Upcoming Mercury Retro Alert

The next Mercury Retrograde is going to be ultra out-there. If you need a new computer/phone or to upgrade something techie, do it in August. Why will it be more than the usual late capitalist, end-of-Pluto-in-Capricorn deglobalizing bonfire of narratives?

Well, Mars will be in mercurial Gemini, warming up for a historically long stay in this Mercury-ruled sign. This phenom lends extra energy to everything Mercury-associated.

How to balance the big gains in focus, elating dialogue and inspo with the potential for mischief and costly mistakes? You’ll figure it out in the moment – it’s not like a Saturn scenario, where forethought and careful planning counteracts a lot of the fuqery.

In this case, it’s better to work on mental agility and thought speed, so you can be responsive.

Another reason this is going to be a particularly lit Mercury Retro? It means Mercury will trine Pluto and oppose Jupiter on multiple occasions between late August and early October.

Everything is super-extra when these two power-players are involved: Pluto deepens intimacy and meaningful rapport but can also manifest as a merde-fest of control-drama theatrics. Jupiter in opposition supersizes negotiations and ideas but could also inspire exaggarated responses to low-grade Vibe Vampires.

Potential Pitfalls: Pass-agg, power-tripped negotiations – particularly within relationships. Micro-details blighting an overall good macro-outlook. Cryptic tech glitches. Freudian typos in emails or text messaging. Over-reactions to, well, anything.

If you know your birth-chart, the most likely zone of impact will  be 24° Virgo to 8° Libra.

MERCURY RETROGRADE DATES*

Mercury Enters Shadowzone: August 21
Mercury Retro @8° Libra: September 10
Mercury Direct @24° Virgo: October 2
Mercury Leaves Shadowzone: October 17

*In Universal Time – please check the Moon Calendar for the exact time in your zone.

Mercury turns Retrograde in Libra on September 10 and then backs into Mercury-ruled Virgo for two weeks. before turning Direct in Virgo in early October. If you’re a Mercury Retro purist – and for this specific one, I certainly am – you can extend the dates to include the ‘shadowzone.’

While it sounds satisfyingly medieval, it merely means that you’re counting Mercury as retrograde when it reaches the degree it will shortly retrograde back to. Similarly, you don’t count it as direct until it passes the degree that it turned retrograde on.

30 thoughts on “Upcoming Mercury Retro Alert”

  1. .
    I wound up spending a good 2 hours collectively on the phone, sourcing and buying an updated replica of my current laptop. My current one has lasted 5+ years and has not slowed down any, BUT come September I’ll be doing twice as much work on it as I am now, which is already double what I was doing a year ago. I never thought I’d have a need to be using two computers, but here we are. And I might not even use the new one once I get it. It might just be back up for the unexpected kaputz of this one when it happens. The best part is I saved about 600 bucks on the purchase. Yas.

    I’m also moving in late August. Quietly leaving a silent cold/civil war zone of a living situation – levelling up and surrendering to the truth that I deserve better, I can do better and I can provide myself with better. Yas.

    Then starting the second year of college as a ‘mature student’. That sounds so weird, but I think just applies to anyone over 30. I don’t care. when you’re over 30 educational funding for college turns into 90% grants here. Yas.

    That was a lot of Yas. Maybe mercury wants a signature word for this transit lol.

    1. This retro is in my 9th house and is going to be grating against my early cap stellium that includes ascendant and opposing my venus..oh lawd I guess that’s a T-square to the stellium. Crunch time, a final birth contraction into the next new life chapter, a leaning into communicating more authentically and walking the personal higher learning talk? Which actually might not be in words but in actions? so many questions!

  2. Wish Upon a Star

    I am a 4th house Gemini Sun. I can feel this already. Today was a bad day.

    Besides today my real estate agent is being passive aggressive. I am a renter in Australia and re agents know they have the power and they play on it. I might have an option for a better living arrangement. Should I take it ? I don’t know if I could handle the move ? Uranus is on my natal Taurus Moon.

    This retrograde will be happening in my 7th house where Pluto and Uranus are natally conjunct.

    Any thoughts would be appreciated.

    1. Your 4th house is important to you for sure with the Sun residing there and Uranus on your Moon (for the next year) will make you think a lot about moving house I imagine, but don’t discount your deep feelings and friendships. Maybe you will start to look for more similar people to yourself than the same old people. I feel it’s bound up with seeking better emotional bonds somehow. Just a feeling I have. I am in Sydney too and always looking for better rental accom. It’s getting more expensive sadly. If you move go where you can deepen friendships, family ties and community I reckon. Just a thought.

      1. Wish Upon a Star

        Just a feeling you have. You are on the money. Thinking of moving away from Hicks, bogans and ferals to a more eco friendly community. It is a great opportunity to have friendships with people more like me. I currently live in Gympie Qld. Not my cup of tea at all. There are no friendships here that I want to keep.

        Also able to finally access a good acupuncturist. Your “just a thought has gone a long way”.

        Many blessings to you.

        💖

  3. Oh my stars!!! I wondering what was going on! I am feeling it already. My air conditioning went out 3 weeks ago. My landlord is just getting around to fixing it. My bedside clock keeps mysteriously going on the fritz, and there’s a problem with the circuit breaker at work, we keep losing power every night and having to reset everything the next day. I know that Saturn and Neptune are retrograde now, and I don’t see the connection. It seems like it’s only going to get more intense!

  4. Is it ok to sign a contract to purchase a house before the retrograde and settle within the retrograde, or better to wait to settle until after the shadow zone ends?

    1. We did this earlier this year & there were strange delays for 3 business days but I just expected some delays and laughed. My conveyancer was horrified but I said, “ have you heard of Merc Rx? It’ll sort itself out.”

    1. Oh wow! Get ready to be vocal in many different shades & colors, eep lol 🫣
      I’m nervous as this Mercury Rx goes across my 12th house Libra moon, but you got me hands down beat!

  5. I once dud my parents composite chart and all of their personal planets plus some of the heavy hitters were between these exact degrees. In my first house. My dad’s sun,venus and south node are on my 2 libra pluto retrograde.

    Opposite both our aries moons. Cue bickering at a level of sharp knives.

    My mom’s sun was on my ascendant conjunct his mercury.

    In another chart I did four generations composite and their chiron was on my sun.

    Chiron went retrograde 10 arc minutes from my chiron return.

    If we do pick our charts, the secretary rolled their eyes at me and muttered “show off” under their breath.

  6. Already begrudgingly bought new iPad and laptop, work necessity. Good heads up tho. But tell you what, Saturn sitting on my sun is the least fun I’ve had in.. well since Pluto on my Venus. Staying calm amidst a 5 yr trundling storm of divorce, deaths & environmental disasters seems to have crushed my shoulders neck and spine. At lest the teeth are holding up. Touch fn wood

  7. Thanks so much for the early warning system Mystic. It really helps scouting out the terrain. Never enough scouting time with so much day to day things to jump/roll/zoom over.

    1. I feel your pain, lux. impact zone smack bang on mercury + sun. and anything gemini (including gemini season) wreaks havoc with my nervous system (moon in virgo too) and makes me lose it, so I’m dreading these eleventy months-long potential shitfest of mars in gemini :*. I’ll start stocking up on lorazepam in case of panic attacks :(((.

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