About Retrograde Planets
A Detailed Example
While astronomers simply explain the mechanics of retrograde motion, we astrologers try to understand what meaning this phenomenon could convey to us.
Let us note that as a result of retrograde motion, a planet passes thrice along one and the same segment of ecliptic. Say, during the retrograde motion of Mercury in July 2006 Mercury stopped in its apparent motion against the starry sky on the 4th of July while being in the 2nd degree of Leo. Mercury then went backwards and was moving this way until it reached the 22nd degree of Cancer. On the 29th of July it stopped and from there resumed its normal forward motion.
Hence in the process of retrograde motion Mercury was moving backwards along the piece of ecliptic from the 2nd degree of Leo to the 22nd degree of Cancer. However, to reach the 2nd degree of Leo, Mercury had to already pass along the same segment of ecliptic. It originally crossed the 22nd degree of Cancer around the 17th of June. And after reaching the same 22nd degree of Cancer in retrograde motion, Mercury reached the 2nd degree of Leo again - this happened around the 12th of August.
The whole story looks like this:
- 22nd degree of Cancer on the 17th of June (point 1 on the picture below),
- 2nd degree of Leo on the 4th of July (point 2),
- 22nd degree of Cancer on the 29th of July (point 3),
- 2nd degree of Leo on the 12th of August (point 4).
As you can see, Mercury walks along the same piece of ecliptic (22 Cancer - 2 Leo) thrice: from point 1 to point 2 (direct), from point 2 to point 3 (retrograde) and from point 3 to point 4 (direct).
Being astrologers, we should think in the terms of "as above, so below". So what could it mean for us, terrestrial beings, if celestial Mercury stops, goes back and then forward again, passing thrice the same piece of ecliptic along the way?