Note: This is my personal experience and contains a lot of UPG. Traditional astrology would say that you should not, under any circumstances, work with a planet when it is in retrograde motion.
As we approach two major person planet retrogrades in March (Mercury and Venus), I wanted to touch on working with personal planets during their retrograde cycles. For the purposes of this, we are focusing on Mercury, Venus, and Mars – we can extrapolate this to include Jupiter and Saturn, but that is a more complicated conversation better left for another day. We are not including the Sun and Moon here because, as luminaries, we do not perceive them as moving backward through the sky.
What is a retrograde?
A retrograde occurs because of the physics of our solar system: all planets rotate around our Sun, but we perceive them from our position on the Earth. It’s essential to understand this: all astrology is based on the position of the planets in relation to us.
We perceive all the planets as moving in the same direction through our skies, a term called prograde. (It’s seldom used in modern astrology, but it’s worth noting here.) At certain times, the planets appear to move in the opposite direction for a period of time; this is what we call a planetary retrograde.
What is interesting to note is that the planets appear to retrograde for two different reasons based on their position in our solar system.
The two planets inside of the Earth’s orbit, Mercury and Venus, appear to retrograde due to their own circumnavigation of the Sun. Mercury and Venus move fast – much faster than Earth or the outer planets. As they move around the Sun, they conjunct the Sun in two ways – either in inferior conjunction (when they are between us on Earth and the Sun) or in superior conjunction (when they are on the other side of the Sun from the Earth).
When the planet has completed its superior movement, it must move back around the Sun again in its inferior movement. This makes it appear to move backward in our skies toward and across the degree of the Sun, creating our retrograde cycles. The retrograde ends as the planet begins to turn around the Sun again and move into a superior position.
For the planets that are past the Earth (Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and our dwarf planet Pluto), retrogrades happen because of speed. The Earth is the fastest of these planets, and so it regularly catches up to and passes the outer planets in their orbits. When this happens, the planets appear to move backward for a time.
You have experienced this firsthand when you are in the fastest car on a highway – it can, at times, look like the car next to you is moving backward as you pass it.
In either case, because we track the planets in relation to the position of OUR planet when they move in the opposite direction as normal through the skies, we identify it as retrograde.
But What Does It MEAN?
In traditional astrology, planetary retrogrades were considered extremely bad omens, which meant that the powers of the planet were out of reach until the retrograde had ended. Most modern astrologers take a more nuanced approach.
When a planet retrogrades, its energy takes on a very different signature than when it is in forward motion. A planet considered highly beneficial (Venus/Jupiter) is less so when in retrograde motion. In contrast, a more malefic planet (Mars/Saturn) may be easier to approach and lighter-handed during their retrograde cycles. If you think about the domain the planet rules and then reverse the energy associated with that planet, you are in the realm of what energy it produces in retrograde.
Especially in regards to the personal planet which effect our personal lives most directly, this can create a lot of disruptions in our expected flows of energy.
- When Mercury is retrograde, we can assume disruptions will surround Communication, Technology, and Travel.
- When Venus is retrograde, we can expect disruptions in relationships, beauty, and art production. Negotiations can also go poorly, and pleasures of all kinds will be harder to find.
That is oversimplified but may give you an idea of what I am getting at here.
This doesn’t make retrograde cycles bad or wrong. It makes them different.
It’s wise to remember that retrograde cycles happen periodically: Mercury retrogrades 3-4x a year, Venus about every year and a half, and Mars every twenty-five months.
Will You Be Affected By the Upcoming Retrogrades?
I can’t answer that for you, not with any certainty. Some people seem more susceptible to changes in energy than others. Some people are more aware of what goes on in their own lives. Some people are more sensitive. Some retrogrades hit harder than others – due to sign placements, aspects to the other planets, and aspects in our own lives.
On average, people tend to notice personal planet retrogrades (Mercury, Venus, and Mars) more than the rest of the planets. People also tend to notice the retrogrades of their chart ruler or the ruler of the Sun and Moon the strongest. Additionally, retrogrades that strongly aspect your natal birth chart – especially by conjunction – are likely to have the most substantial impact on you.
In this way, Mercury retrogrades are most likely to impact Gemini and Virgo types (Sun, Moon, Ascendant, and Mercury). Venus retrogrades will most likely impact Taurus and Libra types (Sun, Moon, Ascendant, and Venus.) Mars retrogrades will most likely affect Aries and Scorpio types (Sun, Moon, Ascendant, and Mars.)
From another perspective, we can look at what you do and the impact the retrogrades might have on that:
Mercury retrograde will most likely impact writers, communicators, and the tech and travel industries. Venus retrogrades will most likely impact all relationships, artists, and those who work in the beauty and sex trade industries. Mars retrogrades will most likely impact soldiers, manual laborers, and anyone who works with their hands.
Should I Work With the Upcoming Retrogrades?
I’m not you, and I’m not here to tell you what to do.
But here are a few things that lead me towards yes:
- You work in one of the industries listed above and need your work to continue as smoothly as possible
- You need to travel during Mercury’s upcoming retrograde cycle
- You’re in a rocky relationship, and Venus is going to retrograde
- You’re a writer or artist who wants to remain productive
- You were born while that planet was in retrograde and have had a hard time connecting with it in prograde motion
- You work with that planet regularly
That last one is the most important to me. If you want to work to have a strong working relationship with one of the planets, I think that you should be working with them in prograde and retrograde motion.
There are caveats to this. I would be careful before working with a retrograde planet while they are also poorly placed by dignity (in the sign of their fall or exile) unless you have a STRONG reason to do so. This goes doubly for our two most benefic planets (Venus and Jupiter).
Note: in these upcoming March 2025 retrogrades, Mercury is in its fall AND exile while it is in Pisces, and Venus is in her exile in Aries. These are both complex retrogrades as they both span two signs, so neither sign dominates the retrograde cycles.
Unless you are mitigating the effects of the upcoming retrogrades, I would suggest against working with them, again, with exceptions for times of great need and some preference to the reasons mentioned above.
That said, you can ALWAYS work with a retrograde cycle to remediate some of its harsher aspects.
Examples of working with Retrograde Mercury
- Casting a road opener to keep your life running smoothly during its retrograde cycle
- Casting a protection spell over your computer, router, or modem to keep your internet running smoothly while you work from home
- Casting a spell for clear communication in your workplace
- Creating a charm so that your plane is on time for your vacation
- pathfinding of all kinds is always supported by Mercury’s retrograde cycles
Examples of Working with Venus Retrograde
- Creating a happy home or peaceful home charm for your house to keep away the senseless arguments
- Creating an inspiration spell to keep you motivated to create art and not fall fallow during the retrograde period
- Charm an object to help you get tips, commissions, or sales of your art
- Creating a charm to keep your heart happy and healthy during Venus’s retrograde
Most of these charms/spells are best cast while the planet is in direct/prograde motion and fed throughout the retrograde period. I find the Mercury spells are often well-fed with coffee, and Venus spells are often well-fed with perfume, rose water, or flower teas. Honey or sugar might also work well, depending on your intent.
When choosing a spell to work with personal planet magic, I prefer the day of the week associated with the planet during their hour.