What this period actually is
Between July 19, 2031 and December 24, 2031 Neptune moves back through 2.8 degrees of the zodiac, from 15°38' Aries to 12°49' Aries, without changing its own direction at any point. Neptune is further out than Earth, so the 158 days between July 19, 2031 and December 24, 2031 are the stretch in which Earth overtakes it on the inside track and the planet appears to fall behind.
The mechanism behind the Neptune station of July 19, 2031 is the same one described in what retrograde motion is. Read astrologically, the convention is that Neptune — imagination, blur and what refuses to come into focus — turns inward between July 19, 2031 and December 24, 2031, which is a habit of reading rather than a claim about the sky.
The dates in full
Station retrograde: July 19, 2031 at 15°38' Aries, 06:12 UTC. Station direct: December 24, 2031 at 12°49' Aries, 07:41 UTC. The whole retrograde stays inside Aries: the band from 15°38' Aries back to 12°49' Aries is the stretch Neptune crosses three times.
What the period is good for
For the 158 days between July 19, 2031 and December 24, 2031 the workable version of the advice is narrow: use the clarity — a retrograde Neptune tends to dissolve illusion rather than deepen it.
If one thing is worth timing around the stretch that ends December 24, 2031, it is treating a long outer-planet phase as a daily influence — not because the sky forbids it, but because a marked period is a reasonable prompt to check work you would otherwise wave through. Treating the whole of July 19, 2031 to December 24, 2031 as a general curse is the version worth ignoring.
Which house it falls in for your sign
Counted from each sign as the first house, this Neptune retrograde, stationing at 15°38' Aries falls here:
| Sign | House | What that house covers |
|---|---|---|
| Aries | 1st house | your own bearing, appearance and the first move |
| Taurus | 12th house | rest, solitude, what is behind you and what runs unattended |
| Gemini | 11th house | friends, groups, networks and what you are aiming at |
| Cancer | 10th house | career, public standing and what you are known for |
| Leo | 9th house | distance, study, belief, travel and the long view |
| Virgo | 8th house | shared money, debt, intimacy and what is not said out loud |
| Libra | 7th house | partners, opponents and anyone you deal with one to one |
| Scorpio | 6th house | work, routine, health and the small maintenance of a life |
| Sagittarius | 5th house | play, romance, children and anything you make for its own sake |
| Capricorn | 4th house | home, family, roots and private ground |
| Aquarius | 3rd house | conversation, short trips, siblings and daily information |
| Pisces | 2nd house | money, possessions and what you consider yours |
The cycle either side of this one
The previous Neptune retrograde ended 210 days before this one began, and the next station comes 209 days after December 24, 2031.
- Previous: July 16, 2030 to December 21, 2030
- Next: July 20, 2032 to December 25, 2032
- All Neptune retrograde periods: the full list
Questions people ask about this
When does Neptune go retrograde in 2031?
On July 19, 2031 at 06:12 UTC, at 15°38' Aries.
When does it end?
The direct station falls on December 24, 2031 at 12°49' Aries, 158 days after the turn.
What is the shadow period?
The stretch either side of July 19, 2031 to December 24, 2031 in which the planet re-crosses the same degrees; the dates fall outside the published range here.
Does Neptune retrograde break things?
No. Between July 19, 2031 and December 24, 2031 the planet only appears to reverse, and the tradition reads that as a stretch better suited to review than to launch.