Each time Mercury goes retrograde, it stops at an earlier degree in the zodiac than the previous time – which means its retrograde cycle gradually moves further back. Over the long term, this means that after Mercury is retrograde in a Water sign, it will next be retrograde in an Air sign, followed by an Earth and then a Fire sign. Mercury often begins by being retrograde in one sign and then ends in another. The pattern isn’t regular, but Mercury is least often retrograde in a Water sign. That’s partly why Mercury retrograde in a Water sign can be harder for people to cope with – they’re less familiar with it.
Mercury is only retrograde for about three weeks at a time, but it can spend up to three months in the same sign when you include the shadow phases. That means a lot of emphasis on everything associated with that sign – which in turn gives us plenty of time to rethink and review.
Going backwards doesn’t have to be a negative, because sometimes we need more time to think something through again, to pause and/or take stock. In fact, stepping back to reflect is often followed by a more productive phase because it makes it easier to reach the right decision. The best solution is to gather all the information you can about your most pressing issue while Mercury is retrograde but wait until the cycle is over before making any decisions or taking action.
In some ways, the best place to start in terms of interpreting what each Mercury retrograde cycle is likely to herald is by looking at the elements. As you might know, in astrology we break the 12 zodiac signs down into four elements: Fire, Earth, Air and Water. Here’s a list of them:
The three zodiac signs in an element have a lot in common so we can actually draw some broad brushstrokes for everyone, regardless of their Star sign or Rising sign, about what it means when Mercury is retrograde in one of the four elements.
