MERCURY RETROGRADE + WEEKLY ASTROLOGY FORECAST: NOVEMBER 9 – NOVEMBER 15

MERCURY RETROGRADE IN SAGITTARIUS, JUPITER STATIONS RETROGRADE IN CANCER, MERCURY CONJUNCT MARS

The ground is shifting beneath the surface. After last week’s Taurus Full Moon and Uranus’s reentry into Taurus, the field remains subterranean and tectonic. We’re in the Mercury retrograde shadow, tipping into the station, with Jupiter turning inward in Cancer and a charged Mercury–Mars conjunction in Sagittarius. This is descent work for the mind and widening work for the heart.

Slow your pace, widen your presence, and let belief soften into truth.

THEMATIC OVERVIEW

We are in a collective in-between: the old architecture dissolves while the new remains unnamed. The nervous system reads thresholds as threat, even when they are invitations. The task is to befriend uncertainty, strengthen capacity, and anchor in what is tangible and true.

Scorpio season continues to compost what is outgrown. Taurus has reawakened the lesson of embodiment and material integrity. Sagittarius opens the window to meaning but asks for humility so the mind does not harden around certainty.

MERCURY RETROGRADE IN SAGITTARIUS

November 9 begins Mercury’s retrograde from 6° Sagittarius back to 20° Scorpio, lasting through November 29. This is an underworld journey through belief, language, and perspective. Expect revisions to philosophies and plans, dissolving of dogma, and clarity about where performance has replaced precision.

Practice the single-breath pause. Let your body verify statements before your mouth does. Allow questions to remain open. Truth is lived and tested, not declared at speed.

Themes to watch:
• Reworking stories that define identity and worldview
• Editing philosophies, contracts, or teaching plans
• Reconnecting with inner guidance over external authority
• Humility over certainty, curiosity over conclusion

JUPITER STATIONS RETROGRADE IN CANCER

On November 11, Jupiter turns inward in Cancer, initiating an emotional review that extends through March 2026. Jupiter has been expanding the terrain of belonging since June—home, family, roots, nourishment, and the capacity to be held. The retrograde deepens that work.

Questions for reflection:
• What does safety feel like in my body, not just as an idea?
• How has my definition of home expanded since June?
• Which emotional boundaries need strengthening, softening, or repair?

Jupiter’s retrograde colors Mercury’s cycle. Growth comes from tending roots. The heart widens not by bypassing feeling, but by metabolizing it.

MERCURY RETROGRADE CONJUNCT MARS IN SAGITTARIUS

On November 12, Mercury retrograde joins Mars in Sagittarius for the second of three conjunctions. This is mental combustion—swift thoughts, stirred convictions, and the temptation to react. The invitation is to transform reactivity into response.

Aligned expression:
• Name the belief driving the impulse
• Let the nervous system complete a full wave before acting
• Respond from value, not velocity

Misaligned expression:
• Arguing to win rather than to understand
• Mistaking adrenaline for guidance
• Acting for relief instead of truth

This transit is ideal for rewriting scripts, reclaiming your voice, and channeling sacred anger into clear requests and clean boundaries.

MONEY, SAFETY, AND URANUS BACK IN TAURUS

Uranus’s return to Taurus reopens the body-based review that began in 2018—resources, value, the Earth, food, land, money, and the structures that sustain life. Collective markets may fluctuate; personal values are meant to stabilize.

Let your budget reflect your vows, your calendar reflect your care, and your home practices reflect nervous system safety.

Anchor points:
• Simplify obligations and concentrate on essentials
• Choose one tactile ritual daily—cooking, grounding, tending home
• Re-ground new insights into lived experience

KEY DATES

November 9 — Mercury stations retrograde in Sagittarius (6°), tracking back into Scorpio through November 29
November 11 — Jupiter stations retrograde in Cancer
November 12 — Mercury retrograde conjunct Mars in Sagittarius

CLOSING

This week asks for humility of mind and generosity of heart. Let belief loosen its grip so truth can breathe. Cultivate roots that can move like kelp—fixed to what is real, fluent with what is changing.

Descent now is not delay; it is alignment.

— ALI OFSTEDAL

THIS BLOG IS A REVISED TRANSCRIPT OF EPISODE 125 OF MY PODCAST “SOUL ARCHAEOLOGY”.

Tune into the latest episode of soul archaeology for a full energetic download. available on all platforms