Mercury Retroshade: The Astrology Term That Changes How You Think About Retrograde

You already know about Mercury retrograde. You’ve blamed it for the awkward text you sent your ex. You’ve side-eyed your laptop when it crashed during an important email. But here’s the thing — the retrograde itself might not be the whole story. If you’ve been feeling the cosmic chaos before or after the “official” retrograde window, there’s a reason for that, and it has a name: retroshade.

So What Exactly Is Mercury Retroshade?

The concept of “retroshade” refers to Mercury’s retrograde shadow period, which occurs both before and after a Mercury retrograde, according to The Cut. Think of it as the warm-up act and the encore to the main event. The retrograde gets all the headlines, but these bookend periods deserve your attention, too.

The term was coined by astrologer Lisa Stardust after she observed that the pre- and post-retrograde phases can be more complex than the retrograde itself, as reported by Vogue. That’s worth sitting with for a second — the phases surrounding the retrograde may actually pack a bigger punch than the retrograde period everyone obsesses over.

If you’ve ever felt like the disruptions started hitting before retrograde technically began, or lin...