Not Retro, but Return
In astrology, “retrograde”, often shortened to “retro”, describes the periods when a planet appears to move backwards across the sky. In everyday language, retro is the name of a nostalgic aesthetic. This piece looks at the question the two share: does looking back keep you in the past, or does it bring something back to today? A retrograde period can be a good time to ask it.
Retro comes from the Latin for “backward”. Rücu, a Turkish word of Arabic origin, means “a return, a going back, a beginning again”. Both point to the past, but they are fundamentally different.
Retro is an aesthetic. A window painted in the warm yellow of nostalgia, idealising chosen moments. Retro is beautiful. But it keeps you in the past.
Rücu is a practice. A conscious journey into the past, not to stay there, but to bring something back. To notice, to understand, to integrate, and to return to today.
The Two Faces of Looking Back
The popular “retrospective meetings” of the business world reduce this idea to a tool: what did we do well, what did we do badly, how do we do it next time. Useful. But the soul's looking back covers a much wider and deeper space.
Going back and forth into the past without a search for meaning can turn into a tiring loop. Reliving the same memory again and again in the mind can make that moment feel as if it never ended, and leave a weight behind.
Rücu: Active Integration
The practice of rücu in Boholia's philosophy works like this: go into the past, but go with a guide. That guide is these questions:
- What did I gain from this experience? (Not only “what did I lose”.)
- How did this moment shape me? (Look as an architect, not a victim.)
- If I integrate this past into today, what changes?
- How can I use this experience as ground to stand on, instead of something to carry?
A journey made with these questions can turn the past into a resource for today. Not a wound, but wisdom. Not a burden, but a root.
Some memories can be too heavy to carry alone. If you come across such a memory, don't push yourself; talking with someone you trust, or with a mental health professional, can be a good step.
An Invitation to Practice
Every weekend, set aside 10 minutes for this simple rücu practice: choose the most intense moment of your week. Without trying to relive it, ask the four questions above. Take short notes. Over time, this small practice becomes the architecture of the great story called life.
Not retro, but rücu. Seeing the past not as a museum, but as soil. The seed fell here, and look: now you are growing.