What is Mercury Retrograde? At least three to four times a year, from our vantage point here on Earth, it looks like the planet Mercury is traveling backward, hence the term Mercury Retrograde.
During this time of apparent backward motion, astrologers started to notice repeating patterns and believed that the way we experience Mercury’s energy shifted.
Let’s take a look into the planet Mercury and what it represents in astrology-
Mercury: The Messenger of the Gods
Mercury is the divine communicator, a channel between the mortal and immortal worlds. In mythology, Mercury was considered the Messenger of the Gods and could pass down insights and information from the heavens.
Mercury rules over our mind, third eye, thoughts, and communication style. It also governs over technology, travel, contracts, media, communications, and transport. At times, it can have a playful, trickster energy that can inspire intelligent wittiness.
Mercury in Retrograde
Mercury enters retrograde three to four times a year, making it a normal part of its cycle through the cosmic skies. When Mercury enters retrograde, we may find communication a little more challenging. We could find it difficult to make decisions, or experience issues with technologies, travel, or contracts.
Ancient astrologers believed that when Mercury was retrograde, it traveled through the underworld, collecting lost, hidden, or untapped messages from deep within our subconscious.
For this reason, it is recommended to wait before signing contracts, having important conversations, buying expensive technology, or making travel plans until Mercury emerges from its journey, as upon its return from the underworld, it could have brought new information, changing how we feel and, consequently, our plans.
During Mercury Retrograde, we want to be mindful of:
- Signing long-term contracts
- Making long-term commitments
- Losing or misplacing things
- Miscommunications or saying something we don’t mean
- Posting something on social media or sending an email we didn’t mean to
- Technology mishaps
- Traveling – especially when it comes to the logistics
- Buying new technology, appliances, or watches
- Getting back with ex-partners
- Foggy, confusing, cluttered thinking
How to Use the Energy of Mercury Retrograde
While Mercury is moving through the underworld, it is a good time to slow down, go back over things, revisit the past, and pay attention to subconscious thoughts and programming. Mercury retrograde can be a healing and highly intuitive time when we use it this way.
Mercury Retrograde can also trigger our psychic abilities, guiding us to step away from the information in our seen world and instead rely on the information in the unseen world.
Our dreams may also become more prophetic at this time or give us deeper insights into our subconscious. (If you want to work deeper with your dreams during Mercury Retrograde, check out this workbook!)
To summarize, here is how we can use the energies of Mercury Retrograde in an empowering way:
- Listen and trust our inner world and intuition
- Pay attention to the messages in our dreams
- Reach out to old friends or business acquaintances
- Revisit projects we want to complete
- Connect with how we really feel
- Source information
- Reconnect with the things that are important to us
Trusting the Timing of Your Life
Mercury Retrograde tends to have a negative reputation, but everything is neutral in astrology. It’s what we make of the energy and how we choose to use it.
While Mercury Retrograde may not be considered favorable to sign long-term contracts, purchase expensive travel tickets, or buy a new computer, life happens, and sometimes we have to take action.
Trust the divine timing of the events in your life and connect with your own inner wisdom. After all, Mercury is the Messenger of the Gods, which means it is your own personal channel between yourself and the Divine. Lean on your higher self under these transits and flow from that guidance.
Mercury Retrograde Dates and Journal Prompts 2025
Mercury Retrograde is a time to become a more thoughtful and intuitive communicator, thinker, and decision-maker, and these journal prompts are designed to help you with that.
You can work with all the prompts during the retrograde period or choose one or two that resonate with you the most.
Mercury Retrograde Dates 2025:
- March 15-April 7: Mercury Retrograde in Aries & Pisces
- July 18-August 11: Mercury Retrograde in Leo
- November 9-29: Mercury Retrograde in Sagittarius & Scorpio
Journal Prompts March 15-April 7: Mercury Retrograde in Aries & Pisces
- Consider an event or situation that has been troubling you. Write down all your feelings around this situation. How have past experiences influenced how you feel about this situation today? Is there any wisdom your past self can offer you moving forward?
- Keep a dream journal for three consecutive nights (or for three consecutive dreams that you remember). On the following morning, read over your dreams. Do you notice any themes, messages, or symbols?
- Consider a situation that is troubling you. How is your ego presenting itself in this situation? Is there anything you can do to harness more compassion towards yourself or others?
Journal Prompts July 18- August 11: Mercury Retrograde in Leo
- I feel most myself when…
- I can allow my inner light to shine by…
- Bringing more joy into my life looks like…
Journal Prompts November 9-29 Mercury Retrograde in Sagittarius & Scorpio
- Reflect on the ways you have transformed this year. Find 10 ways to feel gratitude towards yourself and the journey you have traveled.
- Place your hand on your heart. Without getting stuck in your head, write down the first three things that come to you after reading this – “My intuition wants me to know…”
- I can take more risks in my life by…
