Meanings
- uncountableastrologyA transitional period, occurring immediately before and after retrograde, during which a planet moves across the same part of the sky twice.
Retroshade is going to increase the chances of a travel mishap, so just get ahead of the chances and protect yourself.
2017 December 19, Kaitlyn Wylde, “Mercury Retroshade Can Seriously Mess Up Holiday Plans — Here's How to Prepare”, in Bustle, archived from the original on 06 Dec 20202 more examples
Retroshade is considered by astrologers (such as myself) to be the worst part of Mercury Retrograde. The pre-Retrograde starts slowing down the communicative planet and begins to make us all see situations with unclear thoughts.
2019 November 20, Lisa Stardust, “Yeah, Mercury Retrograde Is Over—but Have You Heard of *Retroshade*?”, in Cosmopolitan, New York, N.Y.: Hearst Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 04 Nov 2023Technically speaking, retroshade refers to a planet's "retrograde shadow period," which occurs both before and after the retrograde itself. It's when the planet slows down as it prepares to enter retrograde and speeds up as it leaves its backward motion behind. […]
[2023 January 11, Aliza Kelly, “When Mercury Retrograde Ends, Mercury Retroshade Begins”, in The Cut, archived from the original on 09 Aug 2023
Origin
Translations
Finnish varjoaika
- varjoaikaperiod before or after a retrograde where a planet is in the same degrees as during the retrograde
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
retroshade. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retroshade
“retroshade.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retroshade. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “retroshade,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retroshade.
Source: retroshade on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.