Mercury Retrograde Gets a Bad Rep

It may feel like we hear about Mercury Retrograde all the freaking time, but that’s because Mercury Retrograde occurs three to four times a year and it lasts for about three and a half weeks each time. So just when you thought you survived one, guess what? Another one comes along!

What is a Retrograde?

If you are new to the phenomenon of Retrogrades, let me give you a quick schooling lesson here. Every planet goes into Retrograde at some point or another. And when a planet goes in Retrograde, it looks like it's actually stopping. And then moving backwards, thus retro, to go back. It basically looks like it's asleep at the wheel and the planet itself is no longer able to operate at its normal speed and strength.

So when Mercury, the planet of communication, is asleep at the wheel, shit goes cray + haywire. Like your plane gets delayed, your computer dies right before you're about to go live or says that there is an error error loading. You are texting with your best friend and you're talking smack about a nightmare client, but then you accidentally send that text TO that nightmare client. Essentially, Mercury in Retrograde has the potential to cause some serious havoc on your life and just ruin your plans.

Shadow Period

Also, I do want to make mention that those who are really sensitive to energy will probably be sensing the intensity leading up to a planet going Retrograde. There is always a 2 week shadow period that happens before any planet goes Retrograde.

During a Mercury RX shadow period, you may feel highly perceptive, (like really intuitive) or you may just be extra sensitive overall. You could feel really tired. Your emotions have probably been shifting gears—going from one really extremely high point to an extremely low point in a very short amount of time.

You may feel like you’re experiencing a tug of war and you're being pushed and pulled — like you're losing control. If you are sensitive to energy, then you're probably experiencing the effects of this.

How It Benefits Us

In truth though, this all happens for our highest good because it's from this place that our awareness is raised and we see who and what we are actually prioritizing. You can now see where you're placing all of your energy and if it's in the right areas. And you can also now see what needs to be removed from your life.

This is an opportunity for us to release all of the negativity that has been occupying space in our life. And the reason why we want to release all of that is that we can make way for what this new reality, this new wave of energy is going to be bringing to us.

REMEMBER: Everyone experiences retrograde, not just you. So remember to be kind, remember to be loving to ourselves, to others and just be patient.

Mercury Retrograde Energy

During Mercury Retrograde, our old traumas may be brought to the surface. We may notice that we are way more triggered than usual and all of these painful memories could be popping up out of nowhere. It's possible during Mercury Retrograde that someone from your past may even get in contact with you. They may feel like they should reach out. Especially if they feel there is unclosed chapter.

The energy of Mercury Retrograde could be causing emotional release of unhealed or unacknowledged wounds. They could be emotional wounds, they could be psychological wounds and you may not even know that you've been suppressing them. But this is going to be a period of immense transformation, rejuvenation and healing if you allow that to happen.

Don’t Be Like Most People

During Mercury Retrograde, the majority of people tend to get irritated, remain aggravated and blame everyone and everything without actually looking at what is being placed in front of them.

You're being given an opportunity literally to work on old shit. And if you don't know how to work through that, it's not a bad idea to do some energy healing. We are essentially purging and getting rid of the stuff that is holding us back right now. When it is acknowledged and processed, that is when the karmic-like attachments that you have to a particular situation are going to just resolve themselves.

Again, this is a period for really purging stuff that isn't in alignment with who you truly are. So those bad habits, anything in your life that's destructive, any obsession, addiction, repetitive thinking, toxic relationships, etc. - if you allow it, they can naturally disintegrate. But to kind of assist this whole process, our focus needs to be on letting go of those attachments to people and the situations that have caused drama and turbulence so that you can rise above those old patterns of behavior and move towards making beautiful connections with authentic and aligned souls.

Retrogrades in general are catalysts for positive transformation because they radiate these amazing bursts of energy that dramatically shake and alter our lives. They give us the opportunity to wipe the slate clean and turn things around for ourselves - for the better.

However, maybe it doesn’t have to be quite so bad? Maybe you can even learn how to love it – or at least learn how to make the most of it.

5 Ways to Make the Most Out of Mercury Retrograde

1. Don’t start any new projects - wrap up loose ends on the old ones.

You need to wrap up those loose ends on all the old projects. Since Mercury is the planet of communication, messages, transportation technology, travel—a lot of things can go haywire if you just continue to embrace that masculine, go, go, go energy and push towards your future goals. So instead of irritating yourself by trying to make progress on projects that you have in front of you, focus on wrapping up loose ends.

This is the time to catch up on the old projects and check things off your list. I'm sure you've got plenty of things stacked up on your desk that you have been putting off or are on the back burner. So this is the perfect time to catch up on those. When Mercury Retrograde is over and you are all done tying up those loose ends, then you've got less projects and more space in your mind to put towards new projects.

2. Practice the Re’s.

It's fairly common knowledge out there that with Mercury Retrograde it's really good for all things beginning with the letters RE. So renew, rewind, refresh, reflect, rejuvenate, revise. And instead of worrying about what not to do, be open to the idea that you may have to come back to your ideas or your projects later and rework them or rehash them out a little bit more.

3. Be on guard for the lessons, trials and triggers.

Another thing that's really common during Mercury Retrograde is that we end up needing to fix things. So our computers can be, you know, blowing up, our phone can shit the bed, your car battery could die. Instead of looking at these things as annoyances, look at it as a sign that you need to slow down and you need to look around you to pay attention to all of the things that you would normally take for granted.

One reason why I personally love when Mercury in Retrograde is because it forces me to slow down. If you tend to be like most of us and are always “on” - the universe has a funny way of FORCING you to slow down. You gain this greater appreciation for when things do work out the way they're supposed to or when things go according to plan.

Maybe by chance those annoyances will lead you to discover a new path or maybe a new idea that you wouldn't have thought of before because you were so ingrained in that very masculine “go, go, go” energy from before.

4. Give yourself plenty of cushions of time and grace.

So we've already established that things can go crazy, right? And this is the perfect opportunity for you to take your time with things. Leave early if you need to. If you're flying somewhere - double, triple, quadruple check that you have everything. Traveling during Mercury Retrograde isn't necessarily the worst thing in the world (although I’m sure some out there would disagree). It's just that you more than likely could experience some sort of setback.

By the time that Mercury Retrograde has ended, I normally find myself in so much more clarity and clarity on what my goals actually are because I want to achieve it instead of thinking I have to achieve it. Does that make sense? It's like we're given a chance to take the pause that we so often don't, and appreciate and see the things that we often bypass.

Try to remain open to everything that is happening. Try not to look at Mercury Retrograde as like this big, bad wolf that's out to get you. It's meant to help us heal and help us pause and do the things that we so often overlook. You may have been in need of a new perspective on something.

5. Pay attention to your intuition to allow for adjustment.

Listen to what your intuition is telling you, not your emotions, because emotions are always going to be much higher during a Retrograde. When we view any retrograde as a gift, it will help us readjust ourselves. And how we communicate ourselves to the world. It's really a time to figure out what it is we want because compromising and playing small ball truly are things of the past.

Take time to pay attention to where things are stuck. Look at your home life and be aware that you're probably going to have miscommunication and disagreements happen. Technology issues are the most prominent example of Mercury being in Retrograde.

It's a matter of whether or not you take the time to pause and see what's going on around you. Those lessons that keep reappearing and repeating in your life—they will keep happening and you're probably going to experience them during Mercury Retrograde because it's the universe's way of saying you need to learn this lesson.

You've all seen the memes that say things like, “Go home, Mercury, you're drunk and nobody likes you.” It's not that big of a deal, but we don't like to experience hiccups in our normal day to day routines. And that's what Mercury is known for. This is a period to detox and it's a period to really reflect on what is going on in your life because Mercury Retrograde no matter what is going to force you to shift and you're going to resemble a Phoenix when it is over when you re-emerge from it and rise again.