MERCURY IN CAPRICORN retrograde from December 29 2022 until January 18, 2023

From December 29 2022 to January 18 2023, Mercury moves retrograde through Capricorn, asking us to slow down and pause.

When a planet goes retrograde, it just means the planetary quality is internalised for that period of time. The planet seems to go backwards on its journey through the skies.
As with any retrograde phase, you can take breaks proactively to prevent being pushed and shoved into a reflective pause during this retrograde – or not.    

With Mercury being about how you communicate, receive and process any kind of information (speaking, writing, learning), the retrogradation is the natural phase in the cycle where the thought process is internalized. The underlying lesson with Mercury retrograde is NOT teaching us to do regular data back-ups of your laptop (although that could be useful anyway), it is rather a time to reflect, reconnect, review and revise.

Themes of Mercury include:

Communication (speech, writing), perception, facts, thoughts, processing & understanding stimuli, dexterity, speed, movement, co-ordination

Because Mercury is in Capricorn, this time is about becoming the architect of your life. Especially being in charge of your mind and learning how practical thinking and processing stimuli fully with your body can help you with that.

Guiding questions for the Mercury retrograde phase

💭 How effectively do I communicate with others?

💭 Do I integrate the information & stimuli I receive or am I on to the next thing very quickly?

💭 Am I clear in what I want from my life? Or is my mind too cluttered to receive that information?

💭 How adaptable and flexible am I when it comes to co-ordinating something?

💭 Should I take more time to process the day or find a better approach to do so?

💭 Do I expect others to go along with my perception of the world?

💭 Do I act prematurely, based on a snippet of information that I just got?

💭 Is there any agenda when I reach out and connect with others?

💭 Which practical steps can I take to become the CEO of my mind?

💭 Are my ideas realistic and actionable?


This Mercury retrograde phase will hopefully bring you insights on how you want to build your life in future – with focus and a clear mind.

PS: I highly recommend a social media detox for this time 🙂

Photo: Unsplash/ Ashim Silva