Folks, we’re almost out of the woods.
On Friday, March 20, Mercury, our planet of the mind and mouth and the mischief that lives between, ends its retrograde.
Mercury is the planet of communication, connection, expression, media, technology, travel, and commerce. It is the fastest-moving celestial body in our sky, second only to the moon.
Mercury has been backspinning in Pisces, its least favorite place to be and sign to shine in, since February 26.
Mercury will station direct at 3:32 p.m. ET at 8°29 degrees of Pisces, but will remain in its post-retrograde shadow or retroshade until April 9. During this post-game wrap-up, we’re tasked with integrating everything we’ve learned or been taught over the past few weeks.
Mercury is both in fall and in detriment in Pisces, which makes communication murky when the planet is direct in these mutable waters and opaque AF when it’s retrograde.
Contrary to the terminology, Mercury and other planets do not ever move backward in space; they merely slow down, a deceleration that appears to be a reversal from our vantage point on Earth. Mercury slips into this illusory backspin three or four times a year.
As above, so below, my friends, as this optical illusion can translate to us earthlings feeling like we are stuck, impeded, or regressing during this transit.
When Mercury is direct, the realms that it rules generally move smoothly, communication is clear, words are our friends, and we are infinitely less likely to accidentally send a nude to the family or work group chat.
When the planet goes retrograde, all bets are off.
Mercury loves logic, details, research, conversation, and the honey bee accumulation of information.
However, Mercury in Pisces is more concerned with how things feel or could be rather than how they are. In this sign, Mercury prefers research that looks like reading soap scum in the bathtub for symbols.
Mercury wants clarity, and Pisces is about as clear as an iridescent oil spill.
While Pisces is the most psychic, imaginative, and intuitive of all zodiac signs, it is also the most prone to delusion and self-deception.
“During this retrograde, discernment is everything,” said astrologer and spiritual advisor Latha Jay. “Ask yourself: am I seeing clearly, or am I projecting what I want to see or what I wish was true?”
Add to the punch bowl that retrogrades bring up and dig up people and themes from the past, and Pisces is the sign of romantic hallucination.
Translation: a high time for haunting when exes reemerge, and the draw of blinking back at them through rose-colored glasses is nigh.
We’re pulled to the past not as punishment, but as a necessary step toward progress.
All that has come before is bubbling up from the underbelly for three primary purposes:
- To show us how far we’ve actually come and how much healing we’ve woven between then and now
- To draw our attention to a lesson we’ve failed to learn/a truth we’ve been avoiding
- To deal us a little karmic test, providing a choice that keeps us in a familiar cycle alongside an option that serves our evolution.
“Making concrete, life-altering decisions now is like trying to read a map underwater—the details are blurred. The shadow side here involves confusion, escapism, and the potential for old addictive patterns to resurface,” Hong Kong-based certified counselor and award-winning astrologist Letao Wang told The Post.
If you’ve been having trouble finding a steady place to land amid this tumult or are confused about what to do, your body is the truest compass point.
When Mercury retrogrades through a water sign, as it is now and will be for the rest of this year’s retrogrades, we are called to listen to the water we are made of.
There’s an old British idiom, “to feel it in your waters,” used to describe a deep psychic certainty, and never has there been a better time to call it in
Pay close attention to your nervous system in the coming days; if your hackles raise or your stomach clenches, it’s a no-go. If you feel at ease and/or energized, go forth.
Onward and upward, even when feeling backward, folks.
For specifics on what and who to purge during the last gasp of this retrograde, see here and for tarot insights, here.
For full March predictions and general astro weather, read your monthly horoscope.
Mercury retroshade
While Mercury stations direct on March 20, it will not clear its post-retrograde shadow or retroshade until April 9.
Next Mercury retrograde
After this cycle, Mercury will go retrograde in the sign of Cancer on June 29th. It will station direct on July 23 and clear its post-retrograde shadow on August 6.
Astrologer Reda Wigle researches and irreverently reports on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture, and personal experience. To book a reading, visit her website.
