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Mercury in astrology

Mercury is how you think, talk and learn. It stays close to the Sun, so your Mercury sign is your Sun sign or one of its two neighbours.

What Mercury means

Mercury stands for the mind in motion: speech, writing, trade, travel over short distances and the stories you tell yourself. Its sign shows the pace and style of your thinking. A Mercury in Gemini thinks out loud and fast. A Mercury in Capricorn wants the facts in order before it says anything.

Mercury above the signs it rules, with the people born under it at work and play below
Mercury above Gemini and Virgo, and the people born under him. De Sphaera, Biblioteca Estense, Modena, about 1470. Public domain.

Being wel dignified, he represents a man of a subtil and politick brain, intellect, and cogitation; an excellent disputant or Logician, arguing with learning and discretion, and using much eloquence in his speech.

William Lilly, Christian Astrology, 1647

Mercury in your chart

Mercury is never more than 28 degrees from the Sun. It spends two to four weeks in a sign, and longer when it turns back. About one person in six is born with Mercury retrograde. Those people often think best on the second pass, when they rework and edit.

Mercury retrograde

Three times a year Mercury seems to stop and move backwards for about three weeks. The Mercury retrograde dates for 2026 and 2027 show each period with its shadow.

Where Mercury is now

On Nov 6, 2026, Mercury is at 9°46′ Scorpio, retrograde. Next, Mercury turns direct on .

Times are in UTC.

Mercury in each sign

In the app

Calculated with the Swiss Ephemeris, tropical zodiac. Updated Nov 6, 2026.

Where is Mercury in your chart?

Mercury’s sign is only half of it. Its house and the planets it touches come from your birth time and place. Solstice works them out and talks with you about what they mean.

Ask Solstice