1945♍︎Virgo
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
WhenAugust 9, 1945♍︎Virgo 4°28′Rx windowAug 6 – Aug 30, 1945
1945 use of nuclear weapons against Japan in World War II
☿Mercury retrograde
The Retrograde Almanac · Archives
When Mercury turned,
history hiccuped.
A working dossier of well-known moments that happened to land inside a Mercury-retrograde window — the misfires, reversals and crossed wires Mercury gets blamed for. The orbital dates are real and ephemeris-based; the cosmic verdict is offered, as ever, in good fun.
639
Incidents on file
123 yrs
Span of the record
12
Signs implicated
639 incidents on file
1997♑︎Capricorn
Kyoto Protocol
WhenDecember 11, 1997♑︎Capricorn 2°03′Rx windowDec 7 – Dec 27, 1997
international treaty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
☿Mercury retrograde
1989♉︎Taurus
1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre
WhenJune 4, 1989♉︎Taurus 28°11′Rx windowMay 12 – Jun 5, 1989
Student-led pro-democracy protests in Beijing, suppressed when troops cleared Tiananmen Square on 4 June 1989.
☿Mercury retrograde
2010♑︎Capricorn
2010 Haiti earthquake
WhenJanuary 12, 2010♑︎Capricorn 6°20′Rx windowDec 26, 2009 – Jan 15, 2010
12 January 2010 magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake
☿Mercury retrograde
1959♏︎Scorpio
Antarctic Treaty System
WhenDecember 1, 1959♏︎Scorpio 24°13′Rx windowNov 14 – Dec 3, 1959
international treaties concerning Antarctica
☿Mercury retrograde
1908♋︎Cancer
Tunguska event
WhenJune 30, 1908♋︎Cancer 15°06′Rx windowJun 21 – Jul 16, 1908
powerful explosion that occurred near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River
☿Mercury retrograde✦Leap year
2019♓︎Pisces
Christchurch mosque shootings
WhenMarch 15, 2019♓︎Pisces 23°47′Rx windowMar 5 – Mar 28, 2019
terrorist mass shooting attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand
☿Mercury retrograde☉Cazimi
2025♈︎Aries
2025 Myanmar earthquake
WhenMarch 28, 2025♈︎Aries 1°14′Rx windowMar 15 – Apr 7, 2025
Earthquake impacting Myanmar and Thailand
☿Mercury retrograde
2015♊︎Gemini
Eurovision Song Contest 2015
WhenMay 21, 2015♊︎Gemini 12°55′Rx windowMay 19 – Jun 11, 2015
60th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest
☿Mercury retrograde
1956♊︎Gemini
Eurovision Song Contest 1956
WhenMay 24, 1956♊︎Gemini 5°34′Rx windowMay 14 – Jun 7, 1956
1st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest
☿Mercury retrograde✦Leap year
1950♑︎Capricorn
Constitution of India
WhenJanuary 26, 1950♑︎Capricorn 18°34′Rx windowJan 8 – Jan 29, 1950
Supreme law of India (1950-present)
☿Mercury retrograde
1945♍︎Virgo
Fat Man
WhenAugust 9, 1945♍︎Virgo 4°28′Rx windowAug 6 – Aug 30, 1945
American nuclear bomb
☿Mercury retrograde
2023♍︎Virgo
2023 Marrakesh-Safi earthquake
WhenSeptember 8, 2023♍︎Virgo 11°42′Rx windowAug 23 – Sep 15, 2023
6.8 magnitude earthquake in Morocco
☿Mercury retrograde
1918♑︎Capricorn
Fourteen Points
WhenJanuary 8, 1918♑︎Capricorn 6°04′Rx windowDec 25, 1917 – Jan 14, 1918
statement of principles for peace that was to be used for peace negotiations in order to end World War I
☿Mercury retrograde
1947♏︎Scorpio
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
WhenOctober 30, 1947♏︎Scorpio 19°47′Rx windowOct 25 – Nov 15, 1947
multilateral agreement regulating international trade
☿Mercury retrograde
2017♈︎Aries
2017 French presidential election
WhenApril 23, 2017♈︎Aries 28°05′Rx windowApr 9 – May 3, 2017
2017 presidential election in France
☿Mercury retrograde
1951♍︎Virgo
ANZUS
WhenSeptember 1, 1951♍︎Virgo 6°03′Rx windowAug 17 – Sep 9, 1951
collective security agreement between Australia, New Zealand and the United States
☿Mercury retrograde
1917♉︎Taurus
Our Lady of Fátima
WhenMay 13, 1917♉︎Taurus 27°13′Rx windowMay 5 – May 29, 1917
title for the Virgin Mary due to her alleged apparitions to three shepherd children at Fátima, Portugal
☿Mercury retrograde
1905♍︎Virgo
Treaty of Portsmouth
WhenSeptember 5, 1905♍︎Virgo 1°17′Rx windowAug 16 – Sep 8, 1905
1905 peace treaty that ended the Russo-Japanese War
☿Mercury retrograde
2017♑︎Capricorn
2017 Istanbul nightclub attack
WhenJanuary 1, 2017♑︎Capricorn 2°42′Rx windowDec 19, 2016 – Jan 8, 2017
terrorist mass shooting that occurred at a nightclub in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, Turkey, on 1 January 2017
☿Mercury retrograde
1998♈︎Aries
Good Friday Agreement
WhenApril 10, 1998♈︎Aries 13°43′Rx windowMar 27 – Apr 20, 1998
1998 peace pacts between the British, Irish, and Northern Irish governments to end the Troubles
☿Mercury retrograde
2006♓︎Pisces
78th Academy Awards
WhenMarch 5, 2006♓︎Pisces 26°23′Rx windowMar 2 – Mar 25, 2006
award ceremony presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for achievement in filmmaking in 2005
☿Mercury retrograde
1950♉︎Taurus
Schuman Declaration
WhenMay 9, 1950♉︎Taurus 26°11′Rx windowMay 3 – May 27, 1950
speech by Robert Schuman on 9 May 1950 announcing plan to pool markets for German and French coal and steel
☿Mercury retrograde
2022♉︎Taurus
Robb Elementary School shooting
WhenMay 24, 2022♉︎Taurus 29°11′Rx windowMay 10 – Jun 3, 2022
2022 mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, US
☿Mercury retrograde
Coincidence, not causation: every date is real and ephemeris-based, but a retrograde window is observed, never blamed. For entertainment, not navigation.