Mercury retrograde 2026

3 periods, 67 days inside the year — 18.4% of 2026. Station times below are UTC and computed to the minute.

23 days · retreats 14.07°

26 February → 20 March 2026 in Pisces

Stations retrograde 26 Feb 2026, 06:46 UTC at 22.2° Pisces
Stations direct 20 Mar 2026, 19:38 UTC at 8.13° Pisces
Shadow opens 11 Feb 2026 (14 days before)
Shadow closes 9 Apr 2026 (20 days after)
Full window including shadows 57 days

Read against Pisces, and see that sign’s horoscope for the period.

24 days · retreats 9.94°

29 June → 23 July 2026 in Cancer

Stations retrograde 29 Jun 2026, 17:42 UTC at 25.89° Cancer
Stations direct 23 Jul 2026, 22:47 UTC at 15.94° Cancer
Shadow opens 13 Jun 2026 (17 days before)
Shadow closes 7 Aug 2026 (14 days after)
Full window including shadows 55 days

Read against Cancer, and see that sign’s horoscope for the period.

20 days · retreats 15.95°

24 October → 13 November 2026 in Scorpio

Stations retrograde 24 Oct 2026, 07:08 UTC at 20.6° Scorpio
Stations direct 13 Nov 2026, 15:53 UTC at 4.65° Scorpio
Shadow opens 4 Oct 2026 (20 days before)
Shadow closes 30 Nov 2026 (17 days after)
Full window including shadows 57 days

Read against Scorpio, and see that sign’s horoscope for the period.

Computed from the actual motion

The nearest Mercury retrogrades either side of 2026

Previous

2025 Ended 29 November 2025 after 20 days, moving back 16.16° through the zodiac.

Next

2027 Begins 9 February 2027 and runs 22 days.

Gap across 2026

1.2 years between the two — long enough for a whole calendar year to fall inside it with nothing to report.

Both dates are computed from the planet’s apparent motion, not taken from a table. A retrograde begins the moment its daily movement against the stars turns negative, and that moment is findable to the hour.

← 2025 Mercury retrograde in 2025. All Mercury retrogrades Averages, shadow periods and the sign distribution over fifty years. 2027 → Mercury retrograde in 2027.