Speed

Definition

Speed is the rate at which a planet moves through the zodiac on a given day, usually measured in degrees and minutes per twenty-four hours. Each planet has a typical mean speed, but the actual daily speed varies: accelerating when the planet runs swift, slowing toward zero as it approaches a station, then reversing during retrograde before climbing back to swift motion after the next station of the cycle.

In context

The Moon is the fastest body in the chart at roughly thirteen degrees a day; the Sun moves close to one degree a day; Saturn averages about eight minutes of arc, while Pluto barely moves. A planet running faster than its mean is called swift; one slower than its mean is called slow. The reading of a transit often depends on speed because a swift planet passes through an aspect quickly, while a slow one lingers and dramatizes its arc.

To go deeper

Speed belongs to the family of motion terms:

• Direct motion: the normal forward travel.
• Retrograde: the reversed motion.
• Stationary: the speed-zero turning point.