Mercury Retrograde Is Over, But the Astrological Mess Isn’t

If the past three weeks have felt particularly brutal, Mercury retrograde is probably (hopefully?) to blame. The planet of communication went backward on November 9, turning the tables on everything and anything that impacts our daily life: conversations, technology, travel, commerce. You get the idea. But as of November 29, Mercury retrograde will be over and all will return to normal … or will it? Enter retroshade! Read on to find out everything you need to know about Mercury retrograde ending and Mercury retroshade commencing.

Wait, is Mercury still retrograde?

If you’re reading this on or after November 29, 2025, congratulations! Mercury is no longer retrograde, which means you can no longer blame all your problems on this planet. (Boo!) But maybe you can — because the retrograde calamities actually don’t evaporate overnight.

What’s the deal with Mercury retrograde again?

Mercury retrograde is the astrological equivalent of slipping on a banana peel: It’s inconvenient, it’s humbling, and it somehow always comes out of nowhere. Because Mercury rules communication, information exchange, travel, scheduling, paperwork, and anything that relies on clarity or precision, its retrograde cycles tend to scramble all of our day-to-day obligations. Emails get weird. People misunderstand you. Your travel plans fall apart over a printing error. Very retrograde coded.

This most recent retrograde started in fast-talking, big-picture Sagittarius, a sign that loves bold statements and sweeping declarations, which means everyone started saying a bit too much. Then Mercury reversed back into emotionally intense, ultraprivate Scorpio, and suddenly no one said enough. Over the past few weeks, Mercury retrograde has invited forced us to walk back our words, renegotiate boundaries, reread fine print, and actually deal with the deeper issues swirling beneath the surface.

And who’s been feeling this Mercury retrograde the most?

Sagittarius and Scorpio have absolutely carried the brunt of this retrograde. Because Mercury began its backspin in Sagittarius, this fire sign has been dealing with crossed wires, delayed plans, and the uncomfortable realization that oversharing isn’t always the best fix. Then, once Mercury shuffled back into Scorpio, the chaos took a darker, deeper turn. Accordingly, Scorpio placements have been navigating emotional revisitations, resurfaced secrets, and the constant reconciliation of anxiety versus intuition. And it hasn’t been fun!

But that’s not all. Gemini and Virgo (signs ruled by Mercury) have also felt every second of this retrograde. Gemini placements, in particular, have had their relationships tested, while Virgos have been wrestling with the frustration of everyone else’s mistakes. It’s been annoying to say the absolute least.

But even if you’re not one of these four signs, no one fully escapes Mercury retrograde. Thankfully, the retrograde itself is over — and during the next few weeks, as Mercury shifts into its retroshade phase, everything starts to settle, repair, and make sense.

Wait, what’s retroshade?

Retroshade refers to a planet’s “retrograde shadow period,” which occurs both before and after the retrograde itself — about three weeks leading in and three weeks coming out. It’s when the planet slows down as it prepares to enter retrograde and then speeds up as it leaves its backward motion behind.

During this time, Mercury revisits the exact portion of the sky three times: before retrograde, during retrograde, and after retrograde. Think of it like walking forward in the mud, then stepping backward into your own footprints, and finally walking forward through them one last time — basically, retroshade is a planet retracing its steps.

These are the dates for this cycle:

So what does Mercury retroshade mean for me?

Well, any chaos that Mercury retrograde may have caused doesn’t just — poof! — disappear once the planet goes direct. Retroshade is the cleanup crew. Whatever broke, tangled, unraveled, or emotionally detonated during Mercury retrograde is now up for review, repair, and reintegration. This period gives you time to fix the things that went wrong, address unresolved conversations, and smooth out the awkward misunderstandings that retrograde made unavoidable. If you have been dealing with family drama, work miscommunications, or messy scheduling issues during the pre-shadow period, these are the exact types of situations that Mercury loves to revisit during retrograde — and, ultimately, resolve them during the post-shadow phase. Astrology isn’t punishing you; it’s actually giving you a second (and third) pass to get it right.

In short: You’re still in the mess, but things will slowly get cleaner each day. A holiday miracle!