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Home › Retrograde calendar › Mercury shadow
CALCULATED SKY REFERENCE · UTC

Western astrology · Charts & conventions

Mercury retrograde and shadow dates in 2026

A decorative celestial ring, lunar disc and closed study book.

Three calculated cycles, each with two degree crossings and two motion stations. All clocks are UTC.

What the four dates mean

Mercury first crosses the eventual direct-station degree while moving forward. It later reverses, returns to direct motion, and finally crosses its earlier retrograde-station degree. The two outside dates are conventionally called pre- and post-shadow; the retrograde interval is only between the stations.

Download 2026 dates as CSV ↓
PERIOD 1 · 20262026-02-26 – 2026-03-20
Retrograde station 22°34′ PiscesDirect station 8°29′ Pisces
  1. 01 · DEGREE RETURNPre-shadow begins
  2. 02 · MOTION REVERSALStations retrograde
  3. 03 · MOTION RESUMESStations direct
  4. 04 · DEGREE RETURNPost-shadow ends
PERIOD 2 · 20262026-06-29 – 2026-07-23
Retrograde station 26°15′ CancerDirect station 16°19′ Cancer
  1. 01 · DEGREE RETURNPre-shadow begins
  2. 02 · MOTION REVERSALStations retrograde
  3. 03 · MOTION RESUMESStations direct
  4. 04 · DEGREE RETURNPost-shadow ends
PERIOD 3 · 20262026-10-24 – 2026-11-13
Retrograde station 20°59′ ScorpioDirect station 5°02′ Scorpio
  1. 01 · DEGREE RETURNPre-shadow begins
  2. 02 · MOTION REVERSALStations retrograde
  3. 03 · MOTION RESUMESStations direct
  4. 04 · DEGREE RETURNPost-shadow ends

Reading this calendar

The listed dates describe motion in the sky, not events in a life. A nearby personal transit needs a birth chart and its own orb. The shadow label does not imply Mercury is retrograde throughout the full four-date span. Compare the 2026 station calendar or read the method before using another time zone.

Sources and boundaries

Station instants come from the site's independently calculated sky calendar; shadow dates are new longitude searches using the same Astronomy Engine 2.1.19 positions. NASA explains apparent retrograde motion. “Shadow” is an astrologers' degree-based label, not a separate physical event. All results use apparent geocentric tropical ecliptic longitude and UTC. Station inputs are rounded to the minute, and degree crossings to the second; another ephemeris may differ slightly.