The shape of the year
The year opens with Jupiter and Uranus still retrograde from 2025. From 20 March, when Mercury turns direct, until 6 May, when Pluto turns retrograde, every planet moves forward. The second half is crowded. Neptune and Saturn turn in July, Uranus in September and Venus in October, and five planets are retrograde at once from 3 to 16 October, until Pluto turns direct, and again from 24 October to 13 November, once Mercury has joined. In December Saturn and Neptune turn direct, and Jupiter turns retrograde.
Mercury: three times, all in water signs
Mercury is retrograde from 26 February to 20 March in Pisces, from 29 June to 23 July in Cancer, and from 24 October to 13 November in Scorpio, about three weeks each time and each inside a single water sign, so tradition would read the year's reviews as concerned with what was felt or left unsaid more than with facts. Mercury retrograde 2026 takes each period in turn; see also the Mercury sign page.
Venus: 3 October to 14 November
Venus turns retrograde far less often than Mercury: this is its only retrograde of 2026, and the next begins in May 2028. It lasts about six weeks, starting at 8° Scorpio and ending at 22° Libra, so it backs out of the sign of its detriment into one of its own. Venus is the planet of love, attraction, taste and what you value, and tradition reads its retrograde as a time to reconsider attachments and preferences. See Venus in Scorpio, Venus in Libra and the Venus sign page, and our guide to Venus retrograde 2026 for what tradition says about these weeks.
Mars: no retrograde in 2026
Mars is not retrograde at any point this year. Of all the planets it has the longest gap between retrogrades, a little over two years, so some calendar years pass without one. The next begins on 10 January 2027 at 10° Virgo and ends on 1 April 2027 at 20° Leo; the 2027 retrograde calendar and the Mars sign page have more.
Jupiter: Cancer, then Leo
The Jupiter retrograde that began in November 2025 ends on 11 March at 15° Cancer, the sign of Jupiter's exaltation. On 13 December Jupiter turns again, at 27° Leo, and stays retrograde until 13 April 2027. Each period lasts about four months. Jupiter stands for growth and what you trust, and tradition reads its retrogrades as expansion turning inward, towards reviewing beliefs before adding to them. See Jupiter in Cancer, Jupiter in Leo and the Jupiter sign page.
Saturn: 26 July to 10 December
Saturn turns at 14° Aries and backs up to 7° Aries. Aries is Saturn's fall, a sign whose appetite for starting sits uneasily with Saturn's patience. Tradition reads a Saturn retrograde as a time to review structures and responsibilities and to test which commitments still hold. See Saturn in Aries and the Saturn sign page.
Uranus: into Taurus and back, then Gemini again
Uranus ends the retrograde it began in 2025 on 4 February at 27° Taurus, having backed out of Gemini. It then returns to Gemini and turns again on 10 September at 5° Gemini, staying retrograde until 8 February 2027. Uranus stands for change and the break with convention, and astrologers read its retrograde as change ripening out of sight before it shows. See Uranus in Gemini, Uranus in Taurus and the Uranus sign page.
Neptune: 7 July to 12 December
Neptune backs up from 4° Aries to 1° Aries and stays in Aries throughout. Neptune stands for imagination and ideals, and its retrograde is read as a time when ideals are looked at more soberly. See Neptune in Aries and the Neptune sign page.
Pluto: 6 May to 16 October
Pluto backs up from 5° Aquarius to 3° Aquarius. Pluto stands for depth and power, and its retrograde is read as those questions turning inward, towards what drives you. See Pluto in Aquarius and the Pluto sign page.
The slow planets and your own chart
Uranus, Neptune and Pluto move so slowly that each spends about five months of every year retrograde. They describe a generation's backdrop far more than a person, and in your own chart they matter mainly where they touch one of your personal planets.
The same holds for every retrograde on this page: the sky is the same for everyone, and tradition gives a retrograde more weight where its degrees fall on your planets or your rising sign. Our big three calculator shows where your Sun, Moon and rising sign stand.