Mercury Retrograde in 2026
In this feature, I will give you all the Mercury Retrograde dates for 2026 so you can plan your calendar ahead. Unless you have a project you want to rehearse for several weeks (beta testing) it is unwise to begin major plans on this cycle.
Why? Mercury rules all the ‘merc’ words. Merchants (trade). Maps (Mercator’s Projection). Commerce. Mercury is about backtracking. He’s always on the back foot.
In art and sculpture, one foot is commonly turned away. This reflects the irregular movement of the planet Mercury.
Ancient astrologers noted that it appeared to reverse. You can see the classic kick, painted here by Schonfeld (Picryl).
Repair, Renew, Revamp? No.
It’s a good cycle to try first, second and third attempts – strictly on paper or laptop. However, is it time to repair, renew, revamp? No.
It’s true that Mercury Retrograde rules the ‘re’ prefix. However, there is too much rescheduling worldwide, now, for you to get away with wishful thinking about renewing a contract or revamping your house.
Mercury Retrograde and the Seventies
In 2018, Joanna Martin interviewed astrologers, including both Susan Miller and I, for her MA and focussed on Mercury Retrograde, which she found first began appearing as an astrology talking point, in the 1970s.
Back in 1953, The New Waite’s Compendium of Natal Astrology, by Colin Evans BA, mentions ‘Mercury, swiftest and most irregular of all’ the planets. Yet there is no mention of its famously irregular retrograde and the impact on our lives.
Today, it is easily the most popular, recurring, mainstream media astrology concern.
CrowdStrike Predicted With Mercury
You can try to revamp your website all you like on Mercury Retrograde while chanting in front of a candle, hoping to ‘repair, renew, revamp’ but a CrowdStrike outage can always get your webmaster.
By the way, CrowdStrike saw the largest IT outage in history – and it was predicted on this website, just using Mercury Retrograde. It was one of my most clicked psychic astrology predictions for 2024.
What Taylor Swift Knew
On MTV back in 2014, Taylor Swift suggested that on Mercury Retrograde, “Everything is going to be completely wrong and messed up and miscommunicated. Your phone will break, or you’ll send a text message and it won’t get to the person it’s supposed to go to.”
What she didn’t mention, was – Mercury Retrograde is a worldwide phenomenon.
It can cause telephone chaos in particular countries (like the US) if the national chart is triggered.
For the real stop-start to be unleashed, though, there has to be something bigger going on. Something that either takes hold simultaneously in many countries (like a market crash) or an event in an important nation, affecting all of us – like the U.K. or China which affects the whole world.
Mercury Retrograde Pre and Post Shadow
Mercury already knows he’s going to reverse, even as he is starting out.
Sun Sign School students ask me about the Mercury Retrograde Pre Shadow and Post Shadow all the time. So here’s the quick explanation.
If you treat Mercury as a person, imagine that he doesn’t really mean it – from the beginning. This painting of him with Jupiter, shows it very nicely.
On the Back Foot
Jupiter is all ears, in the painting above. The message is being delivered. But look at the back foot and the right arm. Mercury is already unsure. Uncertain. He may even know he’s lying. He’s already preparing to reverse and restart his mission, even as he appears to have landed.
When Small Things Go Wrong
The Titanic sank on Mercury Retrograde because the Californian failed to respond to distress signals. Lookouts on the Titanic, could not get their binoculars.
Small things go wrong on this cycle and if the rest of the astrology picture agrees, they can lead to disaster. Trifling matters can do a lot of harm.
“My father named me Autolycus; who being, as I am, littered under Mercury, was likewise a snapper-up of unconsidered trifles.” (The Winter’s Tale.)
Mercury and Commerce, Merchandise
Mercury stands at the centre of the Glory of Commerce sculpture on top of Grand Central Terminal. The work is also known as Transportation.
People renege on deals and trade promises on Mercury Retrograde. Shoppers seek refunds. This cycle can also chime with major infrastructure fail that affects transport, travel and Wall Street too. (Image: Wikimedia Commons).
New York is a Mercury Retrograde Town
New York itself responds to Mercury Retrograde more than other cities, because Mercury the god dominates Grand Central Terminal.
I was there in Greenwich Village on 9/11 and saw Mercury Retrograde bring the city to a standstill – both during the terrible attack and the chaos afterwards. In fact, New York’s Mercury Retrograde was the world’s Mercury Retrograde.
Globally, across all time zones, Mercury Retrograde began to roll backwards, when the Twin Towers fell.
False Reports, Gossip and Rumours
It is common to be presented with a furphy on this cycle. In the First World War, Furphy and Company gave Australian troops latrine containers. Soldiers nicknamed doubtful hearsay ‘a furphy’.
The gift of the gab is usually the advantage of a person with a stellium (four, five, six or more factors) in Gemini or Virgo, both ruled by Mercury. On Mercury Retrograde, this can lead to us wishing someone had shut her or his gob, instead.
The Second and Third Message
Mercury the messenger delivers second and sometimes third messages, about the same matter, within weeks. Sometimes these contradict the earlier facts or news.
The Second World War was ‘negotiated’ during Mercury Retrograde. So, no “peace in our time.”
When Mercury Retrograde is in Leo (courtship, the bedroom) or Libra (marriage proposals) wait until the cycle has ended, to finally make up your mind about what you’ve heard or read. Sweet nothings are common.
Mercury Retrograde in Scorpio is similar; Scorpio rules sexual and financial agreements.
This happens in 2026 (dates below) so if you have Scorpio factors at the same degrees, in your chart, you’ll avoid moving in with your boyfriend then, or marrying your fiancée.
Mercury and Delays
Train delays (in fact all kinds of delays with transport and travel) are the calling card of Mercury Retrograde. This extends to timetables and clocks, too. It is perhaps thanks to Mercury Retrograde that we have the traditional engagement, before a wedding.
Should there be Mercury Retrograde in Leo, Libra or Scorpio (the sexual relationship signs) there is sufficient time for the betrothed to reverse their decision.
NYC the City of Delays
In New York, at Grand Central Station, Mercury’s foot is firmly placed on top of a clock. The other foot steps backwards, as if to reverse or return.
Did sculptor Jules-Felix Coutan unconsciously warn New Yorkers about Mercury Retrograde, three times a year? The ceiling inside shows the winter zodiac, from January to June (Aquarius to Cancer). We’ll see Mercury Retrograde in Cancer in 2026.
Most of all, the Mercury Retrograde cycle is associated with delays, as Dr. Nicholas Campion, from the University of Wales Trinity St. David, has explained to the BBC.
Vroom Vroom
Vroom VroomProtests, strikes, accidents, extreme weather? Mechanical failure, human error and traffic jams? Of course these happen all the time.
On Mercury Retrograde they happen on a broader scale in your own country and worldwide, create a chain of reversals.
The most common reason for this is the climate, which can be extremely hot in one hemisphere and extremely cold or wet in the other. We will see this towards the end of 2026.
Sometimes there are larger reasons. A planet-wide software failure. A computer or human virus.
Posts with a marble head of Mercury used to be erected where two or more roads met, to point out the way. On Mercury Retrograde, he points you back to where you came from.
Indecision and Inconstancy
Mercury Retrograde translates as ‘thoughts, reversed’ in astrology. So people changed their minds. They can’t decide.
Those who don’t reply to emails, cancel appointments, ignore instructions, are too late and too early – are also part of Mercury Retrograde. So are liars and con merchants, unfortunately.
In 1894, E. Cobham Brewer, the creator of Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, noted that in astrology, Mercury “signifieth subtill men, ingenious, inconstant: rymers, poets, advocates, orators, phylosophers, arithmeticians, and busie fellowes.” On Mercury Retrograde they are much in evidence and unreliable.
The Sign Tells You the Story
When Mercury Retrograde took place in Virgo (work, trade unions, daily routine) in August and October 1877, America experienced the Great Railroad Strike; the worst train strike in its history.
When Are You Personally Affected?
When Mercury Retrograde goes over the same zodiac sign and degree, as any natal chart factor, you are personally affected by the reversal and rehearsal. If you don’t have your modern astrology chart you can pick it up here with one month’s trial membership. In 2026, we see Mercury appear to reverse in Pisces, Cancer and Scorpio.
The Re Prefix
Mercury Retrograde rules the ‘re’ prefix. Modern astrology is Latin (Roman) in origin, and as my old professor would tell you, the ‘re’ prefix in Latin means back, again, against. Rehearsal and reversal. Rescheduling and rethinking. Product recall. People who renege (short for, renegotiation). Retracted statements. Refunds.
It’s useful for writers who want to go to second or third draft and rewrite the original manuscript, script or song lyrics. Mercury’s craters, after all, are named after Walt Disney, John Lennon, Shakespeare, Hemingway, Bach, the Brontes.
The Titanic
The Titanic obviously sank on Mercury Retrograde too. Yet, outcomes depend on the aspects Mercury Retrograde makes as it transits.
Mercury Retrograde, can be a good thing if a greedy property developer and corrupt government announces its dastardly plans. They will change or come to nothing. The chaos will be worth it.
Cunning people use the cycle deliberately, starting talks on Mercury Retrograde knowing full well they are likely to fall over.
Professional astrologers can spot when politicians and business professionals are cynically using it. When you read about, or watch a major announcement on Mercury Retrograde, it may have been timed to affect the markets. It will later be changed or withdrawn.
Mercury Backwards
When a merchant backs or endorses a bill, he or she guarantees its value. Yet when Mercury Retrograde appears to move backwards in the horoscope, there are no guarantees.
*On the back foot
*Back to front
*Backwards thinking
*Back and forth
*Going back on your word
*Back to square one
*Backing down
*Backing out
*Turning your back
Back to square one, was popularised in football, when a pitch diagram with numbered squares, was printed in radio programmes. To back and fill, in sailing, is tacking when the wind is against the vessel. Nothing is firm or fixed.
Mercury Retrograde in the Merriam Webster
Our Sun Sign School students use the Merriam Webster when interpreting Mercury Retrograde. If you want to predict the future, it’s extremely useful. Just apply the following list to the sign and house Mercury is transiting.
Mercury Retrograde Predicted For 2026
Three times this year, with global outcomes, people will try to…
Reacquire, reactivate, readdress, readjust, readmit, readopt, reaffirm, reanimate, reappear, reapply, reappoint, reappraise, reapprove, reargue, rearrest, reassemble, reassess, reassign, reattach, reawaken, rebalance, , reboot, rebroadcast, rebury, recalculate, recheck, recommission, recompile, recompute, reconnect, reconquer, reconsecrate, recontact, reconvene, rededicate, redeliver, redeposit, rediscover, redivide, redraft, redraw, reemerge, reenergize, reenlist, reenroll, reequip, reestablish, reevaluate, reexamine, refinance, reformat, refreeze, refurnish, reheat, reimpose, reincorporate, reinsert, reinstall, reintroduce, rekindle, relaunch, reload, remeasure, remix, renumber, reoccupy, repack, repaint, rephotograph, rephrase, replay, repopulate, reprice, repurchase, reread, rerecord, reschedule, reseal, reseat, resell, resettle, resubmit, resupply, resurvey, reteach, retest, retransmit, retry, retype, reunify and rewire.
Mercury Retrograde Dates 2026
Mercury Retrograde in Pisces
Pisces rules Christianity so the Church of England and Roman Catholic Church will be affected by this cycle. Rivals to Christianity, including Tibetan Buddhism, will be affected. If you have factors at 8-22 Pisces then Mercury Retrograde takes place in your Twelfth House of religion, spirituality, therapy, psychics, dreams, psychiatrists, meditation and mediums. Allow +/- 24 hours for the difference in world time zones and sleep cycles with all these dates.
Mercury Retrograde 8-22 Pisces
Thursday 12th February until Thursday 9th April 2026.
Mercury Retrograde in Cancer
Cancer rules real-estate, renovations, house auctions, apartment rentals, home repairs, the extended family circle, the family tree, mothers and children, hometown and homeland. If you have factors at 16-26 Cancer you can expect the usual delays to affect everything from a family reunion, to a new flatmate. Be careful with this retrograde because the 
protection of Jupiter in Cancer stops on June 30th. The usual luck has gone. Between 13th June and 7th August 2026 we will see a reversal in housing markets worldwide.
Mercury Retrograde 16-26 Cancer
Saturday 13th June until Friday 7th August 2026
Mercury Retrograde in Scorpio
Scorpio rules all sexual and financial relationships. Commonly, a marriage and mortgage, but also a de facto partnership and a lease. It describes the legacy left by parents and other relatives to a younger generation, but also the will made out to children or others. Tied into this will be a husband and wife, or two partners.
Mercury Retrograde 5-20 Scorpio
Monday 5th October until November 30th 2026
So, that’s the Mercury Retrograde outlook for 2026. I am publishing this on July 15th 2025, so you have plenty of time to organise your schedules.
Images/Rawpixel/Picryl/Shutterstock/Dreamstime. All rights reserved. AI training is expressly forbidden. Copyright Jessica Adams Pty Ltd 2025.
44 Responses
Hello Jessica , thank you so much for explaining the Mercury retrograde. I have become a new member , I hope you can see my chart.
Cancer sun 29 deg. Jupiter in cancer this year so I am very excited. I mentioned before I am purchasing a house , it had to be in Mercury retrograde as I had no choice, I am hoping it will complete when Mercury is direct again. There have been delays, from the seller constantly , no paperwork no proof or documentation for anything and now no proof of a small area of parking gifted 30 yrs ago. I am becoming more and more nervous about the whole thing. Its taken a long time to find the house in the right place and it feels right but I am concerned about all the lack of paperwork all the time. I dont think they are being obstructive but just arent bothered as its deceased parent. I was hoping to get a reduction as the survey has thrown up a lot of costs and I had to offer well over the asking price but the seller may refuse. Should I keep moving forward and will the parking area proof of ownership be resolved as it could be contested later on if I dont have proof on the deeds and this may not happen or may delay even longer. Any advice at all that you can give me, Ive used the tarot several times always positive but today was king of pentacles and 5 swords which sounds ominous to me. thank you as always.
Thank you for becoming a Premium Member. I can see your chart on my screen. Mercury Retrograde is notorious for delays and paperwork issues; you have a parking question. The King of Pentacles has shown up (this is the male seller or the male real-estate agent) and the Five of Swords is a dispute with two people at odds and a third person repairing the situation. I don’t know what your question was, or what the time-frame was. You have Psyche at 28 Taurus and Uranus is going back to 28 Taurus in late 2025, early 2026 before leaving next April. So yes, in your astrology and also in your Tarot, the situation is unstable. (This transit can only happen once in your adult life). Minerva at 27 Cancer and the Sun at 29 (in your Fourth House of property) will both be happily ‘sat on’ by Jupiter at 27, 29 Cancer which is very close to that 28 degree pass of Uranus. I would go back to the Tarot and ask about next year, not this year and see what your options are. You are wise when it comes to houses, gardens and apartments (Minerva) and so you would benefit from listening to your inner wise old owl about this matter. The King of Pentacles needs to wake up and get real (and sort out his extremely complicated, overgrown finances) if he is to benefit from your offers. Paperwork would be a start! Where is your real estate agent in all this? If male, that is another contender for the King. But – go back to the Tarot. Your property situation is excellent next year, come what may. You are the only person who can decide this though, not me.
Thank you for the warning. I have a question about an on going tax issue since 2017. When the business sold all monies went to the state for taxes owed with an additional amount in case they missed anything to apply to any outstanding. The state had cleared a sale of a business with a 0 tax owed letter taking all the money that was owned and applying it and refunding the small overage. Apparently two weeks later they changed that and said there was money owed (Al good amount) but never properly notified correctly. Letters were written to straighten it out-they were ignored and then denied, attorney got involved and the state ignored that, the state wouldn’t budge and just kept letting the fines build to a hefty amount to this date. A new attorney looked at it recently and said they clearly made a mistake, will not admit to it and the only chance you have is to make an offer (even though it was completely incorrect). Is this a bad time to redo this whole thing? Should it wait? It’s really infuriating that a state can make a mistake yet not be answerable to it and you have to pay anyway. The amount now is just insane.
Taxation is Taurus and the Second House – and Scorpio and the Eighth House. In your natal chart you have transiting Pluto square both, so this is obviously a situation with your tax that is difficult to square. This has also been going on since 2017 so you actually began this when Uranus entered Taurus (in 2018) and it will come back in November 2025, through April 2026. Is this a bad time to redo the whole thing? Put it this way. There is nothing easy in your chart here. Jupiter in Cancer is sextile your Taurus factors and trine your Scorpio factors but that’s not enough to counteract the ongoing Pluto squares. The idea would be to lower the stakes with finance, property, charity, possessions, business so the issues involved in ‘squaring’ are lower too. I am sorry you are dealing with a mistake which is not your fault; however, Mercury Retrograde (now) is not going to help much. It should cheer you up to know that you will make or save so much money from mid 2026 to mid 2027 (if you take the opportunities) that you will feel as if the balance sheet with the world has levelled. Be extremely careful about letting this tax issue drag on any further; however this is your choice and your life so you are the person who needs to use the Tarot and Oracles here to decide your next step. I can only tell you that the astrology is challenging with the long-term Pluto squares; Pluto is power and you are dealing with the power of a state.
Hi Jessica! This time around Mercury retrogrades in Leo – my ascendant sign. What should I be careful about? And what could actually work for me.
I’m still facing lots of health issues related to right side abdomen with no clear in answers in sight.
As always- I appreciate your astrological wisdom.
The Ascendant is the least important part of the chart and is often wrong; people have their birth time wrong, for a start. It is also your exterior; how you arrive; who you appear to be, or what you look like. It’s not the inner person. Assuming you do actually have Leo Rising/Leo Ascendant you will hit circular situations, repeats and delays with your name, face, image, brand, reputation until the end of August. Just have Plan B and C. If you were appearing on a new radio show, for example, you may have to repeat the recordings or there will be a relaunch, later on. Your health is far more important. I am sorry you are going through it. There are no answers, so far, about pain on the right side of your abdomen. To be fair to the medical profession, that could be caused by many different things. As you are your own best psychic, I recommend you take some time to look at the Tarot and Oracles on my website. In astrology, the body ‘speaks’ the soul or spirit. So what is your body chatting to you about? What needs to stop, or change? The Astrology Oracle in particular can tell you any underlying issues. In your chart, you have Fortuna at 13 Virgo in the Sixth House of health. One of the issues is that you put doctors or other medical professionals on a pedestal then they fall off it. You will not know you are doing that, by the way. You elevate them and then they are removed – demoted in your estimation. I suspect your work is the underlying issue and how you feel about employers, staff, colleagues, clients, customers and so on. Health issues mean time off, or even resignation. So this goes back to your actual job or course (if you are studying) and what needs to alter, as it has reached a stage where you can’t stomach something/someone, or have had a gut full, and so on. Beyond work, I would add housework to that as well. The Sixth House is unpaid labour as well as paid labour. Finally – ask your dreaming self. Write down your questions about your abdomen, before you go to sleep. Repeat for a few nights and see what comes. Just remember to write it down again when you wake up! I hope you fix this.
Hi Jessica! Thanks so much for this thorough explanation. It definitely explains a lot about New York 🙂 I wanted to ask about whether interviewing for a new job is okay during this period. I lost my job in February since the place where I worked was closed and I have since made a decision to settle in another country and the job search has been brutal. Would appreciate your thoughts.
I am sorry about your job loss and the new job search situation; of course you know this isn’t you, it’s the economy. You only have one Uranus in Taurus transit in your life, and you are almost at the end of this one. Uranus is the unpredictable revolution; Taurus is trade, taxation, business. You want to emigrate. You have the Sun in Cancer, with stelliums in Leo, Gemini, Aquarius. You have the North Node in your solar Ninth House of emigration, until next year, so the stage is set. The process owes a lot to what happened 18-19 years before, as you will see, right into 2026. It may be repetition with the same country or its inhabitants, or just a thematic repetition (perhaps you travelled then, or also moved, or had an important episode with a foreigner). You want to continue with interviewing across Mercury Retrograde, and the only issue is the salary, tax bracket, bonuses, benefits and so on. The numbers may change, or be incorrect, or the information/communication might not be fully there – at least until the end of August. Should you get to the stage of an offer, read the fine print and be aware that Mercury delays or changes the story. You will ultimately end up with a position which is a vacation from the real world for many years into the future; a departure from the mundane everyday.
Dear Jessica,
Thank you for Mercury’s Retrograde for 2026.
My question relates towards looking for employment since I was let go of a job that lasted only a month. Based on my chart it feels like I will struggle finding another part time job this summer. It feels like my chart is showing a wall that prevents my moving forward at this time. Would you be able to clarify my calculations?
Thank you for your time.
Thank you. I am sorry about the job loss. You are a Sun Libra woman with stelliums in Libra and Scorpio. You won’t struggle to find work; far from it. You are in the best cycle in 12 years to gain from professional opportunities or hybrid work options, now through June 2026. The financial uncertainty is the Scorpio stellium, but that ends for good in April 2026. Until then you may have to keep changing your budget as nothing is predictable. That can be up as well as down, though. Take a punt on positions you may feel pessimistic about. Jupiter has a funny way of delivering. Keep going until June 2026 and actually, aim higher than you were. Think about people/organisations which are big, positive, jovial (Jove is the old-fashioned word for Jupiter) and larger than life.
Thanks for these dates well in advance Jessica! My question is about the current retroshadow period – I had a negative appraisal from my manager, despite my hard work and very positive feedback from others. I’m going to seek an external review of the decision. I pulled the two of cups and am quietly hopeful the independent reviewer could overturn the decision, especially seeing the lion overseeing the couple. Do you have any astrological or psychic insights about the situation? Thanks!
The Two of Cups is chatting to you about romance, intimacy and emotions – not your manager. So you may want to ask the cards again. Unless, of course, you have that sort of relationship with the independent reviewer. The lion is a symbol of children, babies, godchildren, stepchildren. If your reviewer is not tied to you on that level, or never could be, then you need to sit down and ask the question again.
Hi Jessica,
I’m a Premium Member and would really appreciate your insight into how the Mercury retrogrades in 2026 might affect me, especially in light of my natal chart. I’m a Virgo Sun born in 1985.
There’s someone from my past—a Cancer Sun born 10 July 1985—with whom I shared a very intense, emotionally charged relationship. Although we were serious at one point, the connection has been very stop-start over the years, with strong twin flame energy. He still dips in and out of my life.
We also have a financial tie, as I invested money through him, and it remains unresolved.
Could you please let me know how you see the 2026 Mercury retrogrades playing out for me in both the relationship and financial sense? Do you see the potential for resolution, reconnection, or any kind of closure in either area?
Thanks so much in advance—I really value your guidance.
Warm wishes,
X
Thank you. Mercury Retrograde in Pisces, next year, from February 12th to April 9th (allow +/- 24 hours) is unsuitable for important decisions with him, paperwork and particularly that investment. Be you trying to draw closer or move apart, avoid that particular cycle as you will experience Mercury going backwards in your solar Seventh House of doubles, couples and duets. There is karma with him, as you also have the North Node in your solar Seventh House. The karma goes back 18-19 years and may be with another person completely, but be showing up as a spiritual debt or credit with this particular Cancerian. It ends in July 2026. He will have to account (literally) for his finances both with you and any other partner, relative or former partner – in January and February 2026. As with so many Cancerian men, if you want to know what makes him tick, look at his mother. The Tarot can help you further with more personal and private questions, on this website, as will your own E.S.P.
My master bath had a leak over a month ago from the upstairs neighbor causing thousands of dollars in damages along with a mold issue. Although the problematic parts of it were somewhat resolved and it leaked only once, very few people have been forthcoming with information. I’ve gotten information in the form of riddles and half-answers without elaboration, and our insurance companies seemed to do their own thing.
Tonight, I get to try to convince the upstairs neighbor that I discovered he needs to get a licensed plumber to do more tests, determine the specific cause, and get it fixed. The first leak detection service said there was a leak but could not determine the source, yet I wasn’t sure why our insurances did not hire a plumber in the first place! Then, I discovered our state laws (US) do not allow build-backs until leaks are 100% resolved. It’s been a pain with plenty of back and forth. Classic Mecury Rx.
This does sound like a pain. The back-and-forth of Mercury Retrograde is notorious, isn’t it. At least your neighbour has been forthcoming. In fact, you are in a brand new cycle, when radical change with/for the neighbour is coming and either with this man, or another person in the block, you will find quite new freedom. Sometimes it takes an odd situation like a leak, to do that. There will be fresh space and independence through/with/for/from a neighbour – Uranus in Gemini can do that.
Hi Jessica
I will be travelling around about 11 Feb for my 70th birthday to celebrate this milestone with my family (a first in terms of birthday reunions) so is there anything in my chart apart from the retrograde dates to be aware of…thanks.
Congratulations on your forthcoming birthday and family celebration. You are catching Mercury Retrograde in Pisces, so will need the usual leeway with Plan B and C; it’s only sensible to have insurance, make allowances for communication or technical issues and so on. It’s not so much your own chart, it is the fact that those around will have Mercury Retrograde and it may be in their transport, travel, work zones (and so on). You have a Cancer stellium in the Fourth House of home and family, though, so are in the best cycle in 12 years for enjoying your reunion, but also improvements with your own apartment, garden or house – all the way to June 2026.
hi jessica,I’m Virgo sun with mercury also in virgo i want to repair my laptop hardware, but i’m worried about mercury retrograde in leo next days, so do you suggest i repair it after August 10th or or should i wait until the shadow period ends on August 25th also i’m seeking time before the eclipse season as everything tends to get stuck for Me during the eclipse month.
It is the silly season for Mercury Retrograde; the Nationwide bank just returned my own bank transfer to me, the silly duffers. Mercury Retrograde is in Leo in your solar Twelfth House, which has nothing to do with computer repair, unless it specifically concerns religion, therapy, hypnosis, psychics, Tarot or the inner life. If all that is represented on your laptop, perhaps repair at the end of August. Or at least back it up on a memory stick or two. If that doesn’t apply, there is no reason astrologically why you should avoiding fixing it.
Hi Jessica
Looks like our house build is on hold. We were hoping to start next spring but the company who were going to build our timber frame house have gone into liquidation. Everything is up in the air. Do you think it will still go ahead with a different company. My husband has a Friends and family chart. His DOB is 30th March 1955. We have waited so long for this. We are upset that things have stalled and we are uncertain if we will have our dream house. Thank you
I am so sorry. The timing is with you (house, garden, building) until June 30th 2026, so you have 10-11 months to take opportunities if you are open to everything. In other words, keep the vision of building your dream house with a different company, but try to be flexible so that you would take superior alternatives. You have Aesculapia at 29 Taurus in the Second House of money and property. Uranus (upheaval) has been on 29 Taurus in a rare cycle. What you are asking about is part Mercury Retrograde (in your joint finance and property zone) until the end of August, but the total rethink of your housing goes on into 2026. It is to your advantage, even though I appreciate things are so disappointing at the moment. Both your chart and your husband’s chart suggest bigger and better options than you began with but it is important to give yourself multiple choice possibilities as that is where this cycle can start to work for you.
Thanks Jessica. I tried again and got 3 swords (accurate at the moment) and then three of wands about an application to the independent reviewer. What do you think? Thank you!
Apply to the independent reviewer; just doing that will open up your professional or academic options in other areas too; it has a part to play in a wider story in your life.
Thank you so much Jessica. Feel more optimistic now! X
Hi Jessica, I have had to put my plans to add a new dining room and do up my kitchen on hold because I spent so much inheritance money on repairs to the rest of the house. I am expecting the last part of an inheritance to come through later this year but would it be a mistake to go ahead with those plans next year? Sadly, I am now retired (after redundancy) but I keep looking for work – is that a bad idea in the retrograde? I drew the Six of Swords when I asked it about job prospects, which seemed a bit alarming.
Renovation is Cancer, Fourth House and inheritance is Scorpio, Eighth House, so it’s wise to look there first. You are a Sun Scorpio with Cancer factors and a huge Scorpio stellium. You have spent money on repairs, never mind the renovations you want, and wonder if you should pursue the new dining room and improved kitchen in 2026. My answer to that would be, decide next year – because you are now in the most unpredictable financial cycle of your life, which ends briefly from November to April 2026, but is then part of your existence until 2033. Unpredictable is not negative. It can mean that sudden and unexpected events completely change your budget. Pre-empting things now is premature in the light of the most unusual, unconventional money and property cycle you have ever known. You will find the classic ‘freedom from or freedom through’ events come in for landing by November, and then resume from April, with a big focus on June 2026. You want a new job as well. Smart move. The Six of Swords is telling you (in reply to that) about yourself or others, moving. There is relocation here or emigration. So that’s telling you that job prospects are in another place, or you will find you gain a job from people who have moved, or even switched countries.
Hi Jessica,
I am a premium member and I have had my home for sale in the US since the first week of April. All showings have ceased. There Is no activity. I am really needing to sell my home .
I did just do the tarot and asked it if I would sell my house before April 2026 and I got the six of swords.
The question I have right now is do I just leave it on the market or do I take it off and Then relist. It’s all so upsetting.
I am sorry your home has been on the market since April. You asked if you would sell it before April 2026 and had the Six of Swords from the Tarot, which shows you moving, or others moving (to you). The card clearly shows a journey away from a difficult situation into a future which could take people anywhere. The last time I pulled this card, Melania left Donald alone in the White House and together with their son, moved to New York as a principal base. So it’s about relocation or emigration. That persuades me you will sell and go elsewhere, or sell your home to people who have upped sticks from another state or country. You have Virgo, Scorpio and Taurus factors which will be nicely picked up by Jupiter until June 2026. So there are big answers here about your lifestyle, property and finance. Perhaps one of your answers is relisting. That is a different question for the Tarot. So you need to look at that again and provide a deadline, again. In general though, there is a way out and through, coming.
Thank you for this article, Jessica, which allows us to plan well in advance. Can you shed some light on what this could mean for me? I have Pisces and Cancer placements, and my IC is in Scorpio. I had problems in my basement this year during Mars retrograde. I guess I need to avoid these dates if I wanted to do a renovation. But what does this have to do with Pisces ans Scorpio? Thank you so much in advance for your insight and the time you take to answer us.
Thank you. It’s a pleasure. You are a Sun Taurus woman with a Cancer stellium in your Fourth House. Looking at your solar and natal charts together, any delays or rescheduling with your home will end with Mercury Retrograde gone from your solar Fourth House of property at the end of August. At the same time you are picking up solutions for your renovations and real-estate with Jupiter (big answers) in your natal Fourth House, ongoing – until June 2026. The coast is clear from September 2025 and you should be well on your way to a more fulfilling home life, from basement to ceiling, by mid 2026 if you take what/who is offered to you.
Thanks Jessica for this blog and in advance heads up. Can I ask, what happens when there is a powerful new or full moon or other fortunate aspects such as Jupiter in cancer if I have cancer stellium – does mercury retrograde overwrites this? I travelled before for example during mercury retrograde and I managed to escape the chaos by a day so I wonder if it was just thanks to aspects in my birth charts. Just on a different note, I was offered a small surgery in the UK even if they didn’t want to proceed with my surgery as it is not needed apparently. The approval only happened because medical team in a country where I was born gave me a confirmation letter that it is recommended for me to have a small surgery. I am now very afraid to have a surgery in the UK as NHS is collapsing and rating of the hospital I am assigned to is very poor and I am in a deep thinking situation of whenever I should just try to find funds, postpone my surgery and pay for it abroad. Your insight would be much appreciated. Thank you
Thank you. Mercury Retrograde still offers up the ‘re’ prefix no matter what your own chart looks like, because billions of others will be rescheduling or retracting statements. It’s neither negative nor positive, it just is – what it is. You can miss your ticket on the Titanic because your train is rescheduled. You can drown on the Titanic because the key to the binoculars is lost. Surgery is a different matter again – it’s Virgo/Sixth House. At 4 through 27 degrees of Virgo you have a large stellium there and so your wellbeing dictates your workload, and your workload dictates your wellbeing – far more than with other people. Common sense tells you that if your hospital has a poor NHS rating you should go elsewhere. However, it is also the case that a lot of Virgo factors can lead you to worry too much, over-think and over-analyse your health. You have to be a realist. The UK said you did not need surgery. Your own country said, you did. You need to decide if you are judging this correctly or not; a second opinion might be useful.
Hi Jessica,
If you don’t have mercury landing on your planets but is making an opposition or square to your planet does it still apply?
Thanks
Baroona
Yes, Mercury Retrograde square or in opposition is definitely an issue, Baroona.
Thank you Jessica, I find all your articles very interesting.
Fingers and toes crossed I manage to get through this mercury retrograde without to many hiccups:-)
Hi Jessica I drew 10 of wands re next course of action after I finish my medical course. I’m thinking musculoskeletal or physio. could be art. not too sure. can you help guide me please? thank you muchly sun leo
The Ten of Wands is you, overloaded with plans, projects, paperwork and the internet. You may want to ditch, delegate and streamline. In fact your Sun Leo chart says this too. You will feel exhilarated and liberated by the freedom if you make radical decisions that revolutionise your ambitions in November 2025 through April 2026.
I think it is only after your pre and post shadow included mercury retrograde dates here that other renowned astrologers have started including it in their articles too. Before it wasn’t like that. Thanks Jessica
Thanks so much. The proof is in the pudding with Mercury Retrograde, have to say.
Thank you for the 2026 Mercury Retrograde blog post. I can’t help but think of what happened during Mercury shadow on 7/4 with all of the miscommunication during the floods in Kerrville. There’s so much backtracking and finger pointing at State and federal levels as well as by the community and the families that lost loved ones. Is it possible that once Mercury goes direct they’ll be some clarification? It doesn’t change anything but hopefully, a plan in place in the future. I think Mystic is hallowed ground now and I don’t think that having a camp rebuilt there would be the best idea. My son went to camp at Camp Stewart, up the road . It is very rustic, and there is no technology in any of the cabins.The point is to get away from technology and let the kids play outside and in the river. Camp directors, of course had phones and Internet and laptops to communicate with parents. This may change in the future if the camps that did survive comtinue.
The floods in Kerrville resulted in a Mercury Retrograde news item; the missing went from from hundreds to single figures, at last report. Mercury in Leo was about pregnant women; babies; infants; schoolchildren; teenagers; young adults. Those specifically missing from that list will reappear from the final week of August or their families will know for sure – the facts – if they are not yet found. We hope the former. The deadly Camp Mystic flash flood was of course a Leo matter; Leo rules the next generation and those who care for them. Your son would know first-hand about the camp organisation (or lack of it). You will find that when Jupiter goes into Leo from the end of June 2026 to mid 2027 there are long overdue improvements, repairs, redemptions, restoration, and sweeping win-win outcomes despite the problems now. This, begets, that.
Hi Jessica both the mercury retrograde and the eclipse is affecting me in my process of adopting a child. When will things clear up and move forward you think? When do you see some success in this area for me? thank you
Mercury Retrograde in Leo in your Fifth House is about rethinking, rescheduling and rewriting your life – in terms of children. You may want to wait until the very end of August to make your move with the adoption process. It is notoriously slow anyway but Mercury can result in unanswered emails (at the very least) and sometimes retracted promises from you or others. The good news is, wherever you end up by September, starting in July 2026, you are in the biggest and best cycle involving babies, infants, children and teenagers in 12 years. So many different doors open then.