Mercury Retrograde in Cancer
A sign-by-sign guide to help you navigate this challenging planetary cycle
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Yes, it's that time again! Mercury is going retrograde. The second Mercury retrograde cycle of the year will take place from July 18 to August 11! As a special thank you to my paying subscribers, I wrote an in-depth analysis of this important retrograde cycle for each sign. Before I get into the personalized analysis, I will briefly explain the general features of this transit.
Mercury Moves Through Cancer
Mercury has been transiting in Cancer since June 22, and will remain in this sign until August 30.
Mercury represents communication, logic, intelligence, and adaptability. In the emotional sign of Cancer, Mercury can have a melancholic, defensive, reactive, and irritable tone. It can indicate cognitive distortion, impulsivity, fear, worry, or dissatisfaction. Yet, in its higher expression, Mercury in Cancer can be gentle, intuitive, sentimental, caring, and sensitive.
On the physical level, Mercury in Cancer can also point to various kinds of illnesses such as allergies, coughs and colds, stomach ailments, inflammation, and nerve or gas ailments. We will certainly benefit from maintaining consistency and structure in our daily lives during the transit, in order to avoid experiencing any of these challenges.
Mercury rules wind and weather, and Cancer is a water sign, so heavy rains and floods are often a significant concern with this transit. This has been especially evident during the Mercury pre-retrograde shadow phase that began on July 1 and will extend to July 18. This is the time when Mercury covers the area that it will go back across during its retrograde phase. The pre-retrograde shadow cycle is quite often just as challenging as the retrograde cycle itself. Tragically, devastating floods have recently occurred in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, North Carolina, and in other parts of the world including India, Nepal, and Japan.
Mercury Retrograde in Cancer
Mercury will station retrograde on July 18 at 12:45 AM EDT (4:45 AM UTC). It will remain retrograde until August 11, when it will station direct at 3:30 AM EDT (7:30 AM UTC). During its retrograde cycle, Mercury will move back from 21 degrees to ten degrees of Cancer.
Mercury retrograde periods are often related to disruptions, delays, upheavals, and changes in our lives. On a more positive note, these cycles can help us to deepen our understanding of ourselves and of others.
Mercury is the Messenger who is said to be traveling in the Underworld during his retrograde cycle. During this time, he can help us access our deeper unconscious mind and solve problems in surprising ways. New awareness can be brought to light to help us overcome perceived limitations, resolve problems, and bring peace to our past.
This is also a wonderful time to catch up, regroup, and reorganize. We can step back, reflect, and reconsider where we have come from and where we are going.
How to Obtain Your Birth Chart
Now that I've explained the general impact of this Mercury retrograde cycle, I will provide a sign-by-sign analysis of this planetary event. To use this guide, you'll need to know your birth chart. You can use this free chart calculator from the American College of Vedic Astrology website to make your Vedic North or South Indian chart. As another option, Cafe Astrology offers a free chart calculator to make a sidereal zodiac wheel chart. Either option will show your Ascendant, Sun, and Moon signs.
Let’s go through the impact of this transit for each of the zodiac signs: