Live Motion
Mercury is direct now
It is currently moving through Pisces. Use this live state to compare the present sky against the 2031 calendar below.
Retrograde Calendar
Mercury Retrograde 2031
When Mercury moves retrograde, its apparent motion reverses, drawing the principles of intellect, communication, and exchange inward. Classical astrology considers this a period of introversion, review, and delay. Below is the exact calculated ephemeris for the stations of Mercury throughout 2031.
Next Station
Stations retrograde June 30, 2026
Mercury next turns retrograde in Cancer.
Current Cycle
Mercury is between cycles
Use the links below to move into the current-year calendar, the live sky page, or mercury placement meanings.
Cycle 1
Aries to Stays in signStation RetrogradeMarch 26Stations in AriesTime: 12:45 AM UTC
Station DirectApril 18Stations in AriesTime: 11:15 AM UTC
Cycle 2
Leo to Stays in signStation RetrogradeJuly 29Stations in LeoTime: 06:45 AM UTC
Station DirectAugust 22Stations in LeoTime: 04:30 AM UTC
Cycle 3
Sagittarius to ScorpioStation RetrogradeNovember 20Stations in SagittariusTime: 12:45 AM UTC
Station DirectDecember 10Stations in ScorpioTime: 12:45 AM UTC
A mercury retrograde calendar matters because people usually want two things at once: exact station dates and a serious explanation of what the retrograde means. This page gives both for 2031.
In classical astrology, retrograde motion is not just a pop-astrology inconvenience. It suggests that mercury becomes more delayed, revising, internalized, or inconsistent in its outward action.
Use the ephemeris below to track the station retrograde and station direct dates in 2031, then compare the classical citations to modern assumptions about mercury retrograde periods.
How Often Mercury Retrograde Happens
Mercury usually stations retrograde three or four times in a calendar year.
What Mercury Retrograde Means
communication, trade, messaging, travel plans, and technical processes become more prone to delay, revision, reversal, or misunderstanding
How To Read Mercury Retrograde In 2031
Track the station dates first, then judge which houses Mercury rules in the chart and whether the retrograde lands on natal planets. Classical reading is especially attentive to contracts, messengers, trade, and paperwork.
Classical Mercury Retrograde Citations
Primary-source passages on mercury retrograde motion, its duration, and the traditional meanings assigned to its reversed course.
A New and Complete Illustration of the Occult Sciences
Ebenezer Sibly
1784
"He completes his revolution, or traverses through the twelve signs of the zodiac, in eighty-seven days and twenty-three hours of our time nearly; which is the length of his year. But being seldom seen, on account of his proximity to the sun, and having no spots visible on his surface or disk, the time of his rotation upon his own axis, and the length of his days and nights, are as yet unknown to us. His distance from the sun is computed to be thirty-two millions of miles, and his diameter two-thousand six hundred. He moves round the sun at the rate of ninety-five thousand miles every hour; and receives from that luminary a proportion of light and heat almost seven times as great as that of the earth. At the times he becomes visible, he appears of a bright silver colour; though generally faint and duskish to the naked eye. His mean motion is fifty-nine minutes and eight seconds, and sometimes sixty minutes; and his diurnal motion is most times one hundred minutes a-day. His greatest latitude, both north and south, is three degrees thirty-three minutes. His exaltation is in fifteen degrees of Virgo; his detriment in Sagittarius and Pisces, and his fall in fifteen degrees of Pisces. He is retrograde twenty-four days; and is stationary one day before and one day after retrogradation"
Page 117Open in Reader
Genethlialogia
John Gadbury
1658
"Mercury Retrograde, Combust, &c. denotes the Servants of the Native to be thievish, and denotes much loss unto him in Beasts of the smaller sort, if he deal in them"
Page 75Open in Reader
Books and authors behind Mercury Retrograde
Open the cited books and authors behind this mercury retrograde page.
Follow Mercury Through Hermetikon
Mercury Retrograde FAQ
Short answers for the most common mercury retrograde questions.
What does mercury retrograde mean in astrology?
Mercury retrograde describes a period when communication, trade, messaging, travel plans, and technical processes become more prone to delay, revision, reversal, or misunderstanding. Traditional astrologers usually treat retrograde motion as a weakening or reversal of straightforward outward action.
How often is mercury retrograde?
Mercury usually stations retrograde three or four times in a calendar year.
Is mercury retrograde always bad?
No. Classical texts treat retrograde motion as delayed, obstructed, or internally redirected, but not as automatically catastrophic. The full judgment depends on sign, house, aspects, and the broader condition of the planet.
How do I use this mercury retrograde calendar?
Use the station dates to identify when the retrograde begins and ends in 2031, then compare those dates to your own chart, transits, and elections.