Mercury retrogrades and you
Mercury retrogrades affect us all to greater or lesser degrees and they rotate through the elements linked to three signs each year. This year, the retrogrades are in the water signs: Pisces, Cancer, and Scorpio. This year we’re asked to listen to our heart, mind, and gut and heed our inner knowing.
Mythically, Mercury/ Hermes is the messenger god traveling through all the realms with ease and authority. Hermes is the Greek god of travel and journeys, crossroads, communications of all sorts and mental agility. Myths of Hermes also show his adept skill in mediation, negotiation, and strategy.
The planet Mercury’s retrogrades symbolically herald an appropriate time to pause mental chatter, slow any habitual busy work, and pay attention to your speech, thoughts, habits of opinion, and the various ways you connect. A Mercury retrograde often serves as an excellent time to rectify any conversational, relational missteps. You may find yourself drawn to repairing, improving, reviewing, and fixing anything that is in draft form or simply needs some TLC. It’s also an appropriate time to pause and reflect, turning your attention inward to contemplate your deeper motivations. During this period, it’s often easier to step out of old ruts which can lead to entertaining fresh viewpoints in yourself and others.
mercury retrograde in the sign of cancer
Due to a late June retrograde (the second of the three 2026 water sign retrogrades), Mercury spends all of June and most of July in the sign of Cancer. As a cardinal sign, Cancer generally wants to wade into and move through any rising e-motions as a native way of building emotional intelligence and strength. Conversely though, Cancer folk may also choose to bury their emotional waves into the sands of time because they don’t (or someone else around them doesn’t) want to deal with “that” right now! However, as you know, water pools and collects.
Mercury retrogrades mark the three times a year you can actively be in sync with this planet’s cycle. Mercury, the fastest planet zooming around the Sun, slows down the week of June 22nd to come to a standstill—a retrograde station—on June 29 at 26° Cancer. On June 30th, Mercury is moving incredibly slowly in reverse (to our view). It continues moving backwards through Cancer in July for three weeks. The week of July 19, it has again slowed dramatically in order to switch direction. Mercury stations direct on July 23rd.
Mercury beckons you to investigate your own emotional back ways and byways. Metaphorically, travel back onto both your habitually traversed emotional + mental highways as well as wooded roads you only walked down once or twice and, perhaps, now view as an emotional trek. Working with the Mercury retrograde in this deeper way may encourage you to adopt the power of “slow down to go fast.” (Watch this great TED Talk by champion freediver Kimi Werner about being literally underwater and practicing this technique to deal with fear or tough emotions and pressurized situations.)
Mercury wades into all the currents of our individual and collective emotional lives through Pisces, Cancer, and Scorpio this year. In these signs, Mercury challenges the false idea that mind and body are separate. Intuitive knowing, emotional intelligence, gut wisdom are all ways we can access what we actually know and hone our integral knowing systems. Integration toward your whole self is the common thread in these retrogrades.
This year, we’re given opportunities to pay attention to the emotions that are carried from us or to us through what we listen to, speak, write, learn, convey, and take in as information or perspectives. Prompts to ponder: What do you hear? What messages are you receiving? What’s informing your views right now? Who are you eager to talk and share yourself with? How are you feeling emotionally and physically with any of these questions?
With the Cancerian Mercury retrograde, the decision to feel all your feels tucked away in your body is very therapeutic. This isn’t an assignment. There’s no edict or command here. It’s a tidal invitation. You sense and choose when and if you’re in a safe place with someone you trust so you can let some emotional floodwaters sweep through. The cardinal energetic intention is to release either emotional stagnation or an internal overflow insists that your emotional levels come down.
Compassion & Vulnerability
Rather than stress or dismiss the retrograde, you may want to tune into this lunar-directed time. Know that Grandmother Moon’s got you! In medical astrology, Cancer is linked to breasts, chest, stomach, uterus, ribs, and the intercostal muscles. Astrologer, nutritionist, and acupuncturist Claire Gallagher notes that as such, “Cancer soothes and distributes sustenance . . . and covers all our basic needs: food, water, air, shelter and love.”
With the Cancerian Mercury retrograde, the decision to feel all your feels tucked away in your body is very therapeutic. This isn’t an assignment. There’s no edict or command here. It’s a tidal invitation. You sense and choose when and if you’re in a safe place with someone you trust so you can let some emotional floodwaters sweep through. Because this is Cancer, some of these dammed waters may swirl around family or ancestors. And, that may not be the case for you! Ultimately, the cardinal Cancerian energetic intention is to release either inner emotional stagnation or a building internal overflow that insists your emotional levels must come down.
The cherry on top of this retrograde is the Cancer full Moon (21° 59’) . This full Moon will be in her glory on July 14th closely conjunct to the Sun and Mercury, and widely square Saturn in Aries (14°). On July 14th, two days before Mercury retrograde in Cancer stations direct, you may want to celebrate with the Cancer full Moon. Recall all the ways you released past issues or baggage, and took care to revisit and repair any hurt feelings. Give yourself lots of praise for this! Your emotional, mental, and physical intelligence has expanded. You’re ready to step out again this summer clearer and cleaner in mind and body.
