Mercury seems to go backwards in the sky, an optical effect seen from Earth. Tradition associates it with communication, travel and paperwork. It is usually a good moment to go over things, reread before signing, make backups and pick up what was left pending, rather than to start new things.

Neptune seems to go backwards for much of the year: tradition relates it to dreams, ideals and intuition. It usually helps to tell what you imagine from what is happening, and to look with less fog at what you trust.

Uranus seems to go backwards for several months each year: tradition links it with change and the need for freedom. It is usually a time to make sense of what has already moved, rather than to provoke sudden turns.

Saturn seems to go backwards: tradition associates it with responsibilities, limits and structures. It is usually a time to review which commitments you still hold, what is surplus and what is worth reinforcing with patience.

Pluto seems to go backwards for several months a year: tradition associates it with deep change and with what transforms inwardly. It usually invites you to look honestly at what you are letting go of and not to carry what is no longer yours.

Jupiter seems to go backwards: tradition links it with growth, learning and beliefs. It usually invites you to review what truly makes you grow and to consolidate what you have learned before going for more.

A solar eclipse happens at new moon, when the Moon covers the Sun as seen from somewhere on Earth. Tradition takes them as moments of beginnings and changes of course, more intense than an ordinary new moon and with an effect lasting some weeks. They do not say what will happen: they are an invitation to decide calmly what you want to start.

A lunar eclipse happens at full moon, when the Earth's shadow crosses the Moon. Tradition takes them as moments of culmination: what you have been nurturing comes to light, and so does what no longer makes sense to hold on to. They predict nothing: they help you put a calm close on things.