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Mercury Retrograde enters its Retrograde Arc (Shadow)
February 11, 2026. Mercury enters Retrograde Arc (Shadow).
Tropical. 8° Pisces 29’. Sidereal. 14° Aquarius 21’. śatabhiṣaj
February 26, 2026. Mercury-Budha stations Retrograde (vakra).
Tropical. 22° Pisces 33’. Sidere al. 28° Aquarius 26’ pūrvabhadrapadā
March 7, 2026. Sun-Surya Mercury-Budha Inferior Conjunction.
Tropical. 16° Pisces 52'. Sidereal. 22° Aquarius 45’ pūrvabhadrapadā
March 20, 2026. Mercury stations Direct.
Tropical. 8° Pisces 29’. Sidereal. 14° Aquarius 21’. śatabhiṣaj
April 9, 2026. Mercury leaves Retrograde Arc (Shadow).
Tropical. 22° Pisces 33’. Sidereal. 28° Aquarius 26’ pūrvabhadrapadā
Some of this is adapted from previous newsletters about Mercury entering the retrograde arc (shadow) but the dates, degrees and signs are unique to this Mercury retrograde cycle. The retrograde arc or shadow is the period that begins when Mercury enters the degree and sign where it eventually stations direct, and ends when Mercury leaves the degree and sign where it initially stationed retrograde. You can see those dates and degrees above.
In this retrograde cycle, Mercury enters its retrograde arc (the term I prefer) or shadow, which is the degree of the eventual direct station, on February 11, 2026 at Tropical. 8° Pisces 29’. Sidereal. 14° Aquarius 21’. It leaves its retrograde arc when it passes the degree of the initial retrograde station on April 9, 2026 at Tropical. 22° Pisces 33’. Sidereal. 28° Aquarius 26’ Like all planets when they retrograde they stay in one section of the zodiac longer than usual. Mercury usually goes through a sign in 2-3 weeks when it moves along its steady course, but can stay in one sign for a little more than two months, and in two signs for about three months when it is approaching its retrograde motion. This time, in both the tropical and sidereal zodiac, Mercury is in only one sign, Tropical Pisces and Sidereal Aquarius, but stays in those signs for a little over two months. Mercury is in tropical Pisces between February 6-April 14, 2026, and is in sidereal Aquarius between February 3-April 10, 2026.
Because Mercury takes longer to go through a sign during the retrograde cycle, it is important to see which houses Mercury occupies and you can scroll down for more information about what that means, during the time Mercury is direct and during the time it is retrograde in tropical Pisces and sidereal Aquarius. The influence on the area of your chart that these signs occupy are magnified during this time, and requires you to pay attention and to understand what that house means for you, especially when Mercury actually retrogrades between February 26-March 20, 2026 since the planet represents delays, technical difficulties, miscommunication and other annoying things that concern the areas of the chart where tropical Pisces and sidereal Aquarius are located.
In addition, you are especially affected during this retrograde arc between February 11 and April 9, 2026 if you have any planets, points, or angles, between Tropical. 8° Pisces 29’-22° Pisces 33’. Sidereal. 14° Aquarius 21’-28° Aquarius 26’. Remember that Mercury will cross those degrees three times, but if you have something within one degree of the station (the degree it goes retrograde or direct) Mercury will conjoin it twice, but when it conjoins the planetary station, it will be there for a few days and feel especially intense. (I spoke about retrogrades, planetary stations, and eclipses, in my annual 2026 Sensitive Degrees webinar. You can purchase it at www.ronniedreyer.com/schedule/webinar)
Remember that even though this retrograde arc begins on February 11, 2026, it is still not quite Mercury retrograde, which occurs between February 26-March 20, 2026. However, you may begin during this retrograde arc to get warnings about what is to come. So remember that during these times even little annoyances can interfere with our usual schedules, plans, and even emotions, so it is most important now that Mercury has entered the retrograde arc, prepare yourself by doing any mental or physical exercise that helps you stay calm and focused. Do not get rattled by little things since you can easily turn something minor into something major. If you suspect your devices are acting funny, or slowing up, do not wait until they break down, but give them a check-up. If a project gets delayed, then just call up your patience since getting flustered and impatient are not going to change the situation, but your attitude well. And if communication with someone close to you turns into a disagreement, just pull away and change the subject. Nothing gets resolved during Mercury retrograde, and if you have any planets, points or angles in between the retrograde arc, you are affected between February 11-April 9 even when Mercury is direct before and after the actual retrograde.
Once Mercury retrograde does begin, what I wrote above will become more intense in the world and also in your personal life. For now remember that if you keep on top of things, and tackle them before they occur, Mercury retrograde will not be that awful. While its influence does start during the retrograde arc (shadow) remember that the actual retrograde begins on February 26 and goes direct on March 20. This period of the retrograde arc is a foreshadowing of what will come. Mercury retrograde always brings the same general uneasiness, even though much of it is unwarranted. Sure, there will be the mild annoyances and disruptions, which may include communication snafus, scheduling conflicts, misunderstandings, and transportation slowdowns, and if you are prepared and figure these things are possible, they will not throw you off your center when they occur.
Remember that as we move closer to February 26, we are already in the intense eclipse season with the Solar Eclipse occurring on February 17, and the Lunar Eclipse occurring on March 3, 2026. Even more than usual, just think before you speak, do not overreact to what others say and do, and refrain from juggling your usual array of activities. Mercury multitasks well when it moves forward at a steady pace, but not when it appears to slow up, which is what retrogrades are all about. Retrogrades are a great time to look inward and revise and fix something you have previously worked on since once it goes direct you will be able to move forward with something new that you have incorporated in a project, relationship, move, or with your own appearance, attitudes, and goals. Be quiet, meditate, and look inside. Be more alert than usual, develop more patience, & generally take things slower. Look inward & you will be able to problem solve. Retrogrades are always a time for reflection and revision. Read the zodiac that you use.
Read if you use sidereal Indian astrology. If you have a planet, point, or angle in your chart between Sidereal. 14° Aquarius 21’-28° Aquarius 26’ where Mercury retrogrades, and which is the span of the retrograde arc, this is what may be slowed down, reviewed, revised, and ultimately reexamined, clarified and strengthened during this retrograde arc period of February 11-April 9, 2026, but will be especially significant during the actual retrograde period between February 26-March 20, 2026.
If you have a planet, point, or angle on the actual degree of the retrograde or direct station, Mercury will cross that degree twice. If you have a planet, point, or angle between those degrees, Mercury will cross the span of those degrees three times. While Mercury transits may not linger like transits of Saturn through Pluto, it can still be annoying especially if plans do not work out, or the vacation you wish to take gets changed or delayed. General descriptions of the planets and angles are as follows but also look at the houses they rule, House meanings are below the planetary meanings. and below are the house meanings:
Sun. power, vigor; Moon. maternal, mind; Mars. strength, courage; Mercury. speech, learning; Jupiter. knowledge, wealth; Venus. love, happiness; Saturn. sorrow, fear, Rahu. intensity, compulsion; Ketu. extremes, spirituality; Lagna. destiny, vitality. If you want to use Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and other angles, you can look below at tropical Western astrology for their keywords.
The bhava (house) that sidereal Aquarius occupies is the area that may be slowed down, reviewed, revised, and ultimately reexamined, clarified, and strengthened. Mercury is in sidereal Aquarius from February 3-April 10, 2026. If you do not know which house sidereal Aquarius occupies, just count from your lagna (rising sign or ascendant), or Moon, and if you do not know your lagna or Moon, then calculate from your Sun. General descriptions for houses where Mercury will transit are as follows:
1. appearance, destiny, temperament, personality, constitution; 2. Money, family life, food, speech, early childhood; 3. Siblings, Fine arts, courage, desires; 4. Mother, happiness, real estate, vehicles; 5. Children, romance, investments, speculation; 6. Open enemies, work, competition, obstacles, illness; 7. Marriage, partners, contracts, passion; 8. Life and death cycle, research, accidents, other's money, inheritance; 9. Father, teacher (guru), religion, higher learning, opportunity; 10. Career, status, public recognition, reputation; 11. Profits, rewards, gains from work, awards, older siblings; 12. spiritual practice, secret enemies, foreign travel, debt, confinement.
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Read if you use tropical Western astrology. If you have a planet, point, or angle in your chart between Tropical. 8° Pisces 29’-22° Pisces 33’ where Mercury retrogrades, and which is the span of the retrograde arc, this is what may be slowed down, reviewed, revised, and ultimately reexamined, clarified and strengthened during this retrograde arc period of February 11-April 9, 2026, but will be especially significant during the actual retrograde period between February 26-March 20, 2026.
If you have a planet, point, or angle on the actual degree of the retrograde or direct station, Mercury will cross that degree twice. If you have a planet, point, or angle between those degrees, Mercury will cross the span of those degrees three times. While Mercury transits may not linger like transits of Saturn through Pluto, it can still be annoying especially if plans do not work out, or the vacation you wish to take gets changed or delayed. General descriptions of the planets and angles are as follows:
Sun. vitality, individuality, ego; Moon. emotions, habits, conditioning; Mercury. communication, intelligence; Venus. love, beauty, creativity; Mars. physical energy, aggression, courage; Jupiter. expansion, abundance; Saturn. limitation, disciplined, fear; Uranus. originality, independent, rebellious; Neptune. spiritual, immaterial, imagination; Pluto. intensity, power; North Node. power, place where you must strive; South Node. place where it is easy, habits; Ascendant. personality, destiny; IC. home, family, mother; Descendant. partnerships, contracts; Midheaven. career, father
The house that tropical Pisces occupies is the area that may be slowed down, reviewed, revised, and ultimately reexamined, clarified, and strengthened. Mercury is in tropical Pisces between February 6-April 14, 2026. If you do not know which house tropical Pisces occupies, just count from your Sun sign or your rising sign (ascendant). General descriptions for houses where Mercury will transit are as follows:
1. personality, body, appearance; 2. finances, possessions, values. 3. communication, siblings, short journeys, learning; 4. family, mother, home; 5. children, recreation, entertainment; 6. health, service, pets; 7. marriage, contracts, partnership; 8. business transactions, sexuality, life and death matters; 9. higher education, travel abroad, publishing, law; 10. profession, status, father; 11. gains, friendships, hopes, dreams; 12. compassion, spirituality, limitations, solitude.
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