Station
STAY-shuhn
Definition
A station is the moment a planet appears to stand still in the sky as seen from Earth — the turning point between direct and retrograde motion. A station retrograde (SR) is when a planet slows to a halt before it starts moving apparently backward; a station direct (SD) is when a retrograde planet halts before it resumes its forward motion.
In Tradition
Western astrology widely treats a stationary planet as especially powerful: because the planet appears to pause, its meaning gathers and concentrates on a single degree of the zodiac. A planet that is stationary in a birth chart, or stationary by transit, is generally read as carrying intensified significance.
In Practice
Astrologers find a stationary planet by checking the ephemeris for SR and SD markers near the birth date. A station's effect reaches beyond the exact moment, since the planet barely moves for a stretch of days on either side of it. In traditional astrology, being stationary counts among the circumstances that shape a planet's overall condition. In transit work, the stations of the outer planets — when one stops on a sensitive degree of your birth chart — are watched as significant turning points.
Historical Origin
Stations are an observable astronomical event, known since antiquity. Hellenistic astrological texts discuss them as part of the doctrine of planetary phases and conditions.
Further Reading
- Erin Sullivan, Retrograde Planets
- Anthony Louis, Horary Astrology Plain & Simple