How to Handle a 2022 Mercury Retrograde

All but one of Mercury’s 2022 retrogrades begin in air signs and end in earth signs. The process of each takes us from intellectual experience to real-world practicalities.

Handling a Mercury Retrograde in 2022

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If you’re familiar with the term “Mercury retrograde,” odds are you don’t have good feelings about it. “Oh, no, not again!” is the usual reaction to learning that one is coming up.

Take heart! It doesn’t mean the sky is falling. Mercury retrograde is not a freak occurrence, much less the end of the world. It’s a regular phenomenon that happens three or four times a year. We can’t stop it, but we can understand and work with it. Read on for how.

What does it mean?

First, the technicalities: Mercury is retrograde when it looks from the earth as if it’s traveling backward. That’s an optical illusion, of course, and it happens when Mercury’s orbital speed changes in comparison to the earth’s. It’s the planetary equivalent of speeding up on a highway, passing a car, and seeing it fall far behind after you in the rearview mirror.

How this works: When Mercury is retrograde, the areas of life it governs do not play by the usual rules. Anything related to communication and travel requires extra attention. This includes phones, computers, electronic devices, mail, cars, public transportation, and commutes.

Our information flow is always a casualty. Messages go astray. Misunderstandings, confusion, half-truths, and deception are rampant. Both sides of a conversation may use the same words, but the words may not have the same meaning at all. Or expectations and assumptions may differ.

Vehicles of communication also misfire. Anything with an inherent instability hits the breaking point. Technology malfunctions. Websites and networks go down. Programs stop working. Tasks that should be ordinary turn into a gauntlet of error messages and troubleshooting.

Getting around is also a challenge. Traffic snarls. Travel gets delayed. Buses don’t arrive. Cars break down. Detours pop up and complicate your route.

What should you do?

Postpone launching major projects, signing major contracts, and buying big-ticket items if possible. (You may not have complete or accurate information; the subject or purpose may not be what you think it is.) Double-check fine print, backup your data, and allow lots of extra time when you’re on the road.

Watch for opportunities for a do-over, which may initially show up as unraveling or restructuring. Mercury retrograde is also an excellent time to investigate and research, finish old business, clean up paperwork and get in touch with people you haven’t talked to in a while. Pay attention to who surfaces from the past, in person or in thought. Their reappearance could help tie up loose ends or resolve lingering business. Organize and prepare so you’ll be ready to move ahead when Mercury does.

Mercury retrogrades in 2022

First, the details. In 2022, Mercury is retrograde from:

January 14 – February 3, going from 10 Aquarius to 24 Capricorn (and re-entering Capricorn on January 25);

May 10 – June 3, going from 5 Gemini to 26 Taurus (and re-entering Taurus May 22);

September 9 – October 2, going from 9 Libra to 24 Virgo (and re-entering Virgo on September 23): and

December 29 – January 18, 2023, going from 24 to 8 Capricorn.

Look for effects before and after these dates. Communication and transportation matters usually start slowing (or growing complicated) a couple of days before a retrograde begins. The day of the retrograde station (when Mercury appears to be motionless, as it appears to change direction) can feel as if time has stopped altogether.

The same sensation returns when Mercury stations direct. Communication and transportation matters don’t suddenly speed up once the retrograde ends. Give the planet time to get moving again. Wait a few days after Mercury stations direct before resuming business as usual.

All but one of Mercury’s 2022 retrogrades begin in air signs and end in earth signs. The process of each takes us from intellectual experience to real-world practicalities.

Mercury is comfortable in the air element – one of his homes is in the air sign of Gemini – because it allows the freedom of movement he prefers. This has a paradoxical effect.

On the one hand, the retrograde complications and opportunities will feel familiar. They may come with the sense that we’ve been through something like this before.

On the other hand, snafus and complications may happen at a breakneck pace because Mercury (and everything he rules) moves smoothly. This possibility could also occur for investigating, reorganizing, and do-overs. Those matters could resolve with surprising efficiency.

As the first three retrogrades take Mercury back to earth, the pace slows, and issues take on concrete ramifications. This is entirely the case during the final retrograde, which is entirely in earth.

The first retrograde, from January 14 – February 3, from Aquarius to Capricorn, starts with startling news and developments, which may link back to events around December 24, 2021. Through January 25, retrograde events especially involve friendships, social media, and technology. Abruptness and intellectual detachment could contribute to misunderstandings.

Everything turns serious when Mercury enters Capricorn on January 25. This stretch coincides with the end of Venus’ retrograde and promises more information and do-overs concerning matters that surface during her journey since December 18, 2021.

Dates to watch:

Shocks and jolts fly when retrograde Mercury squares Uranus on January 14.
Information mushrooms that’s uncomfortable and nags for attention when retrograde Mercury semi-sextiles Jupiter on January 21.
Clarity, candor, and perspective-changing revelations surface when retrograde Mercury joins Pluto on January 28.

The second retrograde, from May 10 – June 3, from Gemini to Taurus, starts out high speed because Mercury is in his home base. Information will fly every which way and often require juggling. The trickster archetype will be strong. Techology and social media are likely involved.

Money and comforts take center stage when Mercury returns to Taurus. The retrograde takes Mercury to the degree of May’s Scorpio full moon lunar eclipse. The eclipse takes place May 16, while Mercury is still in Gemini; he reaches the degree late in the month and reminds us that there is more to the story.

Dates to watch:

2014 Leo New Moon

The noise level skyrockets when retrograde Mercury sextiles Jupiter May 19.
Processing and assimilating the personal meaning of retrograde information occurs when retrograde Mercury meets the Sun May 19.
Thoughts and messages may lead to action when retrograde Mercury sextiles Mars May 23.
Candid conversations and powerful information flow when retrograde Mercury trines Pluto May 25.

The third retrograde, from September 9 – October 2, from Libra into Virgo, is intellectual throughout but with a difference. The Libra stretch has the appearance of harmony and lightness (but may enhance indirectness and backhandedness). Because Libra rules partnerships and legalities, issues of reckoning, balancing, and litigating may arise.

The Virgo stretch takes on analytical, evaluative properties. There’s potential for criticism and fault-finding, but also for cleaning up, reorganizing and rectifying. Your thinking, at a minimum.

Dates to watch:

Information mushrooms without resolution when retrograde Mercury opposes Jupiter on September 19.
Candid conversations and powerful information flow when retrograde Mercury trines Pluto on September 27.

The final retrograde, from December 29 – January 18, 2023, revives the solemnity and long-term, practical focus of Mercury’s retrograde visit to Capricorn at the beginning of the year. It promises to rekindle conversation and issues related to the de- and re-construction of foundations and institutions that have been occurring during Pluto’s transit through Capricorn.

Learn more about the cosmic messenger in Kathy’s Mercury Intensive

You will enjoy Mercury Retrograde Sadhanas

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About the Author

Kathy Biehl is a professional astrologer with more than 30 years of experience. She has been translating astrology for the mainstream since high school and has a knack for combining humor and pop culture with her guidance. Visit EmpowermentUnlimited.net to sign up for her mailing list, listen to her forecasts, and book a session for her. Find her on Facebook at Empowerment Unlimited and the Astro-Insight Lounge, and on YouTube at the Professional Aquarian Channel. Listen to her radio show Celestial Compass on OM Times Radio