The Retrograde Guidebook is an informative resource I’ll reach for during the crazy planetary retrograde.
I’ve always been fascinated by the spiritual, and astrology has always been high on my interest list. Tell me your sun sign and I probably know something about you or your personality. I understand that there’s always nuance to it, which is where this book, while mainly about retrograde goes into details. There are so many astrological signs that combine to create our indiviuality (not to mention nature vs nurture etc), and I truly believe that at our core, our signs and placements make a difference.
No matter what’s in retrograde, it’s not the end of the world. It is NOT the end of the world.
The Retrograde Guidebook, p 11
Retrograde 101
We’ve all heard it before, the dreaded phrase “Mercury must be in retrograde again”, but what does it mean? I’ve never really looked into it before this book.
Retrograde is when a planet looks like it’s “going backwards”. It’s an optical illusion because planets never go backwards, but can look like it when it goes faster than our planet Earth. I didn’t know that all planets had a retrograde, mainly because you only ever hear about Mercury.
In this section of the book, we look more into the background of what it is, and a brief but in-depth look into how to read your own chart. Birth charts, Houses, Astrological signs are all covered in this section. There’s a link to a free birth chart creator which is extremely useful and quite on point and layered.
As you can see, I wrote my house signs into the book so I could reference it whenever I needed to, and I solidly suggest finding out your birth (or natal) chart. You just need your date of birth, time and place for it to be accurate. Let me know what your Big 3 (Sun, Moon, and Rising/Ascending) signs are!!
I’m a Capricorn Sun, Leo Moon, and Aquarius Rising. It explains a lot about my personality if you know me.
It goes more into detail about lunar and solar eclipses, how they affect things, and there’s a couple reflection questions for the end of the retrograde cycle. The author suggest a retrograde tracker, which is something I’m definitely going to be starting this season.
Planet-by-Planet Breakdown
The next section is a breakdown of each planet’s retrogrades. Mercury’s chapter is the largest (for obvious reasons), and goes into detail about famous incidents that lined up with a retrograde in this planet’s time.
I love the fact that they have a small ritual for each planet to help connect to it better, and I will also be taking advantage of those. The rituals are all different types as well. One is creating a tea, some are journal style, some are using crystals. It’s varied and accessible to everyone.
But, no matter what the planets are doing, they’re not forcing you to do anything or making you act outside your own free will. You’re probably just…whining.
The Retrograde Guidebook, p15
Retrograde Calendars
Not an overly large chapter, but an informative one! This chapter had charts by year, with each planet and the dates they go in and out of their retrograde, and the astrological sign at the time. I’m going to need to update all my planners with this information so I get a reminder to do the prepwork!
Overall Thoughts
This book was great. I found it to be a useful resource and has me deep-diving into my own chart and figuring out more about myself and my loved ones. I know that I’m goign to be reaching for this one again and again, especially to reference the dates and the rituals.
If I can incorporate just a little more awareness into my daily life, it’ll help me realize and stay ahead of the retrograde seasons.
Are you into astrology? Or is this just woo-woo BS to you? Let me know your thoughts!
J x
