2020 Mercury Retrograde Calendar

When Mercury is retrograde, we tend to notice more issues in the areas of communication, in the way we interact with others and in our surroundings and neighborhood. It may also show up in our travel, the way we get around and in our interaction with our siblings.

The Mercury Retrograde Cycle

Mercury Retrograde is that period of time in which the Planet Mercury appears to be going backwards against the stars in the sky. This usually occurs 3 or sometimes even 4 times in a year.

Why does Mercury appear to go backwards?

Mercury's orbit is closest to the sun, so it completes its orbit in about 88 days, compared to the earth's of about 365 days. As a result, from our perspective we first experience mercury moving forwards as it passes by the earth on our side of the sun, and then it seems to slow down and begin to move backwards as it races along on the farther side of the sun from our perspective.

February 2020 Mercury Retrograde in Pisces

The first  retrograde of 2020 is in Pisces. The shadow, the opposite sign is Virgo, which suggests that ideas, hopes and expectations may be held back by details and effort not done.

Please note that this calendar begins on a Monday

The first Mercury Retrograde of 2020 begins with the Pre-Shadow in Aquarius on February 2, 2020 at approx. 8:41 am Universal Time*, 3:41 am EST, 10:41 pm PST,  on Feb 1.

Mercury goes Retrograde in Pisces (12^o 53") on February 17 at 12:54 am Universal Time, and on Feb 16 at 8:54 pm EDT and 5:54 PDT.

The Direct Station occurs in Aquarius  (28^o 13') on March 10, at 3:59 am Universal Time, and March 9 at 10:59 pm EDT and 7:59 pm PDT.

Mercury ends the Post-Shadow on March 30 in Pisces at 2:32 am Universal Time, and on March 29 at 10:03 pm EDT and 7:03 pm PDT.

June 2020 Mercury Retrograde in Cancer

Please note that this calendar begins on a Monday

The second Mercury Retrograde of 2020 begins with the Pre-Shadow in Cancer on June 2 at approx. 4:51 am Universal Time*, 12:51 am EDT, and 9:51 pm PDT on June 1.

Mercury goes Retrograde in Cancer (14^o 46") on June 18 at 4:59 am Universal Time, 12:59 am EDT and 9:59 pm PDT on June 17.

The Direct Station occurs in Cancer (5^o 29.5') on july 12, 2020 at 8:26 am Universal Time, and on July 12, 4:26 am EDT and 1:26 am PDT.

Mercury ends the Post-Shadow ends in Cancer on July 26, at 5:06 pm Universal Time, 1:06 pm EDT, 10:06 am PDT.

October 2020 Mercury Retrograde in Scorpio

The last Mercury Retrograde in Scorpio occurred in October of 2014. With the US elections in November, this retrograde should be interesting.

Please note that this calendar begins on a Monday

The last Mercury Retrograde of 2020 begins the Pre-Shadow in Libra on September 23 at 8:55 pm Universal Time*, 4:55 pm EDT, 1:55 pm PDT.

Mercury goes Retrograde in Scorpio (11^o 40") on October 14 at 1:05 am Universal Time, and on October 13 at 9:05 pm EDT and 6:05 pm PDT.

The Direct Station occurs in Libra  on November 3 at 5:50 pm Universal Time, 12:50 pm EST and 9:50 am PST.

Mercury ends the Post-Shadow in Scorpio on November 19 at 9:04 pm Universal Time, 4:04 pm EST and 1:04 pm PST.

A description of each cycle is found below.
The Full description of each cycle is found here

Please note that all times are approximate. The location of Mercury is usually calculated from the center of the earth to the center of the planet. The actual times of the Mercury Retrograde process is defined by the observer location and varies slightly due to parallax.

 * Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) replaced Greenwich Mean Time in 1961. They are often used interchangeably.

To convert to your time zone, subtract an hour for each time zone west of UTC and add an hour for each time zone east of UTC.

How to Use the 2020 Mercury Retrograde Calendar

This calendar indicates the main phases of Mercury Retrograde using a color code.

The Mercury Retrograde Pre-Shadow

The Mercury Retrograde Pre-Shadow phase is indicated in blue and corresponds to the time during which Mercury traces the path in the sky that it will later return to as it moves backward, during the Mercury Retrograde Phase. Often it is during this time that the conditions are set up for the Retrograde phase that follows. As Mercury slows down, just prior its retrograde motion, the contributing factors and the experiences of the cycle are strengthened, and this is indicated in the calendar by a violet color.

The Mercury Retrograde Phase

The Mercury Retrograde Phase is in light red. The actual Mercury Retrograde Station, as Mercury appears to have stopped and is about to go backward is shown in red. Near the beginning and the end of the retrograde phase, Mercury seems to slow down in the sky, and its effect tends to stronger. This is shown with a darker color.
The retrograde phase is famous for revealing the consequences of inattention to detail, wrong assumptions as well as errors in communication and transportation. Many of these are often set up in the pre-shadow phase.

The actual moment when Mercury appears to be stationary and is about to move forwards is the Mercury Direct Station. This is shown in dark brown. As Mercury is still moving slowly before it speeds up the effect tends to be stronger, indicated with a darker shade of brown.

The Mercury Retrograde Post-Shadow

The Mercury Retrograde Post-Shadow phase is indicated in brown. Mercury is now moving forward, and this phase refers to the time during which Mercury is retracing the path in the sky where it had formerly moved backward during the retrograde period.

Often, the Mercury Retrograde Post-Shadow can reveal the errors in communication and travel that may have occurred during the pre-shadow and retrograde phases.

The Full description of each cycle is found here

Mercury Retrograde at the Personal Level

One way of looking at Mercury Retrograde is that it reveals the shadow or disowned component in our awareness, communication, and interaction with others and with the world around us.

Mercury rules the signs Gemini and Virgo. With Gemini, Mercury expresses the way that we reach out into our neighborhood, interact and discriminate. The shadow of Gemini is Sagittarius.

When Mercury is retrograde, it often expresses the negative or disowned nature of Sagittarius. When this happens, the tendency is to generalize, anticipate, gloss over, judge or assume, without reality checking.

The other expression of Mercury Retrograde is through the shadow of the sign Virgo. With Virgo, Mercury expresses the way that we integrate what we experience and how we make sense of the world around us through our mind. The shadow of Virgo is Pisces.

When Mercury is retrograde, often the negative or disowned nature of Pisces is expressed. We may think that someone else will do it, or we may imagine that things will turn out for ‘the best’ or we may imagine or hope instead of doing something for ourselves. Often the disowned nature of Pisces is revealed in our disconnection to our core and in seeking that connection outside of ourselves instead.

Clearing Your Shadow

You may want to look at each Mercury Retrograde cycle as a small wake up call and an opportunity to notice when you are caught up in the patterns of your shadow. It is then that we tend to be less conscious, and not as aware as we could be. Moreover, when we act from this place, we set ourselves up.

The Mercury Retrograde cycle is a good time for introspection and to become more aware of your own patterns. If you wish to take advantage of this time, you may find this book is very helpful in revealing the ways we become unconscious in our actions, and it gives clear practical steps to regain our integrity with our core. It comes highly recommended: Being Centered.

Mercury Retrograde and Your Sun Sign

Each sun sign expresses the path of spirit and reveals our contribution to the way we interact with the Mercury Retrograde Cycle. That contribution is at the bottom of each Sun Sign description. You can click the glyph of your Sun Sign in the menu below or choose it from the pull-down menu at the top of the page.