Mercury and Its Shadow

It is the end of November 2024, and Mercury has gone retrograde. What does this mean? It means the apparent motion of the planet seems to move in the opposite direction that it usually does when measured against the backdrop of the constellations. The Sun and Moon never go retrograde, and if they did, we would be dead!

Here is a video for more information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nVSzzYCAYk

The retrograde motion doesn’t mean the planet is actually going backwards, but rather, its apparent motion relative to Earth makes it seem to go backwards because we are rotating around the Sun at different distances and different speeds. The best analogy would be when you are stopped at a traffic light, and there is a large truck beside you taking up the whole window. The truck starts to inch forward while you are stopped, but it seems like you are moving backwards, so quickly push harder on the brakes because it seems like you are moving.

Planets that are between the Earth and the Sun, Mercury and Venus will go retrograde for a short duration. Mercury goes retrograde for roughly three weeks and Venus for a month and a half. In contrast, Mars and Jupiter stay retrograde for about two months and four months, respectively. Pluto, depending on its position, will retrograde roughly for five to six months and go direct for five to six months, making a Pluto transit to your planets or angles last for two years.

Mercury goes retrograde about three times a year. During this time, you might experience issues with vehicles, computers, siblings, and children or miscommunications because Mercury rules all those things. However, this is dependent on Mercury making a connection to planets or angles in your chart.

There are astrologers who will tell you that you are not allowed to buy anything or take trips during this period because it will be disastrous. I have purchased a new computer during a Mercury retrograde period. Retrograde periods are good for such things as: re-do, review, and replace. So, with my computer needing an update, I replaced my old one with a new one since Mercury governs computers. I then had to re-install all my software. It’s a perfect thing to do with Mercury retrograde.

The Shadow

However, some folks in the astrological community talk about Mercury’s shadow. They state that you cannot do anything during Mercury retrograde nor when it is in its shadow period. What is this “shadow”? It is the point when Mercury passes the point it goes direct after it goes retrograde to the point it went retrograde once it has gone direct. This is what it looks like in graphical form, using 2024 as an example.

In the graph, red represents the retrograde period, but blue represents the “shadow” period.

According to these astrologers, they will try to tell you that you cannot do anything during the shadow and retrograde period. Which means you only do things for just over half of the year. All other times, you have to sit on your hands, hide in your closet, or get an alignment so you can function during these periods! No wonder people think astrologers are foolish.

However, what I have noticed is, let us say, if Mercury is making a square (difficult) aspect to your Moon and the Moon rules the seventh house of relationships, then there may be some miscommunication in your relationship. There will be misunderstandings either on your side or your partner’s side.

If Mercury goes retrograde across your Midheaven or IC, then there could be issues around your career or your home. If Mercury goes across your second house cusp or the ruler of your second house cusp, then there could be something happening around finances.

However, that period will typically be during the points when it hits the planet and not during this whole period. Now, once it is over, Mercury will not go over that point again for several years. For example, I’ve had Mercury retrograde on my ascendant about four times in the past twenty years.

This is why I now include Mercury retrogrades in my reading because sometimes there are some ramifications because the client has several hits or a major contact to Mercury. Otherwise, if nothing in the chart is being hit, then it becomes a nothing-burger, and the client doesn’t have to worry about much!

So, be careful when astrologers try to fearmonger you by stating the sky will fall when Mercury goes retrograde. It all depends on what it contacts in your chart. It might be chaos or it might be just a slight misunderstanding. For those who think Mercury retrograde is a bad time to start an endeavour, remember that IBM, Disney, Goodyear, and Boeing all began with Mercury retrograde. So, as Public Enemy states: “Don’t believe the Hype!”.

However, one observation I have made is that during the few days around the retrograde and direct period when Mercury seems to stop in the sky, there tend to be more accidents on the road. Anyway, check with an astrologer to see what is being aspected and what to expect. It may be something or not. It will definitely not be half a year of hiding in a box.