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 1977· 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 28 Dec 1976 – 17 Jan (3 weeks), 23°19' Capricorn back to 7°05' Capricorn; shadow from 11 Dec 1976 to 05 Feb. Stations at 04:33 and 08:05 UT.
Retrograde 20 Apr – 13 May (3 weeks), 14°30' Taurus back to 4°42' Taurus; shadow from 06 Apr to 30 May. Stations at 02:07 and 20:55 UT.
Retrograde 22 Aug – 14 Sep (3 weeks), 20°46' Virgo back to 6°56' Virgo; shadow from 02 Aug to 28 Sep. Stations at 14:17 and 15:01 UT.
Retrograde 12 Dec – 31 Dec (3 weeks), 7°26' Capricorn back to 21°08' Sagittarius; shadow from 24 Nov to 19 Jan 1978. Stations at 02:06 and 22:07 UT.
♀︎Venus retrograde 1977· once this year
Retrograde 16 Mar – 27 Apr (6 weeks), 24°33' Aries back to 8°14' Aries; shadow from 11 Feb to 30 May. Stations at 02:58 and 09:51 UT.
♂︎Mars retrograde 1977· once this year
Retrograde 12 Dec – 02 Mar 1978 (11 weeks), 11°33' Leo back to 22°16' Cancer; shadow from 10 Oct to 08 May 1978. Stations at 19:13 and 09:58 UT.
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 1977· twice this year
Retrograde 19 Sep 1976 – 15 Jan (17 weeks), 1°12' Gemini back to 21°10' Taurus; shadow from 26 Jun 1976 to 09 Apr. Stations at 18:37 and 10:58 UT.
Retrograde 24 Oct – 20 Feb 1978 (17 weeks), 6°08' Cancer back to 26°04' Gemini; shadow from 30 Jul to 17 May 1978. Stations at 10:09 and 01:20 UT.
♄︎Saturn retrograde 1977· twice this year
Retrograde 27 Nov 1976 – 11 Apr (19 weeks), 16°52' Leo back to 9°57' Leo; shadow from 25 Aug 1976 to 16 Jul. Stations at 18:53 and 05:33 UT.
Retrograde 11 Dec – 25 Apr 1978 (19 weeks), 0°32' Virgo back to 23°39' Leo; shadow from 08 Sep to 31 Jul 1978. Stations at 12:06 and 12:18 UT.
♅︎Uranus retrograde 1977· once this year
Retrograde 14 Feb – 16 Jul (22 weeks), 11°47' Scorpio back to 7°41' Scorpio; shadow from 03 Nov 1976 to 30 Oct. Stations at 19:55 and 08:32 UT.
♆︎Neptune retrograde 1977· once this year
Retrograde 18 Mar – 25 Aug (23 weeks), 16°08' Sagittarius back to 13°22' Sagittarius; shadow from 27 Nov 1976 to 15 Dec. Stations at 07:37 and 12:02 UT.
♇︎Pluto retrograde 1977· once this year
Retrograde 16 Jan – 21 Jun (22 weeks), 14°11' Libra back to 11°23' Libra; shadow from 29 Sep 1976 to 10 Oct. Stations at 06:51 and 13:33 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.