As I mentioned, this was inspired by people asking if there’s a difference when Jupiter and the outer planets are retrograde than when they are in direct motion, along with wanting to know the difference when something is retrograde at 14 degrees of a sign as opposed to when it is in forward motion at the same degree.

When a planet in forward motion first moves through a span of degrees in a sign, it is experiencing that energy in its initial transit. Then when it retrogrades back through that same span of degrees, we get a different look at those energies. As I noted yesterday,

When a planet is direct, it means we are "directly" experiencing its natural evolving awareness of the sign it's in. When retrograde, we're re-tracing ground we've already covered, but from a different perspective. It's like driving down a street from one direction, then driving back down the same street in the opposite direction. Two perspectives on the same field of vision.

Signs show the types of expression, while aspects show the phase relationship between those two planets in their respective fields of experience. So Saturn in direct motion makes aspects offering an initial Saturn connection with whatever is being experienced. When retrograde, we are still in the same field of experience we just went through, but are given a different perspective.

Here we note that during a retrograde period, due to the “backward” or reflective nature of the retrograde, any retrograde planet could be “the carrier of messages from the past,” or even be a conduit for unconscious factors of that planetary function to appear. Retrogrades can also bring manifestations from previously unknown or unperceived external sources, or even returns from other times in this life or previous ones where these energies were activated.

So the first pass of a planet through a span while in direct motion is our first experience of that span of experience. The RX pass brings up factors not seen previously, or even feedback from the results set into motion at the first pass. It's often as though a second light is turned on during the RX period so we can dispel some shadows created by the initial view of the first pass.

The next stage in our example of the process is when Saturn again resumes direct motion after its retrograde period, when we traverse the same field a third time, but with multiple experiences of that field. This third pass is a synthesizing period when we are able to put a triangulated understanding into play if we have paid attention to the lessons of the field during the initial direct and then retrograde experience. Perfect three point lighting dispels almost every shadow of any illumed object.

So for example, if Saturn trined a planet or Ascendant before it went RX, it offered an initial understanding or stabilizing opportunity for spiritual growth or asserting expertise. When retrograde and again trine the same planet or Ascendant, it offers a new point of view on the understanding you got when it was in direct trine, or you encounter the first results of the initial trine. You may also remember an unrelated but similar Saturn experience in your past. The RX trine could also involve understanding unconscious factors, or external factors not glimpsed when direct.

Then we synthesize the two approaches during the third trine, incorporating multiple understandings into an even greater understanding or harmonization. After that, we move beyond the old span of experience examined three times into new territory.

In another example, if transiting Jupiter squares your Sun, and then makes a subsequent RX square and then another square when direct again, it works initially to open a quest for a greater sense of service, or vision, or truth, a new way of “self-dramatization” that will help us to a greater effectiveness in our world, or a broader education in something that can help us “release our Light.” During the RX, you either get a new take on that quest, or sense of greatest service, or remember past experiences related to the current search for a vision or new forms of self-expression. Then when Jupiter goes direct, the third square should ideally bring forth that new vision, truth, sense of service, or form of self-dramatization.

Retrograde periods are very valuable for seeing our function within a larger perspective since they introduce previously unknown factors to the experience. Any time we slow down, turn inward, and reflect on experience, we are led to a place beyond duality even if we feel immersed in the dualism. It is during the third phase that we can practice a synthesized approach to the two perspectives.

The possible interpretations of the various planets making direct and retrograde aspects are endless. If you have questions, please examine your chart in light of what has been offered here, and meditate on examples of how this has operated in your own past. You'll eventually see the light of your previous experiences from a vaster point of view, and may get glimpses into your individual process of moving through certain types of planetary experiences.

Reprinted on crystalwind.ca with written permission from Robert Wilkinson. Copying this article to other blogs is strictly prohibited. It is copyright protected. 

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