A lot of us breathe a sigh of relief when Mercury retrograde finally ends. The astrological phenomenon—when the planet Mercury appears to move backwards in the sky—is blamed for all of the things that go wrong in our life at this time. From electronic malfunctions to break-ups and travel delays, it’s easy to blame it all on the retrograde. But what if we told you that Mercury retrograde doesn’t exactly end when we think it does?
Enter the Mercury retrograde shadow period—also known as the two weeks after Mercury retrograde. The period has been blamed for causing even more chaos than Mercury retrograde itself—but how much do you really need to worry?
To get a better understanding of the Mercury retrograde shadow period and whether we should really be worrying about it, we spoke to Wiradjuri Astrophysicist, Kirsten Banks and Astrologist, Kristy Gray.
The Mercury retrograde shadow period is here.
(Credit: Getty)What Is A Mercury Retrograde?
Before we begin exploring the retrograde shadow period, we asked Kirstin for an Astrophysicist’s perspective on Mercury retrograde itself.
“Bringing the science into this, Retrograde means to move backwards, and in the context of planets, that means they appear to travel in the opposite direction to the stars in the sky,” Kirstin tells ELLE Australia.
“This happens because all of the planets travel around the Sun at different speeds so when one overtakes the other, they appear to move backwards. It’s kind of like travelling on a highway and when you overtake a slower car, they appear to move backwards. For Mercury, it appears to move backwards when it loops between us and the Sun.”
What Is The Mercury Retrograde Shadow Period?
“The post-mercury retrograde shadow or ‘retroshade’ refers to a planet’s retrograde shadow period, which occurs both before and after the retrograde itself. It’s when the planet slows down as it prepares to enter retrograde and speeds up as it leaves its backward motion behind,” Kirstin explains.
“In Mercury’s case at the moment, it’s turning back into its regular, or prograde, motion and moving in the same direction as the stars in the sky once again.”
A lot of people believe that you can feel the effects of Mercury retrograde during the shadow period—meaning that miscommunications, travel delays and electronic failures are still likely.
Mercury Retrograde Shadow Period Dates 2025
March–April (Aries & Pisces)
- Pre-Shadow Begins: February 28, 2025 (26°49′ Pisces)
- Retrograde: March 14 – April 7, 2025
- Starts: March 14 at 11:46 PM PT (9°35′ Aries)
- Ends: April 7 at 4:07 AM PT (26°49′ Pisces)
- Post-Shadow Ends: April 26, 2025 (9°35′ Aries)
July–August (Leo)
- Pre-Shadow Begins: June 29, 2025 (4°14′ Leo)
- Retrograde: July 17 – August 11, 2025
- Starts: July 17 at 9:45 PM PT (15°34′ Leo)
- Ends: August 11 at 12:29 AM PT (4°14′ Leo)
- Post-Shadow Ends: August 25, 2025 (15°34′ Leo)
November–December (Sagittarius & Scorpio)
Post-Shadow Ends: December 16, 2025 (6°51′ Sagittarius)
Pre-Shadow Begins: October 21, 2025 (20°42′ Scorpio)
Retrograde: November 9 – November 29, 2025
Starts: November 9 at 11:01 AM PT (6°51′ Sagittarius)
Ends: November 29 at 9:38 AM PT (20°42′ Scorpio)
How To Get Through Mercury Retrograde’s Shadow Period?
For Kirstin, getting through Mercury retrograde isn’t about holding off on making big plans or avoiding travel.
“My advice for people during and after Mercury in Retrograde, however you choose to perceive the phenomenon, is to stay calm, create routines that are fun for you, learn something new about the planets, and definitely check out my Don’t Blame it on Mercury playlist I’ve created on Spotify—it’s got all my fave space vibe tracks to get you through any murky moment.”
Does Mercury Retrograde Actually Have An Effect?
When it comes to blaming the planet’s retrograde on all the things that go wrong in our life, Kirstin isn’t so sure.
“I reviewed Australia’s domestic air travel statistics over the past five years to see if there are flight delays when Mercury is in Retrograde. There didn’t appear to be any significant correlation, sure during some periods of retrograde flight delays get worse but in just as many retrograde periods over the past five years, it improves, like a lot,” Kirstin explains.
“When it comes to communications, I had a look at twelve of the most impactful internet outages since 2016, and of all of them, only two occurred when Mercury was in Retrograde. Does that mean bad things don’t happen? Of course not! We just don’t need to blame them on little old Mercury, he’s just trying his best!”
However, Kirstin doesn’t think that looking to the planets is a bad thing either.
“As a proud Wiradjuri woman, I find many parallels between my research and culture. First Nations peoples have been studying the stars for tens of thousands of years and finding connections between the sky and the world around them. There is a long, rich history and wealth of knowledge in Aboriginal Astronomical traditions, just as there is a long history of the Milky Way galaxy, which I am striving to decipher with my research,” Kirstin says.
“Whether you’re a retrograde believer or non-believer, it’s totally up to you what you choose to expect during these periods! Whether it’s blaming poor Mercury on bad things that have happened, reading your horoscope and feeling totally relatable to this period, or seeing the positives throughout this time, I love that you can relate these moments to the planets and space in general.”
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- Understanding The 12 Houses Of Astrology
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