Mercury Retrograde Shadow, Autumn 2026: It Ends November 30 — and Venus’s Shadow on December 15
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Mercury turns direct on November 13, 2026. Many astrologers say the retrograde is not really over until Mercury has walked back over the ground it retraced, the post-retrograde shadow. Here are both shadow periods for this autumn's Mercury and Venus retrogrades, calculated.
Mercury, autumn 2026
| Stage | Date (UTC) | Mercury's position |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-shadow begins (Mercury first reaches 4.7° Scorpio) | October 4 | 4.7° Scorpio |
| Turns retrograde | October 24, about 08:00 | 20.6° Scorpio |
| Turns direct | November 13, about 16:00 | 4.7° Scorpio |
| Post-shadow ends (back at 20.6° Scorpio) | November 30 | 20.6° Scorpio |
The whole retrograde happens inside Scorpio, between 4.7° and 20.6°. From the start of the pre-shadow to the end of the post-shadow is 57 days, nearly three times as long as the retrograde's 20.
Venus, autumn 2026
| Stage | Date (UTC) | Venus's position |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-shadow begins (Venus first reaches 22.5° Libra) | August 31 | 22.5° Libra |
| Turns retrograde | October 3 | 8.1° Scorpio |
| Turns direct | November 14, about 01:00 | 22.5° Libra |
| Post-shadow ends | December 15 | 8.1° Scorpio |
Venus backs out of Scorpio into Libra during its retrograde, so its shadow spans two signs and lasts 106 days.
What the numbers do and don't tell you
The "shadow" is not an astronomical term; it is an astrological convention for the stretch of zodiac a planet crosses three times. The degrees and dates are astronomy. Reading the shadow as a time to finish what the retrograde started is an interpretation, and this table cannot prove or disprove it.
How we calculated: planetary positions from the public-domain formulas in our chart engine (Meeus, Astronomical Algorithms, and NASA/JPL low-precision orbital elements). A planet is counted as retrograde when its apparent longitude, seen from Earth, decreases over a day; stations were searched hour by hour. Shadow dates are when the planet's longitude passes the station degree, to the nearest hour; treat them as accurate to within about a day.