making a retrograde personal
Creating astrological meaning is a lot like oil painting — in theory, you can absolutely just slap a few colors straight out of the tube onto an unprepared canvas and create something visually interesting that successfully gets a main point or feeling across.
And also! Building a painting layer by layer on a well-prepared surface, working back in over time to create greater detail and depth, & learning color theory as it relates to mixing paints upon a palette and how those colors look collected on a canvas all contribute to a more arresting final work. Practicing the processes of painting over months & years improves nimbleness and accuracy. Practicing perceiving & drawing skills while away from the canvas directly contributes to clarified style & expressiveness. The tools & media used matter, but they matter much less than the investment of time & effort by the artist themselves.
To the beginner, it can be overwhelming to think about the infinite considerations that lead to a finished painting. Which brushes? What oil medium? Which palette, what surface, what size surface, what subject? Which brand of paint and which shade of red? There are so many choices to be made at so many crossroads!
And also.
At a certain point, you have to just paint.
I say all this because what follows is a non-exhaustive yet probably-overwhelming-for-beginners list of things that can be included in your contemplations while attempting to make astrological meaning out of a retrograde.
I’ve tried to arrange this in order from “broadest stroke” to “finer details,” but those distinctions become hazy when situating astrological weather within the specific context of a specific chart & life; what might seem a microscopic high-resolution detail to me might actually be the entire foreground for someone else.
As I’m writing and sharing this, Mercury is about to station retrograde in the sign of Virgo [this was true both when I originally wrote this for Patreon, and as I update it to share on my public blog!], and so my suggestion for now — for those of you who are more beginner-y — is to choose a small handful of the following considerations to dive into; bonus points for choosing ones that are particularly relevant to the Virgo portion of your chart, or allow you to deepen your scholastic understanding of astrology!
First, though, go read “how personal is this retrograde?” to begin to draft out a context around whatever retrograde you’re analyzing.
Note that throughout this list, I refer to things that you’ll need to reference other things to be able to dive into! This post could easily be an entire book, but instead I would love for it to be an invitation into deepening your own learning & engagement with other sources of astrological knowledge.
For planetary condition, Demetra George’s Ancient Astrology vol 1 is relevant.
For house significations, Demetra’s Ancient Astrology vol 2 is fantastic, as is The Astrology Podcast’s pair of podcasts on house significations.
For annual profections, you’ll want this intro by Jo O’Neill.
For planetary decades, you’ll benefit from my teacher Austin Coppock’s NORWAC lecture.
For firdaria, you’ll want to check out Ali A. Olomi’s posts on his Patreon.
For zodiacal releasing, Chris Brennan’s course or Kira Ryberg’s patron page.
For secondary progressions, Kelly Surtees’s classes and Gray Crawford’s lecture will help.
For a full book on retrogrades, I like Erin Sullivan’s Retrograde Planets.
For a book on the Mercury elemental year & retrogrades, I like Gary Caton’s Hermetica Triptycha.
All that being said, here’s that not-exhaustive list of considerations to help you make meaning out of a retrograde:
ASSESS THE PLANET WHO IS RETROGRADING
The essential nature of that planet: who are they? What are they responsible for? How do they show up in the world?
The condition the planet will be in while retrograde
Essential dignity by sign, face, & term
Accidental dignity (sect, house, angularity)
Changing condition over the retrograde — term & face are likely to change, for example
Bonification or maltreatment based on aspects from the benefics/malefics respectively
The condition of that planet in your own natal chart following the above list, plus its phase relative to the Sun and its sect
Whether or not that planet is activated for you, ideally referencing at least two different timing techniques in order to collect multiple testimonies.
annual profection from the ascendant and/or sect light
planetary decades / decennials
firdaria
secondary progressions
zodiacal releasing
THE HOUSE(S) WHERE THE RETROGRADE IS OCCURRING
Significations of the house(s)
These are the areas of life where the retrograde’s impacts will be most obvious
Anything inside that house natally & their condition
You can take this further by considering the houses ruled by the planets inside this house
Natal condition of the natal ruler of that house
This helps to understand the baseline situation & context of this house
Transiting condition of the natal ruler of that house during the retrograde
If the transiting natal ruler of the retrograde’s house will be aspecting the retrograde planet during the retrograde, that can increase the volume & clarity of the retrograde’s themes.
i.e. the Venus retrograde in Leo in 2023 was quite pronounced, as Venus was in intimate relationship with Leo’s ruler, the Sun, for most of the retrograde.
i.e. when Jupiter retrograded in Taurus in 2023, Venus formed a square aspect to Jupiter from Leo, and the Moon was in Taurus at the same time. Venus rules Taurus and the Moon exalts in Taurus; this combination turned the volume up on the Taurean themes of the Jupiter retrograde period in 2023.
OTHER AFFECTED HOUSES
The houses ruled by the retrograding planet
These houses will experience alterations to their access to resources as their ruler retrogrades
I.e. during a Venus retrograde, consider how your Taurus & Libra houses are been affected.
The houses aspected by the retrograding planet, particularly those that contain planets or points that will be aspected by the retrograding planet during the retrograde
These houses are in communication with the retrograding planet
ASPECTS TO THE NATAL CHART
Note any exact aspects the retrograding planet will make to natal planets or points, as well as by-sign aspects
Squares & oppositions will be noisier and more likely to be disruptive
Trines & sextiles lubricate movement & connection, and are often more subtle, requiring more effort to perceive
Special consideration goes to things aspected while the planet is actively stationing retrograde or stationing direct
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, & Saturn will all end up making a total of three aspects to a planet/point if one of those aspects occurs during the retrograde: one prior to the retrograde, one during the retrograde, and one after the retrograde
Uranus, Neptune, & Pluto can make as many as 5 exact aspects to a specific point/planet in the chart over the course of two retrograde periods.
ASPECTS BETWEEN THE RETROGRADING PLANET & OTHER TRANSITING PLANETS
The aspects the retrograding planet makes to other transiting planets adds color & detail to the nature of the retrograde
i.e. the Venus retrograde in Leo in 2023 included squares to Jupiter & Uranus and a conjunction with Mercury
i.e. the August 2024 Mercury retrograde in Virgo/Leo features a conjunction with Venus on August 7th, a square with Uranus on August 18th, and a sextile with Mars on August 23rd.
WHAT THE MOON IS UP TO
Any / all new & full moons that occur during the retrograde
Note if any of the lunations that occur during the retrograde form aspects with the retrograding planet
Any eclipses that occur
Retrogrades during eclipse seasons are extra spicy
Lunar aspects to the retrograding planet, especially lunar conjunctions to them
i.e. during the Venus retrograde in Leo in 2023, the Moon conjoined Venus on August 15th (and if you’re interested in the Moon-Venus cycle, absolutely get Pallas K. Augustine’s free workbook from 2023 on the topic)
i.e. during the 2024 Mercury retrograde in Virgo & Leo, the Moon will conjoin Mercury at 4º Virgo the day after Mercury stations retrograde; that conjunction is likely to profoundly reveal the strongest themes in this Mercury retrograde story
PERSONAL HISTORY WITH THIS PLANET RETROGRADE IN THIS SIGN
Personal historical research can help reveal relevant & recurring themes
Look up previous time periods when this particular planet retrograded in this particular sign. With Mercury, Mars, & Venus, this practice will make legible how these planets & those signs participate in certain storylines in your life.
Remember that previous retrogrades occurred with different surrounding skyweather, during different life contexts while you had a different level of maturity/development; no two retrogrades are built identically!
Ok! I know that's a lot all at once -- again, be slow & deliberate, and remember that you don't have to paint like Rembrandt when you're still playing with mixing colors that turn out anything other than brown!
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This article was originally published to my Patreon on August 22, 2023.
If you’d like to learn a solid method for building the meaning of a given house while also deepening your understanding of your First and Second houses, you might enjoy my workshop Fundamental Needs, Required Resources.