Pop astrologists love to blame miss Mercury Retrograde for just about every mishap under the Sun. But it’s more than just Mercury that goes into retrograde. Every planet in our Solar System will go into retrograde at one point or another.
Retrogrades mark the period where a celestial body appears to move backwards in the sky, owing to the particular angle it makes to Earth at that time. Some retrogrades hit us hard and fast for just two weeks. Some others can slowly drag us along for six months or more.
As we enter October, we’re deep into retrograde season, where five retrogrades – Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Jupiter and Uranus – all overlap. Although not a planet, Chiron is in retrograde too, which cannot be discounted. In total, 2024 brings us 10 periods of planetary retrograde (11 if you count the Mercury Retrograde that ended on 1 January), so you will need to be alert to what’s happening in the skies.
Below, we detail the dates of every planetary retrograde in 2024 – and what they’ll mean for you.
2024 retrograde dates
Uranus Retrograde – 29 August 2023 – 27 January in Taurus
Mercury Retrograde – 1 April – 25 April in Aries
Pluto Retrograde – 2 May – 12 October starting in Aquarius and ending in Capricorn
Saturn Retrograde – 29 June – 15 November in Pisces
Neptune Retrograde – 2 July – 7 December in Pisces
Mercury Retrograde – 5 August – 28 August starting in Virgo and ending in Leo
Uranus Retrograde – 1 September – 30 January 2025 in Taurus
Jupiter Retrograde – 9 October – 4 February 2025 in Gemini
Mercury Retrograde – 26 November – 15 December in Sagittarius
Mars Retrograde – 6 December – 24 February starting in Leo and ending in Cancer
Retrogrades explained
Mercury Retrograde
Short and sharp, Mercury retrogrades are like a whirlwind. As Mercury is the messenger planet, these retrogrades have the propensity to disrupt communications and travel. Expect travel delays, arguments and miscommunications. Best advice during this time is to never put anything risky in writing, don’t gossip and always leave yourself extra time to travel.
Venus Retrograde
Only occurring once every 18 months, there isn’t actually a Venus Retrograde in 2024 – so we are lucky to avoid the turmoil that this transit can bring. Venus rules love and money, and when it moves into its backwards spin our romantic lives can disintegrate quickly. Likewise, it’s common that this retrograde can bring some financial issues. But there is a silver lining. As this isn’t one of the longer more impactful retrogrades, any problems tend to be transitory rather than long-term fractures.
Mars Retrograde
Mars is our planet of sex, passion, action. This means that when Mars rolls into its retrograde every 26 months, we can often lose motivation for just about everything. You won’t feel like going to the gym, getting up early will be too hard and you may even find your libido drop. You will have to find ways of staying energetic and beating the lethargy as this retrograde can run for over two months.
Jupiter Retrograde
Roughly once a year, Jupiter moves into retrograde. It’s a slow-moving, 120-day process that stands in contrast to some of the short retrograde transits. Jupiter rules luck and good fortune, but it would be an oversimplification to say this time brings just back luck and misfortune instead. Rather Jupiter Retrograde is a time to recalibrate. This is a time to reflect on where you are and make the changes you need to make in order to set yourself back on the right path.
Saturn Retrograde
Saturn is the planet of boundaries, responsibility and karma and when this planet goes into retrograde, it often comes with a teachable moment. This retrograde is meditative, it is an opportunity to explore the structures in your life. Rather than wanting you to abandon responsibility, this retrograde will have you carefully considering why this responsibility exists in the first place. Ultimately, you could come out the other side with a huge degree of personal growth, you just need to be willing to put in the work.
Uranus Retrograde
Uranus’ backwards movement runs for about five months, so you’ll be happy to hear this is one we should actually look forward to. Uranus is a humanitarian, it rules progressiveness, innovation and freedom. Uranus is known for bring surprises, whether you’re ready for them or not. We shouldn’t look at this as a moment to turn these elements on their head. Rather this retrograde tends to mellow out the traditional influence of Uranus. Rather than forcing change or rebellion, when Uranus is in retrograde, we’re all invited to embrace newness in our own time.
Neptune Retrograde
Dominating the latter half of 2024, Neptune Retrograde often numbs the typical influence of this planet. Neptune is our spiritual guide, ruling fantasy, dreams and intuition. So, when this planet moves backwards in the sky, there is a two-fold impact. We might feel ourselves lose our creative edge and find our intuition might be clouded. On the flip side, Neptune’s retrograde does an excellent job of unmasking mistruths and removing distractions from our paths.
Pluto Retrograde
Ruler of transformation and change, it’s only natural that Pluto’s retrograde would be a moment of rebirth. It is a time to purge your mind, body and soul of the things that don’t serve you. Here, you might find that old wounds resurface if you have not properly dealt with them. Don’t delay, clean house, or they’ll just come back around during the next Pluto backspin.
Image: Evan Leith on Unsplash
