Seasons & Astrology
How to spend the Mercury retrograde — and Jupiter enters Leo
Mercury turns retrograde on June 30. How to spend it without bracing — and the other big move landing on the same day: Jupiter's entry into Leo.
Yuki 2 min read
Tomorrow, June 30, Mercury turns retrograde. On the same day, Jupiter moves into Leo. A day that tends to be talked about heavily and a bright turning point happen to land together. Today I want to write about how to spend both.
The sky at noon on June 29, 2026.
Mercury retrograde is not a day to brace for
Mercury first. The retrograde gets tied to crossed wires and scrambled plans so often that some people tense up at the word alone.
For the past few years I have treated this period as something like “a stretch where I check things a little more”. Read the email once more before sending it; confirm a plan in one line. That alone removes most of the scrambling. There is no need to give anything up, or to freeze every big decision, because of a retrograde.
What the period actually suits is looking back. Actions that start with “re-” — rereading, redoing, reconnecting — breathe well with these weeks. Instead of starting something new, go back once and put things in order. Spend the three weeks or so that way, and the retrograde stops being something to fear.
On the same day, Jupiter enters Leo
And on June 30, Jupiter moves into Leo. Jupiter changes signs roughly once a year, and it is read as bringing expansion and a tailwind to the themes of the sign it enters.
Leo is the sign of expressing yourself, stepping forward openly, and making things. With Jupiter here, being more fully yourself gets a push from the wider mood for about a year. While the retrograde has you steadying your footing, a larger tailwind waits just past it. The end of this month is that kind of two-step turning point.
Toward July
The retrograde runs for a while yet, but Jupiter in Leo is a theme that starts to work from July on. Next month I’ll write separately about the air this Jupiter creates.
For now, take a look in Hoshidou at your natal Mercury, and at what sits around Leo in your chart. You’ll start to see where the retrograde, and Jupiter’s tailwind, are likely to land for you.