Timing technique
Jupiter retrograde 2026-2027: four months to grow on the inside.
On 13 December 2026, Jupiter stops in Leo and turns retrograde until 13 April 2027. And it does not stop alone: Saturn and Neptune turn direct the same week. Three planets changing direction in three days is rare. Here are the exact dates, the shadow, the next ones, and how to see where it lands in your birth chart.
What happens in the sky
Jupiter never goes backward. Once a year, the Earth passes between the Sun and Jupiter, like a runner on an inside lane overtaking a slower one. For about four months around that moment, seen from here, Jupiter seems to move back.
The math: over the 20th century, Jupiter was retrograde 30.4% of the days. So about 1 person in 3 is born with Jupiter retrograde. It is common, not a curse.
Jupiter retrograde 2026-2027 in Leo
Jupiter stops on 13 December 2026 at 27.0° Leo, walks back, and turns direct on 13 April 2027 at 17.0° Leo. It leaves Leo for Virgo on 26 July 2027.
The shadow: Jupiter first crossed 17.0° Leo on 17 September 2026, and only gets back to 27.0° Leo on 11 July 2027. Between those dates it walks the same 10 degrees three times.
Three stations in three days
Saturn turns direct on 10 to 11 December 2026 (depending on your time zone) at 7.9° Aries, after five months backward. Neptune turns direct on 12 December at 1.6° Aries. Jupiter turns retrograde on 13 December (still 12 December in the evening in the Americas).
A station is when a planet stands still in the sky. Astrologers watch stations because a planet that stops sits on the same degree for days. Three in one week means mid-December 2026 is a real turning point on the calendar: things that were stuck (Saturn) start moving, while the urge to expand (Jupiter) turns inward.
The next Jupiter retrogrades
12 January to 13 May 2028: from 27.5° Virgo back to 17.5° Virgo.
10 February to 13 June 2029: from 27.4° Libra back to 17.5° Libra.
Jupiter turns retrograde every 13 months, about one month later each year.
What it asks of you
Jupiter rules growth, luck, teachers, travel and belief. When it goes back, outside growth slows down. The big yes, the expansion, the new market: they rarely come fast between December and April.
The useful way to live it: grow on the inside. Study, review what you believe, finish the course you started, reconnect with a mentor. Leo is about creating and being seen, so this is a good time to rework a creative project before you show it again, after 13 April or, better, after 11 July.
Read it in your birth chart
1. Find the house that holds Leo in your birth chart. That is the part of life where growth slows down and gets reviewed until April.
2. Look for a planet of yours between 17° and 27° Leo. Jupiter passes over it three times between September 2026 and July 2027: that topic gets a long, generous look.
3. Born with a planet near 27° Leo, Taurus, Scorpio or Aquarius? The station of 13 December hits those degrees hardest. Near 8° Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn? That is Saturn's station point.
Example: Bill Gates
Bill Gates was born in Seattle on 28 October 1955 with Jupiter at 27.8° Leo, in his 2nd house, the house of money.
In December 2026, Jupiter stops at 27.0° Leo, just before his natal Jupiter. It backs off and only touches it in July 2027, his 6th Jupiter return. Follow his chart below.
His real chart
Bill Gates, born with Jupiter at 27.8° Leo.
Sky of 13 Dec 2026
Take the lesson on retrogrades
Why planets seem to go backward, what each retrograde changes, with real examples, then a quiz.
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Questions about Jupiter retrograde
When is Jupiter retrograde in 2026?
From 13 December 2026 to 13 April 2027, from 27.0° Leo back to 17.0° Leo. The shadow runs from 17 September 2026 to 11 July 2027.
When does Saturn turn direct in 2026?
On 10 to 11 December 2026 depending on your time zone, at 7.9° Aries. Neptune turns direct on 12 December at 1.6° Aries.
When is the next Jupiter retrograde?
From 12 January to 13 May 2028, in Virgo. Then from 10 February to 13 June 2029, in Libra.
What does being born with Jupiter retrograde mean?
About 1 person in 3 is. It often shows growth that comes from inside first: your own beliefs, your own studies, a luck that builds slowly rather than falling from the sky.
