Direct Motion

Direct motion describes a planet moving forward through the zodiac in its normal direction, from one sign to the next in order. This is the usual state of a planet for most of the time, and it is sometimes called prograde motion. A planet turns direct after a retrograde period, resuming its ordinary forward course. A planet in direct motion expresses its energy outwardly and straightforwardly. The matters it governs tend to move ahead in the expected way, without the inward, reviewing quality of a retrograde. Because direct motion is the default, it usually draws little comment on its own, and astrologers note it mainly by contrast with retrograde and stationary planets. The moment a planet turns direct, called the station direct, can be significant, since it marks energy that had been turned inward beginning to flow outward again. After a retrograde period, the turn to direct motion often brings a sense of progress resuming and stalled matters starting to move. The work of a direct planet is simply to act in its natural, forward-facing way.