Retrograde

Imagine riding in a speeding train, and passing a slower train. Both trains are moving straight ahead, but as the trains are passing, the slower train appears to be moving backwards, at least from the point of view of the riders on the fast train.

This same effect occurs with the planets. As the Earth passes (or is passed by) other planets in the solar system, for a while, they appear to slow in their path across the Zodiac. Then they stop altogether, and backtrack against their paths for a short while, and stop again. Finally, they get back up to speed again, and return to where they started.

The entire period from the point where the planet started to slow down, through the backwards motion, until the planet "catches up" to itself and passes the point where it started from is called Retrograde. It's a fairly common and straightforward event in astronomy, but it takes on a whole new meaning in astrology.

Retrograde periods are traditionally regarded as times when humans have little control. This is when things that are fated to happen actually happen.

Mercury, for example, turns retrograde three times a year. From February 14th, 2007, to March 28th, 2007, Mercury is in retrograde. On March 8th, 2007, it finishes the backwards motion and begins moving forward again.

Mercury rules information - conversation, communication, thinking and education. When Mercury is in retrograde, these things will have "glitches" thrown in, disrupted communications, collapsed negotiations, and general misunderstandings, usually because some vital piece of information has been lost.

Venus turns retrograde every eighteen months. During this period, emotions, which Venus rules, become muted. Venus in retrograde is the wrong time of the year to redecorate, start a relationship, or get married.

The planets beyond Venus have longer retrograde periods, that are further and further apart (Saturn, for example, is in retrograde from December 6th, 2006 until August 7th, 2007).

Precession and Horoscopes

"Hey, the constellations don't line up anymore!"

When the ancient Babylonians first started tracking the motions of the heavens, they divided the sky into 30 degree increments and gave each section over to the rule of a constellation. This is the Zodiac, the band of the sky that all of the heavenly bodies move through. It's a strip of sky about seven degrees across. But they didn't count on precession.

The Earth is slightly tilted on it's axis. Because of this, the constellations don't stay in the same place. Over time, the North Pole slowly points to a different star, and as this happens, the circle of the Zodiac slowly spins around the planet. In a nutshell, the constellations move, but astrology doesn't. Astrologers measure the sky based on their positions on the Vernal Equinox, and not by what stars are actually in the sky. So, they might say "the Sun was in Aries when you were born," knowing full well that the sun was really in Pisces.

This has caused quite a stir in the astrology community. On one side, you have the astrologers who have adjusted their charts to account for the drifting constellations. Some of them have even corrected an ancient mistake and added a thirteenth sign, Ophiuchus, to their Zodiac, who shares his slice of the sky with Scorpio. These astrologers follow what's called a Sidereal system, focusing on the positions of the stars themselves.

On the other side, you have the Tropical astrologers. They believe that the constellations are irrelevant, because they were merely place-holders or handy symbols that were used to mark the divisions in the original system. Their view is that the horoscope is designed to measure the influence of the planets in regards to earth, and not the influence of the stars behind the planets. The horoscope is built from the Vernal Equinox, after all, and not from one of the stars in Aries.