Station-Retrogrades and Back
by Erin Sullivan
The actual day of the station (station-retrograde is when the planet
appears to have stopped in the sky) is technically the turning-point of the
planet's motion from direct to retrograde, but the planet hovers within a 1? orb
of its station for three weeks or so on either side of the station-point. In
effect, the process of the station of a superior planet lasts for almost six
weeks. The procedure of slowing, stationing and retrogression is often noted by
events or inner mood shifts. Although rarely on the station-day itself, but
frequently within a week on either side of it, there is a marked shift in energy
patterns, both psychologically and physically.
A frisson stirs the foundations of the psyche, loosening contents which are
deeply submerged and hidden from consciousness. The disengagement of material or
unprocessed inner knowledge from the inmost levels of the unconscious often
results in the famed surprise results of retrogression. Particles of
underdeveloped unconscious material begin to reverberate, creating a sense of
fluctuation and uncertainty, weakening the boundary between the conscious and
unconscious realms.
The 'boundary' between the conscious and unconscious is in constant flux
anyway: doors open and close, unconscious contents become conscious, and that
which was conscious can be repressed and relegated to a storehouse which lodges
information not necessary at one time yet invaluable at another. Both
territories are guarded, sometimes heavily sometimes not, if the guards are
sleeping, or can be eliminated, or can be bribed into allowing passage. One does
not gain access to one's deep unconscious by conscious methods, but the
unconscious often bleeds into or overwhelms the conscious mind. The transits of
outer planets are notorious for breaking down the borders and creating access
between the two aspects of the mind. When the retrograde period begins, the
fissure in the 'wall' is made, and during the subsequent phase of retrogression,
leaks of information occur which are gradually assimilated into the so-called
conscious area, soon to become integral and eventually completely comfortable,
becoming what one would call normal. Previously unknown or inadmissable
intelligence suddenly becomes not only acceptable but indispensable. That which
was impossible becomes possible, and feelings, attitudes, moods and concepts
which have not been conscious can suddenly become the order of the day!
A malaise enters the system and one can feel suddenly ill or exhausted,
incapable of drawing on the usual reserves of energy. Ultimately this time could
best be utilized by allowing the natural, developmental cycle of unconscious
release to occur, going with the flow in experiencing new perceptions and
permitting evolutionary change in one's habitual patterns. Experience has shown
that during the retrograde period one's sense of timing can shift suddenly,
resulting in misjudging, delaying or ineptly handling circumstances if one
continues to press on under arduous conditions.
There are times when the stationary-retrograde period manifests in a sudden
withdrawal, a volte-face, which alleviates tense or dangerous conditions. If a
situation has reached the explosion point and no solution appears in sight, then
the station-retrograde can defuse the charge around the experience, creating a
more relaxed atmosphere. The release of tension allows time for regrouping and
renegotiating, creating space for natural growth and maturation. If a chart has
had a repeated onslaught of high-pressure transits, a station-retrograde at the
crisis point can ameliorate the situation by freeing the person emotionally to
explore the meaning behind his or her predicament. By the time the transit is
repeated months later when the planet is direct, the gestalt of the other
transits will have changed, as will one's personal perspective, opening new
channels of possibility.
Shortly after a planet stations-retrograde (with the exception of Mars) it is
trined by the Sun. This is the stationary-retrograde trine and often the message
of the station is triggered by this aspect from the Sun. The Sun 'collects' the
station and manifests its energy, activating the retrograde period. This trine
is the transition point into the full swing of the retrograde cycle -- it might
be said to be the conscious turning-point, when the Sun supports the renegade
movement and delivers the retrograde message. The shock of the station is
assimilated and quickly absorbed at the trine and inaugurates the interior or
underground experience. This is partly due to the quickening motion of the
retrograde planet after the trine.
The Sun trine is the foreshadowing of the eventual outcome of the entire
process, from station to final passage over the degree of the station eight to
ten months in the future. If the station has occurred in aspect to a natal
planet, the Sun trine to the stationary planet alerts one to a particular
'lesson' or message, and is the time when events and realizations manifest.
The station-retrograde through to the opposition from the Sun is an annual
cycle for re-evaluating tactics and techniques. The process strengthens one's
ability to listen to the inner voice -- the voice of the deeper Self -- bringing
greater awareness of the continuing need for development in that particular
area. Because the duration of time the outermost planets spend in one house in
the natal chart is lengthy, the annual retrograde cycle will re-occur for
several years; the results may not be immediate and startling, but they are
noticeable over time, particularly in retrospect. The degree to which polarities
in the psyche are unintegrated often becomes increasingly obvious during the
first half of the cycle, and events, relationships and challenges crop up to
highlight the imbalances.
PHASE II
The opposition of the Sun to the retrograde planet marks the 'full' phase,
the point of maturation of that which has been in reflection, bringing about a
new stage in the process. The second half of the retrograde cycle offers a more
deliberate and useful period of reorientation, during which time one feels more
effective and positive about clearing away the past or reviewing old material.
There is much less panic about this phase, quite possibly because one simply
adjusts to the retrograde influence, and can relinquish one's relentless hold on
absolutes. Slowly, options begin to materialize and very fruitful discarding can
take place, eliminating the outmoded or obsolete.
The opposition point marks a transition in the cycle of retrogression,
heralding a more deliberate, organizational phase. Issues that become apparent
at the opposition are a key to understanding what the second half of the cycle
is about. The retrograde planet begins to slow again as the Sun moves onward,
preparing for the release at the station-direct.
Just prior to the stationary-direct day, the Sun makes another trine to the
stationing planet. The planet is now moving very slowly, and will transit only a
single degree at most between the Sun trine and the station. This trine is
called the stationary-direct trine. Like the stationary-retrograde trine, the
Sun collects the energy, but whereas the stationary-retrograde trine relaxes the
energy, the stationary-direct trine increases tension. The charge of energy
built up during the retrogression is constellated in the trine aspect two to
three weeks before the planet turns direct. This partly accounts for the
build-up of tension around the release at the station itself. The Sun triggers
the station-direct, gathering the force and intensifying the weeks leading up to
the turning-point. If the stationary-direct degree is making natal aspects, then
the Sun trine will be significant because it generates creative release.
The sense of anticipation is a reaction to the Sun trine, which begins the
unconscious mobilization of energy and forces in preparation for the
station-direction itself. When the planet does station to to turn direct, the
liberation of energy and pent-up forces can be experienced as either positive or
negative, depending on what has been held in psychic storage. If one has been
suppressing strong needs, or attempting to control circumstances or a situation
which needs to change, the station-direction can emerge in havoc. If the need
for expression is guided by the deeper Self, but dominated and subordinated by
what the conscious ego has designed for its future, then the result is an
external form of confrontation.
Inner conflicts arise around both station-periods if there is a lack of
correspondence between what the unconscious deems necessary for greater
wholeness and what one has identified as one's static persona or image. This
kind of irruption of the contents of the unconscious into the consciousness is
what gives the station-points their fame for being so dramatically active --
they hold a tremendous charge which can magnify conditions which have been
developing over long periods of time. What tends to emerge is symbolically, if
not blatantly, precisely what one has been hoping to ignore, delay or control.
In mundane astrology, the station-direct is frequently marked by an obvious
change in patterns of business, politics, economics and social issues, all of
which were triggered at the Sun trine. Rapid reorganization and modification are
frequently instituted soon after the station-point, promoting a more effective
course of action. The direct motion of a planet does not always signal the
release of its power on the day itself, but this will happen within a few weeks
after its station, often waiting until the Sun makes a square to the planet --
squares being aspects of external manifestation. The degree of chaos unleashed
at the station-direct depends on a variety of factors. Particularly important
are any aspects from the stationing planet to natal planets or configurations in
caelo, and also the power of the planet itself -- the stations of the
outermost planets are those which provoke long-range reorganization, often
lasting through to the next station-retrograde.
The retrograde phase itself might increase rather than decrease the
psychologically useful aspect of a planet's power, in so far as added time is
spent reviewing and examining the houses transited and planets contacted in its
reversion. And, when the planet emerges at the station-direction from its battle
with the Sun, we are renewed and strengthened by the reflective experience. The
cycle of retrogression works by bringing in new perspectives gained through
introspection. Hidden facets of our nature or within our environment which have
been repressed, or are simply inert, become more accessible and manifestly
useful once the retrogression cycle is complete and forward motion is resumed.
The gestation period of the retrograde cycle is over at this stage, and the
fruit of the inner reflection and outer reorientation emerges for better or
worse, setting the tone for the coming period of direct motion.
This article is excerpted from Retrograde Planets,
?2000, by Erin Sullivan. Reprinted with permission of the publisher, Red Wheel
Weiser.
www.redwheelweiser.com
Info/Order this book.
About the Author
Erin Sullivan is an internationally renowned astrologer and author.
Canadian born, she has traveled widely and in 1988 moved to London where she
spent ten years. While in London she was the Series Editor for the Contemporary
Astrology series, published by Arkana-Penguin, and taught for the Centre for
Psychological Astrology in London, where she remains a faculty member. She has
written numerous books, of which "Saturn in Transit" and "Dynasty: The Astrology
of Family Dynamics". Erin Sullivan lives and practices in Tucson, Arizona. You
can contact her directly at her website www.ErinSullivan.com.
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