When Does Mercury Retrograde End in November 2026?

Mercury retrograde ends on Friday, 13 November 2026, when the planet turns direct at about 15:50 UTC: 09:50 in Costa Rica and Mexico City, 10:50 in New York. The retrograde began on 24 October at 20° Scorpio and finishes at 5° Scorpio. Here is what happens in the sky, what astrologers traditionally read into the turn and how the following weeks unfold.

The dates at a glance

These times come from Kosmo’s chart engine, Astronomy Engine, and were checked against NASA JPL’s Horizons ephemeris. A station is a slow turning point, so the two sources place it a few minutes apart: Horizons at about 15:40 UTC, the engine at 15:52 UTC.

What is actually happening in the sky

Mercury never reverses in its orbit. Retrograde is an apparent motion seen from Earth. Mercury goes around the Sun in 88 days, much faster than Earth, and when it overtakes us on the inside lane it seems to drift backwards against the stars for about three weeks. The middle of this retrograde was the inferior conjunction of 4 November 2026, when Mercury passed between Earth and the Sun.

After it turns direct, Mercury becomes a morning object. On 20 November it reaches its greatest distance from the Sun in the sky, about 19.6 degrees to the west, so observers with a clear, low eastern horizon may spot it shortly before sunrise in the second half of November.

What astrology reads into the turn

In astrology, Mercury stands for conversation, messages, plans and short trips. Its retrograde periods are traditionally read as a time for review: re-reading, revisiting and repairing rather than launching. The station direct is treated as the moment that review starts moving forward again. Because this retrograde happened in Scorpio, astrologers link it with private conversations, trust and the things people find hard to say.

Many astrologers also watch the shadow, the stretch until 30 November when Mercury crosses again the degrees it covered while retrograde. Read it as a gradual return to normal pace, not as a deadline. These are symbolic traditions, not forecasts of what will happen to any one person.

Practical ideas for the weeks after

• Finish what you revisited: send the message you redrafted or confirm the plan you reconsidered.
• If it suits you, give big decisions a little room while the shadow runs to 30 November.
• Use the change of pace for a clear, kind conversation you have been putting off.
• Look for Mercury low in the east before dawn around 20 November.

Timing note: Mercury looks almost stationary for a day or two around the turn, so the exact minute matters for charts and calculations, not for anything you can see in the sky.

For all three Mercury retrogrades of next year, read Kosmo’s Mercury retrograde 2027 guide; for ideas on talking things through with a partner, see the guide to Mercury retrograde and relationships.