You’ve probably heard someone blame a rough week on “Mercury retrograde.” Maybe you’ve said it yourself. But Mercury isn’t the only planet that pulls this trick — every planet in the sky takes its turn moving backward, and each one brings its own kind of magic when it does.
Retrogrades get a bad name. People treat them like a warning sign, something to grit your teeth through instead of something to actually use. But if you practice any kind of witchcraft — working with the moon, herbs, candles, or just your own gut instinct — you already know timing changes everything in magic. A retrograde isn’t a glitch. It’s an invitation to slow down, turn inward, and finish what you started instead of chasing something new.
This guide walks you through all eight planets in retrograde, one at a time, and what each one really means for your practice. You’ll find out what shifts in the world (and in you) when a planet turns backward, plus the best and worst kind of magic to work while it’s happening. By the time you’re done reading, retrogrades might just become your favorite part of the year.
What Does It Mean for a Planet to Be in Retrograde?
When a planet goes retrograde, it looks like it’s moving backward across the night sky. It slows down, appears to stop for a bit, drifts in reverse for a while, then eventually turns back around and carries on like nothing happened. People have been watching this happen for thousands of years, long before telescopes ever existed.
In magic, we don’t just care about where a planet sits — we care about which way it’s moving, because that tells us which way its energy is flowing. When a planet moves forward (called “direct”), its energy pushes outward into the world. It’s active, loud, easy to work with. When that same planet turns retrograde, its energy folds back on itself instead. It stops reaching out and starts reaching in.
Picture a tide pulling back out to sea instead of rolling in. Nothing about the ocean changed, only the direction. That’s retrograde energy in a nutshell — the same planetary power that’s always there, just pointed toward reflection instead of action, toward review instead of a fresh start, toward the past instead of the future.
Every planet rules a different part of your life, so every retrograde carries a different spiritual meaning depending on which one is doing the reversing. That’s exactly what we’re breaking down next, one planet at a time, so you know precisely what kind of backward magic you’re dealing with.
Mercury Retrograde: When Words Get Tangled
Mercury rules the small, quick stuff — your words, your thoughts, your phone, your commute, the fine print on everything you sign. It’s the planet of exchange, so when Mercury turns retrograde, which happens three or four times a year for about three weeks at a time, that fast, sharp energy suddenly heads backward.
Spiritually, this is prime time for anything left unfinished. Old conversations resurface. Messages get crossed. Plans that seemed locked in start wobbling. None of this is bad luck — Mercury retrograde is simply asking you to slow down and pay closer attention to what you say and how you say it, because the usual quick, easy flow of communication just isn’t available right now.
This is the retrograde most people notice even if they’ve never opened a spell book. An ex texts out of nowhere. An old friend resurfaces. A project you shelved months ago suddenly needs your attention again. Your phone glitches at the worst possible moment. Spiritually speaking, the universe is handing you a stack of unfinished business and asking you to deal with it before you move on to anything new.
The best way to work with Mercury retrograde is to lean into the backward motion instead of fighting it. Revisit, reread, rewrite, reconnect. Don’t launch. This is the season for tying up loose ends, not starting new threads.
Best Magic to Work: Lean on banishing spells, cord-cutting rituals, and anything that clears out old, stuck energy. Journaling spells and dusting off old spellwork that needs a refresh both thrive right now too.
Worst Magic to Avoid: Skip anything that depends on crystal-clear communication, like spells to land a new job or attract a new relationship. Hold off on signing anything magically binding until Mercury goes direct again.
Venus Retrograde: Love, Money, and Mirrors
Venus rules love, beauty, money, and the way you see your own worth. It only goes retrograde about once every eighteen months, for around forty days, which makes it rarer — and heavier — than Mercury’s retrograde.
When Venus turns backward, that same energy that usually draws people, pleasure, and money toward you starts pulling inward instead. Spiritually, this is a deep-dive season into how you love, what you find beautiful, and whether you actually value yourself the way you deserve.
This is the retrograde famous for bringing exes back around, sometimes more than one. It’s also when people suddenly hate their haircut, question a relationship they thought was solid, or feel weirdly unsure about money they were fine with a month ago. None of that is random. Venus is asking you to look honestly at your relationships, your finances, and your self-worth instead of just accepting them on autopilot.
Use this time to sit with what comes up instead of running from it. If an old flame reappears, ask yourself what unfinished lesson they’re bringing back, not just whether you should answer the text.
Best Magic to Work: Self-love rituals, mirror work, and shadow work around self-worth are especially powerful right now. It’s also a great time to review your finances with a money spell aimed at understanding rather than growth.
Worst Magic to Avoid: Avoid casting new love spells meant to draw in a partner, big beauty spells for a total makeover, or anything that locks you into a new financial commitment. Venus retrograde is for reviewing love, not launching it.
Mars Retrograde: The Fire Turns Inward
Mars rules your drive, your temper, your ambition, and your willingness to fight for what you want. It goes retrograde roughly every two years, and it sticks around for about two months at a time.
Normally Mars pushes you forward — start the project, send the email, make the move. In retrograde, that same fire gets rerouted inward. Spiritually, this is a season where your usual get-up-and-go feels muted, and that’s the whole point. Mars is asking you to plan instead of charge ahead.
You might notice motivation stalling out of nowhere, old arguments resurfacing, or your temper getting shorter over small things. Physical energy can feel oddly blocked too, like you’re pushing against a current instead of moving with one. This isn’t weakness. It’s Mars pulling its usual outward force back inside you so you can figure out where you actually want to aim it.
Instead of forcing action during this time, use it to strategize. Let the frustration teach you something about where your energy has been leaking, then get ready to move once Mars goes direct again.
Best Magic to Work: Protective wards, patience spells, and anything for releasing anger or resentment work beautifully here. Rest rituals count as magic too — sometimes stillness is the spell.
Worst Magic to Avoid: Steer clear of aggressive spells, anything meant to force a decision, or big spells to launch a new competitive venture. Mars retrograde has a way of turning that kind of magic against you instead of for you.
Jupiter Retrograde: Luck Goes Quiet
Jupiter rules luck, growth, opportunity, and what you believe about the world and your place in it. It turns retrograde once a year for about four months, which means you’re likely in a Jupiter retrograde more often than you’d think.
Jupiter’s usual energy is big, loud, and expansive — new opportunities, lucky breaks, growth spurts. In retrograde, all of that turns inward. Spiritually, this is less about luck disappearing and more about luck changing addresses, moving from the outside world into your own beliefs and choices.
Opportunities that were flowing easily might slow to a trickle. You may find yourself questioning your faith, your goals, or beliefs you’ve held for years without ever really examining them. It can feel frustrating if you’re used to Jupiter handing you wins, but this quieter season is doing important work you can’t see yet.
Use this retrograde to reassess your goals instead of chasing new ones. Ask whether the direction you’re growing in is actually the one you want, before Jupiter goes direct and speeds everything back up.
Best Magic to Work: Gratitude rituals and any spellwork focused on inner abundance rather than outer gain fit this energy perfectly. It’s also a strong time for releasing beliefs that have been quietly holding you back.
Worst Magic to Avoid: Hold off on big luck-drawing or money-drawing spells aimed at fast external growth, and don’t launch major new ventures through magic right now. Jupiter retrograde rewards patience, not expansion.
Saturn Retrograde: Karma Comes Home
Saturn rules discipline, structure, responsibility, and the lessons life keeps handing you until you learn them. It goes retrograde once a year for about four and a half months.
Saturn’s normal job is to build — routines, boundaries, long-term goals, the kind of structure that holds your life together. In retrograde, that energy turns around to check its own foundations. Spiritually, this is when karma tends to circle back, along with responsibilities you thought you’d already handled.
You might feel behind on things you were previously on top of, or notice old commitments resurfacing that you thought were long closed. Boundaries you set might get tested. It can feel heavy, but Saturn retrograde isn’t punishment — it’s an audit, making sure what you’ve built is actually sturdy before you keep stacking more on top of it.
Let this retrograde slow you down on purpose. Go back through your commitments, your boundaries, and your routines, and fix what’s cracked instead of pretending it’s fine.
Best Magic to Work: Ancestor work, karma-clearing rituals, and boundary-setting spells all thrive during Saturn retrograde. Discipline rituals — the kind that rebuild a habit you let slip — work especially well too.
Worst Magic to Avoid: This isn’t the time for oath magic or binding yourself to brand-new, long-term commitments. Wait until Saturn goes direct before you swear anything to the universe.
Uranus Retrograde: Rebellion Goes Underground
Uranus rules sudden change, freedom, rebellion, and the flashes of insight that shake up your whole perspective overnight. It turns retrograde once a year for roughly five months.
Direct Uranus loves chaos you can see — surprise events, sudden breakups, out-of-nowhere opportunities. Retrograde Uranus takes all that lightning-bolt energy and keeps it inside instead. Spiritually, this is an inner revolution rather than an outer one, quiet but just as powerful.
Instead of big dramatic changes happening to you, you might feel a growing restlessness, an urge to break free of something you can’t quite name yet, or sudden realizations that hit you out of nowhere while you’re doing something completely unrelated, like washing the dishes. It’s Uranus rewiring you from the inside so the outer changes, when they come, actually stick.
Pay attention to the little sparks of rebellion and insight that show up during this time, even if they seem small. They’re pointing at exactly what needs to change in your life once Uranus goes direct again.
Best Magic to Work: Meditation for personal awakening, journaling around what freedom actually means to you, and quiet habit-breaking rituals all work with this energy instead of against it.
Worst Magic to Avoid: Avoid chaos magic aimed at forcing sudden external change, or spells designed to shake up other people’s lives. Uranus retrograde wants the revolution to start with you, not around you.
Neptune Retrograde: The Fog Lifts
Neptune rules dreams, intuition, illusion, and your connection to anything you can’t fully explain. It goes retrograde once a year for about five to six months, making it one of the longer retrogrades on this list.
Direct Neptune wraps the world in a soft haze — inspiration, escapism, spiritual connection, sometimes a little self-delusion mixed in. Retrograde Neptune has the opposite effect. Spiritually, this is when the fog actually starts to lift, and you begin seeing situations, and people, far more clearly than usual.
You might suddenly notice a lie you’d been telling yourself, see through someone’s behavior that you’d been making excuses for, or feel a spiritual practice that used to work for you suddenly feel flat. Dreams can get more vivid and strange during this stretch too. It’s uncomfortable, but Neptune retrograde is pulling back the curtain on purpose, not to hurt you but to hand you the truth.
Use the extra clarity instead of resisting it. If Neptune retrograde is showing you something you’ve been avoiding, that’s exactly the thing worth sitting with right now.
Best Magic to Work: Clarity spells and grounding rituals are especially strong right now, along with any work aimed at dispelling illusions or self-deception. Careful, well-grounded intuitive work also tends to go further than usual.
Worst Magic to Avoid: Hold off on heavy dreamwork, astral travel, or glamour magic meant to project an image that isn’t quite true. Neptune retrograde has little patience for illusions, including the ones you cast yourself.
Pluto Retrograde: Into the Shadow
Pluto rules transformation, power, and everything you keep buried where the light doesn’t reach. It turns retrograde once a year, sticking around for five to six months at a time.
Direct Pluto pushes transformation outward, often through big, visible upheaval. Retrograde Pluto sends that same intensity straight down into your own depths instead. Spiritually, this is the planet’s shadow-work season, when everything you’ve stuffed down starts asking to be looked at.
Old wounds you thought you’d healed might resurface. Power struggles, with other people or with yourself, tend to get more obvious. Buried emotions, old patterns, and control issues have a way of surfacing during this stretch, not to torment you, but because Pluto retrograde is one of the few times they’ll actually let themselves be seen clearly enough to heal.
This isn’t a retrograde to rush through. Sit with whatever surfaces, however uncomfortable, because Pluto retrograde is handing you a rare chance to release it for good instead of burying it deeper.
Best Magic to Work: Shadow work, deep release rituals, and spellwork for reclaiming your own power all align perfectly with this energy. Releasing what you’ve outgrown, even if it’s scary, tends to go smoothly right now.
Worst Magic to Avoid: Avoid power-over spells, control magic aimed at other people, or rushed transformation spells that don’t give you time to actually process what’s changing. Pluto retrograde rewards depth, not speed.
Retrogrades Aren’t the Enemy — They’re the Reset Button
Retrogrades get treated like something to survive, but now that you’ve gone through all eight, you can see they’re each doing something different. Mercury asks you to double check your words. Venus asks you to check your heart. Mars asks you to wait. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto all pull their own kind of energy inward too, each one handing you a different piece of the same lesson: sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is pause.
Magic isn’t only about moving forward, casting new spells, and chasing the next big thing. Some of the deepest, most lasting work happens when you sit still long enough to listen. That’s what a retrograde is really offering you — not bad luck, but a built-in reset button.
Next time you feel a retrograde rolling in, don’t let it throw off your witchcraft practice. Reach for this guide instead, figure out which planet is turning backward, and let it steer your practice for a while. You might find the backward seasons end up teaching you more than the forward ones ever did.
