Confusing Conflicts: Mercury Retrograde in Aries & Pisces ~ Spring 2025
- Kaitlyn Maura
- Apr 3
- 9 min read
What says "Mercury Retrograde" more like being an astrologer late to writing an article about Mercury Retrograde? (Or is that just me, trying to make excuses for being a disorganized mess?) Mercury has been making its current transit backwards across the skies since March 15th, 2025, when it stationed retrograde at 9'35° Aries, the same degree as the March 29th Solar Eclipse. We now only have a week left until the planet of communication & logical thought stations direct at 26'49° Pisces. I questioned whether it was even worth it to write an article at this point, but figured, maybe some people (although who, I am unsure) might appreciate the insight.
Apart from the eclipse connection, this Mercury Retrograde is period because Venus is Retrograde too, with both planets in the same signs and making their stations backward & forward at nearly the same degree of each.
Mercury Retrograde: What Does It Mean?
A retrograde planet is one that appears to be moving backwards from the vantage point of the earth. From an astrologer's perspective, this means that the energies symbolized by the planet are also directed "backwards" or "inward" instead of functioning in its usual way.
In Roman mythology, Mercury is considered to be the "messenger of the gods," ruling over letters, divination and pretty much all forms of communication, as well as commerce and travel. Due to "his" ability to travel between two worlds, he is the god of translators and interpreters, but look out: he is also the god of tricksters, pranksters, and thieves. In astrology, Mercury represents the logical mind, intelligence and the way we think. Ruled by the mutable signs, Virgo (the virgin) and Gemini (the twins), there is a dualistic nature to the planet that gave birth to the word "mercurial," (meaning unpredictable or changeable).
So, when Mercury goes Retrograde, you can expect delays and disruption around areas such as travel, technology, communication and thought. Misunderstandings may occur and/or you may gloss over important details. It is best to double-check your work and try your best to be as clear as you can when you communicate to avoid these mishaps. That said, while these periods can definitely be unpredictable and maybe even a little bit chaotic, this doesn't necessarily make them negative, especially if you use this time for reflection rather than action. In fact, sometimes the unexpected can instead feel wonderfully fated. It's a good time for re-thinking, re-doing, and returning to the past, finishing up former projects and having clarifying conversations that you should have had long ago. Its a period often loaded with a feeling of magic & synchronicity, and a favored time for contemplation & meditation. Things from the past might come back to us during this time as well, whether this be people, situations, memories or a second chance at things we failed to achieve and/or learn the first time around.
Mercury Retrograde in Aries & Pisces: 2025
Mercury in Aries is quick-thinking and full of mental energy. People born with this placement are generally direct and straight to the point in their communication style. However, this does not necessarily mean that what they say or think is always the most accurate or objective...in fact, far from it. The ram is a fire sign, ruled by Mars, associating it with qualities of aggression, anger, combativeness and impulsivity. With Mercury Retrograde in this sign, we can expect conflicts with others related to misunderstandings. We might be more impulsive with our words now and more reactive to the words of others.
It is a sad reality that most of these arguments and shouting matches could have simply been solved with better communication, but good communication involves taking the time to really listen to what other people are saying and also, plan out what you want to say, accordingly. This time is, unfortunately, rarely found in today's busy and fast-paced society. However, it is still advised that you avoid making assumptions, if you can. We are better off looking at the bigger picture and avoiding taking things personally. Impulsive assumption-making can not only hurt your relationships (i.e. the biggest problem here!) but can also cause one to make mistakes in other areas of life.
Mercury in Pisces, the sign of its detriment, presents another layer of confusion to an already messy situation. Pisces, a mutable water sign ruled by Jupiter (& associated with Neptune in modern astrology), is anything but logical, so of course, the planet of logic is going to be uncomfortable here. Pisces is more concerned with emotions, energies, intuitive impressions, all things that are hard to put into words or make sense of. Mercury always wants to know the reason behind everything (i.e. as a Mercury-ruled Rising, this is how I am) but sometimes, there isn't one, and with Mercury Retrograde in Pisces, we may be finding that the logic we're looking for just isn't there.
The lack of logic is especially frustrating when we're dealing with personality conflicts. While Mercury Retrograde in Aries indicates the presence of arguments and unkind words, Mercury Retrograde in Pisces indicates confusion, deception and hyper-sensitivity. This particular combination of energies makes me think it possible (and by that, I mean, probable) that the fights we are having now are the result of reactions to imaginary slights, misread signals, and/or false assumptions.
If we're feeling and angry & reactive toward something or someone, before you say anything, maybe ask yourself: "are my perceptions true?" Your feelings are, of course, valid and deserve an outlet (i.e. art, a diary, or therapy) but before you make your feelings someone else's responsibility (i.e. by blaming them for how you think they made you feel) it helps to know 1. what they actually did to make you feel that way & also, be certain that they did in fact do it, and 2. whether or not you have a good reason for saying something (i.e. so they can take responsibility for their actions) or if you could actually be causing more harm than good (i.e. ruining a relationship with someone, or causing them unnecessarily stress or pain, all for a situation you made up). If you're on the receiving end of this situation, before you react with stress or pain, and before you respond from a place of defensiveness or guilt, ask yourself: "did I actually do something wrong or is this person projecting?" Likewise, if passive-aggressive (or even just plain aggressive) without informing you of what you did wrong, and/or what you can actually do to fix it, then, ultimately it is their problem, not yours, and nothing good comes from taking on that blame.
Mercury Retrograde in Pisces can also bring up past issues, whether through your communication with others or within your own head. Unresolved situations may continue to show up in our dreams. Telepathic communication, through dreams, or other means, is possible too, but without logical reasons, if the message is bad, it is probably best not to assume, as self-deception can be an issue now too. It is a good time for healing conversations but not negative ones. It is possible to experience synchronicities that feel magical at this time, and interactions with others that feel fated and/or karmic.
When Mercury stationed Retrograde in Aries on March 15th, it made an opposition to the Moon at 5'53 Libra. Considering that the Moon rules emotions in astrology, this made us even more prone to hyper-sensitivity and moodiness. Furthermore, with the Moon in the sign of Libra, we have likely been very sensitive to the moods of others, and feelings are most likely to be triggered by our need for harmony in relationships, as well as personal peace. With Mercury Retrograde opposite the degree of the October 2024 Solar Eclipse in Libra, it is possible that it has (or will) dredge up feelings from the past, related to whatever happened for us around that time. In any case, the balance (a very Libran concept!) between logic (Mercury) and emotion (The Moon) is hard to find.
Meanwhile, Mercury Retrograde is also conjunct Venus (interestingly, Libra's ruling planet!) which is also Retrograde, again, making relationships significant. While they made their exact conjunction while still in Aries, they remain very close while in Pisces, as well. The miscommunication associated with Mercury Retrograde are likely going to affect our personal relationships the most. At the same time, this is a double-whammy significator that past issues may come back up or we might be communicating with people from our past. It is a good time to reflect and make terms with our pasts, for sure, that way we can move forward to a better and brighter future. Mercury Retrograde in Aries' proximity to the degree of the Solar Eclipse in Aries is also significant and makes these themes relevant, especially when it comes to making terms with our past so we can move forward.
Mercury Direct in Pisces & Aries
On April 7th, 2025, Mercury will station Direct at 26'49 Pisces, which will hopefully bring us clarity and peace of mind (as well as better luck with electronics!). Its post-shadow period will continue until April 26th, so it is possible the situation might not fully resolve itself until then. However, we should definitely start seeing some progress now, and this will also be influenced by the aspects that Mercury is making.
Mercury's station Direct will be closely conjunct the North Node at 27'19 Pisces, and opposite the South Node at that same degree of Virgo. This suggests fated, synchronistic, serendipitous or even karmic conversations. This could be a conversation with someone from our past or even our past lives, although with Mercury in Pisces, it is also possible that this communication is done through very non-traditional, even "magical" methods. In any case, this reflection on the past should bring us healing, growth and more confidence for the future.
While it does not perfect, Mercury Retrograde can also be said to conjunct Saturn in Pisces, and interestingly, Venus Retrograde will be exactly conjunct Saturn at 25'15 at the moment of Mercury's station Direct. Saturn adds an extra layer of seriousness, responsibility and permanence to whatever it touches. It can bind but it can also sever. It is possible that whatever conversations we have now, or whatever clarity our retrograde reflections have bought us, will make or break our relationships for good, but in either case, whichever decision made will ultimately be for the better. For some people, this can mean marriage, or a deeper and possibly even more spiritual commitment to your partner, a blessed reunion or a relationship becoming official, while others may finally agree to cut ties with people no good for them. Of course, the planet of love and its ringed-companion will also be trine Mars, the former's mythological consort (and Aries' ruling planet), at 25'50 Cancer, so I actually do think unions are more likely to occur than break-ups. This is a good time for couples, dating, sex, meeting people and engaging in pleasurable activities with the people we love. They will also be sextile Uranus at 25'03 Taurus, which brings excitement and happy surprises. Basically, it seems like the lessons learned during the retrograde period will ultimately make way for a happy ending, at least for those affected. Difficult and challenging conversations with the people we love & care about may actually serve to make the relationship grow stronger.
Meanwhile, the Moon will be at 16'15 Leo, another confident fire sign, trine its ruler, the Sun at 17'53 Aries, and sextile Jupiter, the planet of faith & good luck, at 17'01 Gemini. This will help us to feel more confident in ourselves, more sure of how we feel, and essentially, give a healthy boost to our self-esteem. This isn't a self-centered kind of "confidence" but the sort of real faith in yourself that makes it much easier to truly love others.
Conclusion
As some of you may know, in the past, I have usually written horoscopes for articles like this. However, I have been very busy and honestly, if you would like to know more about how this retrograde will affect you personally, you are better off scheduling a reading with me, by clicking here: but please remember to book at least three days in advance, so I have time to confirm, reschedule, and/or prepare.
Apart from that, this Mercury in Retrograde period will most significantly affect those with angles or planets (particularly luminaries) between 25 and 29 degrees of the mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius & Pisces) as well as those with placements between 0 and 10 degrees of the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra & Capricorn). Overall, we can expect mishaps and misunderstandings to occur during this time, especially arguments & personal conflicts that result from confusion, deception, delusion and/or projection. It is a good time to reflect on our thoughts, emotions and communication styles, to help us cultivate greater empathy & patience when we communicate with others, but also detachment and the ability to take things less personally.
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