Mercury Retrograde Pre-Shadow Is Here—See How It’s Affecting Your Sign
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Whether you’ve been managing eyebrow-raising miscommunications with loved ones, navigating tech glitches or scrolling through old texts from an ex, it probably feels like Mercury is retrograde once more. And while it won’t officially be until Friday, March 14 (PT)/Saturday, March 15 (ET), the effects of the frequent, information-skewing transit are already setting in, thanks to the Mercury retrograde pre-shadow. This phase, which offers a sneak peek of what you’ll likely deal with during the retrograde itself, is the result of Mercury slowing down before its backspin.
If you’re less than pumped to find out that Mercury retrograde’s sometimes frustrating effects last for longer than you thought, I can reassure you, as an astrologer and the author of Mercury Magic: How to Thrive During Retrogrades and Tap Into the Power of the Messenger Planet All Year Long, that it’s possible to take advantage of a Mercury retrograde pre-shadow. Read on for all the details on the latest Mercury retrograde shadow period, which has been in full effect since March began.
The Mercury pre-shadow occurs before every Mercury retrograde, serving as a preview of what you’re going to be navigating during the retrograde phase itself. During the pre-shadow, you’ll encounter situations, interactions and projects that, once Mercury is retrograde, will require revision or reimagining.
The pre-shadow tends to function like the retrograde itself, spurring tech glitches, miscommunications and transportation slowdowns. On the upside, you could feel driven to dive into more self-work, reflection and meditation and to embrace a slower pace of life that ends up being truly restorative.
You may already know that Mercury retrogrades — which occur when the messenger planet appears to move backward from our vantage point on Earth — happen three or four times a year and last about three weeks. The pre-shadow is the result of the fact that, before Mercury can go retrograde, the planet of communication needs about two weeks to slow down. That’s because when Mercury is direct, it’s the fastest planet in our solar system, speeding around the sun every 88 Earth days.
And whenever Mercury’s speedy pace is curbed — even if it’s only decelerating versus moving backward through the constellations — the areas of life that the planet oversees (communication, transportation and technology) are similarly slowed down.
Nonetheless, there’s no need to treat a shadow period exactly like the retrograde itself. Instead, simply being aware that you’re in a pre- or post-Mercury retrograde shadow period can dial down stress and boost your ability to anticipate the inevitable communication hiccups that come up now.
This spring, Mercury is in its pre-shadow period from Friday, February 28 at 11:59 p.m. PT/Saturday, March 1 at 2:59 a.m. ET until Mercury officially goes retrograde on Friday, March 14 at 11:46 p.m. PT/Saturday, March 15 at 2:46 a.m. ET.
Mercury’s pre-shadow begins when the messenger planet hits the exact degrees and minutes of the sign at which it’ll ultimately go direct (aka end its retrograde). So, on February 28/March 1 — and then again on April 7 — Mercury will be at 26°49’ of Pisces.
With Mercury moving forward and then backward through cardinal fire sign Aries and mutable water sign Pisces, this Mercury retrograde pre-shadow could fuel lessons related to your sense of independence, inner drive and what you’re willing to go to bat for, empathy for others and yourself and imaginative pursuits. Pro-tip: For some sense of what this Mercury retrograde could look like for you, think back to last April when Mercury last moved backward through Aries (albeit not Pisces, as well, so this is a different ballgame!).How the Mercury retrograde pre-shadow in March 2025 will impact your sign
Here is how the Mercury retrograde pre-shadow in Aries and Pisces will affect you, based on your sign. (Be sure to read your rising sign, if you know it. If you don’t, you can find it in your birth chart or by using this CafeAstrology calculator.)
Mercury’s pre-shadow begins in your career sector, so you could be flirting with the idea of redefining success, revising a big-picture proposal for higher-ups or even finessing how you’re approaching your professional aspirations so that you have a greater sense of balance between work and life. This can be an empowering moment, because messenger Mercury also happens to be your ruling planet, so retrogrades affect you (and Virgos) more than most signs. And with the shadow also affecting your friendships sector, you’re currently laying the groundwork for reconnecting with a social circle, community or team that could support your ability to make long-term wishes a reality.
This Mercury pre-shadow illuminates your adventure and higher learning zone, which could fuel your desire to get out of your comfort zone, and yet, actually making that happen could feel frustratingly tougher than usual. Thankfully, you have more energy now for addressing everyday details that might be holding you back from taking a much-needed leap of faith. Mercury’s also causing mischief in your career zone, which could have you revisiting a proposal for a promotion, backtracking over large-scale projects that you’ve refined time and again or ensuring you’re on the same page as higher-ups. As a cardinal sign, you like to keep your eye on the future, but sticking with existing business now might actually be the key to a long-term win.
The Mercury pre-shadow begins in your intimacy and joint resources zone, so any head-butting or misunderstandings with a loved one or significant other that come up now is actually fertile ground for working through your differences and deepening mutual understanding. Sure, it might feel like you’re attempting to run against the tide at times, but take heart that you excel at finding the positive side of even the roughest challenges. This period also activates your adventure sector, which means you’ll be refining your connection to your gut impulses and reflecting on how you can tap into and satisfy wanderlust.
With Mercury, your ruling planet, slowing down in your partnership zone, you’ll feel compelled to begin assessing progress on goals you share with a significant other, dear friend, close colleague or loved one. You could also be driven to re-negotiate or mediate a situation that was previously put on the back-burner. The shadow also activates your intimacy and emotional bonds zone, making this a moment for thinking about your level of comfort and security within your closest relationships. It might be time to set different boundaries or work through deep-seated emotions that are standing in the way of your ability to fully connect and bond with your current partner or someone else near and dear.
This period kicks off with a surge of self-expressive energy that might entice you to dive into more artistically-fulfilling endeavors, thanks to Mercury’s pre-shadow happening, for starters, in your romance zone. And once Mercury’s pre-shadow activates your wellness and daily routine sector, you can get a better sense of how your daily hustle might be serving you — or how it may need to be adjusted. Think about whether it would benefit you to say “no” to certain commitments in order to free up space for other commitments, especially ones that could support your health. Reflect on what feels right intuitively, and then, during the retrograde, you can experiment and perhaps revisit or improve upon solutions that worked in the past.
As the pre-shadow begins, Mercury will be in your home zone, providing you with a glimpse of the projects and conversations you could be exploring alongside loved ones over the course of the retrograde. Whether you’re entertaining making a big move, redecorating or just diving into heartfelt conversations to address ongoing emotional issues with your nearest and dearest, you’re prepping to move through a healing period. Mercury’s pre-shadow also affects your romance and self-expression zone, so don’t be surprised if you’re called to go back to the drawing board on a creative endeavor or musing about taking a walk down memory lane with someone special (think recreating a special date night or making sentimental playlists).
Mercury’s pre-shadow kicks off in your money zone, which could have you zeroing in on ways you can step up your investments, savings and earning game plans. Although you might not see major forward movement in this realm for several weeks, you can research, trade notes with friends and colleagues and generally prep for yourself to hit the ground running later on. The pre-shadow also activates your communication sector, so heads up that this may very well be a retrograde that tests your patience. You might be dealing with more technology issues, delays in getting from point A to point B and more misunderstandings with your social circle, coworkers, neighbors and, if you have them, siblings. The silver lining is that in facing these challenges, you could come away feeling like an even stronger communicator with bolstered platonic bonds.
You’ll be reflecting on how you’re presenting yourself out in the world and how that aligns — or not — with your self-image as Mercury’s pre-shadow kicks off in your sign. It may be time to reimagine your approach to your business-related brand, personal goals or even your sense of style. This period also activates your money zone, so you’ll feel like taking a microscope to your finances, perhaps reassessing how you’ve been bringing in cash, investing, saving and tackling related to-dos. Make sure you carve out space for connecting the dots between your values, self-worth and income, as you’ll find that they’re actually more inextricably linked than you may have realized.
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