Your Guide to Mercury in Retrograde

Photo from pop sugar 

The phrase ‘Mercury in retrograde’ tends to elicit strong reactions: anxiety, frustration, anger. Probably the most misunderstood astrological phenomenon, Mercury’s retrograde period is definitely eventful, but it’s really not all as bad as some astrologers and astrology fans hype it up to be. If anything, it proves itself to be a great reset button before a potentially heavy astrological season.

All planets in our system move around the sun in a direct motion. However, there are a few planets that occasionally spend from a couple weeks to six months in retrograde motion, meaning they appear to move backwards according to our Earthly perspective and orbit. Because Earth moves at a much slower pace than planets like Mercury and Venus do, it creates this illusion that the other planet passing Earth at a faster rate has switched its direction and moved backwards. Mercury will be in apparent retrograde May 29-June 22. 

In astrology, a planet entering retrograde means that whatever is usually ‘ruled’ or influenced by that planet will face some sort of disruption. Mercury, which is known as the ruler of travel and communication, is then seen as an extreme retrograde period because disruptions in things like communication, travel, weather and even technology can become disastrous. For instance, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti that killed more than 220,000 people took place under Mercury in retrograde on January 12th. Later that year, on April 20th, Mercury was again in retrograde when an explosion on BP’s oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico led to the biggest oil spill in history.

It's no wonder people say to expect the worst during Mercury in retrograde:

• You might miss appointments

• You might have car trouble

• You’ll experience flight delays or massive traffic out of nowhere

• You might fight with friends or family over miscommunication

• You’ll miss an important call or email

• Your laptop or other technology might break

Yes, this is all possible. When you look at it from an astrological standpoint, it makes sense. When the ruler of a certain area or focus is moving in backwards motion, it symbolizes that things will not go smoothly, but ultimately it comes down to how we react to these situations that really determines our experience during Mercury in retrograde. With normal, everyday life being disrupted in both small and big ways, we are being asked to slow down our pace and perhaps instead of pushing forward, find alternatives. Find new ways to take care of old problems. 

Mercury in retrograde is essentially a pause and reset button. It’s astrology’s way of saying, what we were doing before cannot continue — find another way to get it done. Get flexible and learn to move with more intention rather than trying to speed your way through major life decisions.

Another big theme with Mercury in retrograde is the past making a comeback. It’s said that during this time period, exes always come back up, as well as old situations. This is essentially a sign from the universe that whatever is still unresolved or is unfinished business needs to be addressed and handled before moving forward. Think of it this way: you can’t start something new while still holding on to old baggage!

With this in mind, there are plenty of ways to use the energy around Mercury in retrograde to your advantage:

Because you’re not encouraged to start something new, you should instead put focus towards old projects that you never got around to finishing. Or maybe revisit old habits or hobbies that you never properly put energy towards when you first got into them. You might surprise yourself with being able to pick things back up again and get a new perspective on how to do it right or better this time around.

When it comes to old connections popping back up, you should be aware that it’s not the time to get back into a relationship with an old flame or get back into a friendship or partnership with an ex-friend. But it would be a good time for you to reevaluate your role in the fallout — how did you contribute to it? Can you look at the problem from a different angle? What has this taught you about the situation, about yourself and the other person involved?

All in all, things will certainly not work as smoothly as they used to — how can you work with that energy rather than work against it? How can you be more flexible about achieving goals? What are the good things that come out of these disruptions and delays? What are they trying to teach you?

One final thing to keep a note of is that Mercury is present in everyone’s birth charts, meaning the planet has some influence on you over a certain area in your life. Before the planet enters a retrograde period you should take a look at your birth chart (you can create one for free on astrology websites) and see where the planet or the sign of Gemini falls within your chart. That specific area is where you might experience more issues than usual while Mercury is in retrograde.

Overall, Mercury is not a planet to fear, and there are much more chaotic retrogrades that take place throughout the year (I’m looking at Saturn and Pluto!). What matters most during Mercury in retrograde is how you are reacting to the obstacles placed in front of you. This is a chance to take it easy, move slower but with intention, and to deal with any leftover baggage before it really weighs you down. This is intentional energy; use it to your advantage and your Mercury in retrograde should be smooth.