love, beauty, money and what you truly value. When it goes retrograde, many people say it feels like old feelings resurfacing. You might think about an ex, or a friendship, or whether something you bought or committed to is really "you".

Venus turned retrograde on 3 October in Scorpio and slips back into Libra around 25 October. It turns direct again around 13 to 14 November. Notice that this overlaps with Mercury retrograde, so the next few weeks are a double dose of rethinking, both in words and in the heart.

Mars retrograde: the short-fuse one

Mars is our drive, our energy and our temper. A Mars retrograde is often described as feeling like driving with the handbrake half on. Motivation dips, tempers can flare and the plans you charged into start to feel stuck.

Here is the good news: Mars is not retrograde at all in 2026. If your energy has felt strange lately, that is a sign to be kind to yourself rather than blame Mars.

The slow outer planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto

The outer planets move slowly, so their retrogrades last for months and tend to feel like a quiet background hum rather than a sudden bump. Here is where each stands right now.

Saturn (responsibility and boundaries) is retrograde in Aries from 26 July and turns direct on 10 December.
Uranus (change and freedom) is retrograde in Gemini from 10 September and turns direct around 8 February 2027.
Neptune (dreams and intuition) is retrograde in Aries from 7 July and turns direct around 12 December.
Pluto (deep transformation) was retrograde in Aquarius and turned direct in mid October.
Jupiter (growth and big dreams) turns retrograde in Leo around 12 to 13 December and stays there until around April 2027.

Many people say outer planet retrogrades feel like a long, slow invitation to reflect on the bigger themes of life: what you are building, what you believe and what you are dreaming of.

A friendly retrograde survival guide

You do not have to tiptoe around your own life. A few small habits are all you need:

Pause before you press send. Re-read messages and emails once more, especially the important ones.
Back up your photos and files. Future you will be very grateful.
Build in extra time. Leave early for flights, appointments and school pick-ups.
Read the fine print twice. Many astrologers suggest taking extra care with contracts and agreements.
Revisit rather than begin. It is a lovely time to finish projects, tidy loose ends and reconnect with people.
Breathe and laugh. A delayed flight is much easier with a good book and a sense of humour.

What to watch in the coming weeks

Here are the dates that matter most, confirmed across several astrology calendars. Exact timing can shift by a day depending on your time zone, so I have used "around" where sources differ slightly.

24 October: Mercury turns retrograde in Scorpio.
Around 25 October: Venus slips back into Libra while still retrograde.
Around 13 to 14 November: Mercury and Venus both turn direct, which is often described as a lovely feeling of things clearing.
10 December: Saturn turns direct.
Around 12 December: Neptune turns direct.
Around 12 to 13 December: Jupiter turns retrograde in Leo.

An angel angle: slowing down to listen

Here is what I love most about retrograde seasons. They give us permission to slow down, and slowing down is exactly when we hear our angels best.

You can ask your angels for clarity when things feel tangled. Sit quietly for a few minutes, take a breath and simply say, "Show me what I need to see." Notice what comes up without forcing it. If you would like more help with this, my posts on how to ask angels for guidance and how to call on your angels are a lovely place to begin.

Nobody can promise what a retrograde will bring, and I would never tell you to fear one. Think of it as a gentle pause that you get to fill with kindness.

A gentle place to start

If this season has you wondering whether to wait or move forward on something, I would love to sit with it for you. Have a look through the readings on my Book Me page. The Decision Reading (standard from $49) explores two options and the guidance your angels have for your next step, and the Prediction Reading (standard from $45) looks at what may be coming next. If you are not sure which fits, you can always contact me and I will help you choose.

Readings are guidance and for entertainment, not professional advice.