Mercury Retrograde in Capricorn, December 29 – January 18

On December 29th, Mercury in Capricorn will begin its next retrograde cycle. Mercury will be retrograde in Capricorn from December 29 - January 18. While retrograde, Mercury will reverse back from 24 Capricorn to 8 Capricorn.
There are some tasks that I find useful to do during a Mercury retrograde cycle. I like to use this time to deal with any loose ends or pesky details that require attention and to generally catch up on anything that's incomplete.
Even though Mercury retrograde is often described as troublesome, in my experience this can be a productive time - you might just need to shift focus off new possibilities and instead look back at what's unfinished or unresolved.
Mercury Retrograde in Your Capricorn House
One important way to connect to any Mercury retrograde cycle is to see what house it will activate in your personal chart. For this Mercury retrograde in late December/January, it's the topics of your Capricorn house that will be highlighted.
Note the topics of your Capricorn house. Then, think about re-organising, clearing out and catching up on anything related to these areas of life. And yes, being a little extra patient around these topics, or the people linked to them, will be helpful as delays and misunderstandings will be likely.
Planets in Capricorn ~ Re-Exploring and Re-connecting
Another way to see if this retrograde will be personal to you, is to see if you have planets in the path of the retrograde. For this Mercury retrograde cycle, that would directly connect to any planets you have from 8 - 24 Capricorn.
One thing I'll be doing specifically during this Mercury rx in Capricorn is sorting out my wardrobe and donating or passing on clothes I don't wear or that no longer fit. I thought this was appropriate since Mercury will reverse right over my Venus!
If Mercury will retrograde right over the top of a planet or angle in your chart, this transit might invite you to question and explore more about that planet in your life. You might be ready to redo how you express that planet and its topics. It might be possible to reconnect with these themes, especially if they have been neglected or grown stale.
Your Time Lord and Mercury Retrograde
If you're familiar with the technique of annual profections, it's important to tune into Mercury retrograde when your annual Time Lord is Mercury, that is if you're in a year ruled by Gemini or Virgo.
This can happen at any age, depending on your personal chart. For a very basic look at profections, this free handout will help you find the ages your Gemini and Virgo houses will be highlighted.
Working with Mercury Retrograde Productively
You may want to focus on returning, remembering, and revisiting forgotten or neglected topics and themes.
Rather than start something new, I try to focus on completion while Mercury is retrograde. I give my energy to unfinished business, attempt to catch up on a few emails and manage the various threads of life admin that run constantly in the background.
During Mercury retrograde I'm often packing up and dropping off items that need to be returned - either to a store, like for a credit, repair or refund, or to a friend who loaned me something that I forgot to give back.
Part of this flurry of life admin that happens during Mercury retrograde is that I often find myself remembering things I'd forgotten during. Like that yoga class I'd meant to schedule, or a hike I'd wanted to try or a recipe I'd been meaning to cook.
Since this Mercury retrograde is in Capricorn, a sign about time, schedules and practical matters, it seems appropriate to use this Mercury retrograde to sort out your schedule, or make a plan for your weekly, monthly and yearly goals.
Mercury is uniquely linked to business, contracts, paperwork and all kinds of buying and selling. So matters that are unresolved in these areas of life - like to do with financial or business contracts, or deals relating to retail purchases - can also be good to review and reorganise during Mercury retrograde.
What topics are highlighted for you during this Mercury retrograde in Capricorn? Is there anything you can return or revisit?
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