posted May 10, 2020 01:43 PM
Hi LeoSag.. and CardinalTSquare 
Don't know if you own an astrological book called ephemeris?
There are pdf versions, and, paper books available.
Any student of astrology who's getting serious about the field needs to own some sets of books. Ephemeris is a table of where the planets are on any given day of the year, including the Centuries.
- http://www.amazon.com/American-Ephemeris-Century-2000-2100-Midnight/dp/0976242230
There's are versions you can buy.
I like the Michelsen Memorial Editions of Rique Pottenger's volumes of The New American Ephemeris.
When you open the book, he identifies the RETROGRADE planets using a light grey shading, or highlighting.
All of our planets are subject to retrograde motions except the SUN, and MOON.
Retrograde is an illusion. The planets all revolve around the sun, in a clockwise motion. When the earth reaches various positions, the continuous flow of the planets around the Sun can appear to move backwards to US, but what happens is that some planets move with faster, slower speeds than earth does. When the planets in their orbits reach a certain point, they 'appear' to move backwards (to us) as they round their orbit limit. Each planet follows a designated path. They 'appear' to go behind the SUN to us. Illusion.
So. To US, it looks like a pendulum swing in the sky. When a pendulum reaches a certain height, it looks suspended ("Stationed"), until it moves again. A planet that is "Stationed" finally appears to move again-- either forward or going backwards "Retrograde".
The planets still 'have a speed' that they move.
At the "Stations" … The planets seem to 'hold still'.
Think of using an Iron and Ironing Board.
Imagine moving your hot iron over a wrinkled shirt.
IF you stop moving the iron, or go very very slowly, the iron is 'HOTTER/heat more intense' on that patch of shirt.
A planet that is "Stationing" is more 'intense'. The energies are more concentrated. The planet stationing retrograde or forward in a degree will have more 'juice' for you to work with.
So to answer CardinalT's question, your stationed bodies (planets, asteroids) will have a stronger influence.
There are times during the year when there are a mix of retrogrades and direct (forward) planets.
If you have your ephemeris--
open to January 2020 (this year).
{note-- the NODES of the Moon usually move backwards, as a rule. Right now, North Node JUST entered Gemini at 29.59 degree. It will continue to move backwards in the numbering. Sometimes the calculated points (NODES) will have a kind of 'wobble' and appear to move forward, rather than their usual backwards motion. If you have the ephemeris I mentioned, you'll see the shading come on and off, as you look at the column of numbers/degrees. .. Columns (list each planet's degree-location) are up/down on the page; Rows (list of Days) are left/right on the page. .. So, you can kind of ignore the column for North Node {symbol looks like the horseshoe}.
January 2020 … URANUS.
Uranus was the only planet moving backwards retrograde in the sky.
2-degrees of Taurus.
.. Since Uranus is an outer-planet, it moves MUCH slower.
In December of 2019, in backwards retrograde motion, it reached 2-degrees of Taurus on Saturday, December 14 (2019). Stayed in that same degree until clicked forward/Direct on Saturday, January 11, 2020.
It STAYED in 2-degrees Taurus .. all throughout January, and into February. Sunday February 9, 2020, it moved to 3-degrees.
So, as a 'heated iron' Uranus concentrated and focused it's energies ON 2-degrees. If you had anything in your chart at 2+Taurus, like your Sun, Moon, Merc, or the rest, then you felt that influence especially strongly in your chart, whatever 'House' it was in.
For ALL the transiting planets--
There was no 'shading', no retrograde planet from January 11, 2020-- to Monday February 17, 2020. Every planet was Direct (forward motion).
Don't know if you've ever been in a backyard round swimming pool? .. As a child, I had one of those, and 3 brothers. We would get in the pool and everyone would start moving along the sides of the pool in ONE direction. .. We called it making a 'whirpool'. The power of the water, the speed, the force, was tremendous. If someone called out 'float!', we could 'rest' in the force of the water pushing us all same direction.
If ONE person decided to stop, and wanted to stand in the force of the water, it created 'resistance'.
The water-flow slowed down, and we didn't have that power in-motion anymore.
We could all decide to 'swim the other way'.. and eventually (in RETROGRADE), we 'changed the flow' of the water. The more retrograded the energy in the water, the more it flowed together and faster we went, RELATIVE to each other's body in the water current.
So! --- PLANETS.
In your natal chart-- if you have a retrograde that appeared, then that planet had decided to 'change the flow' … and relative to other planets around it.
A retrograde planet.. changes your approach to working with the energy of that planet. RETRO.. the power goes from the outside, to inward. {Like lungs, taking breath IN.}
Their energy works better for you when you go 'inside' first to work with the issues of life that it represents. It's more inward in its reflection inside of you. Introverted, extroverted energies.
Also.. you have to look at the sign the planet is in. Some planets are stronger in certain signs. ..e.g. Mars is strong in Aries, fire. Not as strong in water .. Cancer. It takes an adjusting to accommodate.
So, just as in the transits,
you were BORN during a 'transit day' for the earth.
Just like the planets in the ephemeris were ALL forward (for time stated in above paragraph), then a Child that was born during those calendar days would not have any retrograded planets on their chart wheels.
I know that in my own natal chart, the planets and asteroids from around 1-degree Libra are stationing, then moving retrograde (looking on the left side of chart wheel) ALL the way around .. MC is 2.30 Libra, Neptune Libra is retro, .. Scorpio 11 has Saturn retro, .. all through to Sag Ascendant.. Pallas Sag is retro.. all the way through H1 to H2 Capricorn.. Ceres Cap is retro.. then!, planets/asteroids got slower... some began stationing around 5+Aquarius ~ 10+Aquarius.
In LeoSag.. chart, HER retros are on the left side.
BTW this is called the Eastern side of [her] chart, as the ASCENDANT marks the place where the Sun first dawned with light on the horizon that day in your geog-area of your birth...
The place/degree/house your Sun is in, marks the time you took your first precious breath in the atmosphere of this earth.
{{?Graham?/others .. If I'm wrong, please correct? 
}}
LeoSag's SUN is Leo, at the beginning of her 8th House. .. She didn't give her time of birth, but seeing as her Sun is past the MC {high noon}, and was starting to go towards her Descendant late Gemini, which represents 'sunset' in the chart, her Sun says she took her first breath somewhere ~later afternoon. Snack time?! 
LOL
So, her planets are mostly in retrograde.
Looking at the ephemeris for the time you{LeoSag} were born, your mom would have probably conceived you during a time of NO retrogrades.
Then PLUTO began retrograde motion on Feb 8, the year your were in your mother's womb. By the time she was 6 months pregnant with you {going on normal carry/gestation} the planets in their orbital swing around to the other side of the Sun, began their retrogrades. The month you were born, PLUTO was newly "Station Direct" at 4-degrees Scorpio.
That would make Pluto extra strong in your chart, especially since Pluto is in his HOME sign of Scorpio-- ruler of sign of Scorpio.
The retrogrades stayed in your chart at birth until transits finished with their retrogrades (including Venus retro that year in mid-October. Retrograde Jupiter went Direct in November that year. By the time you became around 4 months old, all the planets were in direct motion, until Valentine's Day Feb around when you were 7 months old.
{{{By the way-- 
Happy Mother's Day out there! ..
Even if you haven't given human birth, you're a mom when you Care from The Heart, for someone and provide what is needed.
You're a mom when you keep an eye out for the safety and welfare of Children in your community and world of influence.}}}
Mars and Venus only retrograde around every 2 years.
For me, in my experience, if you have retrograde planet in your natal, and that planet in transit turns retrograde, I think there's something already 'familiar' to you with the 'feel' of that planet's energy.
Retrogrades should not be something to be afraid of, or worry about.
Just like on the beach ..
the tides go out, and come back in again.
You can adjust your self, your life activities and focus, as the planet-tides make different arrangements.
So, in general. A retrograde action flow, comes IN, filters inward, and you make decisions based on checking in with yourself first.
I HOPE I made sense??? haha
Have a Great Day! 
___________________________________________
NO Whole Quotes.. while I proof-read,
and adjust info for clarity
Lindaland
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posted May 09, 2020 04:59 PM
Your sharing will help me estimate "time" better, in the future.