On Tuesday, May 15, 2018 at 11:18:57 AM UTC-7, Gerald Kelleher wrote:

The faster moving Venus and Mercury and their direct/retrograde motions are entirely different as they process a real and actual loop around the parent Sun hence their loops are not illusory -

This claim of yours, of course, is incorrect. Sure, Mercury and Venus make loops in the evening and/or morning sky "with respect to the Sun" over the course of weeks (Mercury) or months (Venus), but nevertheless, they ALSO make 'apparent' loops and zig-zags with respect to the background stars, just like the superior planets! See this page...

http://www.nakedeyeplanets.com/movem...uperiorplanets

Towards the bottom of this page, under the paragraph heading "The Inferior Planets", you will see this graphic...

http://www.nakedeyeplanets.com/mercu...r-oct-2023.png

.... which shows the motion of Mercury against the background stars for the year 2023. Also find this explanatory statement...

"The inferior planets also describe loop and zig-zag formations against the background stars, however unlike the superior planets these formations cannot be observed with the naked-eye since they take place when they are too close to the Sun. The motions of the inferior planets are therefore somewhat academic, however since they provide a more complete picture of planetary movements in the zodiac it will be of interest to examine them closer."

Finally, look for the graphics near the bottom of this page...

http://www.nakedeyeplanets.com/venus...htm#8yearcycle

.... to see the (5) different kind of loops that Venus makes, with respect to the Sun, in the evening sky at various latitudes over an 8-year cycle. They look nothing like the loops shown in your own reference, which mainly shows the phases of Venus and is NOT representative of the actual 'real' loops as you like to think exist.