Jupiter Retrograde 2026-2027 in Leo: Dates, Shadow and What It Means for Every Sign

Jupiter stations retrograde at 27 degrees 01 minute of Leo at 00:58 UTC on December 13, 2026, which is 7:58 pm Eastern and 4:58 pm Pacific on December 12. It turns direct at 17 degrees 00 minutes of Leo at 02:13 UTC on April 13, 2027, which is 10:13 pm Eastern on April 12. The retrograde lasts 121 days and covers ten degrees of Leo. Counting the shadow, the whole cycle runs from September 17, 2026 to July 11, 2027, and two weeks after it ends, on July 26, 2027, Jupiter leaves Leo for Virgo. Every date below is computed from the ephemeris for the tropical zodiac.

It is the last big turn of Jupiter in Leo, the year-long expansion that began on June 30, 2026. The retrograde does not take the luck away. It turns it inward: four months to grow the Leo theme in private before the final outward push of spring and summer 2027.

When is Jupiter retrograde in 2026 and 2027?

Notice how many of these dates change with the time zone. The retrograde station is December 12 everywhere in North America and December 13 in the UK, and the direct station is April 12 in North America and April 13 in the UK.

What does Jupiter retrograde mean?

Jupiter is the planet of growth, luck, faith, teaching and travel. It spends about a year in each sign. Once a year, as Earth overtakes it, Jupiter appears to stop and drift backward against the stars for about four months. Between 2014 and 2026 it was retrograde about 30 percent of the time, so this is a regular part of its rhythm, not a disaster.

Astrologically, a Jupiter retrograde moves growth from the outside to the inside. Opportunities slow down or come back around for a second look. Plans that were growing too fast get a review. Belief, generosity and confidence get rebuilt on firmer ground. In Leo, the sign of the heart, creativity, romance, children and being seen, the question of the retrograde is simple: is the version of you that Jupiter has been enlarging since June 2026 the real one?

The Jupiter retrograde 2026 shadow period

The shadow is the ten degrees of Leo, from 17 degrees 00 minutes to 27 degrees 01 minute, that Jupiter crosses three times.

1. First pass, September 17 to December 13, 2026. Jupiter moves forward through the shadow. What starts here is the subject of the whole cycle. Mars meets Jupiter at 25 degrees 53 minutes of Leo on November 16, 2026, the most energetic moment of the first pass.
2. Second pass, December 13, 2026 to April 13, 2027. Jupiter moves backward over the same ground. Review, rebuild and develop in private.
3. Third pass, April 13 to July 11, 2027. Jupiter moves forward again and recovers the ground. What was reviewed in winter is launched in spring and summer.

If you have the Sun, Moon, rising sign or a personal planet between 17 and 27 degrees of Leo, Jupiter touches that point three times in a single cycle. The same is true, through the square and the opposition, for planets at those degrees of Taurus, Scorpio and Aquarius. You will feel this retrograde far more than most people.

The key dates of Jupiter retrograde 2026 to 2027, ranked

1. December 13, 2026 (December 12 in North America): Jupiter stations retrograde at 27 degrees 01 minute of Leo. Saturn turned direct at 7 degrees 56 minutes of Aries two days earlier, on December 10, so the two slow social planets change direction in the same week. Read the month in the December 2026 astrology calendar.
2. April 13, 2027 (April 12 in North America): Jupiter stations direct at 17 degrees of Leo. From this station until Pluto turns retrograde on May 8, no planet in the sky is retrograde.
3. April 3, 2027: Jupiter trine Saturn at 17 degrees 08 minutes of Leo and Aries. The second of three exact passes, after August 31, 2026 and before July 11, 2027. It falls ten days before Jupiter turns direct, while Jupiter is almost standing still, which makes it the strongest of the three. Growth and structure agree: a good date to commit to the plan you rebuilt over the winter.
4. February 21 to April 1, 2027: Mars and Jupiter both retrograde in Leo. Mars stations retrograde in Virgo on January 10, backs into Leo on February 21 and turns direct at 20 degrees 56 minutes of Leo on April 1. For almost six weeks both planets of action and growth move backward in the same sign, the slowest stretch of the cycle.
5. February 11, 2027 (February 10 in North America): Jupiter opposite the Sun. The midpoint of the retrograde, when Jupiter is closest to Earth, about 4.36 astronomical units or 652 million kilometres away, and at its brightest for the cycle. It rises at sunset and is visible all night in Leo. Astrologically, the moment when what you have been growing is fully visible to you.
6. July 11, 2027: Jupiter clears its shadow, and makes its third exact trine to Saturn the same day. The cycle is complete.
7. July 26, 2027: Jupiter enters Virgo. The Leo year ends.

What else is retrograde at the same time?

Uranus is already retrograde when Jupiter stations, and it turns direct on February 8, 2027 at 1 degree 41 minutes of Gemini. Mars is retrograde from January 10 to April 1, 2027. Mercury is retrograde from February 9 to March 3, 2027, in Pisces and Aquarius, so late winter 2027 has three planets moving backward at once. The dates and shadow periods are in Mercury retrograde 2027. Venus is not retrograde at any point in 2027.

Jupiter enters Virgo on July 26, 2027

Jupiter enters Virgo at 04:45 UTC on July 26, 2027, which is 12:45 am Eastern on July 26 and 9:45 pm Pacific on July 25. It does not return to Leo. It stays in Virgo until August 24, 2028, turning retrograde at 27 degrees 31 minutes of Virgo on January 12, 2028 and direct at 17 degrees 32 minutes of Virgo on May 13, 2028, without leaving the sign.

Virgo is the sign of work, health, skill and service. Jupiter there trades the big gesture for the useful one. A week after it arrives, the total solar eclipse of August 2 falls at 9 degrees 55 minutes of Leo, the last echo of the Leo year, covered in eclipses 2027. Jupiter meets the Sun at 7 degrees 42 minutes of Virgo on August 31, 2027 and squares Uranus at 9 degrees 57 minutes of Virgo and Gemini on September 10, the year's most likely moment for a sudden change of direction at work.

Has Jupiter been retrograde in Leo before?

Yes, twelve years ago. Jupiter was in Leo from July 16, 2014 to August 11, 2015, turned retrograde at 22 degrees 38 minutes of Leo on December 8, 2014 and direct at 12 degrees 35 minutes of Leo on April 8, 2015. It then spent August 11, 2015 to September 9, 2016 in Virgo. If you remember what was growing in your creative life, your romance or your confidence in the winter of 2014 to 2015, the 2026 to 2027 retrograde often brings back the same kind of question, one Jupiter cycle later. After 2027, Jupiter next enters Virgo on November 16, 2038.

What Jupiter retrograde in Leo means for each sign

Read for your Sun sign and your rising sign, with houses counted whole-sign from your sign. The first house named is where the retrograde happens, the second is where Jupiter moves on July 26, 2027.

• Aries: your fifth house of romance, creativity and children. Rework the creative project or the love story in private, then commit in spring. From July 26, Jupiter improves your sixth house of work and health.
• Taurus: your fourth house of home and family. A move, a renovation or a family plan gets a second look before it goes ahead. From July 26, Jupiter brightens your fifth house of joy and romance.
• Gemini: your third house of learning, writing and messages. Finish the draft rather than starting a new one. From July 26, Jupiter moves to your fourth house of home, then squares Uranus in your sign on September 10.
• Cancer: your second house of money and self-worth. Review income and spending, and rebuild your sense of what you are worth. From July 26, Jupiter opens your third house of learning and travel.
• Leo: your first house, the retrograde is in your sign. This is a private rebuild of confidence and direction, a chance to decide who you want to be before the spotlight returns in spring. From July 26, Jupiter moves to your second house of money, and the August 2 eclipse falls in your sign a week later.
• Virgo: your twelfth house of rest and reflection. Quiet growth, therapy or spiritual work pays off. Jupiter enters your sign on July 26 for about a year, your biggest growth window in twelve years, while Mars turns retrograde in your sign on January 10.
• Libra: your eleventh house of friends and hopes. Old friends come back and group plans get a rethink. From July 26, Jupiter moves to your twelfth house of rest.
• Scorpio: your tenth house of career. A promotion, a launch or a public role gets reworked before it lands in spring. From July 26, Jupiter moves to your eleventh house of friends and networks.
• Sagittarius: your ninth house of travel, study and belief. Jupiter is your ruler. Revisit a course, a trip or a belief before you commit. From July 26, Jupiter rises to your tenth house of career.
• Capricorn: your eighth house of shared money and intimacy. Renegotiate debts and joint finances while Jupiter is backward, and sign in spring. From July 26, Jupiter moves to your ninth house of travel and study.
• Aquarius: your seventh house of partnership. A committed relationship or a business partnership is reviewed in depth, then grows from April. From July 26, Jupiter moves to your eighth house of shared resources. For a relationship question, compare charts in the free compatibility tool.
• Pisces: your sixth house of work and health. Rebuild a routine instead of adding a new one. From July 26, Jupiter enters your seventh house of partnership.

Jupiter retrograde in the birth chart

If Jupiter was retrograde when you were born, the same inward quality applies for life: growth arrives through reflection, study and inner conviction rather than through luck handed to you from outside. People with a natal Jupiter retrograde often feel this retrograde as familiar rather than frustrating. Your free birth chart reading shows whether your Jupiter is retrograde and which house it rules.

How to work with Jupiter retrograde

Do review, rework, study and rebuild. Do revisit an opportunity you turned down in 2026. Do not force a big expansion between December 13 and April 13: a launch, a large purchase or a leap of faith that depends on outside luck lands better after the direct station, and best after July 11. Keep your plans flexible over the Mars and Jupiter double retrograde of February 21 to April 1. Then use the April 3 trine with Saturn to commit to the version of the plan that survived the winter.

For the rest of the year's dates, read the 2027 astrology calendar, and for every full and new moon during the retrograde, the full moon calendar 2027. Last year's dates are in the 2026 full moon calendar and Mercury retrograde 2026, and all current transit guides are under transits.

Want to know which house Jupiter is retrograding through for you, and whether it touches one of your own planets between 17 and 27 degrees of Leo? Cast your free birth chart to find out in seconds, and read your sign's horoscope for the months ahead.