When is the next Mercury retrograde and how long does it last?

Hold on to your hats - Mercury is about to go into retrograde, again.

Often associated with chaos, confusion and frustration, people can find themselves feeling a bit lost and frazzled during Mercury retrogrades. Occurring three or four times a year, retrograde is actually an optical illusion.

It can appear, from the Earth's perspective, that a planet has abruptly switched directions and has started to move in reverse across the sky, according to Old Farmer's Almanac. This is simply an illusion caused by the position of Earth in relation to that of the planet since a planet in orbit always travels in one set direction and can’t suddenly reverse course.

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The upcoming Mercury retrograde is due to begin on Wednesday, August 23. Read on to find out how long it will last, which zodiac sings will be most affected and how to prepare.

The third Mercury retrograde of the year begins on August 23 and ends on September 15 - so it will go on for a little over three weeks.

Mercury rules both Gemini and Virgo, so these two signs will be most heavily affected by the upcoming retrograde. But because Mercury is the planet that rules thoughts and connections, its retrograde has a habit of creating communication mishaps for all signs of the zodiac.

The final Mercury retrograde of the year will start on December 13 until January 1, 2024.

Psychic World and astrologer Inbaal Honigman warn that retrograde can cause a lot of upset in your relationships, whether they're romantic or platonic. Plans may get rearranged or cancelled, you may accidentally say the wrong thing, or you may find yourself having more arguments with your loved