How Your Solar Return Mercury Sign Changes The Way You Think Each Year
The planets in your birth chart and solar return chart can vary, altering your approach to life.
Your natal chart in astrology may tell you about your overall personality in life, but if you want to find out how every individual year affects you, solar return astrology is your best bet.
Solar return Mercury
Unlike your natal Mercury sign, which reveals your natural communication style and the way you think and process information, your solar return Mercury placement is all about how you think and communicate over the course of your personal new year that begins on your birthday.
Solar return Mercury in Aries
When your solar return Mercury is in the zodiac sign of Aries, your mind will be able to connect dots faster than usual and tap into your intuitive side better. You will be more open to intellectual adventures and trying new things.
Of course, your curiosity may sometimes lead to gags and mistakes, but Aries energy is extraordinarily good at unlocking one's courage. So don't be surprised if your creative blocks suddenly become non-existent and you find yourself standing out from the crowd as a creative director with a thirst for the new.
Solar return Mercury in Taurus
When your solar return Mercury is in the zodiac sign of Taurus, your mind and intelligence will be preoccupied with financial matters and how to stabilize your income and wealth. But you will be more interested in tried-and-tested techniques than eccentric schemes. Some people with this placement seek out mentors, books, podcasts, and other resources to help them in this regard. You may also become heavily interested in improving your vocabulary and knowledge of the financial world and the arena of investments.
Solar return Mercury in Gemini
When your solar return Mercury is in the zodiac sign of Gemini, you will have a good year from an intellectual standpoint. If you are a student, you will find it easier to accumulate knowledge and get good scores on tests. You will also be curious about new advancements and ideas that may open new doors for you. Your wit and humor can become strikingly sharp, too. And if you have faced issues with communication, you will find yourself getting better or coming across resources that help you become a better communicator.
Solar return Mercury in Cancer
When your solar return Mercury is in the zodiac sign of Cancer, your mind will be highly attuned to the emotional currents within you and the world around you. You will find it easier to read between the lines, differentiate between truth and lies, and also know when someone needs help even when they are saying they are fine.
The way you reach out to others and help them won't be emotional and compassionate, at least not in the traditional sense of those words. Instead, your tactics will aim to solve problems as quickly as possible. You can think of it as the difference between being a therapist who aims to solve your emotional trauma and a friend who allows you to dump your feelings on them and continue to indulge in bad habits and patterns.
Solar return Mercury in Leo
When your solar return Mercury is in the zodiac sign of Leo, you will need recognition for your intelligence and contributions, otherwise all hell will break loose. But that's not necessarily a bad thing — this placement bestows a lot of confidence in one's intellectual capabilities and makes intelligent actions a source of pride and high self-esteem.
You will not be satisfied by thinking like pedestrian everybodies. The desire to stand out from the crowd and be successful will be paramount. And so will be the desire to engage intellectually with folks one considers to be “better in quality” than the rest.
Solar return Mercury in Virgo
When your solar return Mercury is in the zodiac sign of Virgo, your mind will be your best friend during the year. You may not desire to stand out from the crowd (as that may get in the way of your processes), but you will absolutely need acknowledgment for your contributions. There's a humanitarian aspect to this placement too, but not like one sees with Aquarius. You will want to engage your mind to solve problems because they will irk the hell out of you. And if the consequence of that a better life for other people, then it's win-win for everyone.
Solar return Mercury in Libra
When your solar return Mercury is in the zodiac sign of Libra, you will be an absolute pro at working the crowd, whether that's in a familiar gathering, at a conference or during a networking event. You will instinctively know what to say when to make new friends and get people to collaborate with you. This placement makes it easier to land opportunities and contracts too, especially if one has a sales job or wants to advance in one's career or social standing in some way.
Libra energy also makes one more aware of multiple aspects of a situation so you will be less likely to offend anyone or take unnecessary sides during such a year.
Solar return Mercury in Scorpio
When your solar return Mercury is in the zodiac sign of Scorpio, your mind will crave intellectual stimulation of the deep kind. Shallow conversations will irk you, half-hearted presentations and books will annoy you and unsolved mysteries will occupy your mind in more ways than one. You may even find your taste in entertainment changing that year with a deep need to watch or consume things that take you down intense rabbit holes.
“Because I said so” will be the most annoying thing anyone can say to you when you have such a Mercury placement. You will need to understand the why, what, where, how, and everything else in between.
Solar return Mercury in Sagittarius
When your solar return Mercury is in the zodiac sign of Sagittarius, your mind will be curious about the world and will feel unsatisfied if you stick to your side of "the pond." Exploring new places, interacting with new people (especially if they are foreign to you in some way), learning new languages and consuming content that you haven't tried before are all indicated here. This placement can quickly turn a person worldly-wise and curious, even in matters of politics, socio-economics, and other serious matters.
Solar return Mercury in Capricorn
When your solar return Mercury is in the zodiac sign of Capricorn, your mind will be extremely sharp and focused during the year. No one will succeed in distracting you if you don't want to be distracted.
You will also find yourself preoccupied with “building things” inside your mind, be it the outline for a creative project, a plan for taking your business to the next level, how to improve your conditions in life and more. Your intelligence will be methodical and goal-oriented. Costs and benefits analyses will become a regular occurrence for you, whether in your personal life or elsewhere.
Solar return Mercury in Aquarius
When your solar return Mercury is in the zodiac sign of Aquarius, your mind will constantly look for fascinating discoveries to think about and engage with. The more eccentric the idea, the more joy you will derive from having a conversation about it or thinking of how implementing such an idea might affect society and our collective future.
Your conversations will also take a more philosophical and futuristic direction with interests ranging from transhumanism to AI to deep-sea habitation and more. (And that's just in this decade.)
Solar return Mercury in Pisces
When your solar return Mercury is in the zodiac sign of Pisces, your mind will work in ways that may seem confusing and even illogical to most people, but there will be a deeply intuitive quality to it that only a few will understand. This placement can truly make you stand out as a creator with the consumers of your work unable to understand how you do what you do but deeply fascinated by it nevertheless.
Dormant psychic abilities can also come to the surface during such a year. And if you already know you have extrasensory gifts, it will be easier for you to channel them when you have solar return Mercury in Pisces.
Valeria Black is a Tarot Card Reader, astrologer and YouTuber with expertise in charm-casting, runes, and all things magic. She writes about astrology, tarot and spirituality.