Mercury retrograde dates in 1997
Mercury turns retrograde 3 times in 1997 and is already retrograde on 1 January.
Mercury is the fastest planet and turns retrograde more often than any other, about three times a year. Each retrograde lasts between 20 and 24 days, and the start of one comes 108 to 125 days after the start of the last.
Mercury stays near the Sun in the sky, and its retrograde happens when it passes between the Earth and the Sun. In tradition Mercury stands for thinking, speech and travel, and astrologers who follow retrogrades read a Mercury retrograde as a time to revisit them. That is a tradition of interpretation, not a measured effect.
Stations in 1997
Turns direct
Sunday 12 January 1997, 22:40
Capricorn 2°
Turns retrograde
Tuesday 15 April 1997, 02:56
Taurus 9°
Turns direct
Thursday 8 May 1997, 21:09
Aries 29°
Turns retrograde
Sunday 17 August 1997, 22:52
Virgo 16°
Turns direct
Wednesday 10 September 1997, 04:40
Virgo 2°
Turns retrograde
Sunday 7 December 1997, 18:56
Capricorn 3°
Turns direct
Saturday 27 December 1997, 13:43
Sagittarius 17°
Stations are found by Astrely's own code from the planets' positions and are shown in Nicosia time. Mercury's stations are checked against NASA/JPL Horizons to within four minutes; the outer planets move so slowly around a station that their times are best read to the day. The method page has the details.
Astrology is a tradition of interpretation. What is written here is traditional, offered for reflection and entertainment, not advice and not a prediction.