How to make the most of Mercury retrograde ending

How about some good news, hmm? After three very long, obnoxious weeks of Mercury retrograde, the planet of communication has finally gotten the memo and will be resuming its normal, productive, forward-facing movement this week. Hallelujah!

But that’s not all! This year, the end of Mercury retrograde coincides perfectly with the start of Leo season, which is all about getting bigger, badder, and bolder. Perhaps it’s time to start treating every day like it’s a musical, bursting out into song without any rhyme or reason? Will the fabled “silent disco” be resurrected? Or maybe it’s best to start battering down the hatches … because, honey, eclipse season is right around the corner. Here’s everything you need to know about Mercury retrograde’s dramatic ending and what to expect during these final weeks of July.

Remind me, what is Mercury retrograde again?

Astrologically speaking, the quick-moving planet Mercury is responsible for communication, correspondence, and commerce — as well as technology, transportation, and basically all of the important systems we rely on every day. On a quarterly basis, Mercury seemingly decides to stop, drop, and roll in reverse, commencing a three-week apparently backward cycle — Mercury retrograde — that rips the rug out from under us.

During Mercury retrograde, we’ll often experience unexpected delays, strange social interactions, unpleasant glitches, and the worst tension headaches imaginable. But it’s important to remember that Mercury retrograde isn’t intended to ruin your life; in fact, it’s a time of recalibration. Mercury retrograde invites us to slow down and revisit whatever we’ve been overlooking, speeding through, or perhaps taking for granted — it implores us to take a second (sometimes third) look at situations and approach them from a new perspective. What’s more, since this particular retrograde occurred in the sign of Cancer (the water sign symbolized by the crab), navigating an old situation from a different angle was the best way forward — crabs walk sideways for a reason!

And is Mercury retrograde happening right now?

Mercury went retrograde on June 29. So if the past few weeks have felt like everything was going wrong — whether you were stuck at an airport for nine hours, navigating the worst technological meltdowns imaginable, or getting into arguments with your group chat that really caught you off guard — well, the vibes have been off.

Thankfully, Mercury retrograde ends on Thursday, July 23. Text messages will be delivered again! Ubers will stop spinning in circles! Packages will arrive at the correct addresses! Sweet relief.

Not only that, but Mercury’s triumphant return to normalcy arrives right as the sun shifts into Leo’s brazen sky, marking the beginning of Leo season. For the next four weeks, the sun will be in its home base, shining as bright (and hot) as it possibly can. Leo, a fire sign, is associated with passion, pleasure, and creativity … as well as an unapologetic sense of self. Whether you are a Leo or love a Leo, these next few weeks will be filled with celebration, theatrics, and perhaps the occasional ego meltdown. What can I say; it’s par for the course.

Great! Does this mean I can let my guard down completely?

Not quite. There’s this little phenomenon called “retroshade,” which refers to Mercury taking its third lap across the section of the sky where it went backward. Think of it this way: You walk through the snow (or, I suppose, sand — it is summer, after all), creating footprints; then, during retrograde, you step backward through those same spots — and when Mercury finally goes direct again, you move across those spots for a third and final time. Indeed, we’ll be marching across those now very stepped-on spots until August 7. So if it takes a few more weeks for things to get fully back to normal, that may be why.

But what even is normal? Just a few days after Mercury retrograde ends, the South and North Nodes (associated with fate and karma), shift onto the Leo-Aquarius axis, stepping into alignments that haven’t occurred since 2007! Yes, it has been nearly two decades since the North Node of Destiny occupied the sign of Aquarius — the air sign associated with humanity, revolution, and large-scale future visioning. And with a full moon electrifying the sky on July 29 and a solar eclipse in Leo shaking everything up just two weeks later, big changes are inevitable. But, hey, at least with Mercury back on track, you can finally express yourself clearly again. That has to count for something.