Even if you don’t know anything about astrology, you’ve heard of Mercury Retrograde. You’ve heard it as an all-encompassing excuse for confusion, plans gone awry, and things going wrong. Maybe you’ve heard you’re not supposed to sign contracts or get on an airplane or undergo surgery. It’s scary - the idea that life has to be put on pause and you have to essentially walk on eggshells for 3 weeks. We have so much to worry about; why add another thing to the list?
I’m here to give you your realistic, practical, non-scary guide to Mercury Retrograde. Astrology is about patterns and awareness. Having a deeper understanding of the sky you’re living under can help bring clarity to times that feel foggy. And spoiler alert… you don’t need to be afraid.
When a planet is “retrograde,” it appears to be moving backward from our perspective on Earth. The sun and moon never retrograde. Every planet spends some time retrograde- Mercury 3 times a year, Venus and Mars less often, and outer planets Jupiter-Pluto spend a lot of time throughout the year retrograde.
Planetary retrogrades are not a bug in the system. They’re a feature of being alive.
Retrogrades are a time of RE- reflection, review, rest, recover, retreat, reset. In our fast-paced, overstimulated, action-packed lives, these retrograde periods of slowing down are essential. They help us hop off the hamster wheel for a moment so we can actually assess why we’re doing what we’re doing and if it’s really what we need.
Mercury is the planet of the mind. It represents our communication ability, intellect, and thought processing. It manages systems like transportation and technology. Mercury rules how we express ourselves and listen. Mercury Retrograde is a time of rethinking. We look at things from a different perspective, and of course that can get confusing. But sometimes confusion leads to asking the questions that we didn’t realize we needed answers to.
Every year, the three Mercury Retrogrades occur in the same element. In 2026, the Mercury Retrogrades all occur in Water signs - Pisces back in February-March, Cancer in June-July, then Scorpio in October-November. Water signs rule our emotions and intuition. So these Mercury Retrogrades feel like they’re slowing us down so that we can become more emotionally aware and strengthen our mental health.
If you’re feeling lost, let’s break it down with a checklist. Here are helpful tips for this Mercury Retrograde through Cancer, happening 6/29-7/23:
The last time Mercury Retrogrades happened in the Water signs was 2019 & 2020. This was obviously a heightened time– what was going on in your life then? What were you focused on? Reflecting on that time can help bring clarity to the present moment.
Spend time alone at home. Summer plans can feel like a lot of pressure, and you don’t have to participate. Cancer loves to be a homebody, and this moment is built for solitude and introspection.
Enjoy moments of nostalgia. Look through old photos and journals (the stuff from your past that you haven’t seen in years). Watch your favorite movie from childhood and make your favorite childhood snack. Cancer loves to look back and remember.
Make decisions from your gut. This isn’t about overthinking. It’s about tapping into your intuition and letting it guide you. You don’t need to be impulsive, but when deciding what to do, tap into how each choice makes you feel rather than what you think you’re supposed to do.
Curious what this Mercury Retrograde is about for your chart specifically? Here are more hyper-focused themes + to-dos by rising sign:
Aries Rising: Home, Family, Inner World/Emotions
Make your home a safe haven. How can your space feel more cozy?
Check in with family members, especially grandparents if they’re still around!
Make the therapy appointment you’ve been putting off
Taurus Rising: Communication, Learning, Self-Expression
Reach out to a friend you’ve been meaning to text back
Start a 5-minute journal. Write for 5 minutes a day (I recommend doing this when you want to pull out your phone and scroll- set a timer and journal instead)
Re-read a favorite book or re-listen to a podcast that changed your perspective
Gemini Rising: Possessions, Money, Values
Look at your bank account and credit card bills. Are there subscriptions you can cancel?
Closet clean out! Purge things you no longer need and donate them to someone who will actually use them.
Make an altar in your room with things that hold meaning (tchotchkes, crystals, photos, books)
Cancer Rising: Identity, The Body, Style
Journal about who you’ve become since 2020. What’s changed? What still feels true? Where have you gone off course?
Make a Pinterest board for style inspo for summer
Make plans with someone you haven’t seen in years. This often acts as a mirror for you to see yourself in a new light
Leo Rising: Spirituality, Introspection, Surrender
Devote time to meditation or sound bath - also, pray
Keep a dream journal or voice note them in the morning
You’re being asked to let something go during this time. Take note of what you’re stuck on and decide it’s no longer yours
Virgo Rising: Community, Friendships, Big Ideas
Attend a local community event that you’d normally say no to
Start up the stale group chat with a funny old photo of you guys
Vision board
Libra Rising: Career, Purpose, Publicity
You might be rethinking your career. Be especially aware of the thoughts that come up during this time and write them down
Rethink your social media/marketing/managing-up strategy. Is how you’re showing up publicly authentic to you?
Look at your website, LinkedIn, social media, portfolio, or resume. Does it reflect who you are today or what you are striving toward? Don’t change anything about it just yet; it’s more so a time to review & notice.
Scorpio Rising: Self Improvement, Higher Learning, Travel/Culture
You might have a second shot at a course or workshop you previously said no to. If it comes your way, it’s likely meant to be explored.
Have you ever acted like a tourist in your own city? Try it.
Revisit a belief or opinion you’ve held for years. Is it still yours, or have you outgrown it? Be open to changing your mind.
Sagittarius Rising: Mental Health, Shared Resources, Transformation
Review your current investments. No need to make any timely changes, but just take a look at where money is going and coming from.
If you’re feeling disconnected from your business partner, set a meeting to reset on priorities and ways of working.
This is an emotionally heightened time, so seek help from a professional if you feel like you need it. Even if you haven’t been to therapy in years, don’t let that stop you from reaching out.
Capricorn Rising: Relationships, Partnerships, Collaboration
If you’re in a relationship, set aside time to connect in an intimate setting: date night, slow morning just you two, a long walk in the middle of the workday. If you’re not (and you want to be), set a vibe and make your list of what you really want in a romantic partner
You might experience miscommunications with the people in your life. Take extra care to talk things out instead of resorting to passive aggression or making assumptions
You may realize the people in your life can help you more than you think. Be open to collaborative opportunities and asking people for help (Hard for a Capricorn rising)
Aquarius Rising: Routines, Work, Service
You’re going to suddenly remember all the ‘stuff’ you wanted to do. Make a list of the mundane: doctor appointments, errands, etc to clear your headspace
Double-check all the comms you send at work- re-read emails, slacks, and reports before you send them in
Do one small thing to help someone else out without expecting anything in return
Pisces Rising: Creativity, Hobbies, Romance
Revisit a hobby you loved as a kid. If you need supplies, buy them! Invest in your creative self
Come up with a weird date night idea that sounds crazy but fun (either for a romantic relationship or friends!)
Do something that brings you genuine joy (not scrolling) that is not productive at all
Every week, we spotlight incredible spiritual practitioners, and we’re so excited to introduce you to expert archetypal tarot reader, Nour Tohmé!
Lora: Tell us a bit about you and your practice.
Nour: I am an archetypal tarot reader, visual artist, scholar, and lifelong student of mythology, archetypal wisdom, and the feminine mysteries.
My practice is rooted in the belief that the tarot is far more than a divination tool; it is a sophisticated psycho-spiritual tool of wisdom and inquiry. I work with the tarot as a symbolic system of self-transformation, and a portal to wonder, magic and possibility.
Drawing from Jungian psychology, myth, archetypal wisdom and depth psychology, I work with the cards as mirrors of the psyche. The tarot allows us to access the unconscious, connect with our intuition, and explore the archetypal patterns that shape our lives.
My readings are gentle, reflective spaces where people can gain clarity, make contact with their inner worlds, and deepen their understanding of themselves. Rather than predicting the future, I help people uncover the deeper story unfolding beneath the surface of their experiences, come into relationship with the many parts of themselves, so they can move forward with greater awareness, agency, and a deeper sense of integration and wholeness.
Lora: What moment or realization made tarot “click” for you in a real, lived way?
Nour: The moment the tarot truly clicked for me was when I first read the book “The Jungian Tarot and its Archetypal Imagery” and discovered the profound mythic depth and intricate symbolism contained within each card. As a visual artist and art history researcher, I was mesmerized by the beauty of the cards and fascinated by the elaborate stories they told. For years, I fell into a rabbit hole of study, delving deep into the mysteries of the tarot, mythology, archetypal wisdom, and feminine mysticism.
I was also fascinated to learn about the connections between the tarot and older symbolic traditions from the Middle East. As someone from Lebanon with a deep curiosity about the oracular and mystical practices of my lineage, discovering these connections made the tarot feel even more meaningful and alive for me. It felt less like learning a new practice and more like remembering another thread in a much older tapestry of wisdom and inquiry.
Lora: What’s a recurring life theme you see in your readings right now (love, career pivots, endings, rebirth, boundaries), and how do you help people work with it instead of resisting it?
Nour: The theme I see most often right now is grief, and the attempt to make meaning in a world that increasingly doesn’t make sense. Many people come to readings carrying some form of grief. Sometimes it’s the loss of a relationship, a job, a dream, or a version of themselves they once identified with. Other times, it is more collective and difficult to name: grief for the state of the world, for uncertainty about the future, for the pace of modern life, or for a feeling of disconnection from community and nature.
Beneath many of the questions people bring, whether about love, career, purpose, or identity, there is often a deeper longing to understand how to live in relationship with uncertainty and change. Rather than helping people bypass grief or rush towards answers, I encourage them to become curious about what their grief is asking of them. Grief is not simply something to overcome; it is often an expression of love. It can be a threshold that invites us into a more authentic relationship with ourselves and the world around us, and ultimately, into a deeper sense of belonging.
The tarot is particularly powerful in this regard because it offers symbolic containers for experiences that can be difficult to articulate. Through archetypes, images, and stories, the cards remind us that loss, transformation, uncertainty, and rebirth are all part of the human journey. They help us locate our personal experiences within a larger mythic and psychological landscape.
Ultimately, my role is not to provide certainty, but to help people find their own meaning. When we can make meaning of our experiences, even the most difficult ones, we are often able to meet life with greater resilience, compassion, and trust.
Lora: When someone is trying to understand their love life more deeply, where do you guide them to look first? What parts of the chart, energy, or inner patterns tend to reveal the most?
Nour: I often guide people away from focusing exclusively on the other person and back toward their relationship with themselves. Often, readings about love reveal deeper threads within our own psyche that are asking to be acknowledged and integrated, so that we may experience greater intimacy, authenticity, and connection in our relationships.
The most revealing questions are often: What am I longing for? What patterns keep repeating? What am I unconsciously seeking through love? Am I abandoning parts of myself in my relationships? Am I living in alignment with my own heart and spirit? Am I being true to my heart? How might I love deeper, more honestly, more completely?
In the tarot, certain archetypes emerge again and again in matters of love. Each reveals something about intimacy, attachment, desire, boundaries, self-worth, or authenticity. Love becomes much clearer when we understand the inner dynamics shaping our relationships.
Lora hosts free wellness, spirituality, and “woo woo” events IRL and virtually every month. Here’s a roundup of some upcoming events- we hope to see you there!
Sunday, July 12th: We’re hosting a virtual New Moon Reiki & Sound Bath session with one of our incredible practitioners, Lauren Mooney. This will be a multi-sensory experience focused on letting go of any energy that isn’t yours & stepping fully into the present potent moment. Channeling the Ace of Cups tarot card energy, we will embrace the tender crab meat of Cancer season & feeling all the feels. RSVP here- spots are filling up fast!
We just started inviting some initial members of our community to Lora’s beta program- and we’re looking for more early users!!
You might have seen us posting more about this on here, but we’re officially entering the beta launch phase of Lora. If you signed up to be a beta tester on Lora, you will receive an email from us this week and next to get onboarded. If you want to be one of the first people to experience a more insightful and context-rich way to understand Astrology, come test it out!
As a beta tester, you’ll get early access to new features, share feedback directly with our team, and use Lora every day to learn more about yourself, your chart, your relationships, and what’s unfolding in your life. Check out a little sneak peek below from the app!
If you’re interested in being one of the first users of Lora, fill out this form here, and we will be in touch ASAP!
And if you’re new to our little Lora universe, a few months ago, we started offering free birth chart readings daily in our Discord, The Constellation Lab. We do readings across astrology, oracle, tarot, astrocartography, and psychic mediumship as well!
Come hang out in our Discord and get your first free birth chart reading!
Get a Free Birth Chart Reading 🪐
See you next week, and until then, stay spiritual 🪐
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