Don’t Fear The Retrograde☿

Mercury, the lightning quick planet of communication, technology and travel stationed Retrograde on 10th May in it’s home sign of Gemini.

What’s a Retrograde and why are they important?

It’s when a planet goes backwards rather than forwards. Mercury is the quickest of all the inner planets taking only 88 days to orbit the Sun, compared with a staggering 248 years for the dwarf planet Pluto.

Roughly 4 times a year it slows down before grinding to a halt and then appears to move backwards for about 3 weeks. It usually stays in the same sign, or part of the sky, but this year it will visit 2 signs per retrograde - from 10th to 22nd May it’s in Gemini, one of the signs it rules (the other is Virgo) and then it retreats into Taurus until 3rd June.

Retrogrades are important because the agile, forward-moving energy we usually experience with Mercury suddenly feels like it’s stagnated or ground to a halt altogether. We might experience travel delays and cancellations, journeys can take longer than expected or your car might break down. Technology can experience glitches or stop working altogether and communications often go awry, emails might fail to send, data gets lost or deleted or the important documents you sent by courier (Mercury was the OG courier - more on that in a minute!) get lost or miss the deadline. On an interpersonal level you might notice more misunderstandings, have difficulty in explaining yourself or find things get lost in translation, especially with siblings and neighbours who both come under Mercury’s domain.

Who or what is Mercury anyway?

In Greco Roman mythology, Mercury was the fleet footed messenger of the Gods with the ability to travel between the realms of heaven, earth and the underworld.

Also known as Hermes (like the couriers!) he’s associated with the healing arts and can be seen carrying the Caduceus, or Staff of Hermes which is a symbol of medicine, alchemy and renewal.

He’s the Trickster archetype as he loves pranks and practical jokes and reminds us to keep things lighthearted, fast-moving and fun.

In Tarot Mercury is represented by The Magician who channels higher consciousness for earthly manifestation, authentic self-expression, skilled craftsmanship and inner healing and transformation.

How will the retrograde affect us personally?

Mercury rules air sign Gemini, the quick thinking, eternally curious childlike chatterboxes of the Zodiac and earth sign Virgo, the detail-obsessed, super organised, health-freak healers and mystics. If you’re born under one of these signs you might feel the effects more strongly, but if you were born in a retrograde it may not be as bad! You can find out what Mercury was doing when you were born here, just put in your date of birth details and it’ll show you your natal chart, there’ll be a little R next to Mercury if it was retrograde.

In astrology Gemini rules the 3rd house of communication, transport and local community and Virgo is in charge of the 6th house of work and daily health routines so we can collectively expect these areas of our lives to be in the spotlight at every retrograde. However, our individual placement of houses may be different, so it’s worth taking a look at your natal chart to see where the energies will be showing up for you.

Mercury RX + Eclipse Season

To add another layer of intensity, we’re currently in the middle of Eclipse season! Eclipses always come in pairs, the first one on 30th April was a New Moon partial Solar Eclipse close to the North Node in Taurus that initiated new beginnings, and on 15th May there’s a Full Moon Total Lunar Eclipse in Scorpio close to the South Node that will help us release and let go of the past.

If you’d like to know what this means for you, head to my website and grab your free birth chart, or click here. Eclipse season can feel particularly unsettling when the Nodes are involved as they’re linked to karmic destiny and finding our path, so if you can this weekend cancel your plans, hibernate and practice gentle, loving self-care.

How can we use Mercury RX energy positively?

Easier said than done I know, but the best way to approach any retrograde is to go with the energy rather than against it. So rather than trying to push forwards right now, take some time to take to rest, review, revisit, rebuild, ….basically anything that starts with RE!

The Tarot card for this retrograde is 4 of Swords which speaks of the importance of pause, rest, contemplation, meditation and solitude for optimal physical and mental health.

Mercury in Gemini is the communications dream-team, but not so much during a retrograde.

From now until 22nd May:

☿ Most importantly DON’T sign any contracts until after 3rd June

☿ Re-read and re-check emails, texts and letters

☿ Review your plans and schedules and allow extra time for travel

☿ Back up important documents

☿ Dot the i’s and cross the t’s on any important documents

☿ Call instead of text to avoid the lost in translation effect

☿ Be prepared, be patient and repeat yourself as often as necessary!

After 22nd May when Mercury has slunk back into steady, earthy Taurus we can expect things to slow down even more and become more body-focused.

Mercury rules the nervous system so this is the perfect time for a mental, physical, emotional and spiritual reset

☿ Rest, rejuvenate and recalibrate - switch off your phone (if it hasn’t stopped working already!) cancel your plans (if they haven’t been cancelled already!) and be discerning about the media and information you consume.

☿ Re-connect with practices that ground and centre you, like spending time in nature, meditation, yoga or breathwork, all of which bring us into our parasympathetic nervous system and the all important rest and digest state.

☿ Re-commit to your daily health routines and rituals, hydrate properly and choose foods that nourish and sustain you.

☿ Re-evaluate your professional obligations and review your current work life balance - can you work smarter rather than harder and carve out space for quality time rather than the daily grind?

Mercury Retrograde has got a bit of a bad rap in recent years and can bring up a lot of fear and trepidation, but ultimately it’s an opportunity for us to slow down, rest and re-evaluate areas of our life that might not be working any more. It sounds like a golden opportunity when you put it like that, right?