Mercury retrograde in Leo (17 July - 11 August 2025)

Mercury is the planet of communication, short-distance travels, local community, siblings, colleagues, etc. It rules Virgo and Gemini, these signs being more affected when Mercury goes retrograde. Leo is a sign focused on ego, self expression, creativity, fun, joy, romance and children. If you want to find out more about Mercury in different signs, including Leo click here.

What does it mean when a planet is retrograde? We say the planet travels backwards but is that possible? It is of course an optical illusion, perceived when the Earth's orbit around the Sun is surpassed by a faster moving planet (Mercury), making it seem like the faster moving planet stops and travels backwards relative to the stars on the sky.

When Mercury is retrograde it seems to stop in a degree of the sign and then it revisits a part of the sign that it traveled in direct motion. Mercury will begin its retrograde motion on the 17 of July at 15 degrees of Leo and will end its retrograde phase on the 11th of August at 4 degrees of Leo.

The themes of any Mercury retrograde are delays, misinformation, misunderstandings, revisiting, reorganizing, difficulties in the workplace, malfunctioning of electronic devices and transportation, etc. These themes will appear earlier, in the pre-retrograde shadow period (2 weeks prior to the beginning of the retrograde) and will last up to 2 weeks after Mercury turns direct (in the post-retrograde shadow period). I will go into details regarding the pre and post retrograde period in another post. I recommend to follow the movement of Mercury. Being in Leo, a sign ruled by the Sun, Mercury retrograde may slow down or affect communication with bosses, authority figures (including government), romantic partners and children. During this time you will have to revise how you talk to these categories of people, or you will have to clear up any misunderstandings with them. If you are working on a creative project, you will have to revisit and recheck it. It is not a good time to publish something or start a new project. Try to use this time to improve what has already been done. It is better to postpone any important decisions with romantic partners or children till the beginning of September. This is a good time for renovating creatively. But don't do anything too extreme. If your creative projects are in digital format try to have a backup for them. Writers, painters, actors could experience artistic blocks. Your love life may slow down and require some adjustments. Maybe you want to move in with that special person. This period of time is great for reflecting and analyzing your relationship with your romantic partner. Do not take hasty decisions.

Use this time for reflection so that you may shine when Mercury goes direct again in Leo.