Mercury stations retrograde on July 7, 2019 at 4° Leo, and direct on August 1 at 23° Cancer — 25 days. From the Earth, Mercury seems to back up against the stars as we overtake it, as a car passed on the highway seems to slide backward. Astrology holds it a time for crossed wires and delays. Computed from JPL's approximate orbits; the stations agree with an almanac's to within minutes.