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 2168· 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 25 Dec 2167 – 14 Jan (3 weeks), 20°49' Capricorn back to 4°33' Capricorn; shadow from 08 Dec 2167 to 03 Feb. Stations at 20:37 and 21:04 UT.
Retrograde 15 Apr – 09 May (3 weeks), 11°04' Taurus back to 0°48' Taurus; shadow from 02 Apr to 26 May. Stations at 21:00 and 14:50 UT.
Retrograde 18 Aug – 11 Sep (3 weeks), 17°45' Virgo back to 4°17' Virgo; shadow from 30 Jul to 25 Sep. Stations at 18:38 and 01:26 UT.
Retrograde 08 Dec – 28 Dec (3 weeks), 4°59' Capricorn back to 18°40' Sagittarius; shadow from 20 Nov to 16 Jan 2169. Stations at 17:39 and 12:26 UT.
♀︎Venus retrograde 2168· not retrograde this year
Venus holds a straight course through 2168; no spell, no shadow, no station to mark.
♂︎Mars retrograde 2168· once this year
Retrograde 26 Dec 2167 – 15 Mar (11 weeks), 25°24' Leo back to 5°58' Leo; shadow from 22 Oct 2167 to 22 May. Stations at 14:44 and 19:53 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 2168· twice this year
Retrograde 02 Nov 2167 – 29 Feb (17 weeks), 15°25' Cancer back to 5°21' Cancer; shadow from 08 Aug 2167 to 26 May. Stations at 16:36 and 13:19 UT.
Retrograde 03 Dec – 03 Apr 2169 (17 weeks), 18°00' Leo back to 7°57' Leo; shadow from 08 Sep to 30 Jun 2169. Stations at 17:21 and 03:42 UT.
♄︎Saturn retrograde 2168· once this year
Retrograde 22 May – 10 Oct (20 weeks), 12°58' Aquarius back to 6°19' Aquarius; shadow from 14 Feb to 14 Jan 2169. Stations at 08:50 and 04:13 UT.
♅︎Uranus retrograde 2168· once this year
Retrograde 27 May – 28 Oct (22 weeks), 23°09' Aquarius back to 19°13' Aquarius; shadow from 09 Feb to 11 Feb 2169. Stations at 09:12 and 17:02 UT.
♆︎Neptune retrograde 2168· once this year
Retrograde 17 May – 24 Oct (23 weeks), 15°54' Aquarius back to 13°07' Aquarius; shadow from 26 Jan to 12 Feb 2169. Stations at 16:07 and 17:41 UT.
♇︎Pluto retrograde 2168· twice this year
Retrograde 11 Oct 2167 – 22 Mar (23 weeks), 11°14' Cancer back to 9°07' Cancer; shadow from 11 Jun 2167 to 22 Jul. Stations at 17:29 and 16:15 UT.
Retrograde 12 Oct – 23 Mar 2169 (23 weeks), 12°22' Cancer back to 10°15' Cancer; shadow from 12 Jun to 23 Jul 2169. Stations at 04:25 and 23:38 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.