Mercury's stay in Capricorn is prolonged due to its retrograde cycle in this sign. It turns backwards at 21 Capricorn on December 26 and goes direct at 5 Capricorn on January 15.

Mercury, the planet of communication and mental activity, is likely to keep us more focused on practical matters when in earthy Capricorn. Organization is a key idea here, one that enables bits of data to be cobbled together into larger patterns. This intellectual structuring helps transform concepts into reality.

The Mercury in Capricorn perspective is acutely aware of hierarchies. This means that conversation may become more about who's on top than a real sharing of information. Sensitivity to how communication and control are linked is strong during this period. Casual remarks are not associated with this placement. Information, rather, must have a purpose.

Building is a real positive here, along with a more mature view of reality. However, there can also be a pessimism born of Capricorn's potentially narrow focus. Abstraction can be lost in Cap's need for clear, sharp and practical information. It's important, then, to not lose sight of the value of idle thinking and speculation during this otherwise goal-oriented time.

Golf heroes Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus were both born with Mercury in Capricorn, as were singers Michael Stipe, Elvis Presley, Annie Lennox, Peter Gabriel, Natalie Cole and Dolly Parton. Mercury was in Capricorn for activists Angela Davis, Jane Fonda, Germaine Greer and Vanessa Redgrave, conservatives Ronald Reagan and Dr. Laura Schlessinger, actors Samuel L. Jackson, Mel Gibson, Bridget Fonda, Nicolas Cage and Mary Tyler Moore, the funny Ellen Degeneres, funnier Boris Yeltsin and funniest Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.

Mercury Retrograde: A Modern Look by Rick Levine

For more on Mercury see An Interview with the Messenger by Alice DeVille.