Before I knew anything about astrology, I kept hearing about the infamous “Mercury retrograde.” It would come up often as an excuse or reason for every technology issue or delay.
Email didn’t go through? Mercury retrograde.
Running late for an appointment? Mercury retrograde.
Subway slow down? Mercury retrograde.
Computer crashed? Mercury retrograde.
It seemed that whenever someone had some snag or delay, Mercury retrograde got the blame.
Pop culture astrology loves to pile on, issuing dire warnings that leave many people in fear of these pockets of time.
This is the kind of stuff the fuels the fire of astrology skeptics, and it’s not even empowering to the people making these claims.
Mercury will station retrograde at 4º06’ Virgo on August 5, 2024 at 12:56 AM ET. It will retrograde back into Leo on August 13, and will be retrograde until August 28.
Mercury is retrograde three to four times a year, for 3 weeks at a time. That’s a full quarter of the year. Most people can’t shut down their lives for a full 12 weeks of the year.
Nor should you have to.
Mercury Retrograde is the Core Element of Your Productivity System
Once I understood what Mercury retrograde really is, and how to use it constructively, I found that Mercury retrograde was an important piece in my productivity system — a built-in framework for doing the things that often get pushed aside.
Rather than fear this 3-week period of time, you can use it constructively.
Here’s what to know.
What is Mercury Retrograde?
First, let’s be clear about what this mysterious “Mercury retrograde” even is.
The planet Mercury travels fast. It’s loop around the Sun takes approximately 88 Earth-days. As we track the movements of the planets on the map of the Zodiac, Mercury is never more than 1 sign away from the Sun.
From our vantage point on Earth, which is the ways we look at planets, Mercury periodically appears to slow down and move backward for a few weeks. The planet is not actually moving backward; it’s an illusion.
It’s similar to how if you’re on a train that is moving past another train that is moving slowly or stopped, that other train appears to be moving backward.
Astrologer April Kent has explained that Mercury retrograde happens when Mercury start to get a little too far from the Sun, like a child who runs ahead of her parent on the street. Mercury then comes back for the Sun.
Why Do People Blame Mercury Retrograde For Snafus?
First, it’s important to understand that every planet appears to be retrograde at a certain point. Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto all spend anywhere from 4–7 months retrograde.
Mars goes retrograde approximately every 2 years, for about 2 months. Venus goes retrograde every 18 months, for exactly 40 days.
Mercury retrograde likely gets a bad rap because it happens frequently and for a short enough duration that people notice it more.
Every planet is an archetype and is associated with certain life topics. Mercury is the Messenger. It is the planet associated with communication and travel — travel being the way messages were once communicated.
Because of this association, at some point people started blaming tech snafus and travel delays on Mercury Retrograde.
Here’s the thing: tech issues will happen. Delays are inevitable.
They may even seem to happen more during Mercury retrograde. But when we blame external forces for our delays we remove our agency to fix the problem.
How to Empower Yourself During Mercury Retrograde
A more empowering way to work with Mercury retrograde is to consider it as a period of review.
When the inevitable delays arise, instead of blaming them on Mercury Retrograde, consider what new systems you need to put in place to ensure that those snafus or hiccups won’t happen again.
Each Mercury retrograde follows the same pattern, giving us a structure for the review.
The start of the Mercury retrograde often reveals a particular problem or issue that is calling for us to review. Sometimes this will reveal itself in the lead up to Mercury stationing retrograde or in the early days.
At the midway point of the retrograde, when Mercury meets up with the Sun, we get a moment of clarity and insight.
As Mercury stations direct, it will go back over the same part of the sky. This is where we implement the new approach to the old problem.
The sign (or signs) through which Mercury is retrograding help inform us about the area of life that is coming under review.
How to Approach Mercury Retrograde From an Empowered Place
Mercury retrograde is a time to slow down and review a part of your life:
- What is working?
- What is not working?
- What systems need to be tweaked?
- What decisions must be revisited?
This is not a time to rush into decisions or take impulsive action. It’s a time to go slowly, to look carefully at what systems and structures in your life aren’t working anymore, and to find new approaches that will work better.
Read more about how to work with Mercury Retrograde in Virgo here.
[…] pop astrology, “Mercury Retrograde” is often spoken in hushed voices of fear. However, in my approach of […]