Jupiter Retrograde 2026
Exact on December 13, 2026 at 01:56 (CET). Read what this moment in the sky means and how it might play out for your zodiac sign.
Exact moment
Does it hit me?
What does Jupiter's retrograde do with you?
Your date is enough. Add time and place for your house.
Contents8 sections
The facts at a glance
Jupiter Retrograde
Exact moment
December 13, 2026, 01:56
CET · 00:56 UT
Countdown
34 days
until the exact moment
Zodiac
Leo
27°01'
Event type
Retrograde
Jupiter Retrograde
Duration
121 days
until April 13, 2027
How often?
about once a year
about 121 days each time
Next time
January 12, 2028
Jupiter Retrograde
Many feel a moment like this in the days before: themes come up, conversations turn to it. The exact time is the peak, not the start.
How we calculated this
Computed to the minute with the Swiss Ephemeris (NASA JPL data), tropical zodiac. The time is German time, Universal Time (UT) is the time at the prime meridian.
Source: planet positions from the Swiss Ephemeris (NASA JPL data), the same basis professional astrology software uses.
27°01' Leo
On December 13, 2026 Jupiter turns retrograde (in Leo).
What Leo adds
The sign gives the moment its colour. Leo stands for the themes of the day for everyone; for you it depends on where Leo sits in your chart.
Jupiter Retrograde Bingo
Which of these do you know around this day? Tap what fits. Three in a row is bingo.
0 of 8 · three in a row is bingo
Who notices it most
- LeoThe sign itself
- AquariusOpposite
- ScorpioAt a right angle
- TaurusAt a right angle
With the Sun, Moon or Ascendant in one of these signs, many notice a day like this more clearly. Who do you know with one of them?
Why these four?
The moment sits at 27°01' Leo. The four signs lie right there, opposite, or at a right angle to it. Astrology counts these angles as the most noticeable: what happens there nudges, challenges or sets something in motion.
What Jupiter's retrograde can do
Depending on the area of life it falls into in a chart, it shows up differently. These are the twelve possibilities:
- Fresh startSelf & new starts
- Treasure huntMoney & values
- SignalTalk & close circle
- NestingHome & family
- HeartbeatLove & joy
- Clear-outRoutine & health
- MirrorRelationships
- Deep diveIntimacy & change
- WanderlustTravel & meaning
- SummitCareer & goals
- NetworkFriends & plans
- RetreatRetreat & dreams
A note to future you
Open on
January 12, 2028
Jupiter Retrograde
- 1What is on your mind most right now?
- 2What should be different by then?
- 3Who do you want to tell about it then?
Write down the three answers today and read them again on January 12, 2028. Who joins you?
All 2 dates of 2026
Every full moon in your calendar
- Full moon
- New moon
- Eclipse
- Mercury retrograde
The dates appear in your calendar on their own, each with a link to its explanation. Remove it any time.
Video · 42 seconds
Jupiter Turns Back
On December 13, 2026, Jupiter begins its retrograde period. We explain what this really means and how you can use this time for yourself.
Read along
On December 13, Jupiter turns retrograde. But planets don't actually move backwards. It's an illusion. Like when your train overtakes a slower one, which seems to roll back for a moment. That's what is happening in the sky. Jupiter is the planet of growth and your big picture. Its retrograde phase is an invitation to review those big plans, not to launch new ones. Maybe you already feel this. Many people revisit old projects now, instead of starting something new. See if that's true for you. Your chart shows which area of your life this touches. Work it out for free at theastroacademy.com.
What does this mean?
On December 13, 2026 at 01:56 (CET), Jupiter turns retrograde. Seen from Earth, the planet seems to pause in the sky and then drift backwards for a while. In astrology this begins a time for second thoughts. Words that start with "re" suit it better than a big fresh launch: revisit, revise, reconnect.
What does Jupiter mean?
Jupiter makes things bigger: trust, meaning, growth. Where it works, doors open and chances pile up, sometimes too many. Jupiter shows what you believe in and which larger story gives you direction. It also shows where life turns generous once you step past your own edge.
What does a retrograde station mean?
Retrograde station: seen from Earth, the planet seems to stop and then move backwards. It only looks that way, because Earth is overtaking it. A good time for everything that starts with re: rethink, revise, redo.
What does Leo mean?
Leo shows up. Heart, stage, the generous gesture, and the nerve to really play a part instead of half hiding behind it. Where Leo is active, something gets lit up, celebrated or given away. Life gets a stage, and you let yourself step onto it.
Jupiter Retrograde
Jupiter, the planet of growth, slows down in Leo and seems to walk backward. Until it turns direct, its topics are for correcting, clarifying and reopening rather than deciding.
What it means for your zodiac sign?
A short reading for each sun sign. You feel the moment most where it hits a point in your own chart directly.
Aries
For Aries, a moment like this often just rolls along, like a tailwind on a bike ride. Where does something come easier right now? The focus is growth, opportunities and your horizon: old topics come back to the table and can be sorted out calmly. Fire signs often get going by doing. Pick one small action for the day that you will actually finish.
Taurus
As Taurus, you might get a nudge that feels awkward at first. Check whether it takes you somewhere useful later on. This moment shines a light on growth, opportunities and your horizon, and old topics come back to the table and can be sorted out calmly. Earth signs usually want something they can hold. Turn the impulse into one practical step.
Gemini
The sign Gemini sits at an easy angle to this event. Many people find days like this lighter. Is that true for you? These days, look closely at growth, opportunities and your horizon, since old topics come back to the table and can be sorted out calmly. Air signs like to sort their thoughts in words. Tell someone what is shifting, or write it down.
Cancer
As Cancer, you will probably pick up the undertones more than the main tune. They are quiet and can still be useful. The focus is growth, opportunities and your horizon: old topics come back to the table and can be sorted out calmly. With water signs, feelings often speak first. Take a quiet moment and listen to what they are saying.
Leo
As Leo, you are standing in the middle of this one, since it happens in your sign. Can you feel it? This moment shines a light on growth, opportunities and your horizon, and old topics come back to the table and can be sorted out calmly. Fire signs often get going by doing. Pick one small action for the day that you will actually finish.
Virgo
For Virgo this mostly happens in the background. Rather than an upheaval, maybe one small thing shifts. These days, look closely at growth, opportunities and your horizon, since old topics come back to the table and can be sorted out calmly. Earth signs usually want something they can hold. Turn the impulse into one practical step.
Libra
For Libra, a moment like this often just rolls along, like a tailwind on a bike ride. Where does something come easier right now? The focus is growth, opportunities and your horizon: old topics come back to the table and can be sorted out calmly. Air signs like to sort their thoughts in words. Tell someone what is shifting, or write it down.
Scorpio
As Scorpio, you might get a nudge that feels awkward at first. Check whether it takes you somewhere useful later on. This moment shines a light on growth, opportunities and your horizon, and old topics come back to the table and can be sorted out calmly. With water signs, feelings often speak first. Take a quiet moment and listen to what they are saying.
Sagittarius
The sign Sagittarius sits at an easy angle to this event. Many people find days like this lighter. Is that true for you? These days, look closely at growth, opportunities and your horizon, since old topics come back to the table and can be sorted out calmly. Fire signs often get going by doing. Pick one small action for the day that you will actually finish.
Capricorn
As Capricorn, you will probably pick up the undertones more than the main tune. They are quiet and can still be useful. The focus is growth, opportunities and your horizon: old topics come back to the table and can be sorted out calmly. Earth signs usually want something they can hold. Turn the impulse into one practical step.
Aquarius
As Aquarius, you might get a nudge that feels awkward at first. Check whether it takes you somewhere useful later on. This moment shines a light on growth, opportunities and your horizon, and old topics come back to the table and can be sorted out calmly. Air signs like to sort their thoughts in words. Tell someone what is shifting, or write it down.
Pisces
For Pisces this mostly happens in the background. Rather than an upheaval, maybe one small thing shifts. These days, look closely at growth, opportunities and your horizon, since old topics come back to the table and can be sorted out calmly. With water signs, feelings often speak first. Take a quiet moment and listen to what they are saying.
Tips & rituals
4 ideas for this day
- 1Pull out one big plan and ask whether it still belongs to you or only sounded good at the time.
- 2Pick up one old thread again instead of starting five new ones. Words that begin with "re" suit these weeks.
- 3On the first day, note one thing you want to look at again during this phase. Read the note once more at the end.
- 4Put off final decisions where you can. This stretch suits reviewing better than committing.
Where does this moment hit your chart?
The sky does the same thing for everyone. What reaches you depends on where this moment touches your birth chart. Take a free look at where it lands for you.
Your time windows
Your Time Windows
With dates, and with what you can check in each window.
- Your windowsCheck, prepare, act
- Emotional seasonWhich phase you are in
- DirectionWhere your focus is shifting
- Work & pressureWhat your work demands
- What emergesWhat ends and begins
- Your 90 daysA plan for three months
Discuss it with others
Jupiter Retrograde 2026 by the numbers
The station is exact on December 13, 2026 at 01:56 CET, and Jupiter is at 27°01' Leo when it happens. A station just means that from Earth the planet seems to stop for a few days, then turn. It never truly reverses, much like the train beside yours at the platform that only seems to roll back.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Exact moment | December 13, 2026, 01:56 (CET) |
| Universal Time | 00:56 UT |
| Event type | Retrograde |
| Jupiter | 27°01' Leo |
| Turns direct | April 13, 2027 · 16°59' Leo (121 days) |
For 121 days the planet stays retrograde, until April 13, 2027 at 16°59' Leo.
Check the current planetary positions to see where Jupiter is today. Your free birth chart tells you which house Leo occupies in your chart, and the house hints at the area of life this phase may stir up for you. The Leo sign profile has more on the sign itself, and retrograde planets lists every phase of every planet.
How to read the data
- Degree: this is where the apparent backward motion starts. The planet passes over this stretch of the zodiac three times: once before the retrograde, once during it and once after.
- Duration: counted from one station to the next, from the first standstill to the turnaround.
- A small test: on December 13, write down which conversation or plan you are taking up a second time, maybe the email you already started once. When the phase ends, look again at what became of it.
How often does Jupiter go retrograde?
Jupiter goes retrograde about once a year. Each phase runs 121 days on average, ranging from 118 days to 124 days. Put together, Jupiter spends 30.2 % of all days retrograde.
Jupiter keeps moving forward the whole time. Earth, on the faster inside track, simply passes it, the way a truck you overtake on the highway seems to roll backwards for a moment. The farther out a planet orbits, the longer that passing takes.
Between 1900 and 2100, 8.2 % of all retrograde phases started in Leo. That puts it at number 7 of the 12 signs.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Counted | 1900–2100 |
| Retrograde per year | 0.92 |
| Average length | 121 days |
| Shortest / longest phase | 118 days / 124 days |
| Share of retrograde days | 30.2 % |
| Starting in Leo | 8.2 % (rank 7/12) |
| Previous retrograde | 11 November 2025 |
| Next retrograde | 12 January 2028 |
We ran every day from 1900 to 2100 through the Swiss Ephemeris, using the same rules as this calendar. All dates are in German time.
Next up in the sky
For your calendar
Your Transit Calendar
Every day the sky touches your chart, as a calendar import and a PDF.
Common questions
- When does Jupiter go retrograde in 2026?
- Jupiter stations retrograde on December 13, 2026 at 01:56 CET (00:56 UT).
- What does Jupiter's retrograde mean?
- Jupiter eases off the gas in Leo. Until the next direct station, whatever Jupiter rules tends to run backwards. Fixing things, clearing them up and picking them up again comes easier now than a fresh decision.
- How long does the retrograde phase last?
- This phase runs until April 13, 2027 (121 days). It ends with the next event in the same series.
- Which zodiac signs does Jupiter's retrograde affect most?
- Usually it's Leo, because the event takes place in that sign. Scorpio, Aquarius, Taurus often notice it as well. They sit square or opposite, and a tense angle like that simply means these signs rub against the theme. Check it against your own chart. Further down you'll find a short reading for all 12 signs.