Mercury Retrograde in Capricorn
Astrological Transits

Mercury Retrograde in Capricorn: Survival Guide

The last Mercury Retrograde of 2022 is here. Our cosmic messenger stations to go retrograde in stoic Capricorn on December 29, 2022 right before this year draws to a close.
It will finish its retrograde on Jan 18, 2023.

The unusual thing is that we are entering the New Year with two personal planets in retrograde motion: Mercury in Capricorn and Mars in Gemini. This is a big deal.

The first two weeks of 2023 are not going to bring in a lot of new energy.

However, don’t be put off by the slow start to the year.
Instead, look at it as an extra two extra weeks granted by the Universe to get all your ducks in a row.

It’s a great opportunity to tie up the loose ends of 2022 to ensure there is nothing holding us back from starting totally afresh in the New Year.

Capricorn is all about hard work, discipline and laser focused action.
Ruled by the planet of karma and delays Saturn, Capricorn is in no rush to complete things.

It’s all about quality over quantity.

They key here is not to rush anything during the retrograde period.
Take your time to revise, review, re-group and re-evaluate.

Remember Capricorn’s motto: slow and steady wins the race.

It’s vital not to overlook any important details and double check everything to make sure you are producing quality work.

Mercury Retrogrades often get a bad rap for descending us into chaos and communication mayhem.
However, it’s not always the case.
It can be a super productive time that gives us an opportunity to re-do and re-evaluate certain areas of our lives.

Mercury retrograde in Capricorn

Mercury Retrograde in Astrology

The planet Mercury governs our mind, our thoughts, our learning abilities, processing of information, speech, communication and technology.

Think of Mercury as software to your physical body.
It has a massive effect on how we interact with the world, how we process and express our thoughts.

Mercury takes our internal self and expresses it out into the world.

Our internal, private self is represented mainly by our natal Moon.

The Moon governs our creativity, our emotions, and feelings.
Mercury is the messenger who processes and expresses all of it out into the world.

Mercury retrogrades are great for letting go of certain things, thoughts, limiting beliefs that are no longer relevant and stopping us from living our life to the fullest.

Think of it as a software upgrade process on your smart phone. Just think about how many times you need to upgrade software on your phone or computer to ensure they perform at their highest capacity.

So it is only natural that during Mercury retrogrades things are slowing down.
It takes time to upgrade the system to the next level.

The keywords to describe Mercury retrograde: re-evaluate, revisit, rethink, re-do, re-organize, rearrange, re-position, re-launch.

So make sure you engage in these activities more often than initiating brand new things.


Before we dive in, be sure to check your Ascendant, Moon and Sun signs to get a full picture. When you read a horoscope for your Sun sign only, you only get a glimpse of what’s in store for your personal and professional life. Your Sun sign (related to the day you were born) might be an important component of your identity, but it’s only a small fraction of the whole story. Very often, your Ascendant (Rising sign) is the most accurate representation of you as an individual, as it rules your first house of the self and therefore has the biggest impact on your personal horoscope.

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Aries Zodiac Sign

Mercury Retrograde in Capricorn – What’s in Store for Aries

This Mercury retrograde is activating your 10th house of career and public image.

Don’t be surprised if you hear from your ex boss. Listen to what they have to say, you may be offered a brand new job!

Now is a great time to re-asset and re-evaluate your public image. There might be some frustrations with regards to communication at work.

Bear in mind, that it’s not the best time to start a brand new job.

However, you can be successful at reapplying for a job that you didn’t get in the past for whatever reason.

Taurus Zodiac Sign

What’s in Store for Taurus

This Mercury retrograde is happening in your 9th house of higher education, international travels, and spirituality.

Now is a great time to re-evaluate your overall belief system.

Despite travel chaos usually caused by Mercury retrograde, it’s actually a good time to travel to a place you’ve visited in the past.

Perhaps you were working on writing a book some time ago but never managed to finish it?

Now is a great time to pick it up again so it can finally see the light of day.

Gemini Zodiac Sign

What’s in Store for Gemini

This Mercury retrograde is activating your 8th house of intimacy, hidden past traumas, shared resources, and taxes.

Use this time to re-evaluate your closest intimate relationships.

You can experience a breakthrough when it comes to healing past traumas and emotional wounds.

It is a great time to re-visit your trusted therapist and continue working on your healing.

The issues surrounding your shared resources with your partner maybe highlighted at this time. It can be a good time to re-apply for a business loan or a credit card that you didn’t manage to get in the past for whatever reason.

However, it is advisable to wait until the end of the retrograde to apply for new loans or grants.

Cancer Zodiac Sign

Mercury Retrograde in Capricorn – What’s in Store for Cancer

This Mercury retrograde is activating your 7th house of partnerships, clients, and the public.

You may feel inspired to re-evaluate your past relationships.

Bear in mind, you might be experiencing issues with relationships caused by miscommunication at this time.

This Mercury retrograde can be an excellent opportunity to re-evaluate and reset current partnerships.

There is a chance you may hear from your ex. This isn’t always a good thing.

It may well be just a test from the Universe to see if you’ve learnt the lesson and are now ready to move on to bigger and better things, dear Cancer.

Leo Zodiac Sign

What’s in Store for Leo

This Mercury retrograde is happening in your 6th house. It is an excellent opportunity to re-organise your workspace and sort out your daily routine.

Don’t be surprised if you are having unexpected issues and last-minute changes to your schedule. Appointments can be missed, people can forget to show up at important meetings.

In terms of health, don’t panic if something unexpected comes up around the time of this retrograde. It ‘s absolutely vital to get a second opinion when Mercury goes direct.

It’s not uncommon that medical mistakes happen during Mercury retrograde so it is important to double check everything.

Virgo Zodiac Sign

What’s in Store for Virgo

This Mercury retrograde is activating your 5th house of fun, creative hobbies, love, romance, and children.

It’s time to step back and hit reset button if you are feeling creatively stuck.

Strengthen your muscle of re-focusing. Now is an excellent opportunity to pick up your favourite hobby that you put aside in the past due to a busy schedule.

If you have children, it’s time to focus on them.

Spend more time if your kids. Go, visit their favourite places you haven’t been to in a while and have fun!

Libra Zodiac sign

Mercury Retrograde in Capricorn – What’s in Store for Libra

This Mercury retrograde is happening in your 4th house of home and family of origin.

It could be a great time to re-visit your family and place of origin.

You may feel a strong urge to re-evaluate your outlook when it comes to home and family.

Perhaps you want to move to another house or even different country in 2023?

Just make sure you plan everything well ahead and remain cautious.

Wait till Mercury goes direct to execute those relocation plans to ensure everything goes smoothly.

Scorpio Zodiac Sign

What’s in Store for Scorpio

This Mercury retrograde is activating the 3rd house of your chart.

Excellent time to re-evaluate your involvement with your local neighborhood, siblings, schoolmates, and extended family. You may also feel inspired to go back to school

This is a Gemini house ruled by Mercury which makes effects of this retrograde cycle more potent for you, Scorpio.

Your communication can suffer quite a bit during this time.

Be extra cautious when sending texts or emails! They may end up with the wrong person.

Sagittarius Zodiac Sign

What’s in Store for Sagittarius

This Mercury retrograde is activating your 2nd house of income, personal possessions and values. There might be a significant shift in how you access the way you are currently making a living.

You may have to re-evaluate all of your streams of income.

Perhaps it’s time to let go of the old ways of earning money.

Bear in mind, there might be some delays in payments owed to you at this time.

Make sure you have sufficient funds put aside to cover essential expenses in case these payment delays occur.

Capricorn Zodiac Sign

Mercury Retrograde in your sign, Capricorn!

This Mercury retrograde is happening in your 1st house of the self, Capricorn.

 This is a big deal. Mercury is all about how we process information and our communication skills. You might be going through an identity crisis of some sort in terms of how you think about yourself.

You may feel like now is the time to let go of the ‘old you’ on a mental level.

The good news is that it can inspire you to let go of old belief systems, thinking patterns, or even addictions that are no longer serving your highest good.

Aquarius Zodiac Sign

What’s in Store for Aquarius

This Mercury Retrograde is activating in the most hidden part of your horoscope.

12th house rules over subconscious, intuition, psychic realms and isolation, among other things. This retrograde cycle is helping you release what’s no longer serving your highest good.

You may feel the need to retreat and go inward. It can be a great time to get back to one of your spiritual practices that you may have put aside due to a busy schedule.

Make sure you set aside time to meditate and rejuvenate daily. You may be having some vivid dreams about past situations and people. Dream journaling could be a great practice to adopt to help you analyse and process these flashbacks.

Spend time alone. Listen to your inner voice.

You may receive some unexpected solutions to your current problems.

Pisces Zodiac Sign

What’s in Store for Pisces

This Mercury retrograde is happening in your 11th house of social groups, networks, big gains, long-term goals, and aspirations. Now is a great time to re-evaluate your social circle.

Perhaps it’s time to distance yourself from certain acquaintances? This retrograde can open your eyes to who your true friends are.

Focus on re-evaluating your previous social goals, rather than just constantly networking and socialising.

You can bump into an old friend or reconnect with an ex working colleague. Pay attention to these connections resurfacing from the past. They may be beneficial for your current situation.

Perhaps you can even collaborate on a project or start a new business venture together.

This cycle will be finishing of in your 3rd house of your local neighborhood, siblings, schoolmates, and extended family. You may also feel a strong urge to go back to school or reconnect with long-lost member of your extended family. 


Check where this transit falls in your Birth Chart. The house and any personal planets activated by this transit will play a significant role in your personal and professional life. 

Use this free Birth Chart calculator to create your Natal Chart in case you haven’t had a chance to get it yet.

N.B.: Remember that it’s ideal to have your EXACT time of birth on hand. Use 12 p.m. noon if you have no way to get this information. The best option, of course, is to get a personal reading with a professional astrologer who can provide birth-time rectification. Birth time and birthplace are crucial pieces of information for your Natal Chart, as they determine the unique position of the houses and planets that can help you understand transits and their impact on your personal journey.