Retrograde Motion in Astrology
In astrology, the retrograde motion of the planets was traditionally thought to be unlucky or inauspicious, as it went against the 'natural' order of movement, and a planet which was retrograde at the time of birth was considered a weak spot in the natal chart.
Psychological astrology takes a different approach than in traditional, which is that retrograde planets point toward an interior reality rather than an exterior one, and are also references to the past. Martha Lang Wescott describes retrograde planets as describing events in early childhood that influenced the chart native to turn off or suppress a particular quality (indicated by the retrograde planet) so as not to threaten early caregivers.
While the Sun and the Moon are never retrograde, they can have equivalent conditions. For example, when the Moon's daily motion is relatively slow, according to 17th century astrology maestro William Lilly, the Moon will act as if it is retrograde. And Neil Michelsen has described conditions under which the Sun can behave in a retrograde fashion.
In the horoscope, retrograde motion is denoted by the symbol ℞, a capital R with a tail stroke.
Read more about this topic: Apparent Retrograde Motion
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