This Is Why Mercury Retrograde Isn’t so Bad

By now you’ve likely heard the automatic groans as the sound of Mercury retrograde rears its ugly head. — but it’s not all bad. A retrograde can bring about positive vibes and new beginnings as well. Perhaps you just need a better understanding to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

What does retrograde mean?

Going retrograde means that from the Earth’s perspective, a planet appears to be going in a backwards motion. The planet itself isn’t actually moving backward in orbit, however from earth’s orbital viewpoint, the direction changes through the constellations and is said to change the expression of a planet into a less outward energy; to a more internalized one.

Mercury is the planet that rules over our mind. It represents thought processes, how we give and receive information (verbally and non-verbally), and communication in general.  Don’t forget the technology behind how most of us converse these days; computers, phones, etc, Mercury rules those too!It’s why many will attest to technology mishaps under a Mercury retrograde.

It’s a time for reflection, not panic!

Any retrograde of a planet is an important time to reflect on the area of life where the planet is passing through in your birth chart.  Depending on what sign and house it’s travelling through is where you’ll likely be finding yourself having to re-examine some things.

Over time we continually accumulate a lot of mental garbage; thoughts that don’t serve our greater purpose, over-thinking, and just plain old mental exhaustion.  Mercury likes to pick up all sorts of information, but that doesn’t always mean that it’s useful information.  Sometimes we have to stop and look at our own thought processes and measure whether our mind is working in our best interest, or if we’re letting it hinder our potential.

Breathe and self-reflect

While Mercury retrograde can often cause a lot of miscommunication and technological mishaps, it doesn’t come without good reason. Has your cell phone been destroyed under Mercury retrograde? Maybe you needed to take a break and disconnect from too much distraction. Did you end up in a major disagreement with someone that left you both feeling misunderstood?  Maybe you needed to take the time to listen more carefully before pushing your own opinion. Did a seemingly hopeful contract agreement fall through and end in disaster? It’s possible you may have rushed into something too soon before examining the fine print.

If you find things start to unravel during this Mercury retrograde — don’t panic!  Simply stop, breathe, and do some self-reflecting.  So often we dismiss the seemingly unfortunate circumstances in our lives as just that; unfortunate, however if you change your perspective to the possibility that mishaps may need to happen in order for us change direction, then everything can be looked at as an opportunity for growth — not as bad luck!

Wishing you patience and good fortune during this end of the year retrograde!