Transits Course- Retrograde periods of the outer planets

We don't hear so much about the retrograde periods of the outer planets because they are retrograde up to six months out of the year, so it's, uh, not unusual for us to be experiencing that retrograde motion. So some astrologers make a lot of a lot of to do about the retrograde periods of the outer planets, but I myself see it as, um, not just part of the ebb and the flow of things. And it isn't, uh, more or less, uh, beneficial or not beneficial to be born with retrograde planets with planets direct or retrograde. It's something that about 50% of the population is going to have.

So when we're looking at the, uh, retrograde periods of the outer planets, we're paying more attention to the days, the periods of time when those outer planets are either stationary retrograde, stationary, or stationary direct. It's when they're changing motion we tend to see more events connected to, um, uh, like social things, things happening out in the world, uh, goings-on, actual movement connected to that particular planet. And in our own birth charts, when we have those outer planets in some kind of change of state or change of motion, that is when we tend to have more of a response. There's more goings-goings-on, we could say.

So let's look at Jupiter's retrograde periods and what is, uh, best during those times, keeping in mind that these retrograde periods are quite lengthy. So we look at them as a wave coming in and a wave going out. It's about the same amount of time for it to go in and out. So there's a balancing that happens when it comes to action and consideration or percolation, action and percolation, action and percolation.

So the retrograde periods of Jupiter, and remember that during any retrograde period, we re-something: redo, relearn, regather, reconsider. So during retrograde periods of Jupiter, we are relearning, reconsidering, uh, re-reading, um, [Music] looking at what are the meanings that we give to things. We tend to be acting on our beliefs more during the forward motion of Jupiter. But let's keep in mind that these retrograde periods can last up to half the year. So it isn't like we're only acting half the year. It's more like we are [Music] we are springing forward and then falling back. But that motion is something that is, uh, is is consistent throughout the year. But we can find that during those retrograde periods, it's more of a period of reconsidering some of the major things that we have done, that we have learned, that we have taken in, because we grow during those those direct periods. So it isn't that we aren't doing anything during the retrograde periods. It's more like it's the response. There's still things going on, but it's in response to what has happened, like the bulk of what has happened during the direct period.

So we could also look at it like how a plant is always growing, but plants need a period of darkness. They, they sleep. Insects sleep as well. I didn't realize that. I looked that up one day, so I was curious, do insects sleep? They do. But plants absolutely sleep. They have a period of inactivity or rest, of recuperation. They need darkness. And in fact, if you have plants in your yard that are around very, very bright lights that never turn off, they may not do as well as other plants because they never get that period of recuperation. Um, so we can look at it like that, where we are always growing, we are always alive, just like that plant is alive. But, uh, it's it's like an answer to the activity that happens during the direct period. It's a a natural, let's say, in-gathering. So we can spring forward again.

So we are looking at re-reading, reconsidering what we ideally want to do during the direct period and avoid during the retrograde period. Although we cannot live our lives as a slave to retrograde or forward periods, if there's something that needs to be done or there's something that we want more in that moment, a lot of times we just have to take advantage of that moment. We just need to do what it is that we need to do when we need to do it. But the ideal activity that happens during the direct period is about expansion and about being on the go and about that act of growth. So during the retrograde periods, we want to be careful about the types of, um, ventures that we undertake, things that are going to lead to growth. This is more a time during the retrograde periods where we're managing, we are considering, we are adjusting the kind of growth that has occurred during the direct period. So the direct period is where we eat our huge meal, and then the retrograde period is where we undo our belt and sit at the table for a while because we can't move. We digest what has happened. So there is a reflection that happens and a, um, a consideration of what kind of expansion has occurred. We want to be careful about our generosity during the retrograde periods. We may not have as many resources as sometimes we think we do. Um, it's often not best to take positions of, uh, teaching or of, um, uh, or, you know, disseminating or imparting information, being in a Jupiterian type of role. That's something that we would ideally want to do during the direct stage of, uh, the planetary motion. So we have to be careful about what we, uh, what we take on because Jupiter is where we can get into hot water because we can get really, really excited, really pumped up, but we may not always have the, uh, the energy and or the resources to really, uh, have the kind of success that we assume we're gonna have when we take off, um, with our sails full of wind. So the wind is in our sails during those, uh, forward motions, and sometimes we have to adjust the sails during the retrograde motion. Sometimes they can be taken out of our sails entirely. We can have periods of deflation during those retrograde periods, but it can help us to adjust because a lot of times with Jupiter, we are overshooting, and we don't want to miss the mark. We want to, um, we want to be able to operate within the realm of reality, and that can help us, uh, in those retrograde periods. So I would say, in a nutshell, it's about, uh, realistic management, realistic management of the pursuit of our dreams. Any questions about that?

I have a question. Yes, Jupiter's usually, you know, thought of as, um, lucky and expanding. When it's in retrograde, is it still seen as expanding and lucky?

Yeah, absolutely. And we want to revisit things that perhaps we haven't been able to indulge in. So, um, re-book trips that we haven't taken or that have been canceled, or places of growth, things we've wanted to do, books we've wanted to read, things we put on the back burner. Yeah, those are all still growth-enhancing activities. Those are all still things that we associate with with Jupiter activity, but it's things that we are revisiting or bringing back up for a look.

So is it an okay time for like higher education or like worldwide travel?

If, well, I think I think it's always a good time for that kind of stuff. But during the retrograde periods, we might just experience, um, a a few like, uh, snafus or blockages or external circumstances that we may have to work through. But we can still have success in life. Um, but the type of education where say, we are going back to school, or we are picking up a book that we haven't finished, or we are continuing education where we are [Music] you know, recovering our brain cells in some way, those are all the the great types of education that we would want to do. Um, you know, go back for, like, continuing education or re-learning, even within our field. Sometimes we have to have a certain amount of hours per year in order to maintain our license in any number of fields. So that would be the time to do that kind of education.

Let's look at Saturn in retrograde. So this is when we re-Saturn. So we review our, uh, commitments, uh, what it is that we're obligated to. We re-negotiate during Saturn retrograde period. So this is a good time to ask for a raise or to, uh, re-establish our territory. That could be either at home or at work. Uh, these are great times to get back in the saddle when it comes to discipline. So I think all of us have those moments when we're like, "Oh, I really need to get it together." All of us have a slippery slope sometimes, and we want to hit a mark, but I think all of us don't always hit the mark. So this is when we notice that, "Oh, wait, wait, you know, I I really should eat a salad because I've been living on chocolate and peanut butter all week." We notice these things during Saturn retrograde, and so we get back on the wagon and start, uh, managing our lives, managing our commitments. Sometimes we will, um, prune our commitments. You know, sometimes like, have you ever experienced that when you just decide that you have too much going on, you're just too burdened, and, uh, there's some things that you just say, "Oh, I can't handle that," or "I can't be involved in that," or "I'm gonna have to shrink back from that." These can be those times. Um, it's good to evaluate what can we actually be, uh, where can we act, we actually be effective, who can we actually be effective with? Because if we're spread too thin, that can be an issue. So we look at, uh, our spreadage when we have those Saturn retrograde transits. Um, so self-discipline, but also how are we disciplining the people around us? Because we all teach people to treat us, we all train the people around us to treat us a certain way, and sometimes we re-evaluate that during Saturn retrograde periods, or we notice that, "Hey, um, you know, how I'm being treated or what's going on in this relationship," whatever type of relationship it is, either romantic or work or a family, and what's going on in this relationship is not what I would prefer. Things, so we can reformulate a plan when we have those Saturn retrograde periods.

You've mentioned it already, um, I just wanted to ask whether, um, there was at least sometimes Saturn can be a bit like pressure, and they talk about the fears of Saturn as well, um, for those people who, for those people who maybe feel that a little bit more than others, is there is a feeling of not of a little bit of release around that time, like you don't feel as pressured, or is that it doesn't really impact you in that way?

No, the way I see it is that the retrograde periods are, uh, filling the bellows. So when we take that in, that would be the retrograde period, which actually the building of the tension, the building of the frustration, and then we do something about it more at the direct periods. So, um, it, uh, uh, I see it more as potentially frustrating rather than releasing, and the direct periods being the release.

So let's talk about Uranus. So Uranus retrograde is, in my opinion, probably the most frustrating retrograde period. [Music] Because again, it's like it's the wave motion where the wave goes out when it's direct and it comes in and it builds. It builds the tension, builds. So the bellows fill during that retrograde period. So Uranus retrograde is where we can have a building tension, we can have a building frustration, or you could look at it like the motion of an orgasm. That's a really good way to describe Uranus retrograde and forward periods, with that building tension and then the explosion. That's the forward. So it's during those periods of of stationary direct, stationary, that we can see more, uh, activity, and sometimes it can be a consequential activity. We can do things, we can be more impulsive because it's like we've been spinning our wheels for a while, and then when we finally let that that brake pedal go and we take off, uh, it can be a few days of, um, [Music] and sometimes acting out or just having some impulsivity have some consequences in our life, particularly if we have a lot of Uranus in our natal chart, or if that transiting Uranus, oh God, yes, if that transiting Uranus is in transit to is an aspect to one of our personal planets, that's when these, uh, stationary, stationary direct, forward motions, uh, the days surrounding that can really be interesting.

Neptune asaurus. Yes. Okay. So Neptune when it's retrograde, re-treat, reflect, reconsider. We redo the things that we associate with Neptune. Um, so less activity, more retreat. Um, it is interesting that during the retrograde periods, because Neptune typically means confusion, but during the retrograde periods, we can often find more clarity. We can often see things more as they might actually be. We are not necessarily going to do anything about that during the retrograde period because these are times of intake rather than outgoing. So what we're seeing is sort of distilling on us or percolating. Because often times when we see something for what it is, we don't just let it in. Sometimes we do. A lot of times we have to sit with it for a while, and, um, then we can come to accept it. We have to, we have to be softened up a little bit. So that's what can happen during those retrograde periods of Neptune is we can [Music] things can sink in. That's what it is during the course of that period of time. Not the best time to go forward with new, uh, romantic relationships or relationships where [Music] that would be considered highly Neptunian. Not a good time to join a cult. Um, so, or anytime, it's never a good time. So looking for more quietness, turning inward, or spiritual practice. Sometimes dreams, especially if Neptune is retrograde and connected to something in our chart, dreams can be more meaningful or feel more significant because I think we've all had those dreams where we really felt like there was some meaning to it. It had something to say to us. I've had a few dreams throughout my life that were highly significant and really were, you know, coming from a part of my subconscious that was trying to give me direction. But I think we've also had those dreams which are more common, that really aren't meaningful. It's just the brain filing away the events of the day, and you know, there's a like an elephant balancing on a toothpick and a clown rolling a ball, and nobody thinks anything of it. And you know, these things aren't highly meaningful. It's just the way that the brain operates in that state of REM sleep. But, uh, sometimes we can have a dream or, uh, have something occur to us during those times of Neptune retrograde that really can be something that comes from the deep. Any questions about that?

And, yeah, Jewel, I have a question. I have I've stopped, I've started going on on a couple of dates with a guy, um, recently, and I basically, Neptune isn't going to go, um, direct until early December. So is it a bad time to start a relationship? Should I just kind of keep it as a friendship?

No, I don't, again, I don't think that we should live our lives by the motions of the planets. I think that if it's something that's intriguing, it's presented itself to you, go ahead with it. But I would keep in mind, this is how I live my life. I keep in mind the cycles. I don't necessarily allow those cycles to control me, but I'll operate the best I can within that particular cycle. So I would just be mindful about taking it to the next level or, um, [Music] maybe being aware that, um, the clarity can come more over the course of this time. Uh, in some ways, maybe it's not the worst time to be vetting somebody or to be putting somebody through the hoops because during those retrograde periods, we can oftentimes have more instances of clarity. So I would be mindful just of the cycle and, um, just live life. And, uh, when it goes forward, maybe that would be a time to take things to the next level.

Sorry, yeah, with, uh, Neptune retrograde, I'm assuming is this a good time to revisit meditation practices and spiritual things?

Yes, yes. Things that are about retreating, uh, reconsidering, rethinking, meditation stuff, vacationing. Oh, yes. Best time to do it is during a Neptune retrograde. Yes. They, uh, vacating in all ways because a lot of times that does bring us clarity when we pull back from something, when we're not participating in something. Think about how much perspective we gain, say, when we go away just from our normal life. Sometimes we can realize things about what we've been doing or deciding, you know, "I've been doing this, I've had this going on, I've had this stress." When I go back to my normal life, I just don't think I want to do that anymore. So I think a lot of times vacating can help us to reset.

I wonder if it's a good time to do a float tank?

You know, oh, absolutely. Yes, absolutely. Massage, things that are relaxing, um, pampering as well, really good thing to do under a Neptune transit. Yeah, retrograde transits. All right.

Hey, so Pluto transits are great for healing, reconsidering how we have thrown our weight around, therapy, beginning therapy, turning inward, um, uh, breaking addictions, seeing addictions. Um, there's quite a lot of insight that can happen during Pluto retrogrades, and I think they are just as important as the forward periods because we don't have anything to do during the forward periods unless we have a seen into our vault, unless we've had that retrograde period that has given us the meat to really act on during the forward period. So we see things, we come to realize things, we see things that we didn't know that we didn't know. We peer into our own abyss during the retrograde periods, and they can be very frustrating because we can have this building anger or tension or need for something to give, but then [Music] it finally does when we have that forward motion. So I throwing our weight around, trying to manipulate it, does not work as well, is not as effective in those retrograde periods. We are not as as effective tyrants as we'd like to be. Um, and you can see this also in world events where we have, um, more issues related to leaders or leadership, sometimes showing their true colors or slipping up or having their embarrassing moments, or sometimes losing a certain amount of popularity. So there's slippage when it comes to control. So learning how to empower ourselves correctly and honestly, what it is to, bye Katie, see you tomorrow. Um, and honestly, uh, instead of taking power or securing ourselves through, uh, improper use of power, because that's always what Pluto's in service to is security. It's always other people's money, other people's stuff. We secure ourselves through attaching to that. So we want to, we want to turn inward during those Pluto retrogrades, and then we really want to throw off the chains that bind during the direct periods. So I would liken it to, uh, really realizing what we need to get rid of during the retrograde period, and then ordering the dumpster during the forward period and actually throwing stuff away, going through the motion of doing it. So, uh, those retrograde periods of Pluto can be confounding to a lot of people, particularly if you're having a Pluto transit to your personal planet, and then it is retrograde, it can just feel like we are sitting and spinning, and we are waiting, and it is building, and and we may not know what to do, and there's mystery involved, and these are very complex transits. So, yeah, it's it's freeing. It feels good when Pluto finally goes direct. Yeah. And we tend to make a bigger deal about Pluto going direct and retrograde, um, just when we're talking about world transits than we do other planets because I do think it has more of an effect, uh, when it comes to the, uh, sort of world events and the astrological weather. Let's see if we had a question. Uh, natal Neptune conjunct Pluto. Not one of the most consequential transits, and we will talk about all of these as we go through the lessons about the particular transits. Uh, that's one. Um, we're we're really looking at what do we want to believe and how was our, I think it was Neptune to Pluto, I mean, look, yeah, natal Neptune, Neptune. Oh, natal Neptune conjunct Pluto. Yeah. The transiting Pluto is conjunct to natal Neptune. Oh, okay. I had it backwards. So Pluto conjunct Neptune, um, uh, that can be a very nihilistic time when we're wondering what to believe because a lot of our death anxiety, Pluto, uh, the transiting death anxiety is coming to bear on a lot of the the beliefs and structures, institutions that we put our faith in. So it can be transits where we are addressing what we believe in and just be really steeped in in nihilism for a while. Now, we're working out those periods of time when we're like, you know, reading Nietzsche or start and feeling really, um, like, uh, we don't know what to believe, or sometimes we're just growing out of a certain era of our life, and that can present us with, uh, a period of time where we might not have a solid, uh, idea of what we are, what the world is, and just waiting for that paradigm to solidify. But that is a quieter transit than most.

You mentioned it's a good time to, um, start throwing things out, like getting rid of things.

Well, let me back up. I think that it's a good time to get ready to do that. It's the forward motion where we actually toss out, where we order the dumpster is the retrograde motion. Let me clarify here. The retrograde motion where we realize what we don't need, what we don't want, what we're not attached to, but we may not be taking hardcore action. So have you ever seen the show Hoarders before? A little bit. Hoarding Buried Alive? There's a couple of versions of that show. So the retrograde period would be like when the mess is building, and maybe they're getting reported, and we have action and drama, and we know that we have to do something about this. But when Pluto goes forward, that's when the dumpster gets ordered. That's when the crew shows up and says, "We're gonna come out your house." So, um, it's a good time to identify, and we're pretty much sitting in our hoard during the retrograde period. We're sitting and spinning. It's building, but then we get rid of it related to action during the direct. Does that make more sense?

Yeah, that that definitely makes more sense. Um, part of like just understanding the nature of it can be a little confusing though, because, you know, Pluto has the, uh, it's always about throwing away, right? Yeah, it has like re- already in there, like transfer. Well, you know, yeah, yeah. So, um, I I think that we're doing more identification. Yeah, yeah. The retrograde. Yeah. Uh, re-identifying what we need to, or sometimes identifying for the first time what we're addicted to, what are the habits so we need to stop, and then taking action to stop those habits during the actual direct motion.

Okay, so like during retrograde, we're like, "Oh, I need to go on a diet," but we don't start doing it until it goes direct, type of thing.

Okay. Um, I mean, the Virgo in me likes a good plan, a good strategy. So it's like a time to like, halo stuff.

It is. It is a good time. Oh, I'm sorry, guys. It's getting late for me. So, yeah, uh, I think decoding ourselves is a good Pluto retrograde activity, and then we can actually do something about that later on.

How does the rebirth fit into the retrograde?

Like, well, I think more of the birth itself comes, you know, traditionally through the direct periods, but the, uh, the sort of the percolating and the building and the changing that leads to the newness, you know, we like we come out of the vagina at the direct period, but we develop in the uterus during the retrograde period.

Okay, what's the stationary direct like?

Well, those are the periods when things are, um, very much on edge because this is where we feel like something is going to happen. We're waiting for the other shoe. Right, right. And we can see a lot of action, uh, particularly in politics or things having to do with platonic issues during those days. Then we have that, um, this is when the motion begins again, when it goes direct again. But when we're sitting, it's like things are at their most tense. So the spring is most wound during those periods, uh, when it's just about to turn forward, just about to turn retrograde as well. That can also be a period of time where we can have things falling apart or [Music] control issues kind of boiling over. So we can see more drama either side of those stationary direct or stationary retrograde periods.