Mercury is currently in Taurus located at 25 Tau 17' 31"

Planetary Aspects

(out 5 Days)

Mercury is currently Sextile Neptune

   Ends on Sunday, 11 June, 2023

Mercury is Trine Pluto

   Starts on Friday, 09 June, 2023
   Peaks on Sunday, 11 June, 2023, orb 2° 59' 58"
   Ends on Tuesday, 13 June, 2023

Upcoming Retrogrades

PlanetStationary (retrograde)Stationary (direct)In Sign
mercury2023-08-23 20:00:00 UTC2023-09-15 20:22:00 UTCVirgo
mercury2023-12-13 07:10:00 UTC2024-01-02 03:08:00 UTCCapricorn
mercury2024-04-01 22:15:00 UTC2024-04-25 12:55:00 UTCAries
mercury2024-08-05 04:57:00 UTC2024-08-28 21:14:00 UTCVirgo
mercury2024-11-26 02:43:00 UTC2024-12-15 20:57:00 UTCSagittarius
mercury2025-03-15 06:47:00 UTC2025-04-07 11:08:00 UTCAries

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

08.06.2023 at 08:46:33 UTC

chart wheel
PlanetLongitude
The Sun17 Gem 19' 51"
The Moon14 Aqu 39' 55"
Mercury25 Tau 17' 31"
Venus02 Leo 37' 20"
Mars10 Leo 49' 20"
Jupiter04 Tau 57' 05"
Saturn07 Pis 08' 18"
Uranus20 Tau 36' 02"
Neptune27 Pis 33' 00"
Pluto00 Aqu 02' 59" R

Solar Status

BZ Status:-4
Proton Density:2.81
Proton Speed:335.6 k/sec
KP Status:1.67
TypeJun 8Jun 9Jun 10
Active35%20%15%
Minor15%10%1%
Moderate1%1%1%
Strong1%1%1%
Kp Index Prediction
00-03UT1.672.671.67
03-06UT1.333.001.33
06-09UT1.002.001.33
09-12UT2.002.001.33
12-15UT2.671.331.33
15-18UT3.671.331.67
18-21UT4.001.671.67
21-00UT3.001.671.33
Solar Activity
Solar activity reached moderate levels. The largest flare of the period was an M4.7 flare from Region 3327 (S16E28, Eki/beta-gamma-delta) at 07/1146 UTC. This region was the most active of the 10 numbered regions with sunspots on the visible disk and was also the source of occasional C-class flares, to include a C7.1 flare at 07/0645 UTC and a C8.7 flare at 07/1829 UTC. The C7.1 flare produced a CME off the southeast limb that was modeled and determined not to have an Earth-directed component.
Solar Wind
Solar wind parameters were near background levels. Total field strength was at 5 nT and the Bz component was unremarkable. A weak enhancement in the solar wind field occurred at 07/2225 UTC when the IMF strength quickly increased to 8 nT and eventually peaked at 9-10 nT. Solar wind speed also showed a mild increase from near 325 km/s to about 380 km/s before decreasing again. Prior to this weak enhancement, wind speeds were steady near 325 km/s. The phi angle was predominately positive through the period. While too early to ascertain, it is possible this solar wind enhancement was related to the anticipated nearby CME arrival from 04 Jun.
Energetic Particle
The greater than 2 MeV electron flux was at normal to moderate levels and the greater than 10 MeV proton flux remained at background levels.