Now that Mercury is retrograde from February 26 to March 21, 2026, it is valuable to pause and reflect on how this influence works. Mercury represents movement, communication, and exchange. From a cosmic perspective, during this retrograde period we are invited to turn inward and observe with greater attention the movements taking place in our daily lives.
For some time now my attention has been focused on change, an essential aspect of Mercury. Change is the continuous movement unfolding in everyday life: in shifting rules, changing governments, and even in familiar websites that suddenly take on a new form. All these seemingly small and large shifts are part of the same underlying current of change.
The outer planet Uranus is also related to movement, but more on a superconscious level, and therefore often manifests in a more erratic way. The sign of Aquarius has Uranus as its ruler. Because Mercury and Uranus belong to the same energy according to the Huber method, the retrograde motion of Mercury in this new era carries additional significance.
What is paradoxical is that deep within our human nature we are often afraid of change, while in this modern time change is occurring constantly. This inner tension is necessary in order to generate consciousness. That is why it is important during a retrograde Mercury period to direct our attention precisely to this theme.
This retrograde movement can be distinguished in two different phases.
The first phase is characterized by observing what asks to be reconsidered; this current period lasts until March 7, when Mercury forms a conjunction with the Sun. The second phase continues until March 21. During this time, insights arise from the previous phase and situations ask for restoration or correction. Both phases are interconnected and contribute to a deepening of personal consciousness within one’s biography.
Let me give a current and striking example.
The death of Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, born on April 19, 1939, can be viewed in the light of retrograde Mercury. Mercury stood exactly still at 23° Pisces before turning retrograde. In Khamenei’s day chart, there is a conjunction of Venus and Jupiter at that same degree of Pisces (his exact birth time is not known).
Symbolically speaking, at the moment the retrograde began there was an invitation to look at the world with greater gentleness and love, something that has been strongly suppressed within his dictatorship. The conjunction of Venus and Jupiter may also indicate a strongly magnified ego-consciousness.
That he died violently can be seen astrologically because the retrograde Mercury (blue) forms an opposition with his Neptune (red) and also a wide conjunction with the Saturn–Neptune conjunction. The Saturn–Neptune conjunction asks, at the beginning of the retrograde cycle, for reflection on human compassion. When this consciousness cannot be integrated, a hard karmic correction may follow. The conjunction between Saturn and—possibly—the Moon (as a vehicle between two lives), in connection with his Chiron, forms an additional symbolic indication in this regard.
What is striking in this example is that he does not experience the second phase of retrograde Mercury in the person he was. This points to a path of consciousness that could no longer be continued smoothly.
This current example shows how a retrograde Mercury can operate. Especially observe for yourself what runs less smoothly in the period up to March 7 [2026]. Explore what it may be telling you and how it might help expand your path of consciousness. The house in which this retrograde occurs in your horoscope can provide a great deal of information about this.
Reflection for the reader
This example shows how retrograde Mercury can function as a correction of consciousness, both individually and collectively.
Look at your own horoscope:
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In which house is 23° Pisces located?
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Which natal points are being activated?
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Which beliefs are asking for revision?
Observe especially until March 7 what stalls, slows down, or returns. Not as a disturbance, but as a signal. In the second phase lies the possibility to refine your mental structure and to continue your biographical path more consciously. All of this is further strengthened by the lunar eclipse of March 3 [2026].
Retrograde Mercury is not a period of misfortune, but a time for restructuring our thinking. And in a Uranian age, that is not a luxury — but a necessity.