Retrograde Calendar
About Retrograde Calendar
Station times, degrees, durations, and shadow periods for every retrograde of the year — computed astronomy, not folklore.
No planet ever backs up; the loop is a trick of parallax as Earth laps a slower world or is lapped by a faster one. The tradition reads it accordingly. A changes a planet's gear, not its meaning; matters under its sponsorship come round again for review, revision, repair. The days that carry real weight are the , when a planet stands still to turn. Mark those dates, not the whole stretch.
☿︎Mercury retrograde 1872· four times this year
The classic season of crossed wires; three or four short spells a year. Re-read, re-confirm, back up the files; let the signature wait for the turning day if it can.
Retrograde 23 Dec 1871 – 13 Jan (3 weeks), 18°39' Capricorn back to 2°24' Capricorn; shadow from 06 Dec 1871 to 01 Feb. Stations at 23:44 and 01:30 UT.
Retrograde 14 Apr – 08 May (3 weeks), 9°19' Taurus back to 29°15' Aries; shadow from 31 Mar to 25 May. Stations at 09:11 and 03:41 UT.
Retrograde 17 Aug – 09 Sep (3 weeks), 15°47' Virgo back to 2°09' Virgo; shadow from 28 Jul to 23 Sep. Stations at 02:44 and 07:05 UT.
Retrograde 06 Dec – 26 Dec (3 weeks), 2°47' Capricorn back to 16°29' Sagittarius; shadow from 18 Nov to 14 Jan 1873. Stations at 21:01 and 16:13 UT.
♀︎Venus retrograde 1872· not retrograde this year
Venus holds a straight course through 1872; no spell, no shadow, no station to mark.
♂︎Mars retrograde 1872· not retrograde this year
Mars holds a straight course through 1872; no spell, no shadow, no station to mark.
The slow planets
Jupiter outward, a planet spends four to five months of every year retrograde; that is ordinary weather, not an event. The slower the planet, the longer the spell and the less it asks of any single day. Mark the stations; the rest is season.
♃︎Jupiter retrograde 1872· twice this year
Retrograde 16 Nov 1871 – 15 Mar (17 weeks), 29°54' Cancer back to 19°51' Cancer; shadow from 22 Aug 1871 to 11 Jun. Stations at 22:37 and 16:21 UT.
Retrograde 17 Dec – 17 Apr 1873 (17 weeks), 1°29' Virgo back to 21°27' Leo; shadow from 21 Sep to 15 Jul 1873. Stations at 02:22 and 10:58 UT.
♄︎Saturn retrograde 1872· once this year
Retrograde 30 Apr – 18 Sep (20 weeks), 21°16' Capricorn back to 14°38' Capricorn; shadow from 23 Jan to 24 Dec. Stations at 05:59 and 13:31 UT.
♅︎Uranus retrograde 1872· twice this year
Retrograde 06 Nov 1871 – 04 Apr (21 weeks), 1°13' Leo back to 27°06' Cancer; shadow from 23 Jul 1871 to 19 Jul. Stations at 22:18 and 00:00 UT.
Retrograde 10 Nov – 08 Apr 1873 (21 weeks), 5°52' Leo back to 1°45' Leo; shadow from 28 Jul to 24 Jul 1873. Stations at 19:57 and 21:11 UT.
♆︎Neptune retrograde 1872· twice this year
Retrograde 28 Jul 1871 – 02 Jan (23 weeks), 24°04' Aries back to 21°16' Aries; shadow from 05 Apr 1871 to 22 Apr. Stations at 07:02 and 01:09 UT.
Retrograde 29 Jul – 03 Jan 1873 (23 weeks), 26°19' Aries back to 23°31' Aries; shadow from 07 Apr to 24 Apr 1873. Stations at 20:33 and 11:45 UT.
♇︎Pluto retrograde 1872· twice this year
Retrograde 20 Aug 1871 – 01 Feb (24 weeks), 19°52' Taurus back to 17°55' Taurus; shadow from 17 Apr 1871 to 03 Jun. Stations at 02:04 and 04:47 UT.
Retrograde 20 Aug – 01 Feb 1873 (24 weeks), 20°49' Taurus back to 18°51' Taurus; shadow from 17 Apr to 04 Jun 1873. Stations at 07:34 and 09:41 UT.
All times Universal Time (UT), from the same engine as the sky. Spells that open or close beyond the calendar year are listed with their own year on the date; the window belongs to both years and appears on both pages. On doctrine: a retrograde conditions a planet's expression; it does not doom it. The working tradition keeps no list of forbidden days, a spell that repeats a is one process rather than three misfortunes, and the shadow is context, not an extension of the sentence. The stations are the moments that matter; what a planet touches while standing still, it means.