Retrograde — Definition

Retrograde motion is an optical effect — planets do not actually reverse course. As Earth overtakes or is overtaken by another planet in their orbits, the other planet appears, for a stretch of weeks or months, to move backwards through the zodiac. Astrologers read retrograde periods as invitations to revisit, review, or revise whatever the planet rules. Mercury retrograde gets the headlines, but every planet beyond the Moon has retrograde phases.

Origin

From the Latin retrogradus, "stepping backward." The term is descriptive, not literal.

Example

During a Venus retrograde it is common for old relationships to surface — the planet of love is asking for review, not always reunion.