Stationary

Stationary describes a planet that appears to pause in the sky as it changes direction, either from forward motion to retrograde or from retrograde back to forward. For a short time the planet seems to stand still against the zodiac, and astrologers call this a station. A planet is stationary just before it turns retrograde and again just before it turns direct. A stationary planet is considered unusually strong. With its motion stilled, its energy gathers and concentrates, and the themes it governs come into sharp focus. A planet making a station in a birth chart often stands out as a commanding and defining influence, its meaning felt with extra weight throughout a person's life. As a current transit, the days around a planet's station can feel intense, as if the matters it rules are paused and emphasized at once. The station retrograde marks a turning inward, and the station direct a turning back outward. The work of a stationary planet is to recognize the concentrated power of the moment and to pay close attention to whatever that planet represents.