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This Year’s Mercury Retrograde

Is Mercury Retrograde?
Mercury is now direct (moving forwards), not retrograde.

Upcoming Mercury Retrograde period:
April 1, 2024 to April 25, 2024
From 15º to 27º Aries

You’ve probably heard about Mercury Retrograde, the celestial event most discussed by the astrological beginner. But what exactly happens when Mercury goes retrograde? And does this event deserve its bad reputation?

When Mercury, god of communication and ideas goes retrograde, it marks a time of tangles and confusion. But this can also be a fruitful time to reorient and reflect, if you know how to handle it.

What is Mercury Retrograde?

Mercury goes retrograde about three times a year. When it does, it marks a three week long period of rest, reflection, and reorganization. These periods call into question our automatic ways of communicating, rushing around our daily activities, and way of thinking.

Mercury Retrograde periods are usually marked by communication problems and breakdowns of office equipment, as well as technology of all kinds.  When Mercury is retrograde, there’s an excellent chance that letters and packages will be lost in the mail and information will be delayed. This could leave our projects and lives in disorder. 

How Long Does It Last?

The Mercury retrograde period lasts around 3 weeks. Actually, it’s part of a bigger Mercury cycle that lasts about 6 months. The Mercury Retrograde cycle of December 2023 to January 2024 lasted 19 weeks.

Understanding the Mercury cycle can help you in all
of your business dealings. It can also help you
find time for introspection and soul searching.

 
To learn how Mercury functions in your chart
and how to use the retrograde cycle to your advantage,
 contact Pandora Astrology for a
Natal and Transits Reading.

How Can I Use the Mercury Retrograde Cycle To My Advantage?

Astrologers look at the position of Mercury to understand the current mental chemistry of human beings.  Mercury tells us how the day-to-day details of life will be handled. Additionally, it tells us how communications will proceed, and how office relations will go.  When Mercury is “direct” and fast, these matters proceed easily and with few obstacles. Luckily, Mercury is direct and fast for most of its cycle.

When Mercury is “retrograde”, it moves more slowly. Mercury’s direct periods are best used for forward motion and starting new projects. On the other hand, Mercury’s retrograde periods are best used for contemplation, research and cleaning up old projects.

Let’s get deeper into how to plan for Mercury Retrograde and how to adapt to its demands.

1) Allow More Time For Everything.

Mercury is the god of mental activity, machinery, communication technology, logistics, commuting and travel. When Mercury goes retrograde, technology breaks down. Messages get lost. Plans are derailed, trains are delayed, tires are flattened, and files are lost. In fact, we tend to experience so many interruptions that our focus is shattered and we can’t seem to get anything done.

It’s best to plan for the upcoming interruptions, misunderstandings, and logistic problems by padding your schedule thoroughly. Allow more time than you think you need for everything you have to do.  If there are things you need to accomplish and deadlines you must meet, be prepared. You may have to have to do things twice, perhaps even three times, to achieve your normal efficiency.

The best way to fully prepare for Mercury Retrograde is to plan ahead. In other words, meet your current deadlines and finish current projects before Mercury goes retrograde.

2) Be Extra Careful In Your Communications

Mercury is the god of communication. Therefore, when Mercury is retrograde, you notice that your words are received differently than you intended.  Your words can be spoken hastily, and are subject to misinterpretation. Or mishearing. On the other hand, you may be so introverted with your thinking that we fail to communicate thoroughly and clearly.

Double check dates, details, and plans. Ask for clarification when discussing anything, but especially logistics and schedules. When speaking and listening, pay attention to tone. Try to conduct important conversations in person. Better yet, delay extremely important conversations that require nuance until Mercury is direct and moving at a decent speed.

Mercury Retrogrades can be wonderful times for improving communication problems and clearing old misunderstandings. They can also be good times to fix something that was already broken before this period began. These periods work best when you curb your irritation, maintain patience and express yourself with warmth and sympathy. Relating to people by focusing on their good intentions instead of their failures will help everyone get through it more smoothly.

3) Ditch The Productivity Mindset

Mercury’s retrograde cycle is often experienced as a frustrating time. That’s because our modern society has a bias that things should always progress forward without a halt.  When Mercury is retrograde, it seems to move backwards. Likewise, regardless of our notions of how things should be, life is actually lived in cycles of work and rest.

Rather than trying to finish current projects during a Mercury retrograde period, it’s better to go back and pick up the pieces of something old.  People often find to their surprise that some long-shelved project gets finished effortlessly during this time, somehow shoving more current projects aside.

Use this time as a period of introspection and reflection. It’s a great time to clean out your closet, both physical and symbolic. In fact, doing so literally can be a very powerful exercise. So go ahead and clean that desk, closet, garage, basement or attic. Who knows? You might be surprised what you uncover and how much peace of mind results from the order you create.

What If I Just Can’t Plan Around Mercury Retrograde?

Unfortunately, many people work in a business where it is impossible to avoid deadlines. We can’t all contemplate our navels for a significant amount of time. Therefore, you may just have to accept that the business you are in goes against the celestial tide and requires you to barrel ahead. All despite Mother Nature’s message to “relax, people!” 

In that case, you will find ourselves dealing with the usual Mercury retrograde annoyances. For example: broken fax machines, lost messages, poor cell phone service. Be prepared for unexpected delays and miscommunications which force you to slow down. 

At best, you can enter retrograde times with the awareness that nature is forcing us all to slow down. That’s the key to avoiding emotional reactivity and taking it personally.

It’s not that you, or others around you, are inefficient or incompetent. It’s just that we are all trying to have a picnic in a rainstorm. However, it makes no sense to complain that it’s raining—it just is.  Maybe it’s better to stay inside, but if you can’t, the least you can do is bring an umbrella.

What if I Have Mercury Retrograde in my Natal Chart?

Interestingly, a Mercury Retrograde period is usually less freaky for people who have Mercury retrograde in their natal chart to begin with.  That’s because these people naturally prefer a slower pace. Similarly, they’ve already learned to field a wide variety of constant interruptions from their lifetime of Mercury Retrograde experience.

If you are one of these natives, Mercury’s retrograde period can mark a time when the world is finally on your wavelength. And it can feel great!

The Most Recent December 2023 – January 2024 Mercury Retrograde Cycle:

Most recently, Mercury turned retrograde at 8º of Capricorn on December 12, 2023 and traveled backwards to 22º Sagittarius, turning direct on January 1, 2024. This brought up communication, contractual, and logistical issues which did not fully resolve until January 20, 2024. That’s when Mercury once again turned direct and passed the degree of Virgo where it first turned retrograde. Since that day, Mercury has been fully sped up and back in normal functioning mode.

Mercury traveled retrograde from 22º of Sagittarius to 8º of Capricorn. Therefore, if you have anything at all in your chart between 8º of Capricorn to 22º of Sagittarius, you felt this transit strongly. Also, if you have anything in your chart in the same degree span of the other Cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra), you also felt this strongly.

Read more about the Mercury’s recent Retrograde in Capricorn and Sagittarius of December 2023 and January 2024 here.

Mercury Retrograde 2024 in Fire Signs:

Each Mercury retrograde period has a theme based on the sign Mercury is moving through at the time.  In 2024, all Mercury Retrogrades happen in the Fire signs. This indicates a general focus on faith, optimism, and action. Mercury in the Fire signs is subjective, enthusiastic, theatrical, and impulsive. On one hand, she can be charismatic and persuasive. On the other, she can mistake opinion for fact and put her foot in her mouth. Mercury in fire is charming in conversation, but sometimes aggressive in conversation.

The retrogrades of Mercury through the Fire signs will teach you how to think before you speak. Additionally, you are learning to express enthusiasm and positivity, and how to turn ideas into actions.

Click each diagram to read more about the upcoming Mercury Retrogrades of 2024:

Mercury Retrograde in Aries, April 2024Mercury Retrograde in Virgo and Leo, August 2024Mercury Retrograde in Sagittarius, November and December 2024

April 2024’s Mercury Retrograde in Aries
August 2024’s Mercury Retrograde in Virgo and Leo
November and December 2024’s Mercury Retrograde in Sagittarius

The Mercury Cycle and Its Milestones

As you can see in each diagram above, Mercury begins its cycle direct. The red line shows Mercury retrograde period, and the few days before it pivots. Mercury moves so slowly as it changes direction that those additional days may as well be considered part of the retrograde. The period when a planet is in the process of changing direction is called a “station”. By the end of the cycle, Mercury is direct again and moving fast.

Mercury’s entire cycle lasts about 4 months. Meanwhile, the retrograde part of the cycle lasts only 3 weeks.  Naturally, this means Mercury goes through this cycle 3 times a year.

Here are the (detailed!) stages of the Mercury Retrograde Cycle:

1) Mercury Direct and moving fast:  Efficiency is high

Mercury is moving forward at a swift pace.  This helps us to handle details smoothly and stay organized.  It’s a great time for meeting deadlines, planning long-term projects, and generally getting a lot done. Enjoy the easy ride by getting as much done as you can. Meet every deadline as efficiently as possible. Stay organized as you go.

Mercury direct usually lasts for about 2 months—more than half of Mercury’s total cycle. No wonder we feel this is how it should always be!

2) Greater Epiphany Day—A day of illumination

At some point along Mercury’s headlong scamper, it catches up to the Sun.  This is a day of illumination.  It’s a day when breakthroughs are possible, new understandings emerge, and mental clarity is at its height.  I call it “Greater Epiphany Day”. It’s like a natural peak on a wave. Therefore, the weeks leading up to it are a great time to push into that day of natural epiphany.

Surf this wave and take advantage of its rhythm. For example, set up your current projects so that the peak in mental clarity will be advantageous and well-timed for you.  Schedule your most difficult and detailed work for the weeks leading up to Epiphany Day. Plan to spend the following period responding to the events that happen around that peak.

3) After Epiphany Day, Mercury still direct:  Post-peak and gearing down

Right after Epiphany Day is past, Mercury is still direct and moving fast. Efficiency will still be high.  You can continue to set and meet deadlines, request rush jobs, and generally get a lot done. Finish projects now and celebrate your achievements.

However, about a week before the station, Mercury begins to slow down, and you should too. Start winding things down to prepare for the Mercury retrograde period that’s coming. Expect less of yourself and others. Likewise, don’t take on more than you could handle if the lines got clogged. Any loose ends you tie up here won’t return to bite you once Mercury reverses.

You can start thinking about future projects after the current ones are complete. However, don’t set any goals yet.  The Mercury retrograde period will be the perfect time for ruminating and meditating on those future projects. Even more so if you go into it with a clean slate.

4) Mercury Retrograde:  Look backward instead of forward; clear the old instead of initiating the new

The day Mercury stations retrograde is a day of realization. We realize that we’ve been moving too fast and skipping over important details. We realize that we need to slow down. 

It’s a great time to look inward and examine yourself, your life and your values. It’s also a great time to clear up old messy communications between yourself and others. Be prepared: people in your life who need to do that with you may pop up now.

Mercury retrograde happens only three times a year, so pull out some large garbage bags and get ready to move a mountain or two.  Imagine how smooth and streamlined your life will be after this purge.

5) Lesser Epiphany Day–A Day of Insight

For every time Mercury goes retrograde, it will also meet the Sun and conjunct it.  The day this happens will be a peak of epiphany during the retrograde. Let your mind build up to it slowly and intuitively. As a result, you may find that on this day you have an idea that solves the problem you’ve been stuck on for weeks, or even months.

Alternatively, it may be a day when you connect with or meet exactly the right person to help you solve that problem.  Look for this kind of epiphany or connection anytime in the 5 days surrounding Lesser Epiphany Day.

6) Mercury Retrograde period ends, Mercury turns direct

The day Mercury stations direct again is marked by a sense of urgency. You will want to finish up any clearing and cleaning that you haven’t done yet. That applies to your conversations as well as your closets.

When Mercury is finally direct, you can leave the introspective period behind.  This is your last chance to get the most out of this retrograde period. Take advantage of it while it’s happening!

7) Mercury Direct, speed increasing:  Back to business

It’s back to work for the human race. Mercury is slowly putting all the pieces back together. When Mercury first goes direct, it’s still moving slowly. Therefore, it’s a good idea to continue avoiding deadlines and contracts at this time.

Once Mercury speeds up, it’s “back to business.” At this point, you can set deadlines and begin projects with the healthy expectation of finishing them on time. You can also feel good about signing contracts. While Mercury is direct, contracts are less likely to need revising.

8) Mercury Direct conjuncts the Sun—Greater Epiphany Day again

Two weeks after Mercury turns direct, it is already moving fast. At this point, there are fewer obstacles, and you can move forward with speed and efficiency.  It’s a ride with great momentum and I suggest you get on it!  You’ll find others are doing it too, and that meetings are easier to run. Mercury’s increasing pace sets a wonderful tone for beginning new 3-month projects.  Now is a great time to brainstorm and get started on any new ideas you’ve got.

The last point on the diagram is exactly like the first point. It marks the end of one cycle and the beginning of another. A peak in mental efficiency comes on the day Mercury meets the Sun. Therefore, plan to expand on your projects until this peak. Likewise, plan to trim and consolidate your projects after this peak, before Mercury’s next retrograde period.

Did the last Mercury Retrograde Affect You?

You will feel this transit in the area of life (the house) that Mercury is retrograding through. Also you will feel it in the house that Mercury rules in your chart. (That’s something you can learn more about in a reading.) Lastly, if your Sun falls within Mercury’s recent retrograde path, you will definitely feel this transit.

Generally speaking, here are the birthdates (in any year at all) that were most affected by the December 2023 to January 2024 Mercury retrograde:

March 13 to 29
June 13 to 30
September 15 to October 1
December 14 to 30

If you are feeling the current Mercury Retrograde period
and you want to understand its effect on your life,

request a reading on our services page.

Go Deeper into Mercury Retrograde

Read about Mercury Retrograde in the last couple years.

2023
April and May 2023’s Mercury Retrograde in Taurus
August and September 2023’s Mercury Retrograde in Virgo
December 2023 and January 2024’s Mercury Retrograde in Capricorn

2022
December 2022 and January 2023: Mercury Retrograde in Capricorn
September-October 2022: Mercury Retrograde in Libra and Virgo
May-June 2022: Mercury Retrograde in Gemini and Taurus

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