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Diving Deep: What To Expect When Mercury Goes Retrograde in Pisces and Aquarius this February

On Sunday, February 16th, at around 7:53 PM EST, Mercury will station Retrograde at 12 degrees of the moody, sensitive, and psychic sign of Pisces. Mercury will continue journeying backwards until Monday, March 9th, when the planet of communication and logic will station direct at 28 degrees Aquarius. Here’s what you can expect, both in general and for your sign.

By Kaitlyn MauraPublished 4 years ago 21 min read
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On Sunday, February 16th, at around 7:53 PM EST, Mercury will station Retrograde at 12 degrees of the moody, sensitive, and psychic sign of Pisces. Mercury will continue journeying backwards until Monday, March 9th, when the planet of communication and logic will station direct at 28 degrees Aquarius. Here’s what you can expect, both in general and for your sign.

What is Mercury in Retrograde?

A retrograde planet is one that appears to be moving in the opposite direction. Astrologically, this means that the energies represented by the planet are directed backwards or inward. Retrograde periods are often riddled with delays and disruption, but they don't have to be. These periods are not so much a time for action, but a time for reflection. Retrograde periods are also loaded with synchronicity and karma. So, they can also be periods of magic and manifestation if you just focus within rather than without. Things from the past will return to us. This could be people from our past, including from our past lives, situations, or memories that we thought we had forgotten about, or maybe just lessons that we're getting a second chance at learning after having failed the first time around.

And what kind of energy does Mercury represent?

Mercury is the messenger of the gods in Roman mythology. Like Venus, Mercury is a social planet, but unlike Venus, which is more about intimate relationships, Mercury is more about communication in general. This includes letters, emails, and even divination. Mercury is also associated with commerce, travelers, and in astrology, it represents the mind (especially the logical mind), intelligence, and the way we think. Look out though: known for its speed and swiftness, Mercury is also the trickster god, associated with both tricksters and thieves.

Ruled by the mutable signs, Virgo (the virgin) and Gemini (the twins), there is a dualistic nature to the planet, that gave birth to the word "mercurial," (meaning unpredictable or changeable). It makes sense then that Mercury would travel between two worlds, being the only Olympic god with the ability to travel between the realm of the gods, and the realm of the underworld, where his job was to accompany souls on their journey to Hades. As the planet closest to the Sun, and also the planet with the fastest orbit, Mercury goes retrograde about three or four times a year, for periods of about three weeks.

Mercury in retrograde periods are generally riddled with delays and mishaps around communication, travel, and technology.

For example, your flight might be inconveniently delayed, or your computer may freeze at the most inconvenient time. To use my own life as an example, just about every time Mercury is in retrograde, my phone charger breaks. Miscommunications and misunderstandings are common during this time, so try to be as clear as you possibly can when speaking to others, and avoid making assumptions. Astrologers generally advise that you avoid signing any major contracts during this period, for it may backfire on you once Mercury goes direct. These periods are often loaded with unexpected, unplanned, and seemingly inconvenient events that will make you think of Murphy's Law: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong."

It really isn't as bad as it sounds, however. Honestly, it really isn't as bad as people make it out to be, and this period also comes with numerous advantages. While Mercury direct represents the logical mind, Mercury retrograde represents the intuitive mind. As the messenger of the gods, its retrograde period is probably the best time for divination. These periods are also often loaded with tons of strange coincidences and synchronicities. There may be messages in your dreams, including messages from ancestors or guardian angels. To some extent, this is true of every planet in retrograde, but in my experience, it's more true with Mercury than with any other, given its nature. The "unexpected" and "unplanned," events mentioned in the last paragraph are not always "inconvenient." More often than not, you'll find that these events are serendipitous and wonderfully fated, presenting you with opportunities of good luck, like being at the right place at the right time. As I said, Mercury is a very dualistic and tricky planet. You just need to know how to work with it. If you believe in the law of attraction, or other forms of manifestation, this is a better time than ever to take advantage of it. Even without the magic and the metaphysical, however, this is a good time to reflect on things; the kind of deep thought, reflection, and consideration necessary to yield powerful ideas and insights, insights that you can put into practice once Mercury goes direct.

Mercury Retrograde Pisces 2020

If you thought Mercury Retrograde alone was challenging, Mercury’s station Retrograde at 12 degree Pisces, the sign of Mercury’s detriment is going to be even tougher. Mercury is the sign of logic, facts, the rational mind, and Pisces is just the opposite of that, associated with feelings, emotions, the hidden depths of our subconscious, everything that is irrational and hard to put into words. Like Scorpio, Pisces is a mute sign, associated with all that is secret and hidden. People with Mercury in Pisces can sometimes suffer from delusional and wishful thinking, preferring to see things as how they want them to be, rather than for how they really are. Over the next three weeks, we may all suffer from a little bit of delusional, irrational or wishful thinking, potentially leading to problems in our communication with others.

As I said before, however, Mercury Retrograde periods are often filled with weird coincidences and synchronicities. This is even more true when Mercury is Retrograde in Pisces. It’s likely we’ll have more psychic experiences than we usually do at this time. While Mercury in Retrograde often causes problems in verbal communication, our nonverbal communication skills are strong. We might even communicate telepathically, whether through dreams or other means. It will be very important for us to pay attention to our dreams at this time, for they may contain very important messages.

Mercury will be square the Moon at 10 degrees Sagittarius the moment it stations retrograde, placing a further emphasis on the tension between emotions and logic. The conflict between our head and our heart could potentially lead to anxiety and indecision. Our feelings might contradict what we logically know to be true, and we may suffer from doubts and insecurities that we know are illogical. Pisces is a very sensitive water sign, maybe even the most sensitive side of the zodiac, and many people with strong Pisces placements in their chart suffer from depression or low self-esteem. We may feel we are unworthy or that people don’t like us, even if realistically we know that is not the case. The Moon’s exact trine to Venus in Aries shows us that this will most likely take place in our intimate, or otherwise most valued, relationships.

The Moon’s square to Mercury also shows us that we may have a hard time communicating our feelings at this time. Our emotions may be too complex to put into words, that others would easily be able to understand and digest. If we do communicate, we might do it in inappropriate ways, such as snapping at others, yelling at the most awkward times or being passive-aggressive. We may be very indirect in our communication with others, hinting at things rather than come out and just say how we feel. Pisces and Sagittarius are both ‘escapist’ signs in their own way and we might ghost people, or flee from situations, that make us feel too deeply, preferring to avoid the issue or pretend it’s not happening rather than address it and talk it through, or this can happen to us.

Mercury Retrograde in Aquarius

The energy might change somewhat when Mercury goes back into Aquarius on March 5th. Because Aquarius is an air sign and air is the element of communication, we can expect the last few days of Mercury Rx to be a bit easier. When Mercury goes back into Aquarius, we will speak our minds freely and have an easier time finding words to explain the concepts and ideas held within our brain.

If anything, however, problems might arise due to speaking TOO freely. We might be too open with others, revealing things that we’ll regret later on.

Technological problems might occur, and because Aquarius is associated with all that is weird, innovative, strange and unique, we can expect weird stuff to keep happening throughout Mercury’s Retrograde’s whole transit. Weird coincidences, telepathy or precognitive dreams, synchronicities or weird and shocking events or situations that we don’t know what to make of, things that may take some time to process.

Mercury Direct

Mercury will station direct at around 11:48 PM EST on March 9 2020 at 28’12 degrees Aquarius.

Interestingly, Mercury Stationary Direct will correspond with the Full Moon in Virgo (article on that to come soon), representing the balance between imagination and logic, feeling and fact, service and work.

Because Mercury in Aquarius is quincunx the Moon in Virgo, there may be some tension between logic and feeling, and conflicting ideas about what it is you think you want. It still may take some time to make sense of your emotions and feelings.

Overall, however, Mercury Direct should bring an increasing sense of clarity. We’re better able to integrate our dreams into reality. On March 9th, the Sun will be conjunct Neptune in Pisces and sextile Jupiter, Pluto and Mars in Capricorn. We are optimistic, imaginative, and idealistic but hardworking and realistic enough to actually get things done and make those ideals real.

From here on out, we’ll be better able to learn from whatever lessons we’ve learned when Mercury was still in Retrograde and put into motion any new insights.

We won’t be fully free from this energy, however, until Mercury leaves the Retrograde zone on March 29th

Horoscopes

Now it's time to see how it will affect your sign. I suggest reading the horoscope for your ascendant or rising sign, first, instead of the sun. I find the rising sign horoscope to be more accurate than the sun, as these horoscopes are based on the houses. If you don't know your rising sign, click here to generate a birth chart. Yes, you will need your birth time for this. If you don't have your birth time, Sun sign horoscopes are fine.

People with angles or personal planets between 0 and 13 degrees of the mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces) and between 27 and 29 of the fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) especially be affected by this transit.

Aries: Bad Habits and Bad Influences

Aries

With Mercury Retrograde transiting through your 12th house, you’re going to have an especially hard time communicating throughout the next few weeks. You might be spending a large amount of time alone and since the 12th house is the house of “self-undoing,” something might force you to come face to face with the dark side of yourself; your bad habits, addictions, flaws, sins etc. Problems communicating may be due to a conflict between your beliefs (Sag Moon in the 9th) and how they will be perceived. You might not have the logic or facts to back your feelings up. The 12th is also the house of the subconscious, however, so you may find yourself having very strange dreams. Listen, for they are definitely trying to tell you something.

Things may be a little lighter when Mercury enters Aquarius, but with Mercury Retrograde in the 11th house, you might still have some difficulty communicating with friends. Problems with friends may lead to self imposed isolation, but going within can help you find who your true friends really are.

Taurus: Who are we really?

Taurus

Misunderstandings with friends are likely when Mercury Retrograde transits your 11th house. You can be stubborn, Taurus, but if you want to keep unnecessary conflict to a minimum, my advice is to be patient and try to hear your friends out before making any assumptions. You may feel like other people are the ones misunderstanding you and this can make you feel very lonely. In this case, take it as a lesson about who your true friends really are. This transit may force you to weed some people out of your life. On another note, psychic connections with friends are likely. You may meet one or more 'platonic soul mates'. For example, you might dream or randomly think about an old friend you haven't heard from in a while only to have them call the next day. It's also a good time to reconnect with an old friend in general or seek closure from any friends you may have had a falling out with.

When Mercury enters your 10th house, the shift may focus to your reputation. You may be excessively concerned with what people think of you. This may be triggered by rumors or gossip, that causes you to feel misunderstood. It's a good time to reflect on what you can do to make your public persona better reflect the person you really are deep down.

Gemini: Which Self Do We Choose to Wear Today?

Gemini

As the mutable air sign, sometimes your energy is scattered and spread thin. It isn't a bad thing to have many interests, but sometimes, this leads to a fear of missing out. When Mercury goes Retrograde in your 10th house, Gemini, you might have doubts about your career. This could take the form of self-doubt (i.e. impostor syndrome) or it could be more like your career isn't spiritually fulfilling enough. For example, you could be wasting away your days working a 9-5 office job when you would rather start your own business, or you might work as a waitress, knowing that your chances of making a living as an artist or novelist is slim, but your long hours of work make it so that you don't even have time to paint or write anymore. Your dreams don't have to remain a fantasy, Gemini. This transit will help you zero-in on what you want so that you can make it a reality. With Mercury stationary Retrograde square the Moon in your 7th house, there could be a conflict between work and relationships (i.e. overworking yourself to the point that you're neglecting your relationships with the people you care about). This is also something to be careful of, over the next few weeks.

When Mercury enters Aquarius, things should improve somewhat (especially if you're a late degree Gemini) but there may still be a few mishaps related to areas of education, travel and your belief systems. Your self-doubt may transfer over to these areas of life instead.

Cancer: a Cancer's comfort zone is in the home

Cancer

Mercury Retrograde in Pisces could lead to problems with education or travel. Mercury stationary Retrograde square Moon in your 6th house indicates that health problems may interfere with any education or travel plans you might have. If you're in school, you might feel overworked over the next few weeks. Regarding travel, there may be flight delays or other typical retrograde mishaps, but Cancers are often stereotyped as homebodies and even if you don't literally take a trip anywhere, new surroundings might throw you off. With Mercury Retrograde in your 9th house, you may also have a change in beliefs. Psychic experiences may help open your mind up to incorporate a more spiritual worldview, or a more compassionate ideology.

When Mercury enters the 8th house, the focus may shift towards money. Other people's resources. Regarding the last paragraph, there might be an issue with student loans or a currency exchange in another country.

Leo: a Dance with Death... but probably metaphorical

Leo

Old memories may haunt you. These could be memories about ex-partners, old relationships, but also spiritual experiences related to deceased relatives or loved ones who have past over. Pay attention to your dreams; your ancestors may be trying to communicate something very important. The 8th house also rules other peoples money so it's also a good time to pay back any debts. Whether literal economic debts or more spiritual, karmic debts - your debts to other people - it is a good time to pay back what you owe.

When Mercury enters Aquarius, relationships are more emphasized, especially intimate and sexual ones. There is a possibility that an ex-partner will reach out, but overall, the focus is on what we owe to other people. Giving as much as we take. Never giving any less or more than we expect. Leos can at times be selfish and domineering, which is a problem if we want our relationships to work.

Virgo: Deep Intimacy

Virgo

With Mercury stationing Retrograde in your 7th house, expect to hear from ex partners or old friends. Similar to what I said regarding Taurus, you might dream or think about an old friend or ex partner or fling only to get a call from them or run into them the next day! You may find yourself thinking about where you went wrong in old relationships, or you might be re-evaluating current relationships, comparing them to ones from your past. It's very likely that you'll be seeing your relationships in general through a spiritual lens and may even have a psychic or telepathic connection with your partner/crush/date. Since Mercury Stationary Retrograde is square the Moon in your 4th house, family issues may also pop up for you, in your intimate relationships. For example, you could have major realizations as to how your family dynamics (e.g. the relationships you grew up with, what you have observed from your parents) affect your own relationships as an adult. Are you subconsciously dating the same people to relive old traumas? Are you repeating patterns you learned as a child, or could these patterns be preventing you from finding the love you deserve?

When Mercury enters Aquarius, there will be an even bigger focus on your mental health and overall healing. Mercury Retrograde in your 6th house will have you healing from old familial and relational wounds.

Libra: All Work and No Play Does Not Suit You!

Libra

Anxiety is taking a hold on you, Libra! With Mercury Retrograde transiting your house of health and disease, you may find yourself contracting some mysterious illness. With so many things going on in your life, it is likely to be psychosomatic or a physical illness related to something that is going on mentally (lack of sleep, too much stress, etc.) Mercury Stationary Retrograde square Moon in the 3rd house (communication, short journeys, mental activity) emphasizes the idea that too much is going on psychologically and it's taking a toll on your health. It's important to remember that the 6th house also relates to chores and housework. With Mercury in the psychic sign of Pisces, however, it's a good time to clean house within. Remember, your the sign of balance. Instead of overworking yourself, make sure to take care of your inner needs too - or else the outside will look just as bad.

Mercury in Aquarius should help you take a break from all this work and focus on the more fun things in life, especially if you're a late degree Libra like me. But mishaps, misunderstandings, or just all around problems, related to children, creativity, drama/fun or casual dating are all things to potentially watch out for.

Scorpio: Dreams Inside May Help With Creative Matters

Scorpio

When Mercury goes Retrograde, you may find yourself hit with a massive creative block (writers' or otherwise), Scorpio. Don't worry too much though because when traveling through the sign of Pisces, you might find some helpful ideas in dreams, or through other more esoteric means. If you have children (or even work with children) you may find yourself in a misunderstanding with one or more of them. If you're single and not currently seeing anyone, it is not recommended to engage in any forms of casual dating at this time, for the relationship will likely start out on a footing of misunderstanding. It's also important to remember that Pisces is a sign associated with escapism: don't have so much fun that you end up hurting yourself or neglecting you responsibilities! Moon in the 2nd suggests that money may be issue - avoid spending too much of it!

When Mercury enters Aquarius, family issues are emphasized. Communication problems with children may be less intense, but you may still find them to be a bit rebellious. Your creativity should improve but you may find your ideas to still be a little bit out there. Wait for Mercury to go Direct for these issues to pass.

Sagittarius: Problems from Childhood May Haunt Us

Sagittarius

There may be misunderstandings with family members, when Mercury goes Retrograde in your 4th house. With Mercury squaring the Moon in your sign, these issues may be made even more intense. You may find yourself becoming very sensitive for no reason, especially in regards to issues surrounding home and family. Issues from the past regarding how you were raised or any childhood trauma may creep back up for you, or you might find yourself dwelling on the past. Remember, there is healing and/or learning to be had from this.

Mercury in Aquarius should relieve these matters, a little bit, and you might have a better communication outlet for any major problems, but miscommunications (or bad memories) surrounding siblings or extended family (aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.) may still persist.

Capricorn: Head in the Clouds

Capricorn

You're normally very composed and responsible, Capricorn. While you may not always be the most talkative of the bunch, you normally know the right things to say at the right time, but when Mercury goes Retrograde in your 3rd house, you might find things getting a lot more foggy. Mental confusion prevents you from knowing what to say. Moon in the 12th house squaring Stationary Mercury Retrograde in the 3rd makes matters worse; verbalizing feelings is hard and subconscious feelings may pop up at the wrong time. Think Freudian slips and the like. Spending time alone in meditation or inner work might help you deal with these matters.

Mercury in the 2nd house might shift the focus on your possessions or what you value.

Aquarius: Friends - the one "possession" that truly matters

Aquarius

Mercury Retrograde in the 2nd house will help you re-sort what possessions really mean something to you and which ones you've been holding on for too long. Since the 2nd house is mostly about money and finances, it's important to watch how much money you spend, Aquarius. Pisces is known as a sign of escapism: have you been spending too much money on things that are no good for you (drugs, alcohol, etc.)? Or have you been using the mere act of shopping or materialism as a way to escape your problems? With Mercury square the Moon in your 11th house, spending too much money on friends could also be a potential problem. Losing items or losing material items is another thing to watch out for.

Things should mostly get better when Mercury enters your own sign, but you may go from reevaluating which possessions really mean to you and which you need to get rid of, to reevaluating your own values. Which values are really important to you and which are you holding on to simply for the sake of loyalty? Aquarius's fixed sign stubbornness is often overlooked.

Pisces: You're Diving Deep into the Depths of your Subconscious - Just Make Sure Not To Let Yourself Drown

Pisces

You're diving deep into the depths of your unconscious, Pisces. Just make sure not to let yourself drown. This is a very important time for you. You're reevaluating your concept of self and the way you view life itself. Psychic experiences are the norm for you these days and events in life may feel fated. All of this is important and will help aid you in your growth. On the downside, you may suffer from bouts of self-doubt or low self-esteem at this time, and your empathy may be on over-drive. Since the energy of Mercury Retrograde is strong and everyone's a little bit sensitive during this time, you might interactions with others to be more than overwhelming. If you feel yourself suffering from depression or over-sensitivity, it may help to spend some time alone, meditating or listening to music. It might also help to do something creative. Since it's Mercury we're talking about, creative writing will be super beneficial to you at this time. This could be poetry, lyrics, fiction, or just simply journaling - writing down what you feel.

Mercury in Aquarius will be much of the same, since it's your 12th house we're talking about, but it may help you to make more logical sense of what you're feeling and you might have an easier time sharing your feelings with others during this time as well.

Conclusion

Overall, Mercury Retrograde's Retrograde in Pisces and Aquarius has a lot we can benefit from. There is a lot of emphasis placed on strange coincidences and psychic experiences. Rather than causing communication problems, some of us may simply find our nonverbal communication abilities will increase, even finding ourselves able to communicate telepathically. With Mercury Stationary Retrograde square the Moon in Sagittarius, a lot of emphasis is placed on the dichotomy between thoughts and feeling, logic and emotion, our heads and our hearts. We may just now be realizing the conflict between what we say and share with the world versus how we really feel inside.

Mercury Retrograde Winter 2020 will help us dive deep within the depths of our unconscious and heal. It will help us to clean whatever dirt may still be found within the depths of our mind, learn, grow, becoming the best version of ourselves we can be, helping us to reconcile our emotions and thoughts.

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About the Creator

Kaitlyn Maura

My name’s Kait. I would define myself mainly as a truth seeker. I write about a lot of things, primarily astrology, religion & spirituality, relationships and social issues.

Website: https://www.astrologybykait.com/

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