O! TL;DR reference
Mercury retrograde in 2026
tl;dr
- Mercury appears to reverse direction three times in 2026: late Feb–Mar, late Jun–Jul, and Oct–Nov.
- Retrograde is an optical illusion - Mercury never stops; Earth simply overtakes it on a faster inner-track orbit.
- Dates below are the station instants in UTC; the apparent reversal spans a few weeks each time.
Mercury retrograde periods in 2026 (UTC)
| Turns retrograde | At | Turns direct | At | Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 26 06:46 | 22°34' Pisces | Mar 20 19:34 | 8°29' Pisces | 23 |
| Jun 29 17:37 | 26°15' Cancer | Jul 23 22:57 | 16°19' Cancer | 24 |
| Oct 24 07:15 | 20°59' Scorpio | Nov 13 15:52 | 5°02' Scorpio | 20 |
What 'retrograde' actually is
Retrograde motion is apparent, not real. From Earth we see Mercury trace a path against the background stars; for most of the year that path moves eastward (direct). Three times a year, as faster-orbiting Earth and Mercury line up, Mercury appears to slow, stop ('station'), drift westward for a few weeks, stop again, then resume.
Mercury never changes its actual direction of travel. The reversal is a line-of-sight effect of two bodies moving at different speeds - the same illusion you get passing a slower car on the highway.
Mercury retrogrades more often than any planet (three to four times a year) because it is the fastest, completing an orbit every 88 days and being overtaken frequently.
How these dates were produced
- Computed with the astronomy-engine library (VSOP87 planetary theory), the same engine behind astro.otldr.com.
- A station is the moment Mercury's apparent geocentric ecliptic longitude stops advancing and reverses; the instant is bisected to the minute and reported in UTC.
- Local civil dates can differ by one day depending on time zone - convert from the UTC instant for your region.
Mercury retrograde, 2024-2030 (UTC)
| Year | Turns retrograde | Turns direct | Days | Signs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Apr 1 22:12 | Apr 25 12:51 | 24 | Aries → Aries |
| 2024 | Aug 5 04:59 | Aug 28 21:08 | 24 | Virgo → Leo |
| 2024 | Nov 26 02:39 | Dec 15 20:58 | 20 | Sagittarius → Sagittarius |
| 2025 | Mar 15 06:47 | Apr 7 11:05 | 23 | Aries → Pisces |
| 2025 | Jul 18 04:38 | Aug 11 07:33 | 24 | Leo → Leo |
| 2025 | Nov 9 19:00 | Nov 29 17:38 | 20 | Sagittarius → Scorpio |
| 2026 | Feb 26 06:46 | Mar 20 19:34 | 23 | Pisces → Pisces |
| 2026 | Jun 29 17:37 | Jul 23 22:57 | 24 | Cancer → Cancer |
| 2026 | Oct 24 07:15 | Nov 13 15:52 | 20 | Scorpio → Scorpio |
| 2027 | Feb 9 17:35 | Mar 3 12:34 | 22 | Pisces → Aquarius |
| 2027 | Jun 10 18:18 | Jul 4 19:40 | 24 | Cancer → Gemini |
| 2027 | Oct 7 14:39 | Oct 28 14:10 | 21 | Scorpio → Libra |
| 2028 | Jan 24 11:04 | Feb 14 12:38 | 21 | Aquarius → Aquarius |
| 2028 | May 21 08:39 | Jun 14 06:07 | 24 | Gemini → Gemini |
| 2028 | Sep 19 16:31 | Oct 11 10:29 | 22 | Libra → Libra |
| 2029 | Jan 7 07:57 | Jan 27 18:36 | 20 | Aquarius → Capricorn |
| 2029 | May 1 23:09 | May 25 19:15 | 24 | Taurus → Taurus |
| 2029 | Sep 2 12:15 | Sep 25 02:02 | 23 | Libra → Virgo |
| 2029 | Dec 22 05:50 | Jan 11 05:43 | 20 | Capricorn → Capricorn |
| 2030 | Apr 13 02:27 | May 6 20:18 | 24 | Taurus → Aries |
| 2030 | Aug 16 01:23 | Sep 8 09:22 | 23 | Virgo → Virgo |
| 2030 | Dec 6 02:45 | Dec 25 21:15 | 20 | Capricorn → Sagittarius |