Last Updated:November 28, 2025, 19:11 IST

Mercury retrograde in Scorpio stirs intense emotions and trust issues, then shifts to Sagittarius, bringing blunt truth-telling and glitches in communication, tech and travel

Mercury turns retrograde for the final time this year from 10–29 November, and the timing couldn’t be more on point. It lands just as the year begins its slow descent into deadlines, family celebrations, social obligations and the heavy administrative work of wrapping things up. Yet instead of a neat slide toward December, the weeks ahead feel oddly suspended and hard-earned. Conversations drift without resolution into conflicts, simple tasks take twice as long, and the general mood carries a faint echo of confusion, as if your life choices is shouting at a lower volume.

What is Mercury Retrograde?

Mercury retrograde is an optical illusion where the swiftest planet in our solar system seems to slow down and move backwards. It’s the same effect you get when a fast train overtakes a slower one, making the slower train look as if it’s rolling in reverse.

Astrologer Sidhharrth S Kumaar describes this period as mentally noisy, emotionally echoing and, at times, strangely dull. It’s a mix that makes people impatient because it mimics stagnation. But what this really means is that things aren’t stuck, they’re simply being re-examined. He believes this retrograde isn’t a cosmic disruption as much as a reset that pushes you to slow your pace, listen more carefully, and renegotiate whatever has been moving too quickly.

Kumaar offers a different reading of the tension. He says, “The delays aren’t punishment but prompts. When people bring up the past, when plans drag, when replies slow down, it isn’t a sign that life is falling apart. It’s a sign that something wants attention before the year ends.” The world, he says, “isn’t offering you one last warning, but one last chance.”

What To Expect During The Mercury Retrograde In November?

Mercury rules communication, tech and travel, so these are the first areas to feel off during a retrograde. With this one moving through Scorpio and Sagittarius, expect a blend of deep reflection and unfiltered honesty. The Scorpio phase can heighten emotions, trigger old secrets, or create confusion around trust and boundaries.

As Mercury slips into Sagittarius, the focus shifts to beliefs, big ideas and truth-telling. Conversations may become sharper, more direct, or land differently than you intend. Simply put, this retrograde pushes you inward first, then urges you to speak up sometimes more boldly than planned.

How To Make Mercury retrograde Beneficial?

That idea forms a useful lens for approaching the next few weeks. Rather than treating retrograde as something to survive, you can treat it like an audit. A quiet one, but still an audit. It invites you to check your impulses, your assumptions, your commitments and the pace at which you’ve been living. The aim isn’t to stop your life; it’s to improve the way you move through it.

Respond, don’t react

If there’s one place retrograde tests people, it’s their emotional reflexes. Something small happens and before you know it, you’ve sent the message you wish you hadn’t or snapped at someone who didn’t deserve it. These are the days when your reaction is far louder than the situation.

Kumaar stresses the value of inserting a pause, “Let your body settle before you speak. Take a breath between the thought and the response. Let your calm, not your adrenaline, choose the words. In an environment where misunderstandings grow easily, restraint becomes a kind of self-protection.”

Speak with intention

This period is notorious for communication static. You may notice people taking longer to answer, mixing up details or sounding cooler than usual. Instead of filling the silence with explanations or rapid messages, this is your cue to be deliberate. If something matters, call. If something feels delicate, meet in person.

Kumaar encourages clarity over speed, “You don’t need to send multiple texts to defend yourself or fill gaps with long explanations. Say what you mean, keep it simple and choose the time and medium with care. It’s not about speaking less; it’s about speaking with your feet on the ground.”

Ask instead of assuming

Few things spiral as quickly as imagined scenarios. Mercury retrograde has a habit of confusing signals or amplifying the gaps between what someone says and what you hear. That can make you second-guess everything from a friend’s tone to a colleague’s silence.

Kumaar’s advice is refreshingly practical, “Just ask. Not aggressively, not anxiously, just directly. A gentle “Did you mean this?” or “Can you clarify?” dismantles most of the narrative-building you’re tempted to do. Curiosity cuts through drama in a way assumptions never will.”

Revisit, don’t initiate

Retrograde carries a reputation for being a bad time to launch new ventures or sign decisive agreements. Whether you’re planning a holiday, negotiating a contract or sketching out next year’s goals, this window is better suited for revision.

Kumaar sees this as the perfect moment to look back at what you’ve committed to: calendars, budgets, personal boundaries, expectations, even relationships. Revisions made now tend to be cleaner, sharper and more aligned with your actual needs. Think of it as updating your internal and external paperwork before the year resets.

Write instead of spiralling

Mental clutter is one of the hallmarks of this retrograde. Your mind may run a little louder, looping through old conversations or replaying events in search of answers. The more you try to contain the noise in your head, the fuzzier it gets.

Kumaar suggests channelling the excess into writing, “It doesn’t need to be poetic or polished. A few lines in a notebook can tidy your internal space far more effectively than overthinking ever will. It’s a simple act that gives your thoughts somewhere to land.”

Let silence speak

Relationships can feel slightly skewed during retrograde. Someone pulls away. Someone delays a reply. Someone becomes unusually quiet. Instead of interpreting every shift as a sign of trouble, this is a moment to let silence reveal what words can’t.

Kumaar notes that gaps in communication often show you someone’s priorities, their consistency, and their emotional bandwidth more clearly than their words. Observation is more powerful than interrogation here. Sometimes the absence of noise tells you everything you need to know.

Create closure instead of chasing it

Retrogrades have a habit of dragging old tensions back into view. But closure rarely arrives from the other person on demand. Kumaar believes it’s more effective to build your own closure deciding what you’re ready to release and what no longer deserves space in your life. Peace rooted in understanding lasts longer than peace rooted in explanation.

How Long Mercury Retrograde Affects You After It Ends?

Even after Mercury moves direct at the end of the month, its shadow stretches into early December. This is where the lessons of the retrograde settle in — not dramatically, but slowly. People often rush into decisions the moment retrograde ends, eager to regain momentum, but this is precisely when patience matters.

Kumaar’s view is steady, “The shadow is where thought becomes action, but only if you take your time. Integration isn’t glamorous, it’s careful, it’s measured and the people who respect that rhythm tend to begin December with far more clarity than those who sprint through it.”

Mercury retrograde is an optical illusion where the swiftest planet in our solar system seems to slow down and move backwards. It’s the same effect you get when a fast train overtakes a slower one, making the slower train look as if it’s rolling in reverse.

Astrologer Sidhharrth S Kumaar describes this period as mentally noisy, emotionally echoing and, at times, strangely dull. It’s a mix that makes people impatient because it mimics stagnation. But what this really means is that things aren’t stuck, they’re simply being re-examined. He believes this retrograde isn’t a cosmic disruption as much as a reset that pushes you to slow your pace, listen more carefully, and renegotiate whatever has been moving too quickly.

Kumaar offers a different reading of the tension. He says, “The delays aren’t punishment but prompts. When people bring up the past, when plans drag, when replies slow down, it isn’t a sign that life is falling apart. It’s a sign that something wants attention before the year ends.” The world, he says, “isn’t offering you one last warning, but one last chance.”

What To Expect During The Mercury Retrograde In November?

Mercury rules communication, tech and travel, so these are the first areas to feel off during a retrograde. With this one moving through Scorpio and Sagittarius, expect a blend of deep reflection and unfiltered honesty. The Scorpio phase can heighten emotions, trigger old secrets, or create confusion around trust and boundaries.

As Mercury slips into Sagittarius, the focus shifts to beliefs, big ideas and truth-telling. Conversations may become sharper, more direct, or land differently than you intend. Simply put, this retrograde pushes you inward first, then urges you to speak up sometimes more boldly than planned.

How To Make Mercury retrograde Beneficial?

That idea forms a useful lens for approaching the next few weeks. Rather than treating retrograde as something to survive, you can treat it like an audit. A quiet one, but still an audit. It invites you to check your impulses, your assumptions, your commitments and the pace at which you’ve been living. The aim isn’t to stop your life; it’s to improve the way you move through it.

Respond, don’t react

If there’s one place retrograde tests people, it’s their emotional reflexes. Something small happens and before you know it, you’ve sent the message you wish you hadn’t or snapped at someone who didn’t deserve it. These are the days when your reaction is far louder than the situation.

Kumaar stresses the value of inserting a pause, “Let your body settle before you speak. Take a breath between the thought and the response. Let your calm, not your adrenaline, choose the words. In an environment where misunderstandings grow easily, restraint becomes a kind of self-protection.”

Speak with intention

This period is notorious for communication static. You may notice people taking longer to answer, mixing up details or sounding cooler than usual. Instead of filling the silence with explanations or rapid messages, this is your cue to be deliberate. If something matters, call. If something feels delicate, meet in person.

Kumaar encourages clarity over speed, “You don’t need to send multiple texts to defend yourself or fill gaps with long explanations. Say what you mean, keep it simple and choose the time and medium with care. It’s not about speaking less; it’s about speaking with your feet on the ground.”

Ask instead of assuming

Few things spiral as quickly as imagined scenarios. Mercury retrograde has a habit of confusing signals or amplifying the gaps between what someone says and what you hear. That can make you second-guess everything from a friend’s tone to a colleague’s silence.

Kumaar’s advice is refreshingly practical, “Just ask. Not aggressively, not anxiously, just directly. A gentle “Did you mean this?” or “Can you clarify?” dismantles most of the narrative-building you’re tempted to do. Curiosity cuts through drama in a way assumptions never will.”

Revisit, don’t initiate

Retrograde carries a reputation for being a bad time to launch new ventures or sign decisive agreements. Whether you’re planning a holiday, negotiating a contract or sketching out next year’s goals, this window is better suited for revision.

Kumaar sees this as the perfect moment to look back at what you’ve committed to: calendars, budgets, personal boundaries, expectations, even relationships. Revisions made now tend to be cleaner, sharper and more aligned with your actual needs. Think of it as updating your internal and external paperwork before the year resets.

Write instead of spiralling

Mental clutter is one of the hallmarks of this retrograde. Your mind may run a little louder, looping through old conversations or replaying events in search of answers. The more you try to contain the noise in your head, the fuzzier it gets.

Kumaar suggests channelling the excess into writing, “It doesn’t need to be poetic or polished. A few lines in a notebook can tidy your internal space far more effectively than overthinking ever will. It’s a simple act that gives your thoughts somewhere to land.”

Let silence speak

Relationships can feel slightly skewed during retrograde. Someone pulls away. Someone delays a reply. Someone becomes unusually quiet. Instead of interpreting every shift as a sign of trouble, this is a moment to let silence reveal what words can’t.

Kumaar notes that gaps in communication often show you someone’s priorities, their consistency, and their emotional bandwidth more clearly than their words. Observation is more powerful than interrogation here. Sometimes the absence of noise tells you everything you need to know.

Create closure instead of chasing it

Retrogrades have a habit of dragging old tensions back into view. But closure rarely arrives from the other person on demand. Kumaar believes it’s more effective to build your own closure deciding what you’re ready to release and what no longer deserves space in your life. Peace rooted in understanding lasts longer than peace rooted in explanation.

How Long Mercury Retrograde Affects You After It Ends?

Even after Mercury moves direct at the end of the month, its shadow stretches into early December. This is where the lessons of the retrograde settle in — not dramatically, but slowly. People often rush into decisions the moment retrograde ends, eager to regain momentum, but this is precisely when patience matters.

Kumaar’s view is steady, “The shadow is where thought becomes action, but only if you take your time. Integration isn’t glamorous, it’s careful, it’s measured and the people who respect that rhythm tend to begin December with far more clarity than those who sprint through it.”

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