Were you born during
Mercury retrograde?
Enter a birth date to see whether Mercury was retrograde when you were born; the checker covers every Mercury retrograde from 1900 to 2050, to the minute in UTC.
Pick the offset of the place and season of birth, for example UTC−05:00 for New York in winter or UTC+01:00 for Paris in winter.
What the answer means
A yes means the birth fell between Mercury's station retrograde and its station direct, the weeks when Mercury appears to move backward against the stars as seen from Earth. A no means Mercury was moving forward; the checker then names the nearest retrograde and says whether the birth fell in its pre-shadow or post-shadow.
These are astronomical facts about apparent motion, not a horoscope or a reading of a birth chart. How the stations and shadow are timed.
The data
Every Mercury retrograde from 1900 to 2050, 476 cycles, from the JPL DE421 ephemeris, to the minute in UTC: /v1/mercury/cycles-1900-2050.json. The date you enter is checked in your browser and is not sent anywhere.
Questions
Was I born during Mercury retrograde?
Enter the birth date above; for example, a birth on March 15, 1990 at 12:00 UTC gets this answer: No, Mercury was direct when you were born; the nearest retrograde ran from April 23, 1990 at 06:55 UTC to May 17, 1990 at 02:02 UTC in Taurus.
How often is Mercury retrograde?
About three times a year, for roughly three weeks each time; in 2026 Mercury stations retrograde on February 26, 2026 at 06:48 UTC, June 29, 2026 at 17:36 UTC, and October 24, 2026 at 07:13 UTC.
What if I don't know my birth time?
Leave the time empty and the checker answers for the whole day, and it says so when Mercury changed direction that day, as on April 23, 1990 at 06:55 UTC, when Mercury stationed retrograde.