Mercury Retrograde in Gemini and Taurus: Astrology, Meaning & Horoscopes

November 7, 2021

Mercury stations retrograde on May 10, 2022, at 4°52’ Gemini, and stations direct on June 3, 2022, at 26°05’ Taurus. 

Mercury will begin its retrograde in Gemini during an astrological period of significant endings and beginnings, as a lunar eclipse in Scorpio will occur within the first week of Mercury’s backtracking journey. Mercury will station retrograde on the same day that Jupiter enters Aries, forming a harmonious aspect with one another that can help in discerning how to adapt to changing conditions while making connections related to the creative visions you are developing.

Yet, since Mercury will end its retrograde in the earthy sign of Taurus while forming an intensifying square aspect with Saturn in Aquarius, whatever new ideas we cultivate will need to be grounded within realistic plans for achievement. Mercury retrograde in Gemini and Taurus can help bridge inspiring dreams with the means to bring them into effective manifestation.

Here’s everything you need to know about Mercury retrograde.

Mercury Retrograde in Gemini & Taurus Meaning

Mercury’s shifting between Gemini and Taurus will place it within two vastly different environments during its retrograde passage. Mercury will be retrograde in a stretch of Gemini that Mercury adores, as Mercury will be in both its domicile and bounds as it moves backwards into its regenerative conjunction with the sun on May 21. Listen closely to the messages and new ideas Mercury will be transmitting while retrograde in Gemini.

Once Mercury enters Taurus on May 22, it will enter the earthy landscape of Taurus where Mercury will move at a slower speed with less facility for loquacity. Mercury will station direct while under the stern gaze of Saturn in Aquarius, necessitating that we ground the brilliance of insights recently received into practical considerations. Saturn will influence Mercury to separate the most essential aspects to focus on that are both achievable and capable of enduring across time.

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Mercury Retrograde in Gemini Key Dates

April 26: Mercury enters retrograde shadow zone (4°52’ Gemini – 26°05’ Taurus)

April 29: Mercury at maximum elongation (begins to slow down)

May 10: Mercury stations retrograde at 4°52’ Gemini

May 21: Mercury conjunct the sun at 00°43’ Gemini (closest to Earth)

May 22: Mercury enters Taurus

June 3: Mercury stations direct at 26°05’ Taurus

June 16: Mercury at maximum elongation (begins to speed up)

June 18: Mercury leaves retrograde shadow zone

Mercury Retrograde in Gemini Effects

Most intense for Gemini: Whatever new visions and interests began reshaping your identity last year may coalesce into deeper understanding. Be willing to question yourself and explore the possibilities offered by seeking fresh perspectives and new ideas. By the end of Mercury’s retrograde journey, you can gain greater clarity for the path you want to follow forward.

Most challenging for Scorpio: With Mercury shifting retrograde in between eclipses that will correspond with major changes in the intersection between your identity and your relationships, Mercury will be guiding you through a volatile period by exposing revelations that have been previously hidden from your awareness. Make time for your own reflection as well as needed dialogue with others.

Most beneficial for Aquarius: You’ve been bearing the gravitas of Saturn occupying your sign during the past couple of years, but Mercury retrograde in Gemini can help you embrace new sources of creativity and ways of expressing yourself to mediate whatever challenges you have been facing. Schedule some downtime for yourself to playfully experiment to see what you discover.

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mercury retrograde gemini 2022

Practical Magic to Harness the Best of this Transit

Mercury will become reanimated through forming a conjunction with the sun on May 21. It’s a potent day for reflection and listening for messages related to the new ideas that will be inspiring for you to cultivate in the cycle ahead. Mercury will form its solar conjunction near Alcyone, the brightest star in the Pleiades star cluster. The seven stars of the Pleiades are named for seven sisters: Maia, Electra, Taygete, Alcyone, Celaeno, Sterope, and Merope.

Since Maia is the mother of Hermes, it’s a starry place of ancestry for Mercury to become regenerated by the sun. On May 21, create a ritual of intention for what you wish to change and create, lighting seven tea light candles for each of the seven stars of the Pleiades. Call upon the seven sisters of the Pleiades to help you listen and perceive the message from Mercury that you need to hear and integrate.

Horoscopes for Mercury Retrograde in Gemini & Taurus

Aries

Mercury’s retrograde in Gemini can stimulate experimenting with new ways of communication, making modifications to more effectively express meaning or engage in dialogue. It will be an opportune time for reviewing how you utilize the Internet for networking and generating financial resources, adjusting so you may connect with a more resonant audience. Consider any financial habits that could be altered so you can invest your resources in greater alignment with your most important values.

Taurus

You’ve been engaged in a long process of embodying more of your authenticity, but this Mercury retrograde period will open new layers of realization. Mercury will guide you into contact with the values most intrinsic to your sense of self-worth, helping you discern what needs to be shed versus cultivated in your life. By grounding into your resources and nurturing your capacity for self-sufficiency you can come out on the other side more empowered and clearer about the goals you wish to act on.

Gemini

Mercury retrograde in your sign can facilitate a regenerative makeover for you. It’s a time for shedding old identities that are no longer aligned with the emerging ideas and purpose you have been incubating. Once Mercury enters Taurus on May 22, pay more attention to signs and synchronicities revealing ways in which your unconscious is providing guidance for the way forward. Material previously hidden from your awareness may be revealed that can help in breaking out of stuck patterns that need to change.

Cancer

While Mercury is retrograde in Gemini, make time and space for reflection away from your usual daily interactions. Your dreams and synchronicities along your daily path may unveil insight that will be important to pay attention to. By reconnecting with yourself during the first half of Mercury’s retrograde, once Mercury enters Taurus you will become clearer about the kind of collaborators and community that will be most resonant for you. Let yourself open to exciting new callings, aspirations, and purpose in the world  

Leo

It’s time to explore the aspirations and vocational calling you truly wish to enact and invest your radiant creativity into. You know how to make things happen, but sometimes it’s important to question and reflect upon the goals you have been pursuing to make sure they are aligned with your authentic priorities. If you are clear about your purpose, this can also be an opportune time for joining forces in collaboration with those who inspire you and resonate with your vision.

Virgo

Your skill with analysis is second to none, which will be handy as you may need to reconfigure aspects of your work during Mercury’s retrograde journey. Yet in the bigger picture, Mercury will ultimately be guiding you to broaden your horizons and open to the possibilities and potential for embracing a more expansive vision of who you can be and what you can do. Listen for the new ideas and sources of inspiration that will help inspire you to reach a new level of development.

Libra

Allow the passage of Mercury retrograde to help guide your thoughtful and brilliant mind into engagement with new sources of inspiration that will expand your creative vision. Be willing to research and explore ideas from cross-cultural sources, finding the golden thread that can weave new understanding from a multitude of perspectives. You may also become aware of the underlying dynamics within the relationships in which you share resources, realizing ways in which you need to rebalance and shift things to be more equitable.

Keep track of all retrograde and astrological transits with our Astrology Calendar.

Scorpio

With eclipses bringing changes to your relationships as well as your own identity, the passage of Mercury retrograde will deepen your exploration of what lies beneath the surface of your interactions with others. There will be insight to gather from your inner realm that can guide you in rebalancing how you relate with others so you can be more secure and empowered. If uncomfortable material becomes dug up, take the time necessary to process it so you can honestly and directly address your concerns.

Sagittarius

You likely have already been experiencing important shifts and changes within your relationships during the past couple of years, and so Mercury retrograde in Gemini can facilitate a deeper understanding of the ways in which your needs and desires within relationships have been changing. Once Mercury moves retrograde from Gemini to Taurus, your focus will turn toward examination of adjustments that need to be made within your daily routines to optimize your health and productivity.

Capricorn

Your inner fortitude and capacity for perseverance are always admirable, but during Mercury’s retrograde journey see how you can create more time for being playful with your imagination and creativity. Taking time out of your daily grind to rest, relax, and explore new sources of inspiration will be an effective strategy for revitalizing your purpose in the world. Once Mercury enters Taurus, you will experience restoration by following your passions and bringing more sources of pleasure into your life.

Aquarius

The more you can embrace your creativity and explore your imagination during Mercury’s retrograde passage, you will increase the odds of regenerating a more authentic and enlivening purpose by the end of it. This is not a time for being stuck in old patterns of stagnancy, but rather shaking things up on a foundational level in your life. Once Mercury leaves Gemini to enter Taurus, you may need to turn your attention to your home and private life to tend to whatever issues emerge in need of addressing.

Pisces

Mercury will be calling for a deep dive into your inner emotions, your childhood memories, and your ancestral blessings and gifts ready to be more fully embodied. You may need to intentionally create time within your daily schedule so you can rest and experience restoration in private, secure places away from the expectations of others. By the end of Mercury’s retrograde passage, you will be able to regenerate new ideas you are excited about developing and communicating to others in your community.