Mercury Retrograde is back — but it’s not what you think
Mercury Retrograde has become a bit of a villain in the astrology game — the time when travel plans go awry, technology gremlins come out to play and communications go haywire.
We’re shortly entering into another one, starting February 26 and lasting until March 20, with an influence stretching up to April 9 (the shadow retrograde, but that’s another story).
Mercury isn’t actually going backwards, as implied by the word ‘retrograde’ — that’s an optical illusion caused by the way Mercury and Earth orbit the sun.
What does happen astrologically is that Mercury, the planetary ruler of communication, technology and short journeys, appears to slow down and reverse. And this is what is deemed to send all those areas into a spin.
Pisces is helping us through
February’s retrograde lands entirely in Pisces, a mutable Water sign ruled by intuition, emotion and imagination.
This somehow mutes Mercury’s sharp edges and makes this transit more of a peaceful, creative, dare I say pleasant event,allowing you to step back from being busy and get a mental and emotional reset — especially around how you express yourself and understand others.
Pisces is the wise old soul of the zodiac, and when it holds a retrograde it softens it and turns the focus inwards, rather than onto the outside world.
Our inner world gets a spotlight: dreams, creative ideas, unresolved conversations and long-held assumptions rise to the surface. The conversation we really need right now is with ourselves.
Who will feel it most?
Although everyone experiences Mercury Retrograde, some signs might get stimulated in the following particular ways.
Water signs (Pisces, Cancer, Scorpio) may experience heightened sensitivity, which leads them towards a key insight or awareness of a personal shift, outlook, or value they weren’t aware of before.
Mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius) will be busily and productively revisiting half-baked ideas, projects and items on their to-do lists that need completion and redrafting.
Signs with Pisces placements or angles (anyone with planets around mid-degrees in Pisces) will also feel this more strongly.
Never fear a Mercury Retrograde again
Despite the noise, Mercury Retrograde isn’t inherently bad. In fact, there are several major upsides:
- It’s an excuse and invitation to step back from being busy and answering many demands, or starting new projects or goals. Review all that is already on the go and use this pause to re-establish priority order and key steps.
- A quirk of the retrograde is enabling anyone closely working with communications to do edits and re-drafts on their material that will really work. Mercury rules writing, so its retrograde is a great time to go back and refine raw prose or drafts.
- This often stirs up unresolved issues and unfinished business, giving you a chance to resolve, close, or restore what has been adrift.
This means these are the kind of activities you should prioritise for the coming three weeks until the planet is back direct:
- Retreats, breaks, staycations, quiet restful phases away from deadlines and pressure.
- Revisiting unfinished business and/or conversations. Scroll back through your phone for threads that stopped dead, run through your memory for group decisions still not made, ask your partner or closest ally what you need to finish off and resolve.
- Pisces retrogrades are inward facing, so get into meditation, journaling, dream work and mindful walking in nature in your own company without any particular agenda or plan.
Essentially, forget the old trope that Mercury retrograde is a cosmic villain.
In 2026, especially with this Pisces cycle, it’s better seen as a chance to slow down, rethink and return to what truly matters.
Kerry King has been reading, teaching and creating tarot for 30 years. Join her magical, exclusive Tarot Club for forecasts, predictions, lessons and readings straight to your inbox. Enjoy one month free for all Metro readers (no lock-in or commitment) over on Patreon.
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