Ego, Drama & the Truth Behind the Mask
(Pre-shadow phase began June 29)
Mercury Retrograde July–August 2025: What to Expect ?
Mercury retrograde in Leo takes place from July 17 to August 11, 2025, and it’s already in motion. Why? Because the pre-shadow phase began on June 29, and since then, things may have already started feeling a bit off, conversations feel weird, people act more sensitive or prideful, and drama seems easier to trigger.
Unlike other silent retrogrades, this one is loud. When Mercury, the planet of communication, goes retrograde in this fire sign. It challenges your ego, your identity, and your ability to stay honest with yourself and others.
Mercury Retrograde in Leo – What It Brings Up
This Mercury retrograde transit can stir intense emotional reactions and inner conflict.
Here’s what you might notice:
- Moments of arrogance or stubbornness (even from unexpected people who usually avoid drama)
- The more someone tries to explain or prove something, the more they expose insecurity instead of strength
- Subtle bragging or oversharing comes off as attention-seeking
- People may “act” nice to fix relationships, but their real intentions may get exposed during this transit.
- Childish behavior can show up, especially from those craving attention
- If you tend to attract drama, this period might feel like daily episodes of emotional theatre.
A Deeper Twist: Mars + South Node in Virgo Are Feeding This Retrograde
What makes this retrograde even more intense? Mars and the South Node are both transiting sign ruled by Mercury. That means Mercury is not just retrograde, it is under pressure from both old habits and fiery impulsiveness coming through the sign of control, perfectionism, and overthinking.
This combo can bring:
- Mental overload: over-analyzing, nitpicking, self-criticism
- The urge to fix, explain, or control what others think of you
- Shifting between emotional drama and complete emotional shutdown
Essentially, your heart wants to express, but your mind wants to guard or protect.
The result?
You might feel blocked, confused, or reactive.
This part of the transit is showing you
- Where you are clinging to control
- Where you are overthinking your emotions
- Where your desire to “get it right” is keeping you from being real.
What NOT to Do During This Mercury retrograde
- Don’t overshare just to gain approval, it may weaken your presence
- Don’t perform emotional honesty if its not real, it will feel hollow
- Don’t rush to fix relationships, protect your image, or control others perception
- Don’t fall into old cycles of overworking, overthinking, or proving yourself
What TO Do Instead
- Speak less, observe more and don’t react, people are just showing their truth,
- Protect your energy from emotionally chaotic people and environments
- Ground yourself, do things that nourish your heart, not your image
- Breathe through emotional triggers instead of reacting
- Let go of trying to “fix” everything, some truths need silence, not solutions
Final Thoughts on Mercury Retrograde in Leo
This Mercury retrograde in Leo is here to strip away the ego masks to free you. With Mars and the South Node conjunction in the background, it is tempting to fall into micromanaging or controlling behaviour. But thats not the path.
This is a moment to soften. To stop performing. To be honest with yourself.
Not everything needs to be fixed, some things just need to be felt and released.
You don’t need to perform to feel perfect. You are here to be real.
Astrometry Astrology 