The sky on Sunday, December 6, 2026

Sun in	Sagittarius
Moon in	Scorpio
Moon phase	Waning Crescent
Illumination	6%
Ingresses	Mercury enters Sagittarius
Mercury retrograde	No

Mercury enters Sagittarius today and begins a new chapter of its cycle there. The Moon is in Scorpio, an old crescent thinning in the morning sky.

What does Mercury mean in astrology?

Mercury is the planet of thinking, speaking and exchange, and it never strays more than about twenty eight degrees from the Sun.

That closeness is why you only ever see it low in the sky near sunrise or sunset, and why it is never more than one sign away from the Sun in a chart. It spends a few weeks in a sign, and rather longer when it turns retrograde.

Astrologically it covers language, learning, trade, travel and anything that moves between two parties, including messages and money. It rules both Gemini and Virgo, the talking half and the sorting half of the same skill.

Mercury turns retrograde about three times a year. That is a matter of orbital geometry rather than a curse, and it is described on its own page here.