Planetary retrogrades

Every retrograde in 2028

Venus turns retrograde in Gemini on 10 May and direct on 22 June. Jupiter retrogrades through Virgo from January to May, and in August Saturn stations retrograde in Taurus for the first time in about thirty years, turning direct in January 2029. Mars stays direct all year.

Retrograde periods touching 2028, Mercury to Pluto
PlanetStations retrogradeStations directSignsDays
Mercury
19° Aquarius
3° Aquarius
Aquarius
21
Mercury
16° Gemini
7° Gemini
Gemini
24
Mercury
18° Libra
3° Libra
Libra
22
Venus
19° Gemini
3° Gemini
Gemini
43
Jupiter
27° Virgo
17° Virgo
Virgo
122
Saturn
11° Taurus
4° Taurus
Taurus
136
Uranus
9° Gemini
5° Gemini
Gemini
151
Uranus
14° Gemini
10° Gemini
Gemini
150
Neptune
8° Aries
6° Aries
Aries
158
Pluto
8° Aquarius
6° Aquarius
Aquarius
163

Periods that began in 2027 or end in 2029 are listed whole. No retrograde in 2028: 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.

What it means

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.

Your own sky

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.