Mercury Retrograde in Pisces 2*26*26 - 3*20*26
Early on Thursday morning Mercury will turn retrograde at 22 degrees of Pisces. It will stay retrograde through March 20, when it resumes direct motion at 8 degrees of Pisces. All the Mercury retrogrades of 2026 occur in water signs. Last year, the Mercury retrogrades started in fire signs and ended in water signs. This is the pattern with Mercury retrogrades. In any given year, they occur in all the signs of one element, giving us the chance to explore our perceptions as they come through that element through the different lenses of the signs of that element. Then it moves to a 'bridge year' where it starts in signs of the element it just traveled through and ends in the adjacent sign. The purpose is to integrate the insights from the previous year's retrogrades into the next element's signs. This gives us a taste of how the upcoming element will "do" Mercury energy. The following year, Mercury explores that element fully, completing its full retrogrades in the signs of that element.
Mercury is a planet of the mind. It deals with logic, data, knowable facts. It is how we receive information, what we do with it, and how we communicate our ideas. Each sign "does" Mercury differently, but the essence of the energy is understanding and communication.
It's important to note that Mercury retrogrades are meant to offer a pause. They are an opportunity to take a few weeks to review how you approach, narrate, and interpret the themes of the sign it is retrograding through. The overarching theme this year is how we react to and express what we are feeling. During the Mercury retrogrades, which last about 3 weeks, we will have the chance to revisit situations, events, and relationships through the lens of how we handled and expressed ourselves.
Water signs (Pisces, Cancer, Scorpio) experience life through the emotions. They share characteristics of intuition and sensitivity to currents flowing under the surface, but their approach to emotions differs. Cancer, the cardinal water sign, personalizes emotions. Scorpio, the fixed water sign, plumbs the depths of feelings, investigating them from all angles in an effort to understand each nuance. Pisces, the mutable water sign, is dialed into the emotions of the collective. That's what is on tap during this retrograde. We will be reviewing how we expressed what we were feeling.
The journey thought the zodiac starts with Aries, that initiatory spark of individual will, separate and distinct. That spark grows to know itself as it moves through each sign in turn, exploring its values and sense of worth (Taurus), how it communicates and gathers information (Gemini), how it creates a safe and secure space for itself (Cancer). Leo takes those individual qualities and shares them with others, uses them to create and inspire others. Virgo refines the creation, improves it and often scales it so it can be offered in a systemic way to the larger community. As the spark moves into Libra, it has developed a deeper understanding of itself and now it is ready to connect with others in close relationships. Scorpio is where it shares itself intimately. allowing itself to be fully "seen". From this relationship experience, Sagittarius brings in beliefs and deeper understandings of the self and how the world at large can be a path to both deeper understanding of self and appreciation of others. In Capricorn, we are ready to be seen on a public stage, to establish structures for our lives and clarify what we are here to contribute to society. In Aquarius, we join with others who are aligned to our priorities and contribute our time and talent to a shared vision for the future. Pisces, as the last sign of the zodiac, inherits all the experiences of the journey that started with Aries. It synthesizes them, integrates them, and adds its gentle awareness of something more beyond the tangible world. Pisces can feel the connection between all things. The journey through each sign was a way to explore the qualities of the thread of an individual life, and how it interwove with other threads around it. Pisces perceives the whole tapestry.
This larger awareness can be overwhelming. Pisces, like all water signs, needs firm boundaries so it does not absorb and dissolve into tumultuous emotions that are swirling around in the collective. How are your boundaries? Can you set limits for yourself on consumption of social media, breaking news reports and other assaults on your nervous system? Who has access to you and to what extent? Do you honor your need for rest and repletion? Can you rest, really rest, without feeling guilty or needing to justify it? Do you have practices you actually use that replete you? Under a Pisces Mercury retrograde, we are offered insights into what soothes our souls.
We are also offered opportunities access information from different sources. Water signs are intuitive. Mercury tends to work in the information field of logic and data. Both sources are important and can support each other if allowed. Do you trust your inner knowing? Are you willing to receive information from within, as well as consuming it from external sources? Do you outsource your interpretation of information? If you sense something "off" do you trust yourself to explore it or do you override your discomfort? Do you assume "they" know more than you do?
Pisces' intuition often communicates in symbols. During Mercury retrograde in Pisces, dreams, including day dreams, can become potent sources of information.
One shadow aspect of Pisces is the victim, the disempowered one, waiting to be rescued. How is your victim narrative? Do you default into "poor me" with certain people or situations? Why? Do you notice feeling helpless when things don't proceed as expected? Does this become your story? What benefits do you receive from this victim archetype? Be honest. What would change if you acknowledged it and chose differently? Pisces energy romanticizes situations. Many fairy tales follow that paradigm of disempowered one rescued by the empowered hero. Under this retrograde, it's time to address that pattern and integrate your victim with your rescuer so you no longer need to play in that drama.
A second shadow is the martyr, the one who feels others' emotions so strongly that they take on the suffering of others in the misguided belief that doing so will somehow alleviate this suffering. There is a difference between compassion and empathy, and enmeshment and codependence. Again, under this Mercury retrograde cycle, notice your stories. Be willing to challenge them if they leave you feeling "less than", exhausted, or overwhelmed. You can never suffer enough to alleviate another's suffering.
During this retrograde cycle there will be a Lunar Eclipse in Pisces' opposite sign of Virgo on March 3. Things will come to light under that eclipse so notice what comes up for you about perfectionism and its cousins, anxiety and self-criticism. More about that in a separate post next week.
Mercury will turn direct on March 20 at 8 degrees of Pisces. It will leave its shadow on April 9, so any lingering issues that began during this cycle might take until then to resolve. It's interesting that the day after, April 10, Mars will move into Aries, crossing the 0 degree that Saturn and Neptune met at in their historical conjunction last Friday. That conjunction planted a seed. When Mars activates that point, it's likely we will see signs of that seed sprouting.
Looking ahead, April has a lot of big energies. There will be more new cycles beginning, calling us forward into very different ways of moving through the world and expressing ourselves. This retrograde is an opportunity to release old patterns around how you receive and make sense of information, how you communicate your ideas, and connect with others through sharing ideas and information. Take the time to slow down, to rest, to release any old patterns that you have outgrown and that no longer represent the version of you that you are choosing to be with each decision you make and each action you take.
Take all the normal Mercury retrograde precautions of building in extra time, confirming appointments and double checking communications. Misunderstandings are more likely if you are rushing and distracted. (Mercury in Pisces can be quite distractable even when not retrograde.) Allow yourself specific times to daydream and be creative. Regular quiet time can be very therapeutic in Pisces season. Protect your boundaries and your nervous system. If you become overwhelmed, being in or near water can help, as can music. Be gentle with yourself. Kindness is a superpower. Start with yourself.
"Remind yourself that your task is to be a good human being; remind yourself what nature demands of people. Then do it, without hesitation, and speak the truth as you see it. But with kindness." ~ Marcus Aurelius
