Retrograde planets today
The table shows, for today, whether each planet is direct or retrograde and until what date. We computed it from NASA JPL’s DE440 ephemeris, in the same geocentric tropical longitude a birth chart uses.
What “retrograde” means. Planets always travel the same way around the Sun. But we watch them from another moving planet, and when Earth and another planet pass each other, the slower one appears to slide backward against the stars for weeks or months. At the start and end of that stretch the planet seems to stand still: those are the stations. Nothing changes on the planet; only our angle of view does.
Inner planets: Mercury and Venus. They are closer to the Sun than we are and faster. They look retrograde when they overtake Earth on the inside, around inferior conjunction, as they pass between Earth and the Sun. So they always retrograde near the Sun: Venus makes its stations about 29° from it.
Outer planets: Mars to Pluto. They are farther out and slower than Earth. This time Earth does the overtaking, on the inside, around opposition, when the planet sits directly across the sky from the Sun: it rises at sunset, is up all night, and is at its closest and brightest. So the outer planets retrograde far from the Sun: by our calculation Mars is only retrograde when it is more than about 130° from the Sun, Jupiter more than about 115°, Saturn more than about 109°, and Pluto more than about 95°.
Never the Sun or the Moon. The Sun’s apparent motion is just Earth’s orbit reflected back, and Earth cannot overtake itself; the Moon orbits Earth, not the Sun. Neither can appear to move backward. The lunar nodes, on the other hand, move backward almost all the time; the mean node, which our charts use, always does, completing a full circle every 18.6 years.
Mercury racks up the most retrogrades, about three a year of three weeks each, and has its own page with dates, shadow periods and meaning sign by sign: Mercury retrograde.
| Planet | Today | Until | Next retrograde |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Direct | — | Oct 24, 2026 · Scorpio |
| Venus | Retrograde · Scorpio | Nov 14, 2026 | May 10, 2028 · Gemini |
| Mars | Direct | — | Jan 10, 2027 · Virgo |
| Jupiter | Direct | — | Dec 13, 2026 · Leo |
| Saturn | Retrograde · Aries | Dec 10, 2026 | Aug 9, 2027 · Aries |
| Uranus | Retrograde · Gemini | Feb 8, 2027 | Sep 15, 2027 · Gemini |
| Neptune | Retrograde · Aries | Dec 12, 2026 | Jul 9, 2027 · Aries |
| Pluto | Retrograde · Aquarius | Oct 16, 2026 | May 8, 2027 · Aquarius |
Retrograde planets in 2026: calendar
The calendar lists every retrograde that touches 2026, planet by planet, with the retrograde station, the direct station, and the sign and degree of each. Times are in UTC, so in the Americas the local date can be the day before.
You will notice every year has roughly the same skeleton: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto go retrograde almost every year for four or five months each, and since those periods overlap, for much of the year three, four or five planets are retrograde at once. That is normal, not an omen.
What changes from year to year are the personal planets. Mercury is always there, three or four times. Venus and Mars skip many years. A few examples from our data: Venus is retrograde from October 3, 2026 (8°29′ Scorpio) to November 14, 2026 (22°52′ Libra); Mars from January 10, 2027 (10°26′ Virgo) to April 1, 2027 (20°56′ Leo); Saturn from July 26, 2026 (14°45′ Aries) to December 10, 2026 (7°56′ Aries).
Astrologically, a year with Venus and Mars retrograde carries more themes of personal review; a year without them, fewer. The rest of the calendar is the background everyone lives against.
2026
| Planet | Signs | Stations retrograde | Stations direct |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Pisces | Feb 26, 202622°34′ | Mar 20, 20268°29′ |
| Mercury | Cancer | Jun 29, 202626°16′ | Jul 23, 202616°19′ |
| Mercury | Scorpio | Oct 24, 202620°59′ | Nov 13, 20265°02′ |
| Venus | Scorpio → Libra | Oct 3, 20268°29′ | Nov 14, 202622°52′ |
| Mars | No retrograde this year. | ||
| Jupiter | Cancer | Nov 11, 202525°09′ | Mar 11, 202615°05′ |
| Jupiter | Leo | Dec 13, 202627°01′ | Apr 13, 202717°00′ |
| Saturn | Aries | Jul 26, 202614°45′ | Dec 10, 20267°56′ |
| Uranus | Gemini → Taurus | Sep 6, 20251°28′ | Feb 4, 202627°28′ |
| Uranus | Gemini | Sep 10, 20265°42′ | Feb 8, 20271°41′ |
| Neptune | Aries | Jul 7, 20264°25′ | Dec 12, 20261°37′ |
| Pluto | Aquarius | May 6, 20265°31′ | Oct 16, 20263°04′ |
2027
| Planet | Signs | Stations retrograde | Stations direct |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Pisces → Aquarius | Feb 9, 20275°59′ | Mar 3, 202720°55′ |
| Mercury | Cancer → Gemini | Jun 10, 20276°22′ | Jul 4, 202727°28′ |
| Mercury | Scorpio → Libra | Oct 7, 20274°56′ | Oct 28, 202719°19′ |
| Venus | No retrograde this year. | ||
| Mars | Virgo → Leo | Jan 10, 202710°26′ | Apr 1, 202720°56′ |
| Jupiter | Leo | Dec 13, 202627°01′ | Apr 13, 202717°00′ |
| Saturn | Aries | Aug 9, 202727°53′ | Dec 24, 202721°01′ |
| Uranus | Gemini | Sep 10, 20265°42′ | Feb 8, 20271°41′ |
| Uranus | Gemini | Sep 15, 20279°58′ | Feb 12, 20285°56′ |
| Neptune | Aries | Jul 9, 20276°40′ | Dec 15, 20273°51′ |
| Pluto | Aquarius | May 8, 20277°11′ | Oct 18, 20274°45′ |
Dates computed by us from NASA JPL's DE440 ephemeris, in Universal Time (UTC). Depending on your time zone, a station can fall on the day before or after.
How often and how long each planet is retrograde
The slower the planet, the more of its time it spends retrograde: Venus only 7.2 %, Mars 9.5 %, Mercury 19.2 %, Jupiter 30.2 %, Saturn 36.4 % and Pluto 44 %. The table also gives the average length of each retrograde and how many happen per year, 1900 to 2100, computed by us from NASA’s DE440 ephemeris.
Why it creeps toward half. An infinitely distant object that did not move at all would still seem to rock back and forth each year purely because Earth goes around the Sun: half the year one way, half the other, exactly 50 %. The farther and slower a planet, the closer it gets to that case: Earth’s motion swamps its own, and its retrograde share climbs toward half. Pluto, which takes 248 years to orbit the Sun, is already at 44 %.
Why Venus and Mars are the rarest. Venus and Earth travel at fairly similar speeds, so Venus takes a long time to gain a lap on us: they pass only every 19 months, and the pass lasts about 42 days. Mars is the mirror case, a relatively fast outer planet that Earth catches only every 26 months. Mercury, far faster than us, laps us much more often, which is why it adds up to more retrograde time than Venus or Mars even though each episode is short.
What that means for a birth chart. The share of time is, in practice, the share of people born with that planet retrograde. Pluto, Neptune or Uranus retrograde in your chart is true of four people in ten: common, and modest in meaning. Venus retrograde is true of one in fourteen, Mars of one in ten: that is genuinely unusual and worth attention.
| Planet | % of time retrograde | Average length (days) | Times per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | 19.2 % | 22.2 | 3.15 |
| Venus | 7.2 % | 42.1 | 0.62 |
| Mars | 9.5 % | 73.7 | 0.47 |
| Jupiter | 30.2 % | 120.6 | 0.92 |
| Saturn | 36.4 % | 137.6 | 0.96 |
| Uranus | 41.2 % | 152.1 | 0.99 |
| Neptune | 42.9 % | 158.1 | 0.99 |
| Pluto | 44 % | 161.7 | 0.99 |
Retrograde planets in the birth chart
A retrograde planet in the birth chart means that planet’s function is lived inwardly before it is expressed: it gets processed, reviewed, ripens at its own pace and usually ends up in a very personal form. It is not a weakness or a bad sign. Traditional astrology, as in William Lilly in the 17th century, counted it among the accidental debilities; the modern reading treats it as internalization.
How many is normal. Add up the percentages in the table and the average number of retrograde planets in a chart comes out at about 2.3. Two, three or four is typical; zero or five is not extraordinary either. Most of that count comes from the outer planets, which are retrograde close to half the time.
Personal versus generational. A retrograde Mercury, Venus or Mars weighs far more than a retrograde Neptune or Pluto. The personal planets move fast and describe how you think, love and act; having one retrograde puts you in a minority and sets you apart from people born a few weeks earlier or later. The outer planets describe the themes of an era, and their retrograde status is shared by about half your generation. Jupiter and Saturn sit in between: social planets, retrograde in three charts out of ten and a little over one in three.
How to weigh them. A retrograde planet matters more if it is also strong in your chart: if it rules your rising sign, sits on an angle (houses 1, 4, 7 or 10), has many aspects, or was near a station, almost standing still. A planet that was stationing when you were born is treated as especially intense, whichever direction it was turning. Its aspects and house tell you where it shows.
How to find yours. Enter your date of birth in the calculator above: it shows which planets were retrograde that day. If you were born on a station day, the time decides, and the most reliable answer is your full birth chart, where every retrograde planet is marked with an R and interpreted in its sign and house. For what each planet stands for, see planets in astrology; for the whole method, how to read a birth chart.
Each retrograde planet, one by one
The astronomy of each retrograde, what it is said to mean as a transit, and what it means to be born with it. All figures are ours, 1900 to 2100.
Venus retrograde
The astronomy. Venus spends less time retrograde than any other planet: 7.2 %. It goes retrograde about 0.62 times a year, once every 19 months, for about 42 days (41 to 43), backing up around 16°. It happens around inferior conjunction, when Venus passes between Earth and the Sun at about 40 million km: the point where it stops being the evening star and reappears as the morning star. Five Venus cycles take almost exactly eight years, so its retrogrades recur in the same stretch of the zodiac every eight years, a couple of degrees earlier. The 2026 retrograde, October 3 (8°29′ Scorpio) to November 14 (22°52′ Libra), lands almost on top of the one in 2018.
As a transit. Tradition reads it as a review of relationships, money and taste: past relationships resurface, values get reexamined, a purchase or a look gets questioned. It advises against starting a serious relationship, getting married, drastic changes to your appearance or luxury purchases, on the symbolic logic that what begins now tends to be revised later. Like any transit, it is symbolic language, not fate.
In the birth chart. About one person in fourteen is born with Venus retrograde. It describes affection that is processed inwardly: you are slow to trust, wary of instant infatuation, and you know what you value only after thinking it through. Your taste is unconventional and does not follow fashion. It often describes someone who had to build self-worth from the inside, without leaning on others’ approval, and who returns to past relationships or interests to understand them differently.
Mars retrograde
The astronomy. Mars goes retrograde every 26 months (0.47 times a year) and so spends 9.5 % of its time retrograde. Each retrograde lasts 73.7 days on average, between two and nearly three months, with an arc of 10° to almost 20°. It happens around opposition, when Earth overtakes Mars on the inside: Mars is then at its closest, rises at sunset and shines like a reddish star all night. The next one, January 10, 2027 (10°26′ Virgo) to April 1, 2027 (20°56′ Leo), covers about 19°.
As a transit. Mars is energy, initiative, conflict and desire. Retrograde, tradition speaks of projects that stall, initiatives that need rethinking before they continue, and old conflicts that flare again. It advises against starting new fights, legal, professional or personal, and against forcing what will not move. It is a good time to pick up something you left unfinished and to redirect effort through strategy rather than force.
In the birth chart. About one person in ten is born with Mars retrograde. It describes energy that builds before it comes out: your anger takes a while to show and, when it does, it has a history. You tend to act after thinking, with strategy and staying power rather than impulse, and your engine starts late but goes a long way. The risk is swallowing what you should say; the gift is persistence that does not need anyone pushing you.
Jupiter retrograde
The astronomy. Jupiter goes retrograde almost every year, 0.92 times a year, or once every 13 months, for about 120 days, roughly four months, backing up about 10°. That adds up to 30.2 % of its time. As with every outer planet, the middle of the retrograde is the opposition, when Jupiter is at its closest and among the brightest objects in the night sky. In our data, one of its retrogrades runs from December 13, 2026 (27° Leo) to April 13, 2027 (17° Leo).
As a transit. Jupiter is growth, confidence, belief, study and luck. Retrograde, tradition reads it as a time to review the direction of your growth: which expansion plans still make sense, which beliefs are still yours, which opportunity has come around again. Since it covers nearly a third of the year, its effect is considered mild.
In the birth chart. Three people in ten have it. It describes faith and a philosophy built from the inside rather than inherited: you believe what you have tested. Your generosity is selective and considered, and your good luck tends to be the kind you built yourself by persisting. Many people with Jupiter retrograde follow a very personal spiritual or intellectual path, outside the institutions.
Saturn retrograde
The astronomy. Saturn goes retrograde 0.96 times a year, for about 138 days, four and a half months, backing up about 7°. It is retrograde 36.4 % of the time, over a third. In 2026 it runs from July 26 (14°45′ Aries) to December 10 (7°56′ Aries). It is only ever retrograde when it is more than about 109° from the Sun, in the part of the sky opposite it.
As a transit. Saturn is structure, commitment, limits, responsibility and time. Retrograde, tradition talks about reviewing structures: commitments you took on, rules that no longer work, unfinished duties that come back. It is more an audit than a punishment, and its general effect is moderate, since it covers over a third of every year.
In the birth chart. A little over one person in three has it. It describes inner authority: you set your own rules, often stricter than anyone else would. There is a demanding inner critic and, with it, discipline that needs no supervision. It often describes someone who had to grow up early or build their own structure without a good outside model, and who over the years becomes the solid support they once lacked. Its rewards come late, and they last.
Uranus retrograde
The astronomy. Uranus goes retrograde practically every year, 0.99 times, for about 152 days, five months, backing up only about 4°. It is retrograde 41.2 % of the time. It takes 84 years to orbit the Sun, so its own motion is small next to Earth’s, which is why its share gets so close to half. From the retrograde that starts in September 2026, its loops fall entirely within Gemini.
As a transit. Uranus is sudden change, rupture, freedom and innovation. Retrograde, tradition says the change turns inward: what gets liberated is a way of thinking more than an outer situation. Since it fills five months of every year, it is not an exceptional period.
In the birth chart. Four people in ten have it, so on its own it says little. When Uranus is strong in the chart, its retrograde describes a quiet rebelliousness: you do not need to break with everything visibly, but inside you follow your own judgment and are hard to sway. The big changes in your life tend to brew in silence and then appear all at once, to the surprise of people who saw nothing coming. Your originality is not out to shock: it belongs to someone who reached their own conclusions and feels no need to announce them.
Neptune retrograde
The astronomy. Neptune goes retrograde once a year for about 158 days and backs up only about 3°; it is retrograde 42.9 % of the time. It takes 165 years to orbit the Sun. Since 2026 it has been in the first degrees of Aries: its 2026 retrograde runs from July 7 (4°25′ Aries) to December 12 (1°37′ Aries).
As a transit. Neptune is imagination, spirituality, illusion and also confusion. Retrograde, tradition links it to a time of clarity: some illusions fade and what was blurry comes into focus. It is a subtle transit, more useful for checking where you are placing your hopes than for expecting concrete events.
In the birth chart. More than four people in ten have it, so it is a trait of a generation and an era rather than a personal one. When Neptune is strong in your chart, on an angle or aspecting the Sun, Moon or rising sign, its retrograde suggests a very private spirituality and imagination, lived inwardly, and a sensitivity to atmospheres that is not always visible from outside. It often describes someone who needs time alone to recharge and whose inner world runs deeper than they let on.
Pluto retrograde
The astronomy. Pluto spends more time retrograde than any other planet: 44 %, about 162 days every year, more than five months, while backing up only 2 to 3°. It takes 248 years to orbit the Sun, and its apparent motion is almost entirely Earth’s orbit reflected back. It has been in Aquarius since 2024; in 2026 it is retrograde from May 6 (5°31′ Aquarius) to October 16 (3°04′ Aquarius).
As a transit. Pluto is deep transformation, power, what is hidden. Retrograde, tradition speaks of transformations that keep working underneath, out of sight: reviewing where power sits in your life and what it is time to let go. It covers almost half of every year, so it is not a special period; where it shows, by tradition, is in the house of your chart it moves through and in any personal planets it touches.
In the birth chart. Nearly half of all people have it, so on its own it says very little about you. When Pluto is strong in your chart, its retrograde describes an intensity lived in private: your transformations are internal, often invisible to others until they are done, and your relationship with power runs more through self-control than through control of others.
Frequently asked questions
What planets are retrograde today?
The table at the top of this page shows, for today, which planets are direct and which are retrograde and until when, computed from NASA’s DE440 ephemeris.
What does it mean when a planet is retrograde?
It appears, from Earth, to move backward through the zodiac. It is a perspective effect that happens when Earth and another planet pass each other; no planet actually reverses.
Is it normal to have a lot of retrograde planets in a birth chart?
Yes. The average chart has two or three retrograde planets, because Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are retrograde between a third and almost half of the time.
How often is Venus retrograde?
Every 19 months, for about 42 days. It is the planet that spends the least time retrograde: 7.2 %.
How long does Saturn retrograde last?
About four and a half months, and it happens almost every year. Saturn is retrograde a little over a third of the time.
How long is Jupiter retrograde?
About four months, roughly every 13 months. Jupiter is retrograde around 30 % of the time.
Can the Sun or Moon be retrograde?
No. The Sun’s apparent motion reflects Earth’s own orbit and the Moon orbits Earth, so neither can appear to move backward.
How do I find out which planets are retrograde in my birth chart?
Enter your date of birth in the calculator on this page, or get your full birth chart, where every retrograde planet is marked with an R.