Mercury Retrograde 2026: Dates and Retrograde Calendar

Written by Orbitarot · Sources: our own engine, positions checked against NASA JPL Horizons (method); place data GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); interpretations our own · Updated October 7, 2026

Mercury retrograde 2026 and 2027 dates, with every other planet

Station dates are the days a planet appears to stop and reverse. Times are in Universal Time in this table; the calendar above converts them to your time zone.

Shadow: from the day the planet first reaches the degree where it will later turn direct, to the day it passes the degree where it turned retrograde. Station times are given for Mercury to Saturn; Uranus, Neptune and Pluto move so slowly near a station that only the date is meaningful. Periods that started the year before or end the year after are included.

What retrograde means in astronomy

No planet ever reverses its orbit. Retrograde motion is an effect of watching from a moving Earth. For the outer planets, Earth on its faster inner track overtakes them, and for a few months they seem to slide backwards against the stars, like a slower car that seems to move back as you pass it. For Mercury and Venus, it happens when they swing between Earth and the Sun and overtake us on their own faster orbits.

Each retrograde begins and ends with a station, when the planet seems to stand still for a few days. The Sun and the Moon never go retrograde.

How often each planet is retrograde

So on most days several planets are retrograde at once, and it is unusual for none to be. That is worth remembering when a horoscope makes a lot of a single retrograde.

Mercury retrograde and its shadow

Mercury retrograde is the best known, and "is Mercury in retrograde" is one of the most searched astrology questions. During its roughly three weeks of backward motion Mercury retraces about 10 to 15 degrees of the zodiac. Astrologers also mark a shadow: the pre-shadow starts when Mercury first reaches the degree where it will later turn direct, and the post-shadow lasts until it passes the degree where it turned retrograde. With the shadows, a Mercury retrograde season covers about two months.

In astrology, Mercury retrograde is traditionally linked with miscommunication, delays and reviewing, and people often advise double-checking plans and messages. That is a symbolic reading. There is no evidence that it breaks phones or contracts, and we would not cancel anything because of it.

Retrogrades in your own chart

A planet that was retrograde when you were born is marked with an R in your birth chart. To see where today's retrograde planets fall in your chart and which of your natal planets they cross, use the transit chart. Each planet's own sign is on its calculator, for example the Mercury sign calculator and the Venus sign calculator.

Questions

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