Throughout this year, the cosmos invites us to pause, reflect, and recalibrate as several planets embark on their retrograde journeys. From our vantage point on Earth, these planets will appear to move backward in their orbits, creating periods dedicated to reviewing the core themes they govern—from communication and relationships to ambition and deep-seated transformation. This celestial schedule affects everyone, offering a universal opportunity to revisit past decisions, refine current strategies, and release what no longer serves us, ensuring we can move forward with greater clarity and purpose once the planets resume their direct motion.
What is a Retrograde, Really?
Before we dive into the calendar, it’s crucial to understand what a retrograde actually is. Astronomically, it’s an optical illusion. Just as a faster train appears to move backward when you pass it on a slower train, Earth’s own orbit and speed can make other planets in our solar system look like they’ve reversed course.
Astrologically, however, this backward motion has profound meaning. When a planet is retrograde, its energy is turned inward. Instead of expressing its themes externally, we are encouraged to process them internally. This makes retrograde periods less about initiating new projects and more about reflection, research, and re-evaluation. Think of it as a cosmic “edit” cycle, a chance to fine-tune areas of your life before launching the final version.
While Mercury Retrograde has gained a notorious reputation for causing chaos, retrogrades are not inherently negative. They are a necessary part of the cosmic rhythm, preventing us from moving forward so quickly that we miss crucial details. By embracing the “re-” prefix—review, reconsider, renew, release—you can use these periods for immense personal growth.
Your 2024 Retrograde Calendar
Here is your planet-by-planet guide to every major retrograde this year. Mark your calendars and prepare to work with the cosmic flow, not against it.
Mercury Retrograde: The Great Communicator’s Pause
Mercury is the planet of the mind, governing communication, technology, travel, data, and daily commerce. When it goes retrograde, these areas of life can become tangled. We experience misunderstandings, tech glitches, travel delays, and contractual confusion. It’s a time when emails get lost, plans go awry, and ex-partners might slide back into your DMs.
The key to navigating this transit is to slow down and double-check everything. Proofread your messages, back up your hard drives, leave early for appointments, and avoid signing major contracts if possible. Instead, use this time to review old projects, reconnect with old friends (intentionally!), and research future plans.
This Year’s Mercury Retrograde Dates:
- April 1 to April 25 in Aries: This fiery retrograde demands a review of our impulses, identity, and how we assert ourselves. Misunderstandings can quickly escalate into arguments, so think before you speak. It’s a time to reassess your personal brand and how you initiate action.
- August 5 to August 28 in Virgo and Leo: Starting in analytical Virgo and backing into expressive Leo, this retrograde asks us to edit our daily routines and creative projects. Review your health, your work processes, and whether your creative passions are truly bringing you joy.
- November 25 to December 15 in Sagittarius: Taking place in the sign of big ideas and belief systems, this retrograde calls for a review of your personal philosophies and long-term plans. Travel plans are especially prone to disruption, and it’s wise to fact-check information before you share it.
Mars Retrograde: Reassessing Ambition and Action
Mars is the planet of action, energy, desire, anger, and ambition. Its retrograde, which happens only once every two years, is a significant downshift in our collective drive. During this period, our energy levels can dip, projects can stall, and frustrations can simmer beneath the surface. Unresolved anger may reappear, demanding to be addressed.
This is not the time to force new beginnings or launch aggressive campaigns. Instead, it’s a powerful opportunity to reassess your strategies, motivations, and how you handle conflict. Ask yourself: What am I truly fighting for? Is my current approach working? It’s a period for strategic retreat and planning your next move, not for charging headfirst into battle.
This Year’s Mars Retrograde Dates:
- December 6, 2024, to February 23, 2025, in Leo and Cancer: The final retrograde of the year begins in dramatic Leo before moving into sensitive Cancer. This cycle asks us to review our creative drive, ego, and how we seek recognition. As it moves into Cancer, the focus will shift to our home, family, and emotional security, forcing us to deal with suppressed anger in our private lives.
Venus Retrograde: A Year of Forward Motion in Love
Venus rules over love, relationships, beauty, aesthetics, values, and finances. Her retrograde periods are potent times for re-evaluating our connections and our relationship with money and self-worth. It often brings past lovers back into the picture to test our growth and resolve.
Fortunately, there is no Venus retrograde in 2024. This signals a year where themes of love, partnership, and finances can move forward with fewer cosmic interruptions. It’s a green light to build new relationships and financial structures on the foundations you solidified during previous review cycles.
The Outer Planets: Slow-Moving Societal Shifts
The retrogrades of the outer planets—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto—are longer and more subtle in their effects. Because they move so slowly, they are retrograde for nearly half the year. Their influence is less about daily mishaps and more about deep-seated, generational, and societal transformations. You’ll feel these most acutely if they make direct contact with a planet or angle in your personal birth chart.
Jupiter Retrograde: Re-evaluating Growth and Belief
Jupiter is the planet of expansion, luck, wisdom, and belief systems. Its retrograde asks us to turn inward and reflect on our growth. Are we expanding in a sustainable way? Are our beliefs still aligned with our truth? It’s a time for philosophical review and internal spiritual seeking, rather than external questing.
This Year’s Jupiter Retrograde Dates:
- October 9, 2024, to February 4, 2025, in Gemini: With Jupiter retrograde in the dualistic, information-driven sign of Gemini, we are asked to review the facts, data, and narratives we have consumed. It’s a time to question what you think you know and to refine your ideas before sharing them widely.
Saturn Retrograde: Reviewing Structure and Responsibility
Saturn is the great teacher and taskmaster of the zodiac, ruling structure, discipline, karma, and responsibility. When Saturn goes retrograde, we are given a chance to review the rules, boundaries, and commitments in our lives. It’s a karmic check-in, asking us to assess whether the foundations we’ve built are truly solid.
This Year’s Saturn Retrograde Dates:
- June 29 to November 15 in Pisces: Saturn in Pisces is already a challenging placement, asking us to bring structure to our dreams and spiritual practices. The retrograde period deepens this work, forcing us to confront where we’ve been using escapism to avoid responsibility. It’s time to review our spiritual boundaries and dissolve old, limiting karmic patterns.
Uranus Retrograde: Internalizing Revolution
Uranus is the planet of sudden change, innovation, rebellion, and liberation. Its retrograde turns this revolutionary energy inward. Instead of seeking external breakthroughs, we experience internal “aha” moments. It’s a time to reflect on where we feel stuck and need to break free, allowing brilliant new ideas to incubate before we act on them.
This Year’s Uranus Retrograde Dates:
- September 1, 2024, to January 30, 2025, in Taurus: Uranus in Taurus is already shaking up our relationship with money, security, and the environment. This retrograde asks us to review our personal values. What does security truly mean to you? It’s a time to innovate from within, preparing for major shifts in your financial life and material world.
Neptune Retrograde: Dissolving Illusions
Neptune governs dreams, intuition, spirituality, and illusion. When it retrogrades, the veil between reality and fantasy can thin. While this can heighten intuition and creativity, it can also bring confusion. This period is designed to help us see where we have been deceiving ourselves or wearing rose-colored glasses. The truth, once hidden in a fog, slowly comes to light.
This Year’s Neptune Retrograde Dates:
- July 2 to December 7 in Pisces: With Neptune at home in its ruling sign of Pisces, its power is amplified. This retrograde is a profound period of spiritual reality checks. Illusions we’ve held about ourselves, our relationships, and our spiritual paths may dissolve, which can be disorienting but ultimately clarifying.
Pluto Retrograde: Transforming From the Inside Out
Pluto is the planet of power, control, death, and rebirth. Its retrograde is a deeply psychological process, pulling our subconscious fears, obsessions, and power dynamics to the surface for review. It’s an intense, slow-moving transit that facilitates profound inner transformation by forcing us to confront our own shadows.
This Year’s Pluto Retrograde Dates:
- May 2 to October 11 in Aquarius and Capricorn: This is a particularly potent retrograde, as Pluto moves from innovative Aquarius back into structured Capricorn. It asks us to review the societal and technological changes we’ve embraced (Aquarius) and confront the old power structures that still need to be dismantled, both in the world and within ourselves (Capricorn).
Navigating the Cosmic Slowdown
This calendar is your map to the year’s cosmic tides. Use these periods not as times to fear, but as opportunities to align more deeply with your personal truth. Keep a journal to track your thoughts and feelings during these transits, especially when they touch on sensitive areas of your birth chart. The universe is giving you a designated time to edit your life story.
By understanding that retrogrades are simply a call to turn inward, you can harness their power for reflection and refinement. These celestial pauses are not setbacks; they are strategic timeouts that ensure when you do move forward, you do so with greater wisdom, clarity, and conviction.
