Sky now
Today the Moon is in Aries.
Above you now: Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter.
5 planets look like they're moving backwards (FootnoteRetrogradeWhen a planet appears to move backwards across the sky. A time to review rather than rush ahead.Read more →). It's common: there's nearly always one.
Tap a planet or a bright star to see what it is.
Everything inside the gold line is above you. The dashed line is the path the Sun, Moon and planets travel (the FootnoteZodiacThe band of sky the Sun, Moon and planets travel through, divided into twelve equal signs.Read more →). The map turns with the real sky.
Planisphere for 40°N · stars to magnitude 4.8
How much of the Moon is lit each night this month, and which sign it's in.
The dark Moon and the full Moon this month, and what each is good for. Add your birth details to see which part of your life each one lights up.
Many Buddhists keep the new, full and half Moons as holy days for extra quiet and practice. In the Theravada tradition they are called uposatha. Exact days vary by country and calendar.
Sun 12 Mar, 14:54
A time to finish, release and take stock.
Generosity is the first practice: what could you give today without expecting anything back?
Tue 28 Mar, 02:57
A time to set intentions and start small.
Wish someone you find difficult well, quietly, without needing them to change.
When each planet looks like it's moving backwards this year.
A retrograde is when a planet looks like it's moving backwards. The planet isn't reversing. From Earth, it only looks that way for a while, the way a slower car seems to slip backwards as you pass it.
Solid bars are retrograde now, outlined ones are still to come, grey ones are over. Hover, tap or tab to a bar.
Uranus, Neptune and Pluto were found after ancient astrology was written down, so their meanings come from modern tradition. Each outer planet is retrograde for about five months every year, so their retrogrades are gentle background, not headline events.
Earlier this year
19 Dec 2016 to 8 Jan 2017 · runs past 2017, so the bar is cut at the edge
Backs up from Capricorn 15°07′ to Sagittarius 28°50′.
What it can mean
A season for rereading, rechecking and returning to old conversations.
Traditionally, Mercury rules talk, plans, messages and travel, so its retrograde is read as a time when these need a second look. Many astrologers treat it as better for revising than launching. People tend to back up files, double-check details and pick up threads they'd dropped.