Retrograde

Endpoint POST https://starsapi.com/api/v3/transit/vedic/retrograde

Returns retrograde and direct station windows for planets. Each entry shows when a planet turns retrograde (Rx) or direct (D), the sign and degree of the station, and the duration. Supports five query types plus a motion filter to show only retrograde or only direct periods.

Sun and Moon never retrograde and are excluded from results.

Authentication

Required. See basic → Authentication.

Request body

Field	Type	Required	Description
`query_type`	string	No	`current` (default), `date`, `range`, `month`, `year`.
`timezone`	string	No	IANA timezone. Default `UTC`.
`planet`	string	No	Planet filter or `all`. Sun/Moon invalid.
`motion`	string	No	`all` (default), `Rx` (retrograde only), or `D` (direct only). Also accepts `retrograde` and `direct`.
`date`	string	*	Required for `date` query type.
`from_date`, `to_date`	string	*	Required for `range`.
`month`, `year`	integer	*	Required for `month`/`year`.

Response shape

Field	Type	Description
`planet`	string	Planet name.
`motion`	string	`Rx` (retrograde) or `D` (direct).
`sign`	string	Sign at the station point.
`start_date`, `start_time`	string	Station start (when the planet turns Rx or D).
`end_date`, `end_time`	string	When the planet stations again (opposite motion).
`duration_days`	number	Duration of this Rx/D period.
`station_degree`	string	Degree in sign at the station point (DMS).

Use cases

Retrograde calendar — yearly view of all retrograde periods.
Mercury retrograde alerts — notify users when Mercury turns Rx.
Muhurta avoidance — flag retrograde planets for election timing.

Errors

HTTP	Code	Cause
400	`INVALID_MOTION`	Invalid `motion` filter.
400	`INVALID_PLANET`	Sun or Moon passed as planet filter.

Plus standard calendar endpoint errors.

# Replace YOUR_API_KEY with the key from your dashboard
curl -X POST "https://starsapi.com/api/v3/transit/vedic/retrograde" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
        "query_type": "year",
        "year": 2026,
        "timezone": "Asia/Kolkata"
    }'

const response = await fetch(
  'https://starsapi.com/api/v3/transit/vedic/retrograde',
  {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'X-Api-Key': 'YOUR_API_KEY',
      'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      query_type: 'year',
      year: 2026,
      timezone: 'Asia/Kolkata'
    })
  }
);
const result = await response.json();

if (result.success) {
  console.log(result.data);
}

import requests
import os

response = requests.post(
    'https://starsapi.com/api/v3/transit/vedic/retrograde',
    headers={'X-Api-Key': os.environ['STARSAPI_KEY']},
    json={
        'query_type': 'year',
        'year': 2026,
        'timezone': 'Asia/Kolkata'
    }
)
result = response.json()

if result['success']:
    print(result['data'])

<?php
$payload = [
    'query_type' => 'year',
    'year' => 2026,
    'timezone' => 'Asia/Kolkata',
];

$ch = curl_init('https://starsapi.com/api/v3/transit/vedic/retrograde');
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, json_encode($payload));
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, [
    'X-Api-Key: ' . getenv('STARSAPI_KEY'),
    'Content-Type: application/json'
]);

$response = curl_exec($ch);
$data = json_decode($response, true);

if ($data['success']) {
    print_r($data['data']);
}

import 'package:http/http.dart' as http;
import 'dart:convert';

Future<Map<String, dynamic>> getAscendant() async {
  final response = await http.post(
    Uri.parse('https://starsapi.com/api/v3/transit/vedic/retrograde'),
    headers: {
      'X-Api-Key': 'YOUR_API_KEY',
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    },
    body: jsonEncode({
      'query_type': 'year',
      'year': 2026,
      'timezone': 'Asia/Kolkata',
    }),
  );
  return jsonDecode(response.body);
}

import Foundation

func getAscendant() async throws -> [String: Any] {
    var request = URLRequest(url: URL(string:
        "https://starsapi.com/api/v3/transit/vedic/retrograde"
    )!)
    request.httpMethod = "POST"
    request.setValue("YOUR_API_KEY", forHTTPHeaderField: "X-Api-Key")
    request.setValue("application/json", forHTTPHeaderField: "Content-Type")
    request.httpBody = """
        {
            "query_type": "year",
            "year": 2026,
            "timezone": "Asia/Kolkata"
        }
        """.data(using: .utf8)

    let (data, _) = try await URLSession.shared.data(for: request)
    return try JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: data) as! [String: Any]
}

import okhttp3.*
import org.json.JSONObject

val client = OkHttpClient()
val JSON = "application/json; charset=utf-8".toMediaType()

fun getAscendant(callback: (JSONObject) -> Unit) {
    val payload = """
    {
        "query_type": "year",
        "year": 2026,
        "timezone": "Asia/Kolkata"
    }
    """.trimIndent()

    val request = Request.Builder()
        .url("https://starsapi.com/api/v3/transit/vedic/retrograde")
        .addHeader("X-Api-Key", "YOUR_API_KEY")
        .post(payload.toRequestBody(JSON))
        .build()

    client.newCall(request).enqueue(object : Callback {
        override fun onResponse(call: Call, response: Response) {
            callback(JSONObject(response.body!!.string()))
        }
        override fun onFailure(call: Call, e: java.io.IOException) {
            e.printStackTrace()
        }
    })
}

package main

import (
    "bytes"
    "encoding/json"
    "fmt"
    "net/http"
    "os"
)

func main() {
    payload, _ := json.Marshal(map[string]interface{}{
        "query_type": "year",
        "year": 2026,
        "timezone": "Asia/Kolkata",
    })

    req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST",
        "https://starsapi.com/api/v3/transit/vedic/retrograde",
        bytes.NewBuffer(payload))
    req.Header.Set("X-Api-Key", os.Getenv("STARSAPI_KEY"))
    req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")

    resp, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
    defer resp.Body.Close()

    var result map[string]interface{}
    json.NewDecoder(resp.Body).Decode(&result)
    fmt.Println(result["data"])
}

require 'net/http'
require 'json'

uri = URI('https://starsapi.com/api/v3/transit/vedic/retrograde')
payload = {
  'query_type' => 'year',
  'year' => 2026,
  'timezone' => 'Asia/Kolkata'
}

req = Net::HTTP::Post.new(uri)
req['X-Api-Key'] = ENV['STARSAPI_KEY']
req['Content-Type'] = 'application/json'
req.body = payload.to_json

http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = true
res = http.request(req)

data = JSON.parse(res.body)
puts data['data'] if data['success']

200 RESPONSE

{
  "status": 200,
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "query_type": "year",
    "year": 2026,
    "timezone": "Asia/Kolkata",
    "zodiac": "sidereal",
    "planet": "all",
    "motion": "all",
    "transits": [
      {
        "planet": "Mercury",
        "motion": "Rx",
        "sign": "Pisces",
        "start_date": "2026-03-15",
        "start_time": "04:22:00",
        "end_date": "2026-04-07",
        "end_time": "18:45:00",
        "duration_days": 23.6,
        "station_degree": "12°18'42\""
      }
    ],
    "count": 12
  },
  "meta": {
    "endpoint": "/api/v3/transit/vedic/retrograde",
    "version": "3.0"
  }
}