Mercury Retrograde starts in 2 days. Here's exactly what to know and what to prepare

Mercury stations retrograde on June 29 at 1:35 PM EDT at 26° Cancer, sitting close to Jupiter at 29° Cancer, and stays retrograde until July 23 at 6:57 PM EDT when it stations direct at 16° Cancer. That gives you roughly two days to prepare before it actually starts.

Because this retrograde happens entirely in Cancer, the disruption leans emotional and domestic rather than purely technical. Expect old conversations with family to resurface, unresolved feelings about home or living situations to demand attention, and a general pull toward the past that feels stronger than a typical Mercury retrograde.

What to prepare in the next 48 hours. Back up anything important on your phone and laptop now, not on June 29. Confirm any travel plans, lease signings, or contracts in writing before the station, and if you cannot finalize before then, build in extra review time rather than rushing it through. If you have been meaning to have a hard conversation with someone close to you, have it before June 29 if possible, Mercury retrograde tends to scramble emotional conversations into miscommunication.

What not to do during the retrograde itself. Avoid signing anything major between June 29 and July 23 unless you have already reviewed it twice. Avoid sending the long emotional text at 1 AM, sit on it for 24 hours first. Avoid assuming silence from someone means rejection, Cancer retrogrades often involve people genuinely needing space rather than pulling away.

The retrograde lifts on July 23, but give it until August 6 before treating any decision as fully settled, that is when Mercury clears its shadow and stops retracing the same ground.

If you want a day by day breakdown of what this retrograde activates in your specific chart, when to push and when to slow down, Timing Energy Calendar has it mapped.

Comment PREP if you're already backing up your files and rereading old texts