Every retrograde in 2026
Mars stays direct all of 2026, so the inner-planet story is Mercury’s three water-sign retrogrades and Venus retrograde from 3 October to 14 November, backing from Scorpio into Libra. Saturn and Neptune both turn retrograde in Aries over the summer, and Jupiter starts a new retrograde in Leo on 13 December.
| Planet | Stations retrograde | Stations direct | Signs | Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mercury | 22° Pisces | 8° Pisces | Pisces | 23 |
Mercury | 26° Cancer | 16° Cancer | Cancer | 24 |
Mercury | 20° Scorpio | 5° Scorpio | Scorpio | 20 |
Venus | 8° Scorpio | 22° Libra | Scorpio → Libra | 42 |
Jupiter | 25° Cancer | 15° Cancer | Cancer | 119 |
Jupiter | 27° Leo | 16° Leo | Leo | 121 |
Saturn | 14° Aries | 7° Aries | Aries | 137 |
Uranus | 1° Gemini | 27° Taurus | Gemini → Taurus | 151 |
Uranus | 5° Gemini | 1° Gemini | Gemini | 151 |
Neptune | 4° Aries | 1° Aries | Aries | 158 |
Pluto | 5° Aquarius | 3° Aquarius | Aquarius | 162 |
Periods that began in 2025 or end in 2027 are listed whole. No retrograde in 2026: Mars.
All times are UTC (Universal Time, the same as GMT outside daylight-saving time). Add your time-zone offset for local time. An event late in the UTC day can fall on the next date in Asia and Australia, and one early in the UTC day on the previous date in the Americas.
Computed by Lunonis with our own ephemeris code (built on astronomy-engine, tested against Swiss Ephemeris): geocentric, tropical zodiac, true equinox of date. Lunation and eclipse times match NASA’s published tables to about a minute. Station times are good to within an hour or so: a planet barely moves at its station, so the exact minute is soft in any ephemeris.
Stations and retrogrades
Every planet from Mercury outwards appears to move backwards for part of its cycle, as Earth passes it or it passes Earth. Mercury does it for about three weeks, three times a year; Venus for six weeks every 19 months; Mars for two to two and a half months every 26 months. Jupiter and the slower planets are retrograde four to five months of every year.
A station is the day a planet seems to stop before turning. Astrologers give stations more weight than the retrograde period itself, especially if the station degree touches a planet in your chart.
Inner-planet retrogrades (Mercury, Venus, Mars) are usually read as times to review what that planet rules: words, relationships and values, drive. The outer-planet retrogrades are so long and regular that they read more as background. None of them is a reason to fear a month; they’re a reflective lens.
More from the sky calendar
- Mercury retrograde 2026Three times a year Mercury appears to move backwards. Station dates, signs and shadow periods.
- Full moons 2026Twelve or thirteen full moons a year, with their traditional names, signs and lunar eclipses.
- New moons 2026Each new moon’s exact time and degree, the start of every lunar month, with the solar eclipses marked.
- Eclipses 2026Solar and lunar eclipses: total, annular, partial or penumbral, with the sign of each.
- Planetary retrogrades 2027Planetary retrogrades: the 2027 table
- Planetary retrogrades 2028Planetary retrogrades: the 2028 table
- Mercury retrograde 2025–2028All Mercury retrogrades 2025–2028 on one page
- Sky calendarCalendars by year
How this sky meets your chart
These dates are the same for everyone. A personal forecast reads them against your own natal chart: which planets the transits touch, in which houses, by topic. Symbolic guidance for reflection, never predictions about health or money.