Have you ever just felt out of wack? Everything is just crumbling before your eyes? Look up at the stars and there’s your answer! I know you’ve checked your horoscope at least once in your life and sometimes, they can be scarily true. Gravity, the stars, and the planets have played a role in your life ever since the moment you were born. Don’t get me wrong, I’m the typical Catholic girl that has gone to Sunday school, sings in the choir, and has gone to teenage church retreats. Call me blasphemous, but I still believe that there is so much more than what is told. Everything happens for a reason and the universe plays a big role aka astrology!
These periods of time where you just feel funky aren’t because of PMS, but a result of retrograde. Retrograde is when, from our perspective on Earth, another appears to be moving backwards. I know that makes ZERO sense, but give me a moment. Instead of it moving backwards, Earth is on space dust and orbits the Sun faster than her fellow planets. When this happens, that’s when the chaos of retrograde consumes everyone. After Earth completes its orbit, everything is “normal” again, thus putting us in prograde. Each retrograde cycle has a “shadow period”— the transition of the retrograde planet from apparent backward to forward motion and vice versa. For that reason, you may feel the awkward stirrings of a retrograde cycle for several days, even weeks, before it officially begins.
The most commonly-known retrograde is Mercury—planet correlated with communication, transportation, travel and technology—which goes retrograde for three weeks, three or four times a year. During a Mercury retrograde cycle, arguments and misunderstandings erupt, scheduled plans disintegrate, your phone breaks, and you just want to strangle your best friend suddenly. Astrologers advise precautions: back up your digital files before this period begins, postpone any deals, and plan to repeat or explain yourself a few extra times.
Love planet Venus, which is starting on October 5th and ending November 16th, goes retrograde every 18 months. This retrograde can reveal any weak links in a relationship or bring back past paramours. Astrologers advise against proposals, weddings, and any major relationship moves during this 4-6 week period, although the tabloids are predictably peppered with celebrity breakups each time Venus goes rogue. Another perspective on retrograde is that it doesn’t revolve around your F-buddy boyfriend, instead it’s about YOU. It exemplifies your values, time, and energy; overall it can be seen as a period of self-reflection. Mars is retrograde every two years for about two months, which can stir up conflict and fighting. The “outer planets”—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto—all go retrograde for four to five months every year. Forget about hiding under a rock, because most of the time at least one planet, if not more, is in retrograde.
If you want to see how the upcoming retrograde will directly affect you, you can get a birth/natal chart. This chart is based upon your birth date, exact birth time, and where you were born. Once you fill in that info, it maps out which sign each astral body happened to be in the exact moment you were born. The one everyone is most familiar is their sun sign – the ones we read horoscopes for. A thorough chart can tell you about yourself (even the stuff you didn’t want to admit), your family, the life you were born into, and what your soul is yearning to achieve in this life. There’s tons of websites online that develop thorough birth charts for free, so give it a try and maybe you’ll get some enlightenment!