☿ Mercury rules thought, speech & commerce. In 2026 it makes 32 notable moves, entering Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius. Every date, the nakshatra it lands in, and whether it's still retrograde or combust is below.
| Date | Planet | Transit | Rāśi (sign) | Nakshatra · pada | Status | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | ||||||
| Sat17Jan | Mercury | Sign change | ♐︎ Sagittarius♑︎ Capricorn | Uttara Ashadha · 2 | ☀ Combust | A fresh chapter for thought, speech & commerce — Mercury leaves Sagittarius for Capricorn. |
| February | ||||||
| Tue3Feb | Mercury | Sign change | ♑︎ Capricorn♒︎ Aquarius | Dhanishtha · 3 | ☀ Combust | A fresh chapter for thought, speech & commerce — Mercury leaves Capricorn for Aquarius. |
| Tue10Feb | Mercury | Combust clears | Aquarius | Shatabhisha · 2 | — | Mercury steps clear of the Sun — its light, and its significations, return. |
| Thu26Feb | Mercury | Retrograde | Aquarius | Purva Bhadrapada · 3 | ℞ Retro | Mercury turns retrograde — a spell to revisit and refine thought, speech & commerce, not to begin. |
| Fri27Feb | Mercury | Combust begins | Aquarius | Purva Bhadrapada · 3 | ℞ Retro☀ Combust | Mercury slips into the Sun's glare — its themes dim and turn erratic for a while. |
| March | ||||||
| Sun15Mar | Mercury | Combust clears | Aquarius | Shatabhisha · 3 | ℞ Retro | Mercury steps clear of the Sun — its light, and its significations, return. |
| Sat21Mar | Mercury | Direct | Aquarius | Shatabhisha · 3 | — | Mercury turns direct — thought, speech & commerce picks the thread back up and moves forward. |
| April | ||||||
| Sat11Apr | Mercury | Sign change | ♒︎ Aquarius♓︎ Pisces | Purva Bhadrapada · 4 | — | A fresh chapter for thought, speech & commerce — Mercury leaves Aquarius for Pisces. |
| Thu30Apr | Mercury | Sign change | ♓︎ Pisces♈︎ Aries | Ashwini · 1 | — | A fresh chapter for thought, speech & commerce — Mercury leaves Pisces for Aries. |
| May | ||||||
| Sat2May | Mercury | Combust begins | Aries | Ashwini · 1 | ☀ Combust | Mercury slips into the Sun's glare — its themes dim and turn erratic for a while. |
| Fri15May | Mercury | Sign change | ♈︎ Aries♉︎ Taurus | Krittika · 2 | ☀ Combust | A fresh chapter for thought, speech & commerce — Mercury leaves Aries for Taurus. |
| Wed27May | Mercury | Combust clears | Taurus | Mrigashira · 1 | — | Mercury steps clear of the Sun — its light, and its significations, return. |
| Fri29May | Mercury | Sign change | ♉︎ Taurus♊︎ Gemini | Mrigashira · 3 | — | A fresh chapter for thought, speech & commerce — Mercury leaves Taurus for Gemini. |
| June | ||||||
| Mon22Jun | Mercury | Sign change | ♊︎ Gemini♋︎ Cancer | Punarvasu · 4 | — | A fresh chapter for thought, speech & commerce — Mercury leaves Gemini for Cancer. |
| Mon29Jun | Mercury | Retrograde | Cancer | Punarvasu · 4 | ℞ Retro | Mercury turns retrograde — a spell to revisit and refine thought, speech & commerce, not to begin. |
| July | ||||||
| Fri3Jul | Mercury | Combust begins | Cancer | Punarvasu · 4 | ℞ Retro☀ Combust | Mercury slips into the Sun's glare — its themes dim and turn erratic for a while. |
| Tue7Jul | Mercury | Sign change | ♋︎ Cancer♊︎ Gemini | Punarvasu · 3 | ℞ Retro☀ Combust | A fresh chapter for thought, speech & commerce — Mercury leaves Cancer for Gemini. |
| Thu23Jul | Mercury | Combust clears | Gemini | Punarvasu · 1 | ℞ Retro | Mercury steps clear of the Sun — its light, and its significations, return. |
| Fri24Jul | Mercury | Direct | Gemini | Punarvasu · 1 | — | Mercury turns direct — thought, speech & commerce picks the thread back up and moves forward. |
| August | ||||||
| Wed5Aug | Mercury | Sign change | ♊︎ Gemini♋︎ Cancer | Punarvasu · 4 | — | A fresh chapter for thought, speech & commerce — Mercury leaves Gemini for Cancer. |
| Fri14Aug | Mercury | Combust begins | Cancer | Pushya · 3 | ☀ Combust | Mercury slips into the Sun's glare — its themes dim and turn erratic for a while. |
| Sat22Aug | Mercury | Sign change | ♋︎ Cancer♌︎ Leo | Magha · 1 | ☀ Combust | A fresh chapter for thought, speech & commerce — Mercury leaves Cancer for Leo. |
| September | ||||||
| Mon7Sep | Mercury | Sign change | ♌︎ Leo♍︎ Virgo | Uttara Phalguni · 2 | ☀ Combust | A fresh chapter for thought, speech & commerce — Mercury leaves Leo for Virgo. |
| Sun13Sep | Mercury | Combust clears | Virgo | Hasta · 1 | — | Mercury steps clear of the Sun — its light, and its significations, return. |
| Sat26Sep | Mercury | Sign change | ♍︎ Virgo♎︎ Libra | Chitra · 3 | — | A fresh chapter for thought, speech & commerce — Mercury leaves Virgo for Libra. |
| October | ||||||
| Sat24Oct | Mercury | Retrograde | Libra | Vishakha · 3 | ℞ Retro | Mercury turns retrograde — a spell to revisit and refine thought, speech & commerce, not to begin. |
| Thu29Oct | Mercury | Combust begins | Libra | Vishakha · 2 | ℞ Retro☀ Combust | Mercury slips into the Sun's glare — its themes dim and turn erratic for a while. |
| November | ||||||
| Thu12Nov | Mercury | Combust clears | Libra | Swati · 2 | ℞ Retro | Mercury steps clear of the Sun — its light, and its significations, return. |
| Fri13Nov | Mercury | Direct | Libra | Swati · 2 | — | Mercury turns direct — thought, speech & commerce picks the thread back up and moves forward. |
| December | ||||||
| Wed2Dec | Mercury | Sign change | ♎︎ Libra♏︎ Scorpio | Vishakha · 4 | — | A fresh chapter for thought, speech & commerce — Mercury leaves Libra for Scorpio. |
| Mon7Dec | Mercury | Combust begins | Scorpio | Anuradha · 1 | ☀ Combust | Mercury slips into the Sun's glare — its themes dim and turn erratic for a while. |
| Tue22Dec | Mercury | Sign change | ♏︎ Scorpio♐︎ Sagittarius | Mula · 1 | ☀ Combust | A fresh chapter for thought, speech & commerce — Mercury leaves Scorpio for Sagittarius. |
Every ingress (from → to), retrograde/direct station and combustion begin/end — computed from full-precision VSOP87B ephemerides with the Lahiri ayanamsa. The Status column carries a planet's ongoing retrograde / combustion until it changes. Dates are IST and may shift a day for your timezone.
The live transit board shows where every planet — the Moon included — is right now, on a gochar chart, and lets you step to any month or year.
Open the live transit board →Mercury enters Capricorn on 2026-01-17; enters Aquarius on 2026-02-03; enters Pisces on 2026-04-11; enters Aries on 2026-04-30; enters Taurus on 2026-05-15; enters Gemini on 2026-05-29; enters Cancer on 2026-06-22; enters Gemini on 2026-07-07; enters Cancer on 2026-08-05; enters Leo on 2026-08-22; enters Virgo on 2026-09-07; enters Libra on 2026-09-26; enters Scorpio on 2026-12-02; enters Sagittarius on 2026-12-22.
Yes — Mercury turns retrograde and later direct in 2026; the exact station dates are in the table, and the Status column shows how long it stays retrograde.
A transit is where a planet is in the sky now versus at your birth. Vedic astrology reads these live positions — sign, nakshatra, retrograde and combustion — to time events.