Astrologers pay attention to a handful of recurring events: planets turning retrograde or direct, eclipses, new and full moons, and the Sun moving into a new sign.
Each is a real astronomical occurrence with a traditional interpretation attached. This page explains both, without the dramatic warnings that often surround them online.
Understanding what is physically happening makes the astrological meaning far easier to put in perspective.
No planet ever reverses its orbit. A retrograde occurs when Earth and another planet move at different speeds, so that from our viewpoint the other planet seems to slide backward against the stars for a while.
Mercury does this three or four times a year, Venus about every eighteen months and Mars about every two years. The outer planets spend several months of every year retrograde.
Astrology reads these periods as times for review and reflection rather than for launching new ventures.
Eclipses occur when the Sun, Moon and Earth line up closely near the points where the Moon's orbit crosses the Sun's apparent path. They come in seasons roughly every six months, usually in pairs two weeks apart.
A solar eclipse happens at a new moon and a lunar eclipse at a full moon. Astrology traditionally reads them as markers of change and turning points.
They are not omens of disaster. They are simply among the most striking events the sky offers.
An ingress is the moment a planet enters a new sign. The Sun's ingresses mark the start of each zodiac season, and four of them coincide with the equinoxes and solstices.
Slower planets changing sign — Jupiter, Saturn and beyond — are seen as shifts in the broader mood of the times.
The current Sun sign and its element and modality are shown at the top of this page.
Exact dates for retrogrades and eclipses change every year. Publishing them requires verified ephemeris data, and we would rather describe the events accurately than list dates we have not checked.
A verified calendar will be added when it can be sourced properly. Until then, this page focuses on what each event is and how to approach it calmly.
Remember that no sky event should be used to time medical, legal or financial decisions.
