July 13, 202601:26 UTC☉inferior cazimi
♋︎20°42′ CancerIn the heartJul 12, 21:11 → Jul 13, 05:41 UTC
Mercury passes between Earth and the Sun — the exact midpoint of a retrograde. The Cancer retrograde →
The Retrograde Almanac · Cazimi
Mercury, in the
heart of the Sun.
Cazimi: the moment Mercury stands within 17 arcminutes of the Sun — close enough, tradition says, to sit on its throne. Every crossing below is computed from a real ephemeris, to the minute.
23
Crossings on file
11
Mid-retrograde (inferior)
12
Mid-direct (superior)
When is Mercury next cazimi?
…
Consulting the ephemeris…
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Days
––
Hours
––
Minutes
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Seconds
until the exact conjunction
The geometry
Two crossings, one sightline.
Mercury laps the Sun from our vantage every ~116 days, crossing the Earth–Sun line twice — once between us and the Sun, once behind it. Watch the sightline, then watch the telescope: the cazimi orb of 17 arcminutes is almost exactly the Sun's own apparent radius.
From above · orbits to scale
From Earth · true angular scale
☿
−20°under the beams ±17°combust ±8°30′cazimi ±17′+20°
Free of the beams
Mercury runs clear of the glare, more than 17° from the Sun — visible at dawn or dusk, speaking with its own voice.
Analytic model · real periods (88 d / 365 d) and 7° tilt · bodies not to scale — the ledger below carries the real dates
The idea
Too close to burn,
close enough to crown.
✶Astrological tradition — for entertainment, not astronomy
Traditional astrology measures a planet's dignity by its distance from the Sun. Drift within seventeen degrees and a planet is under the beams, washed out in the glare. Press within eight and it is combust — scorched, weakened, unheard. But at the very center the verdict flips: within seventeen arcminutesof the Sun's heart, a planet is cazimi — seated on the throne, its signal amplified rather than burned away.
The astronomy underneath is exact. Cazimi is a Sun–Mercury conjunction in ecliptic longitude, and it comes in two kinds. Inferior: Mercury passes between Earth and the Sun — always the precise midpoint of a retrograde, which is why astrologers treat it as the turning of the tide. Superior: Mercury rounds the far side of the Sun at full apparent speed, mid-direct. The two alternate strictly, roughly every two months.
The dates and windows on this page are not transcribed from any almanac — they are computed from the same VSOP87-class ephemeris that drives the rest of this site, refreshed daily.
The ledger
Every crossing, to the minute.
Each conjunction below is computed from the real ephemeris — the exact moment Mercury's longitude meets the Sun's, and the window it spends inside the traditional 17-arcminute orb. All times UTC.
August 27, 202617:04 UTC☉superior cazimi
♍︎4°27′ VirgoIn the heart10:15 → 23:54 UTC
Mercury rounds the far side of the Sun — the midpoint of its direct motion, moving at full speed.
November 4, 202614:25 UTC☉inferior cazimi
♏︎12°11′ ScorpioIn the heart11:28 → 17:22 UTC
Mercury passes between Earth and the Sun — the exact midpoint of a retrograde. The Scorpio retrograde →
January 1, 202717:09 UTC☉superior cazimi
♑︎11°03′ CapricornIn the heartJan 1, 05:33 → Jan 2, 04:41 UTC
Mercury rounds the far side of the Sun — the midpoint of its direct motion, moving at full speed.
February 18, 202716:39 UTC☉inferior cazimi
♒︎29°48′ AquariusIn the heart13:28 → 19:50 UTC
Mercury passes between Earth and the Sun — the exact midpoint of a retrograde. The Pisces retrograde →
April 28, 202721:23 UTC☉superior cazimi
♉︎8°22′ TaurusIn the heartApr 28, 15:33 → Apr 29, 03:11 UTC
Mercury rounds the far side of the Sun — the midpoint of its direct motion, moving at full speed.
June 23, 202708:00 UTC☉inferior cazimi
♋︎1°40′ CancerIn the heart03:33 → 12:26 UTC
Mercury passes between Earth and the Sun — the exact midpoint of a retrograde. The Cancer retrograde →
August 11, 202711:01 UTC☉superior cazimi
♌︎18°35′ LeoIn the heart04:45 → 17:18 UTC
Mercury rounds the far side of the Sun — the midpoint of its direct motion, moving at full speed.
October 19, 202715:31 UTC☉inferior cazimi
♎︎26°01′ LibraIn the heart12:28 → 18:35 UTC
Mercury passes between Earth and the Sun — the exact midpoint of a retrograde. The Scorpio retrograde →
December 11, 202722:17 UTC☉superior cazimi
♐︎19°38′ SagittariusIn the heartDec 11, 10:02 → Dec 12, 10:30 UTC
Mercury rounds the far side of the Sun — the midpoint of its direct motion, moving at full speed.
February 2, 202808:47 UTC☉inferior cazimi
♒︎13°01′ AquariusIn the heart05:45 → 11:48 UTC
Mercury passes between Earth and the Sun — the exact midpoint of a retrograde. The Aquarius retrograde →
April 11, 202822:57 UTC☉superior cazimi
♈︎22°34′ AriesIn the heartApr 11, 16:46 → Apr 12, 05:06 UTC
Mercury rounds the far side of the Sun — the midpoint of its direct motion, moving at full speed.
June 2, 202802:46 UTC☉inferior cazimi
♊︎12°06′ GeminiIn the heartJun 1, 22:17 → Jun 2, 07:14 UTC
Mercury passes between Earth and the Sun — the exact midpoint of a retrograde. The Gemini retrograde →
July 25, 202813:06 UTC☉superior cazimi
♌︎3°07′ LeoIn the heart07:13 → 19:00 UTC
Mercury rounds the far side of the Sun — the midpoint of its direct motion, moving at full speed.
Past crossings
May 14, 202614:24 UTC☉superior cazimi
♉︎23°48′ TaurusIn the heart08:48 → 19:59 UTC
Mercury rounds the far side of the Sun — the midpoint of its direct motion, moving at full speed.
March 7, 202611:02 UTC☉inferior cazimi
♓︎16°53′ PiscesIn the heart07:39 → 14:25 UTC
Mercury passes between Earth and the Sun — the exact midpoint of a retrograde. The Pisces retrograde →
January 21, 202615:49 UTC☉superior cazimi
♒︎1°37′ AquariusIn the heartJan 21, 05:31 → Jan 22, 02:03 UTC
Mercury rounds the far side of the Sun — the midpoint of its direct motion, moving at full speed.
November 20, 202509:23 UTC☉inferior cazimi
♏︎28°18′ ScorpioIn the heart06:31 → 12:15 UTC
Mercury passes between Earth and the Sun — the exact midpoint of a retrograde. The Sagittarius retrograde →
September 13, 202510:52 UTC☉superior cazimi
♍︎20°55′ VirgoIn the heart03:19 → 18:29 UTC
Mercury rounds the far side of the Sun — the midpoint of its direct motion, moving at full speed.
July 31, 202523:40 UTC☉inferior cazimi
♌︎9°01′ LeoIn the heartJul 31, 19:39 → Aug 1, 03:40 UTC
Mercury passes between Earth and the Sun — the exact midpoint of a retrograde. The Leo retrograde →
May 30, 202504:11 UTC☉superior cazimi
♊︎9°01′ GeminiIn the heartMay 29, 22:42 → May 30, 09:40 UTC
Mercury rounds the far side of the Sun — the midpoint of its direct motion, moving at full speed.
March 24, 202519:47 UTC☉inferior cazimi
♈︎4°25′ AriesIn the heart16:09 → 23:25 UTC
Mercury passes between Earth and the Sun — the exact midpoint of a retrograde. The Aries retrograde →
February 9, 202512:07 UTC☉superior cazimi
♒︎21°00′ AquariusIn the heart03:08 → 21:02 UTC
Mercury rounds the far side of the Sun — the midpoint of its direct motion, moving at full speed.
Cazimi, answered
Asked of the Sun's heart.
What does cazimi mean?
Cazimi is the moment a planet sits in the heart of the Sun — within 17 arcminutes of the Sun's position along the ecliptic. The word reached Latin astrology from the Arabic kaṣmīmī, "as if in the heart." Astronomically it is the instant of exact Sun–Mercury conjunction in ecliptic longitude.
How is cazimi different from combust or under the beams?
Traditional astrology grades closeness to the Sun. A planet within roughly 17 degrees is "under the beams," hidden in the glare; within about 8 degrees it is "combust," considered weakened. Cazimi is the exception at the very center: within 17 arcminutes the planet is said to sit on the Sun's throne, fortified rather than burned.
How often is Mercury cazimi?
Six or seven times a year. Mercury laps the Sun from our point of view more often than any other planet, passing it on the near side (inferior conjunction) and the far side (superior conjunction) in strict alternation, roughly every two months.
Does cazimi happen during Mercury retrograde?
Every inferior cazimi does — it is the exact midpoint of a Mercury retrograde, the moment Mercury passes between Earth and the Sun. Superior cazimi is the opposite: it lands mid-direct, when Mercury rounds the far side of the Sun at full apparent speed.
How long does a cazimi last?
The peak is an instant, but Mercury spends a measurable window inside the 17-arcminute orb — typically several hours. Inferior crossings are quicker, since Mercury moves fastest against the Sun then; superior windows can stretch toward a full day. The ledger on this page lists each window to the minute, in UTC.
Cazimi's flavor is tradition; its timing is astronomy. Every timestamp above — including the next crossing — comes straight from the ephemeris, in UTC.