Mercury retrograde dates in 2016
Mercury turns retrograde 4 times in 2016.
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 2016
Turns retrograde
Tuesday 5 January 2016, 15:09
Aquarius 1°
Turns direct
Monday 25 January 2016, 23:48
Capricorn 14°
Turns retrograde
Thursday 28 April 2016, 20:24
Taurus 23°
Turns direct
Sunday 22 May 2016, 16:19
Taurus 14°
Turns retrograde
Tuesday 30 August 2016, 16:03
Virgo 29°
Turns direct
Thursday 22 September 2016, 08:33
Virgo 14°
Turns retrograde
Monday 19 December 2016, 12:56
Capricorn 15°
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.