Mercury moves into Virgo on July 28th
Mercury moves into Virgo on July 28th at 2:31 pm PT where it will remain until the evening of October 4th, when it moves into Libra.
In Virgo, Mercury is analytical, detail-oriented, and determined to make things clearer, better, or more effective. This transit may be helpful for practical problem-solving and planning, critical thinking, and efficient and accurate communication. While Virgo is Mercury’s favorite sign to be in, and it is well-resourced and capable there, this Mercury transit will bring along a retrograde that will shake up some of that productive and focused energy. When Mercury stations retrograde in Virgo, we have the opportunity to review, reconsider, and redo things that we have begun in the Virgo parts of our charts. This is an invitation to bring things into greater alignment, but it can feel disruptive and a little annoying, especially when Mercury is in a sign that it could otherwise make great progress when we instead have to use that prowess to go over old details, processes, and communications. This Mercury retrograde will color every planet that transits into Virgo during this time, because they are all answering to Mercury, as confused, turned around, or deep in review it is. While retrogrades are a notoriously bad time to get something started, commit to anything, or make plans that you wish to set in stone, this is a great time to go over old projects, rethink things that felt set in stone, and take advantage of the grounded, intentional, versatility that Mercury offers us in Virgo.
Mercury is quickly greeted by an opposition to Saturn in Pisces which may bring reality swiftly into focus, as boundaries, limitations, and responsibility come up against our communications, the flow of details and the ways were thinking. We may feel more blocked or challenged in these areas, while this transit peaks at the start of August. But once Mercury clears Saturn’s orb of influence, it moves into an invigorating and enthusiastic trine to Jupiter in Taurus. When Mercury and Jupiter work together the details and the big picture are aligned and help to co-create one another. We may find that we have the right words, feeling a greater sense of grounding in our purpose and our ambitions, and we may even be in the right place at the right time (if we’ve been putting in the work). This trine is the first transit in the Mercury retrograde shadow, so things that come up now will likely be revisited as Mercury stations retrograde at the end of the month and then again toward the end of September when it goes over this territory again, moving direct this time.
On August 23rd, Mercury stations retrograde and we move into a more internal phase of reassessment and reconsideration, as we parse through the details and look back at what we’ve done to get where we are. While Mercury is not precisely trine to Uranus yet, the engagement with Uranus gives this station some innovative, electric, and dynamic energy. Turn your attention toward the details, the processes, and the systems that keep you going. This will have a particularly strong impact on the part of your chart ruled by Virgo, as well as the part of your chart ruled by Gemini. This is a great time to get your ducks in a row because once Mercury stations direct, we will have the resources and the energy to enact any plans or changes that we line up during the retrograde.
While retrograde, Mercury will only make two significant aspects, a second of three, trines to Jupiter and a conjunction to the sun. The trine will encourage us to fit the details into the larger picture that we are wanting to build, work toward, and share with others. Because Mercury will be retrograde for this trine with Jupiter it might be a good time to reflect on things that have worked for you in the past, especially if this trine meets you in a moment when it feels like things aren’t going perfectly or smoothly at all.
Mercury retrograde will then conjoin the sun in Virgo on September 6th, this is the best day to work with Mercury or mercurial themes. Mercury’s cazimi will likely be a moment of insight, inspiration, or clarity, especially regarding anything that has emerged or you related to Mercury’s retrograde. If you need to have any important conversations, sign anything, or start a project during this time, this will be the best day to do it.
Mercury stations direct on September 15th and begins to go back over the territory that it covered in the last few weeks, but this time, with the perspective and the ability to move things forward, plan for the future, and put things into action. As it picks up speed moving forward, Mercury trines Jupiter for the last time in Virgo and closes to the story this transit has been playing out. This is our chance to move forward with a clear sense of how our small everyday activities and communications, build into our goals and larger visions for our lives.
Once Mercury clears its retrograde shadow, it will close out September with a trine to Uranus, and in some ways, Mercury has been building to this trine since it stationed retrograde only a degree away from the trine back in the late days of August. Now that Mercury gets to complete this trine to Uranus we may find that something exciting or surprising or innovative that we have been building for the last few weeks starts to materialize and comes to fruition around this time. We may get a clearer sense of why we're doing what we're doing, and how it might change the entrenched systems and processes that may not be working for us any longer.
In the first few days of October, while Mercury wraps up its time in Virgo, it will oppose Neptune, which may remind us of the confusion, lack of clarity, and fogginess of Mercury retrograde, as Neptune obscures the details and distracts us from the systems in favor of free-form inspiration, and time to contemplate art and spirituality. The next day it will move into a trine with Pluto in Capricorn, which may help us to dive into the depth that Neptune opens up for us. A somewhat intense push from Pluto can embolden Mercury to investigate the unknown, magnify something previously unnoticed, and get to the bottom of something that may have previously eluded us, just as Mercury finds its way into Libra the following day.
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July 28: Mercury enters Virgo (0°)
August 1: Mercury in Virgo opposes Saturn in Pisces (5°)
August 9: Mercury in Virgo trines Jupiter in Taurus (14°)
August 23: Mercury stations Retrograde in Virgo (21°)
September 4: Mercury in Virgo trines Jupiter in Taurus (14°)
September 6: The sun in Virgo conjoins Mercury in Virgo (13°)
September 15: Mercury stations Direct in Virgo (8°)
September 25: Mercury in Virgo trines Jupiter in Taurus (14°)
September 30: Mercury in Virgo trines Uranus in Taurus (22°)
October 2: Mercury in Virgo opposes Neptune in Pisces (25°)
October 3: Mercury in Virgo trines Pluto in Capricorn (27°)
October 4: Mercury enters Libra (0°)
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July 28: Mercury enters Virgo (0°)
August 3: Mercury retrograde shadow begins (8°)
August 23: Mercury stations retrograde in Virgo (21°)
September 4: Mercury in Virgo trines Jupiter in Taurus (14°)
September 6: The sun in Virgo conjoins Mercury in Virgo (13°)
September 15: Mercury stations Direct in Virgo (8°)
September 25: Mercury in Virgo trines Jupiter in Taurus (14°)
September 29: Mercury retrograde shadow ends (21°)
October 4: Mercury enters Libra (0°)
