What is Mercury Retrograde: All About the Astrological Transit

Year in and year out, the Mercury retrograde theme keeps coming back, after all Mercury retrogrades every year at least three times — sometimes four, as in Mercury Retrograde 2023.

This is your complete and definitive guide to what Mercury Retrograde. How this phenomenon can act in your life and how you can use this astrological phenomenon in your favor is what you will learn here.

Mercury Retrograde Dates

Every year, retrogradation happens at least three times for about 20 days. In 2023, it will happen four times: in January, in May, in September and in December.

In short, Mercury retrograde happens in a sign. So, see what they will be this year:

The first Mercury retrograde of 2023 takes place in the sign of Capricorn. The phenomenon begins on December 29, 2022 and ends on January 18. The second runs from April 21 to May 15 and Mercury will retrograde in the sign of Taurus. The third will be from August 23rd to September 15th, which is when Mercury will retrograde in the sign of Virgo. And the fourth, between December 13th and January 2nd, 2024, marking the end of the year with Mercury retrograding in the sign of Capricorn.

What is Mercury Retrograde?

Mercury, and any planet that retrogrades, is retrograding as seen from Earth. That is, it is not that the planet is really moving backwards. There is no such thing.

An interesting way for you to understand this is this: you may have already got on a train or a bus where the bus next to you, or the train next to you, is going slower than the bus or train you’re on. Doesn’t it look like the bus or train on the side is going backwards? It is not!

Just as Mercury goes retrograde, all planets retrograde at some point over the years. The only stars that do not retrograde are the Sun and the Moon.

What does Mercury Retrograde mean?

Mercury retrograde has the bad reputation of representing communication problems, as if everything is going to go wrong. Communication problems, an important missed call, a letter that didn’t arrive, an email that got lost…

But if you take the time to look at it, honestly, over the course of a year, whether Mercury is retrograde or not, these problems happen.

Retrograde has to do with revising, revising, reanalyzing, reinterpreting. Everything “re” has to do with retrograde. And since Mercury is about communication, a key point of a Mercury retrograde is that this is not the time for you to take the initiative.

That is, problems can happen with regard to things that have to do with communication, such as, for example, agreements, contracts or anything that is signed or spoken.

Mercury represents the word, be it the spoken word or the written word. So what to do when Mercury is retrograde? It is important to be more careful with what you say or write. It’s even better not to say, and it’s even better not to write.

And it’s better to wait for the retrogradation to pass so that we can sign things, write important things, or say important things.

Is it Mercury retrograde’s fault?

On social networks, even those who don’t understand anything about astrology have even become a meme, right? Blaming communication failures, the printer that malfunctioned, the e-mail that did not arrive, the correspondence that was lost on Mercury retrograde. But are things really like that?

The watchword is revision during the retrogradation of this planet. Knowing this in advance, you can use this transit to your advantage. For example, if you’re studying, this is a great time to review a text, a subject or something like that.

Thus, it is clear that Mercury retrograde is not a “negative” placement, as many people believe. It can be very liberating! Understand why.

Is Mercury retrogradation bad?

Mercury, and any other retrogradation of any other planet, is not necessarily bad. It has an important, characteristic quality, which concerns things that we should try so that negative things do not happen.

So, with Mercury retrograde you have the great opportunity to review and re-evaluate the way you communicate: be it spoken or written.

Thus, the main tip for Mercury retrograde is: do not sign, buy or sell anything very important at this time. The moment is much more about introjection and intellectual introspection than putting your face to the world.

Primarily, Mercury’s retrogradation is a time of more recollection, and that’s good. See how generous heaven is to us. We all have a moment of the year when we are instigated to a greater recollection process.

Of course, not everyone can afford to do this. The demands of life force us to communicate. But knowing that Mercury is retrograde, you can hold the wave a little longer, close your mouth more. So save these phrases. They can be great during this planet’s retrogradation:

“Can I have my say on this later?” “I want to think about what you are telling me, so I can give you an opinion later” “Can I think about it a bit so I can talk about it with you later?”

And now answer: is this bad? No, this is great! Mercury retrograde is a great opportunity for you to carry out this process, which involves being more cautious, more prudent in what you think and say.

Is there Mercury retrograde for signs?

Retrograde Mercury will have a different importance for each person according to the Astral Chart you have. For some people Mercury retrograde will be a little better, for others not so much.

But that means you need to move beyond the idea of ​​Mercury retrograde for signs. Astrology takes into account your Birth Chart, that is, it does not only consider your sign.

If you want to know what Mercury retrograde has to say about your specific birth chart, access your Personal Horoscope here to understand how this transit will act on your life. So, see the step by step:

Go to ‘s Personalized Horoscope — it’s free! If you have not registered, fill in your details. If you have, login to the site. Then you will see all the transits that are happening in your life right now. And when Mercury Retrograde happens, you will be able to understand both the direct planet about your life and retrograde!

See that in the example below the person has 13 active transits, and Mercury is passing through the 6th house at this moment.

Note that there is a highlight on Mercury retrograde on the left with the full custom forecast!

Predictions for you during the retrograde

This is a summary of what you might be experiencing during Mercury’s retrogradation. The complete forecast, with tips and precautions, therefore, you will only see it in your Personalized Horoscope (in the step by step above).

See in which house you are living the Transit of Mercury Retrograde and the subjects that may be highlighted in your life at this stage:

House 1 in the Transit of Mercury Retrograde

Opportunity: You have the opportunity to go within at this stage. So try to look inside yourself and analyze things in your own life.

Challenge: This is not a time for you to put yourself out there in the world. It’s a time for you to turn inward. Avoid talking a lot and posting everything you think about on social networks, because the chance of misunderstandings is much greater than in other circumstances.

Mercury Retrograde in the 2nd House

Opportunity: fundamental moment for you to review the way you handle your goods. The more cautious you are about material and financial matters, the better. That way, take advantage of the period to study on the subject.

Challenge: risky investments are totally inadvisable at this stage. By the way, during this Mercury retrograde it is better to take a more conservative stance in relation to your money. Also, it’s good to avoid buying or selling very important things too.

Mercury Retrograde in the 3rd House

Opportunity: This moment is interesting for you to understand your communication failures and about the wrong arguments that you may be using in your daily life.

Challenge: Be careful not to divulge fake news and lies. Check everything you receive and, especially, better evaluate the things you share. Also, if you can, postpone quick trips and tours because the chances of things not going as you imagined are great.

4th house transiting Mercury Retrograde

Opportunity: Moving furniture around can bring you satisfaction at this time. This moment is very good to re-analyze how you organize things in your house.

Challenge: Family issues, mainly involving father, mother, siblings, grandparents, that you thought were resolved have a chance to return in this period. But only solve what you have solution. If you don’t have the power to decide, respect other people’s wishes.

Mercury Retrograde in the 5th House

Opportunity: you know that thing you had fun with, that game, that joke, that sport that gave you so much pleasure and that you, for some reason, stopped? It’s time for that to come back. It is not the time for you to learn new things in relation to leisure, but it is the time for you to go back to doing something you had already practiced.

Challenge: beware of the possibility of someone returning from the past. That’s not always a bad thing, but it might not be a good thing. The person comes back making a thousand promises, saying that things are going to be different now and they hardly ever will. If you just want a few nights of torrid lovemaking or just a few kisses, fine. But it’s not the best time to resume a relationship. The person may be the right person. Only this is not the right time.

6th House Transiting Mercury Retrograde

Opportunity: This moment is important to evaluate your habits, especially regarding food and health. Listen to your body! Try to investigate the signals that a pain, for example, may be sending. Organizing your routine and schedule is also very good during this period.

Challenge: maybe something in your body is giving you a signal that you need to change one or more habits. Also, don’t adopt or buy animals on impulse at this time. It’s also not a good time to hire people.

Mercury Retrograde in the 7th House

Opportunity: this is a big, huge, opportunity for DR. Don’t lose patience, maybe you’ve already talked about it, but you need to keep debating this topic. And DR goes for a romantic relationship, but it can also be with someone you partner with too. And the main tip: listen more and talk less. That is, consider what the other person has to…