February 26 – March 20, 2026
Mercury turns retrograde on February 26 at 28 degrees Aquarius
Everyone fears Mercury retrograde and it gets a lot more bad press than it deserves. Let me say it clearly: this transit is not bad for everyone. But this particular retrograde has a unique and complex sky picture that’s worth understanding carefully, because Mercury doesn’t travel through Aquarius alone.
First, the basics. If you were born with Mercury retrograde in your birth chart, you are naturally more intuitive than analytical, more pattern-oriented than linear. See if this period actually feels natural to you – that internal, reflective quality may feel more familiar than foreign. For everyone else, Mercury’s normal energy flow is disrupted. Communications, technology, contracts and logistics become areas that require additional patience and redundancy. Back up your computers now, conduct important business transactions before February 26, don’t assume your messages arrived or were understood, and give yourself and others extra room for misunderstandings.
The Sign: Aquarius and its Karmic Weight
Aquarius is an air sign and I want to be precise here, because this is important. In Vedic astrology, Aquarius is not the watery, fluid sign that some descriptions suggest. It is fixed air: structured, internalized and driven by intense mental concentration. Its co-rulers are Saturn and Rahu, and that combination gives Aquarius a quality of deep karmic pressure, a sign that is working through old debts, old patterns, old obligations that demand resolution.
When Mercury moves retrograde through Aquarius, it actually gains what we call Cheshta Bala, a type of force that comes from the retrograde motion itself, because the planet is closer to Earth and moves with greater intensity. So Mercury here is neither debilitated nor lazy. It is stronger, but erratic, like a powerful engine running in reverse. The mind does a lot of internalizing, churning through unresolved questions, karmic debts in communication and relationships, things that haven’t been said or finished. This is not a period for creative wandering or spiritual openness in the sense of dreams. It is a period of reckoning, to resolve what Mercury rules and that has been left incomplete. Friends, family, communications, agreements, mental patterns that continue to recycle. Aquarius will force you to do that work with the discipline of Saturn and the relentless pressure of Rahu until it is finished.
Purvabhadrapada: where Mercury begins
Mercury is placed retrograde at 28 degrees Aquarius, placing it in the Purvabhadrapada nakshatra at the beginning of this transit. This is a nakshatra of profound intensity, connected with great scientists, inquiring philosophical minds and transformative vision. There is a fiery, penetrating quality here. When Mercury begins its retrograde journey in this nakshatra, the mind is asked to go deeper rather than broader, to investigate rather than conclude. It’s not a comfortable place for superficial thinking, but it can be extraordinarily productive for the research, inner work, and penetrating questions you’ve been avoiding.
The Conjunctions: March 14 and 16
This is where this pullback becomes particularly significant. Mercury does not travel alone through Aquarius; both Mars and Rahu are also in Aquarius throughout this retrograde period.
Mars and Mercury are bitter enemies in Vedic astrology. When they cross paths on March 14, the friction between them intensifies. Mars wants to act; Mercury wants to think. Mars advances; Mercury retrograde pulls back. This combination can lead to intense mental turmoil, quickly escalating disputes, and the classic Mercury/Mars accident pattern: getting so caught up in a mental argument that you lose focus on what’s directly in front of you. Around March 14, special care is warranted on roads and fast communications.
Then, on March 16, Mercury crosses Rahu. Rahu amplifies, haunts and obscures. When Mercury meets Rahu, the mind can feel overwhelmed: too many thoughts, too many directions, confusion about what is real and what is projection. Rahu/Mercury combinations intensify mental restlessness and can create a fog around clear decision making. This is not the time to sign contracts, make important commitments, or trust that you are seeing a situation clearly. If you want to understand the deeper nature of Rahu and how to work with it instead of being consumed by it, my course Rahu and Ketu: Understanding and Healing the Karmic Axis delves into this: 21 classes that cover exactly how to navigate the energy of Rahu in your chart and in your life.
Mercury Stations in direct conjunction with Rahu: March 20
This is the most striking characteristic of this retrograde. When Mercury’s seasons head on March 20, they do so within one degree of Rahu. A stationary planet (pausing before changing direction) is already at its most powerful and concentrated. Mercury stationed directly over Rahu intensifies everything that both planets stand for: communication, information, the thinking mind on the Mercury side; obsession, illusion and karmic amplification on the side of Rahu. The fog may actually feel thicker just as the retrograde ends. Take a few more days before assuming the waters have completely cleared.
The grace note: Jupiter’s aspect
I don’t want to leave you alone with the challenges, because there is genuine support in this heaven. Jupiter in Gemini is projecting its 5th house aspect to Aquarius throughout this retrograde period. Jupiter’s influence here is like a wise old man watching over a turbulent river: it doesn’t stop the flow, but it brings a quality of grace, perspective, and protection that softens what might otherwise seem overwhelming. For those who engage in sincere spiritual practice during this period, Jupiter’s aspect can help you find the teaching within the turbulence rather than simply drifting along.
Remedies
Meditation is your most powerful tool during any Mercury retrograde, and especially this one. The combination of Mars, Rahu, and a Mercury retrograde in Aquarius creates conditions for significant mental agitation, the kind for which meditation is specifically designed. Consistent daily practice creates the inner distance to observe mental turmoil without being consumed by it.
Beyond Meditation: Slow and Essential Yoga to Counter Rahu/Aquarius Dispersion; physical exercise to constructively channel the compressed energy of Mars; and mindful communication practices: listen more than you talk, write down important things, confirm receipt of key messages. If old disputes with friends or community members resurface (Mercury rules friends and family), resist the temptation to escalate. These conversations are almost certainly colored by retrograde fog.
The planets are not punishing you. They are teaching you. Mercury retrograde, in essence, asks you to reflect before you react, to trust your deeper knowledge over surface logic, and to let some things remain unresolved for a little longer. It will arrive on March 20. The waters will settle. And you may discover that what seemed like confusion was actually necessary preparation.
GO DEEPER
Rahu and Ketu: Understanding and Healing the Karmic Axis 2.0
Rahu’s energy is one of the most difficult to navigate, and this retrograde puts it front and center. In my 21-class Rahu and Ketu course, we delve into how to understand and heal the karmic axis: past life patterns, how Rahu operates in your specific chart, and practical tools to work with its obsessive, amplifying energy instead of being carried away by it.
Explore the course: $197
Secrets of the Moon, Mind and Emotions
Mercury rules the thinking mind, and when it is retrograde and under the influence of Rahu, understanding the relationship between your mind, your emotions, and your chart becomes more important than ever. In my Secrets of the Moon course, we delve into how the Moon’s nakshatra shapes the entire emotional architecture of the chart and how to work with mental and emotional patterns instead of being ruled by them.
Explore the course: $225
About the author
Barry Rosen has been practicing Vedic astrology since 1987. He has visited and studied India on four occasions and has spoken numerous times at the Sedona Vedic Astrology Conference since 1999 and also at the British Association of Vedic Astrologers in London since 2006. He has been involved in Vedic culture since 1973 and is a long-time meditation and yoga teacher and published poet.
Recently, he has pioneered research in other areas of Vedic astrology, including Vedic astrolocality, the effects your current physical location has on your chart, connecting astrology with hatha yoga for therapeutic purposes, and developing transformational healing work to traverse the karma and spiritual dimensions of Vedic astrology. He is a Neo-Vedic astrologer and uses the outer planets. He is particularly interested in Jaimini astrology and the journey of the soul through the physical world and its karma and purpose and has taken live seminars in London with Sanjay Rath.
If you have questions, please contact Barry via email at: [email protected] or call Fortucast at 800-788-2796.
