Mercury Station — Definition

A planet stations when its apparent motion slows to zero before reversing. Mercury stations twice in each retrograde cycle — once going retrograde (station retrograde) and once turning forward again (station direct). Astrologers consider the station days the most concentrated part of the retrograde, because the planet sits at the same degree for several days running. Communication snags, second-guessing, and odd timing are most common in these windows.

Example

A pattern of unusually slow email replies clustered around the Mercury station is the kind of detail astrologers pay attention to.