From February 26 to March 20, Mercury will be retrograde. But what does it really mean for a planet to be retrograde?

A planet retrograde is a planet that, from our terrestrial point of view, appears to be moving backward in the zodiac. It is an apparent movement, not a real one, but in astrology the earthly point of view is what matters because it is from Earth that we observe and interpret the sky. When a planet goes retrograde, its energy changes quality. It no longer expresses itself in a linear, direct, progressive way, but folds in on itself, intensifies, thickens. It becomes more powerful, deeper, more extreme.

In Vedic astrology, the retrograde planets are called the Vakri, and they take on a nature that approaches that of Rahu. They become irregular, unpredictable, sometimes ambiguous. The energy does not flow in a simple way, but creates stronger interferences on human consciousness, on our inner elements, on the chakra system. A retrograde planet does not look outward, but inward. It does not build forward, but reworks, rethinks, brings back what has not been understood or integrated.

Mercury is the planet of communication, language, analytical intelligence, exchanges, contracts, short trips, information. It is the planet that translates reality into words and words into reality. It is related to the concreteness of mind and the ability to orient oneself in the world. In a subtle sense it is related to the earth element and the first chakra, the root center, the one that governs the sense of security, stability, and the relationship with survival.

When Mercury turns retrograde, communication does not stop, but it changes form. It can become confused, misunderstood, distorted. Hidden information may emerge, conversations from the past resurface, issues left unresolved reopen. The mind enters a deep and sometimes obsessive revision mode. It is not just a time of technical mishaps or delays: it is a time when the word is put under pressure to become truer, more aware, more grounded.

This Mercury retrograde will be in Aquarium, sign of Rahu and Saturn. This will further exaggerate communications, because Rahu is the planet of politics and manipulation, of propaganda and power that is imposed by deception. Aquarius is a collective, social sign, linked to the masses and opinion movements. When Mercury retrogrades here, speech does not remain individual: it becomes collective, public, loud.

The conjunction with Mars Can bring discontent, riots of the people, strikes. Mars adds fire to speech. It makes it sharp, argumentative, combative. Being the writer's yoga, many articles and information will come out, perhaps too much information to digest. Communication will be intense, continuous, pressing. The problem will not be lack of news, but excess.

The conjunction of Mercury with Venus brings the emotional field out into the open, which in turn becomes extreme with Rahu taking it to extremes and Mars turning it into anger. Emotions will not remain private. They will be stated, exposed, theatricalized. The Sunshine will bring everything into the leadership, the management of states, the leaders who govern. Rahu and Sun together cause an eclipse, an identity crisis that will affect information and communication. When identity is in crisis, so is narrative. Power figures, authorities, official versions are questioned.

Such as the Epstein files that have brought up deep corruptions in leaders, here with Mercury retrograde you will go even deeper. Information will not stop at the surface. There will be a push to dig, to reveal, to expose.

So this Mercury retrograde will bring communicative excesses, and being a sponge planet, it will absorb the energy of Rahu, Sun, eclipse, Mars and Venus, with all the combinations that are created. It will be a Mercury that will absorb the eclipse of Sun and Rahu, the manipulation of Rahu, the anger of Mars, the emotionality and sensuality of Venus, the relationship difficulties of Mars and Venus, the exhaustion that Mars and Rahu cause, and so on. Mercury will absorb all these planetary energies occurring in sidereal Aquarius and will transform them into communication and information.

But being retrograde, he will do so in an obsessive, disarming, excessive way, going from harsh silences to regurgitations of words. Mercury's words will often bring a sense of instability and insecurity, because Mercury retrograde Destabilizes the first root chakra, of security, of the innate sense of survival. When the root falters, the mind becomes agitated. When we do not feel stable, we try to control with speech.

Therefore, the Remedies revolve around balancing the first chakra. It is essential to return to rootedness, to contact with mother earth, with nature, with trees. Grounding visualizations help stabilize mental energy. Yoga postures of balance bring consciousness back into the body. Lam mantra recitation harmonizes the root vibration. Eating more green vegetables supports the earth element and gives stability. Above all, it becomes essential to manage our communications as carefully as possible, because change always starts with us.

Mercury retrograde is not to be feared. It is to be understood. It is a time when speech is tested. A time when what has been manipulated can be exposed, but also a time when we can fall into excess, reaction, obsession. If we remain grounded, this passage can turn into a profound overhaul of our minds and the way we communicate.

The coming weeks will show us how capable we are of speaking without losing our root.