Mercury is currently in Capricorn located at 20 Cap 18' 25"

Planetary Aspects

(out 5 Days)

Mercury is currently Sextile Venus

   Ends on Thursday, 23 January, 2025

Mercury is currently in Opposition Mars

   Ends on Saturday, 25 January, 2025

Mercury is Trine Uranus

   Starts on Wednesday, 22 January, 2025
   Peaks on Thursday, 23 January, 2025, orb 2° 59' 59"
   Ends on Saturday, 25 January, 2025

Mercury is Sextile Neptune

   Starts on Saturday, 25 January, 2025
   Peaks on Sunday, 26 January, 2025, orb 0° 21' 24"

Mercury is in Conjunction Pluto

   Starts on Sunday, 26 January, 2025

Upcoming Retrogrades

PlanetStationary (retrograde)Stationary (direct)In Sign
mercury2025-03-15 06:47:00 UTC2025-04-07 11:08:00 UTCAries
mercury2025-07-18 04:45:00 UTC2025-08-11 07:30:00 UTCLeo
mercury2025-11-09 19:02:00 UTC2025-11-29 17:39:00 UTCSagittarius
mercury2026-02-26 06:49:00 UTC2026-03-20 19:33:00 UTCPisces
mercury2026-06-29 17:36:00 UTC2026-07-23 22:58:00 UTCCancer
mercury2026-10-24 07:13:00 UTC2026-11-13 15:54:00 UTCScorpio

Even people who aren’t even remotely familiar with astrology have heard of this one.  Mercury is also Hermes, considered the emissary of the Gods but also, something of a trickster. Ruling Virgo and Gemini, this planetary influence usually denotes something of an adaptable nature but also, a very curious, very chatty sort of feel.

Mercury is also a quick little booger. Because this is one of the inner planets, it moves around the sun much more quickly than other planets - which is, incidentally, why you’ll hear about Mercury's retrograde cycles much more frequently. They happen more frequently! (But wait, there’s more!) The best way to think about what Mercury does in astrology is that it rules your mind and your mouth but also, the way you move: communication, technology, travel, speech and thinking - and everything that ties in there.

The Retrograde

Mercury retrograde is a well known, regular cycle that happens three to four times every year and it lasts around 24 days. You’d think the frequency would kind of hint that maybe the things that occur during it can be prevented with a little foresight - and yet, though most people associate technological breakdowns and communications issues with this cycle, the truth is this is also one of those times an ex might pop up either in your thoughts or in reality. You know that’s a bad idea even without astrological influence, but there you have it. Instead of reaching out, just write this one off to Mercury Retrograde and you’ll be good to go!

This particular retrograde cycle has been known about for a long time. Between the mid-18th and early 19th centuries, the only people who really cared a whole lot about Mercury in Retrograde were farmers. This is because it was usually associated more frequently with heavy rains and bad things happening in that respect, but not very much. If you really want somebody to blame for the rise in this particular scapegoat: blame Baltimore. I blame Baltimore for a lot of things but it was really their horoscopes where you begin to see the big thrust of this as the reason everyone’s life goes to shit or they’re more or less having a time of it. It was April of 1979 when the Baltimore Sun let everyone know, “Hey, this is why this crap keeps happening!” and it just took off from there. As mentioned elsewhere on this site, of course, if you look at the developing technologies and their use gaining popularity - it would make sense that, well, here you have a ready made gremlin that impacts all those things. There are also quite a few people who blame Taylor Swift for this bigger recent uptick in it in terms of pop culture because well, Tay Tay did an interview where she talked about it. With that, hundreds of thousands of teen girls suddenly had a great intangible boogieman beyond their control to blame their bullshit on three or four times a year. It might kind-of explain those breakup songs, if you ask me, but, well, there you go.

Regardless, it’s become so popular, I am not sure I really need to tell you - but if you wanted to really milk it for all its worth, basically don’t do anything that requires communicating, sealing the deal, travel or otherwise during this cycle. I’m sure that’s going to be acceptable when you call into work. Or, you could take the more rational approach and recognize that if you do notice a lot of things really wonking up, maybe those things could stand being corrected inasmuch as you can from your end of things. Is it happening that often because of the speed in which Mercury moves around the Sun or, is it more like problems that go unresolved tend to pop up again and again?

I don’t know. It’s all a mystery of the cosmos!

Planetary Positions

22.01.2025 at 00:38:13 UTC

chart wheel
PlanetLongitude
The Sun02 Aqu 13' 54"
The Moon04 Sco 05' 23"
Mercury20 Cap 18' 25"
Venus18 Pis 51' 42"
Mars23 Can 53' 13" R
Jupiter11 Gem 35' 02" R
Saturn16 Pis 22' 57"
Uranus23 Tau 17' 40" R
Neptune27 Pis 42' 11"
Pluto01 Aqu 43' 57"

Solar Status

BZ Status:-4
Proton Density:1.10
Proton Speed:503.0 k/sec
KP Status:2.67
TypeJan 22Jan 23Jan 24
Active20%15%35%
Minor5%5%30%
Moderate1%1%10%
Strong1%1%1%
Kp Index Prediction
00-03UT3.001.671.67
03-06UT2.671.331.33
06-09UT2.331.331.33
09-12UT2.001.331.33
12-15UT1.331.334.00
15-18UT1.001.332.67
18-21UT1.331.674.00
21-00UT2.001.674.33
Solar Activity
Solar activity reached moderate levels due to an isolated M3.3/Sf flare at 21/1039 UTC from Region 3967 (S17E12, Eai/beta-gamma). Associated with this event was a Type II (estimated speed of 565 km/s) and a CME mostly directed off the SE limb beginning at 21/1145 UTC in GOES/CCOR-1 imagery. Modelling indicated a potential glancing blow mid to late on 24 Jan.
Solar Wind
Solar wind speed continued to decline from approximately 660 km/s to near 500 km/s as CH HSS influence waned. Total field ranged from 3-6 nT while the Bz component was between +/-4 nT. Phi angle was predominantly negative until 21/1725 UTC, when it switched to a positive sector.
Energetic Particle
The greater than 2 MeV electron flux was at normal to moderate levels. The greater than 10 MeV proton flux was at background levels.