Heavy Retrograde: A

Rare Opportunity
Posted on May 4, 2016 by GentleCompass.com

Were living in a very retro time.

No, I dont mean that we are reviving the hottest trends of the 60s and 70s, or that vinyl
record albums and PacMan are making a comeback. Im talking about something else:
We are living in a very retrograde moment in time.
Let me clarify what I mean
Four of the five inner planets of astrology (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn)
are retrograde at this moment. The only inner planet that couldpossibly be retrograde,
but isnt, is Venus. Thats pretty rare.
The Sun and Moon are never retrograde, but the nodes (Rahu and Ketu) are almost
always retrograde, as they are now (Rahu and Ketu are also loosely called planets as
well). So, four of the five inner planets that can be retrograde are retrograde, along with
Rahu and Ketu. Thats a full six-pack of retrograde celestials!
Why should you care?
Since the inner planets and the nodes deal with individual astrology (while the outer
planets relate more to generational trends and enduring social currents), the retrograde
status of these six celestials is subtly re-directing everybodyin a heavily inward
direction right now, and internally reworking all of us. This concentrated retrograde
activity cannot help but significantly affect each one of us.
How is it affecting you?
The effect of a planets retrograde motion is to reorient, re-align, and
internalize the things that the planet is influencing from its current position.
For almost everyone Ive met, the retrograde movement of planets is a puzzling feature
of astrology. So, I like to use the following simple analogy to demystify the effects of
planetary retrograde motion:
Imagine you are standing on a sidewalk, facing across the street to the opposite
sidewalk. Imagine also that the people you see walking along the adjacent sidewalk are
all traveling in one direction, say, from your right to your left. Then, imagine that one of
them stops, turns around, and begins walking back the same way he had just come. He
passes momentarily out of view to your right, and then reappears traveling again along
his original path until he finally passes out of view on your left.

To understand the analogy, all we need to do is imagine the general reasons why our
pedestrian might have traversed the sidewalk in that way. Why would he have stopped
and doubled-back on his path?
Here is a sampling of possible reasons:
1) He was reconsidering or returning to some matterwhether to repair something,
complete something left unfinished, or to remove something impeding his efforts.
2) He changed his plan or was rethinking his original intent.
3) He needed to better prepare or re-equip himself for his intended goal.
4) He needed to find help, do research, or secure reinforcements.
5) He had to contact an instrumental person or retrieve something instrumental to his
goal.
All of the above reasons serve to portray the nature of retrograde motion and the effects
of retrograde planets. And we can imagine each of these as a valid reason for someone
to behave as our pedestrian did. When planets go retrograde, we tend to find such
reasons to redirect our own course. In fact, the mind-space that results in the above 5
reasons for changing course is a retrograde mind-space. If you can put yourself in our
zigzagging side-walkers shoes, then you already intuitively understand the nature and
effects of retrograde planetary motion.
Retrograde activity is not mysterious at all, as it turns out, because it
corresponds to a frame of mind with which we all are very familiar.
Ill elaborate just a bit, for those who might need more clarification. When a planet goes
retrograde, our minds take on more of a retrograde orientation in the areas governed by
that planet (e.g. when Mercury goes retrograde, our thinking goes retrograde around our
communication, which is why communication is not so straight-forward during those
intervals). The more planets that are retrograde, the more extensive is our retrograde
head-space. Of course, outer events can trigger or necessitate this mental orientation,
but either way, well temporarily end up with a somewhat retrograde mind.
Re is for retrograde.
Notice how many of the key terms in our above reasons are re- words (reconsidering,
returning, repair, remove, rethinking, re-equip, research, reinforcement, retrieve).
Retrograde effects tend to involve re- words.

For a rough and ready rule of thumb, if you want to predict how a planets retrograde
motion will affect you, figure out what areas of your life the planet affects from its
current sign, and then apply a lot of re- words to those areas. Jupiter retrograde in your
10th house (the house that affects career) will give you opportunities to re-new or redirect your career trajectory. Saturn retrograde in your 4th house (the house that affects
our home and our roots,inter alia) will force you to repair or re-think your living situation,
or compel you to revisit or re-evaluate your family ties.
In retrograde periods, we are more removed from, and more abstractly
focused on, the results we seek. This is why our plans seem to get put on
hold in those periods.
Look again at the above 5 examples of the possible reasons why our pedestrian would
change course as he did. Notice how each reason implies that our side-walker was taking
stock of his situation. His change of direction illustrated that he was reflecting on his
course (or on his progress along his course).
Heres the analogy, in a nutshell: retrograde motion makes us take stock, reflect,
and act thoughtfully upon our resulting insights. Incidentally, our consequent actions will
eventually bear fruit when the planets revert back todirect motion (which is portrayed in
our sidewalk analogy when our pedestrian returns on our right along his original path
and disappears out of view on our left). Retrograde periods are a waiting game of sorts.

Conclusion
This is a good moment in time for each of us to deeply introspect and take an honest
personal inventory. Its an unusual opportunity to successfully tackle your closets (and
any skeletons therein), your attics and basements (with all the junk and baggage youve
been meaning to clear out), and any important blueprints that need substantive revision.
So take advantage of this rare chance to be highly effective and successful in such
efforts! Its really in the flow right now.
Jupiter is retrograde until May 9th, Mercury until May 22nd, Mars until June 29th, and Saturn
until August 13th. See what you notice when each successive planet goes direct, and tell
us about it in a comment below!