You must Rewind to Fast Forward : The Retrograde Planets
A man unexpectedly reconnects with the girl he loved during his school days. After decades of living separate lives and following very different paths, they meet again by chance. The affection that had quietly remained in their hearts is rekindled, and they eventually marry. It is as though life had gently guided him back to a relationship that had remained incomplete.
An employee resigns from a company after a disagreement with his manager and moves on with his career. Many years later, he receives an attractive offer from another organisation, only to discover that his former manager is now its CEO. Life has quietly brought them back together, giving both of them another opportunity to resolve an unfinished chapter.
A scientist returns to the very university where he once studied as a young student, but this time as its Vice Chancellor. The institution where he once sat in classrooms now looks to him for guidance and leadership. His journey has come full circle, taking him back to where it all began.
A spiritual seeker returns to the ashram where he first learnt meditation as a young boy. Years of family responsibilities and worldly commitments had taken him far away from that path, but the inner call never truly disappeared. Eventually, life leads him back to continue the spiritual journey from the point where it had once paused.
I am sure that something similar has happened to you, or at least you have heard such stories from people around you. In all these examples, the common theme is returning to someone, somewhere, or something that was once an important part of life. The only difference is that these examples involve events from the present lifetime.
When we study a retrograde (Vakra) planet in Astrology, however, we extend this same principle beyond the current birth. Now reconsider the examples above and imagine that the girl, the former manager, the university, or the ashram belonged not to this lifetime but to a previous one. The retrograde planet symbolically represents the possibility of returning to unfinished karmic connections from the past.
At the same time, we must remain practical. Since past-life events cannot be verified, it is equally possible that the retrograde planet simply indicates a return to something from the current lifetime. In other words, a retrograde planet often signifies revisiting, reconnecting, resuming, or completing something that was left unfinished. Whether that unfinished chapter belongs to this birth or a previous one is a matter of interpretation, but the central theme of "going back" remains remarkably consistent.
Understanding Retrograde Planets
Imagine your life is a movie playing smoothly toward the future, until the projector suddenly glitches. The tape halts, reverses, and forces you to watch the exact same scene one more time or perhaps it is a time loop. This frustrating cosmic pause is the true experience of a retrograde planet in your horoscope.
Most amateur Astrologers and their clients instantly panic when they see Vakra Grahas (Retrograde planets), assuming they indicate a karmic curse. This is a misunderstanding. A retrograde planet is not a cosmic punishment, but a deliberate spiritual rehearsal. The universe is simply forcing you to practice the scene so you can play the role infinitely better when the curtain finally rises.
In both ancient Vedic secrets and modern Western psychology, a retrograde planet acts as the universe's ultimate editing tool. It locks the future of your story because your soul built the previous chapters on a shaky, unexamined and unrehearsed foundation.
The cosmos refuses to let you progress because there is a critical piece of missing data in your past that you completely ignored.This cinematic pause is actually a protective delay designed to build immense internal power. You are being forced to review the tape, heal old wounds, and rewrite your reactive habits.
Trying to force your way into the future without doing this inner work is completely impossible. It is exactly like trying to release an arrow without first pulling back the bowstring. Ultimately, this seemingly frustrating backward movement is a brilliant, hidden evolutionary strategy. The universe is intentionally pulling you back, mimicking a fast bowler in a game of cricket who must take a long run-up before charging toward the crease. You simply cannot bowl a batsman out by launching the ball from a dead standstill.
This cinematic pause is actually a protective delay designed to build immense internal power. You are being forced to review the tape, heal old wounds from past lives, and rewrite your lifestyle and addictive habits. By embracing this necessary reversal, you stop fighting the loop and start mastering the replay. You must accept that in your chart, rewinding the tape is the only way to safely fast-forward your destiny.
Retrograde planets (Vakra Grahas) do not simply mean "bad" results. Instead, they indicate intensified internal energy, karmic debts, and unconventional expressions of a deep rooted karma represented by the Vakra Graha.
The misconception about Retrograde planet is because they are labeled "Vakra" (crooked/twisted). This does not mean evil. It means the planet fulfils its promises through delayed, repetitive, or non-traditional paths or unconventional methods, only to give a fantastic result - that is the exact opposite of going backwards.
Returning for What You Left Behind
One day my family and I locked up our house and were completely ready to leave for the airport to go on vacation. Just as I was about to drive away, I suddenly stopped and said, "I want to go back." Frustrated, I walked back to the house, unlocked the front door, and retrieved my forgotten passport sitting right next to my laptop. The going back is not enjoyable but I was happy and thanked God that I remembered that I forgot to take the passport.
This "going back" is exactly how a retrograde planet operates.We never turn around for no reason; there is always a critical motive behind the retreat. Retrograde planets have a massive, calculated goal rather than a random shift in direction. They force you to backtrack because you left something indispensable behind. Without it you cannot move forward.
To discover what your soul returned to collect in the current life, you must look closely at the specific nature of that retrograde planet. The houses it rules and its exact placement in your chart will instantly reveal the secret motive behind your cosmic U-turn.
The Astronomical Perspective
Have a look at the picture I recreated with numbers to show the path of a retrograde planet. The loop begins at 7. Then the planet seems slow down to a halt. The halt happens at 9 and 10, then the going backwards happens. This is how the loop forms. After reaching the 24th position, the planet resumes it normal motion and is back on tract. The more than normal speed called Atichara motion of a retrograde planet happens between 20 to 23.
If you want to understand the astrological significance of retrograde planets you need to first understand the astronomy perspective. There are many videos on YouTube that shows how and why planets go into retrograde motion.
The reality is that planets never go backwards. This is an observed phenomenon.
Watch this YouTube Video in case you are unable to visualise why and how planets can actually seem to go backwards without actually doing so. https://youtube.com/shorts/_qQ_BiBVgGg?si=DNfJ7V_SEWJDYCNo
From a Karma point, we never can really go backwards in time. Only our memory, our experience, relationships etc can relate to something in the past. The calendar and the watch always moves forward every second.
Retrograde motion occurs when Earth "overtakes" a slower outer planet (like Mars or Jupiter), or when a faster inner planet (like Mercury or Venus) overtakes Earth.
Retrograde motion is predictable using astronomical formula which is why computer software can tell you the exact time when the planet will begin and end the Vakra process.
The Astronomers called them planets because the world planets means wanderers. This is because they noticed that planet goes into retrograde motion now and then. The planets appeared as though wandering in the sky.
Which zodiac sign ascends faster ?
The answer depends on the latitude of the place where the birth occurs. There is no single zodiac sign that always ascends faster everywhere on Earth. However, for most places in the Northern Hemisphere, including India, the signs are traditionally classified as follows:
Signs of Short Ascension (rise faster)
Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus and Gemini. These signs spend less time rising over the eastern horizon, so they ascend relatively quickly.
Signs of Long Ascension (rise slower)
Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius. These signs take longer to rise and therefore remain on the Ascendant for a longer period. For example, in Chennai, Aries generally rises much more quickly than Libra.
In the Southern Hemisphere, this pattern is reversed:
Cancer to Sagittarius become the signs of short ascension. Capricorn to Gemini become the signs of long ascension. This concept is known in classical Astrology as the Signs of Short Ascension and Signs of Long Ascension, and it is determined by the Earth's tilt and the observer's latitude rather than by the zodiac signs themselves.
One more Interesting Fact about Retrograde Planets
The ancient astronomers called these celestial bodies planets because the word planet is derived from the Greek word meaning "wanderer." Unlike the fixed stars, these heavenly bodies did not appear to remain in one place. Instead, they moved across the sky and, at certain times, even seemed to slow down, reverse their direction, and then move forward again. This apparent backward movement, known as retrograde motion, made the planets appear as though they were wandering across the heavens, which is how they earned their name.
What is special about Sun and Moon?
The Sun and the Moon never goes backwards. So in a horoscope you will never see the Sun and Moon marked as Retrograde.
The Sun is the stationary center of our solar system. Earth moves around it in a continuous, one-way elliptical orbit. Because we are always moving around the Sun, the Sun appears to move continuously forward through the zodiac.
The Moon orbits the Earth. It moves in a constant, one-way loop around us. Because it never changes its directional relationship with Earth, it can never appear to go backwards.
In Vedic Astrology, the Sun (Surya) and the Moon (Chandra) are not classified as ordinary planets (Grahas). They are the Luminaries, the King and Queen of the celestial cabinet. I suggest that we use the word Graha for Sun and the Moon. You may recall your school days when your teacher taught that you that the Sun is a star and Moon is a satellite.
Esoterically, Sun the Atma is the unmoving principle in our life. The Atma is eternal. It can therefore never go backwards. We all know that our mind can only move forward. For example even if a flashback is shown in a movie, the movie is actually moving forward on the timeline.
A lesson from Rahu and Ketu
Interestingly, Rahu and Ketu are unique because they are always in retrograde motion. In Vedic Astrology, Rahu signifies attachment, obsession, cravings, and addictions.
This symbolism offers an additional way of understanding retrograde planets.
When a planet is retrograde in a birth chart, it may indicate that the karmic lessons associated with that planet have remained unresolved from a past life. There is often a lingering psychological imprint, as though the matters governed by that planet continue to cling to the mind. This is one of the reasons why retrograde planets are often considered to carry a greater karmic weight than planets in direct motion. Their lessons are unfinished, demanding deeper reflection, correction, and eventual resolution in the present lifetime.
The difference is also because Rahu goes backwards permanently and also the speed uniform across eternity, whereas the planets that is in retrograde motion travel at varying speeds like the car on the road.
Astrologers can get more clues about human life if they also know where is the planet in the loop as shown in the picture.
Cheshta Bala (Shadbala)
In BPHS, Maharishi Parasara Volume 1, said that retrograde planets are powerful.
The Maharishi says that Shadbala is the final word on the strength of the planet. He said no Astrologer should attempt to understand the strength of the planet without doing the maths of Shadbala. One of the factors in Shadbala calculation is Chesta Bala, the kinetic energy of a planet. This may actually indicate the intention or the strong motivation and focus on a single assignment by the retrograde planet.
In Vedic Astrology, चेष्टा (Ceṣṭā) means movement, effort, activity, or motion. Thus, Cheshta Bala (चेष्टा बल) literally means "strength arising from motion" or "motional strength" of a planet.
Using the chesta bala an Astrologer can find out where the cricket bowler is in the analogy that was mentioned before. If he has reached maximum speed, then it means he is going to release the ball. In the next few paragraphs you will know how to visualise all this.
The various speeds of planets
We have to visualise the planets in our horoscope. How did they get there. Each planet is on a particular degree, minute and second of the arc on the zodiac wheel from 0 to 360 degrees. Do not look at them as stationary. They are actually moving and your horoscope is a photo which is just one frame in the video of the planetary movements. It is like seeing a photo of Muhammad Ali knocking down his opponent. You see the still photo. Visualise the actual punch, the activity, it is a not a pose that Muhammad Ali gives for a photo.
The process of retrograde motion has to be understood. First the planet begins to slow down, and finally stops. All this is not real. This is how it appears as seen from Earth. When it stops it is called Stambha or stationery. It has no Cheshta Bala during that time. Then it begins to go backwards and the backward speed increases and at one point it will reach the maximum. Then again the planet will slow down, stop and start going foward, gathers speed and goes so fast that it may sometime enter the next zodiac sign at full speed. This is called AtiChara - chara means movement, Ati means high.
Similarly, an archer cannot launch an arrow forward by holding the bowstring loose. They must use their muscles to pull the string all the way back toward their ear. Then stop pulling further. Cheshta Bala is the exact measurement of that pulling force.
A planet with a low Cheshta Bala score is like an archer who barely pulls the string; the arrow will just drop limply to the ground. But a fully retrograde planet pulls the string to its absolute breaking point. It requires immense karmic effort and creates incredible tension. The retrograde planet may look like it is moving backward away from the target, but it is actually maximising its Cheshta Bala so that when it finally releases, the arrow flies further, faster, and deeper than any standard direct planet ever could.
The various types of motion of planets
Planets have elliptical orbits, their speed naturally changes depending on their distance from the Sun. Viewed from Earth, this variation alters how long a planet spends in each zodiac sign. For example, planets travel faster through Pisces and slow down to spend more time transiting Virgo.
According to Kepler's Second Law of Planetary Motion, a planet physically accelerates when it is closer to the Sun (perihelion) and slows down when it is farther away (aphelion). The change in speed we notice when planets move in Pisces and Virgo is a mix of this real physical speed change and the relative tracking perspective from Earth.
The concept of 8 types of planetary motion involving retrograde planets originates from the ancient Hindu astronomical and astrological text, the Surya Siddhanta. In this geocentric epicycloidal model, the five wandering planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, are categorized into eight specific types of celestial speeds and directions (Gatis), which include varying rates of retrograde motion:
Source is BPHS Volume 1, Chapter 27 page 285 translation by R Santhanam.
- Vakra : The planet appears to reverse its regular course and move backward through the zodiac - Retrograde - 60/60 - Maximum Chesta Bala.
- Anuvakra : Going backward to enter the previous sign.
- Vikala : Devoid of motion - stationary planet - the car has stopped. Stops and wants to go forward.
- Manda : Just starting to move from stationary position - slowest like 1st gear in a car. Going forward starts here but it is still within the loop.
- Mandatara : Picking up speed. The car moves in 2nd gear.
- Sama : The speed is increasing. The car moves in 3rd gear.
- Chara : The speed is higher now. The car moves in 4th gear. - Maximum Energy going forward in the loop.
- Atichara : The speed is highest. The planet enters the next zodiac sign. The cricket bowler has crossed the crease line.
The strengths allotted due to such 8 motions are : 60, 30, 15, 30, 15, 7.5, 45, 30 respectively. Please note that the maximum score is 45 and that is for Chara. Atichara the score drops to 30. It may be because the cricket ball has been delivered, and then the bowler crossed the crease.
Source is BPHS Volume 1, Chapter 27 page 285 translation by R Santhanam.
Planetary Retrograde Durations
Saturn: ~140 days (occurs once every year)
Jupiter: ~120 days (occurs once every year)
Mars: ~70 to 80 days (occurs once every 2 years / 26 months)
Venus: ~40 to 42 days (occurs once every 18 months)
Mercury: ~21 to 24 days (occurs 3 to 4 times every year)
What is the maximum chestabala ?
Vakra (Retrograde): Moving backward the planet will eventually reach a point that is closest point to Earth. Maharishi Parasara gives 60 Points called Virupas which is the maximum strength possible. How to spot a retrograde Saturn, Jupiter or Mars in any horoscope? If these planets are directly opposite the 7th house from the Sun, please know that the these grahas are retrograde. At least this method is easy.
Watch the YouTube videos at the end of this article. I am not sure how many more videos I have uploaded on my YouTube channel on this topic is available. When I locate them I will add it there.
Retrograde Planets and Dasha and Antardasha connection
Let us now discuss a great idea when it comes to timing an event in your life. We always want to know when will it happen? To find the answer we look into the planetary periods. The Mahadasha and the Antardasha in Vimshottari Dasha of 120 years cycle.
An interesting principle mentioned by Maharishi Parashara in the Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra ( BPHS Volume 2 ) relates to the timing of the results of retrograde planets.
Divide a zodiac sign into 3 parts. 30 degrees makes a sign. So each part is 10 degrees. This is called Drekkana. Find out where the retrograde planet in your horoscope is. Is it in the 1st drekkana or 2nd or 3rd.
Usually, the Drekkana (decanate) occupied by a planet indicates the portion of its Mahadasha during which its results are likely to manifest. A planet placed in the first Drekkana generally produces its principal results during the first one-third of its Mahadasha, a planet in the second Drekkana during the middle one-third, and a planet in the third Drekkana during the final one-third.
However, Parashara states that when a planet is retrograde (Vakra), this order is reversed. Thus, a retrograde planet occupying the first Drekkana tends to deliver its major results during the last one-third of its Mahadasha, while one in the third Drekkana is more likely to produce its results during the first one-third. In other words, retrograde motion not only symbolises a revisiting of unfinished karmic matters but can also reverse the expected timing of the planet's significant results within its ruling period.
The tool kit to understand the Retrograde planet
First of all find out the Chestabala strength using a horoscope software. The intensity or the motivational energy is directly proportional to its strength.
The nature of the planet has to be understood. If Mars is Vakra then what does that imply? If Jupiter is retrograde then what?
The planet rules which of the houses in the horoscope. If the 10th house lord is retrograde in the horoscope of a doctor, it means that this person
was a doctor in the past life. The doctor was unhappy about his performance, so he goes back to what he did in his past life only to deliver the knowledge of medicine with the speed of a fast bowler. This time the archer will hit the bullseye.
Study the 16 divisional charts and look out for something special about the retrograde planet. Know what the divisional chart deals with. Then relate the logic to that divisional chart. For example if in your navamsa chart, the Venus that is retrograde in the D1 chart, is exalted in the 7th house in Navamsa, it means your wife in the current life is your husband or wife from a past life.
When will you go back?
You are most likely to revisit something connected with a "retrograde planet" during the Mahadasha or Antardasha of that retrograde planet. These periods often bring people, places, relationships, careers, or unfinished situations back into your life, giving you another opportunity to experience, resolve, or complete what was left unfinished.
Also pay close attention to planetary transits. When a transiting planet conjoins or strongly activates a retrograde planet in your birth chart, it can trigger this "going back" phenomenon. During such periods, life may unexpectedly take you back to a familiar person, a forgotten place, an abandoned career, or a long-lost relationship, as though destiny has reopened an old chapter.
It is important to understand that this return is not necessarily favourable or unfavourable. Revisiting the past can bring joyful reunions, second chances, and unfinished blessings, but it can also revive old problems, unresolved conflicts, or karmic debts. Whether the experience is pleasant or painful depends upon the nature of the planet, the houses involved, and the Prarabadha Karma that is due to unfold.
The person may go back to his ex-wife or ex-husband.
Another great idea is find out which planet in the sky right now is retrograde among the 5 planets. If that planet is retrograde in your birth chart (when you were born), then it means there is a connection between the now and the message that the planet has in your horoscope. This is based on the principle of synchronicity. Take for example the 7th house lord in your horoscope is Jupiter and it is also retrograde. It has to manifest in your life what it implies. That is most likely to happen when the same planet is right now in retrograde motion in the sky. During this time whatever "going back" it indicates is most likely to go back. The person may go back to his ex-wife or ex-husband.
Homework
Make a list of the retrograde planets in your horoscope. Ignore Rahu and Ketu even though we know that they are retrograde and that's because whatever I have discussed in this article is more to with Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Mercury. These represents the Panchabhoota Tatwa in our world.
Let's assume the in your horoscope Jupiter is retrograde.
Write down the houses Retrograde Jupiter owns. Imagine it owns the 6th house and 9th house. By now you know that this is possible only if your Ascendant is Karkataka (Cancer). Say in your horoscope Retrograde Jupiter is in the 9th house. 9th house represents among things, your biological father. This means that you have gone back to your father.
Readers are requested to write out their feelings and experience with regard to retrograde planets in the comments section. Alternatively you may send me an email. If I find it interesting, I will add it into this article. If you wish to be anonymous please mention in the email.
By Guruji E K Dhilip Kumar
Email : ekdhilipkumar@gmail.com
Watch my videos on this topic :
Please read the above article. Here I have explained that the planets in your horoscope is NOT the reason for what you going through in your life.
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