This week, we see some shifts in the benefics that keep them in contact for a little while longer: Venus stations direct (WOOT!) and Jupiter stations retrograde. With so many planets in retrograde, I spend some time unpacking retrogrades: who gets most intensely impacted by retrogrades and how to plan for them so you can use the time in a productive and empowering way. Retrogrades seem to have accumulated kind of a negative aura, but they are part of the cyclical process and offer deep gifts: second chances, opportunities for illumination and problem-solving, and an important pause point. Real progress entails looking backwards as well as moving forward.