Although feared by many of us, Mercury retrograde is a natural part of our cosmos, and brings us just as many gifts as troubles. Mercury is the most frequent planet to station retrograde. If we learn how to navigate these times wisely, we can create opportunities all year long for realignment and inner growth. The first thing to understand is Mercury is not actually traveling backwards in our sky, it just appears that way. Mercury is the fastest moving planet in the Solar System, circling the Sun every 88 days, which means mercury laps the Earth up to four times a year. When Mercury passes, it creates an optical illusion, much like when a car passes another, slower moving, vehicle. It appears that the faster car is actually moving backwards for a moment, until it fully passes the slower car. This is the same effect which creates Mercury Retrograde.
Mercury rules our communication, including all of our technology. Mercury rules the part of us which absorbs information. When Mercury retrogrades, the normal flow of energy is reversed. Ideas and thoughts get stuck in our mind, instead of easily pouring out to others. The same thing happens with our digital communication; e-mail servers go down, social media platforms and our normal systems fail to meet our expectations. It can be a frustrating time. We can have a hard time speaking, writing or even creating art. The energy seems to get stuck, then like a sling shot, it breaks through in an unorganized way, confusing everyone. Below are some tips to help you get through this time and actually use it to help instead of fearing it.
COLLECT YOUR WORDS Through the period of Mercury Retrograde, pause before you speak. Take a few deep breaths and collect your thoughts, especially if you feel at a lose for words. Respect that it can be hard to clearly deliver your thoughts, and find compassion for yourself and others. Understand that any perceived blocks are superficial. The information is there, it just needs to break through the Mercury retrograde barrier.
LET OTHERS SPEAK Once we do break through and allow the words to flow, Mercury retrograde can influence us to keep talking and not allow others to get a word in edge wise. Watch out for taking up too much of the floor in meetings and dominating the conversation with your consciousness. As others speak, send them energy to help them clarify their thoughts. Create a balanced conversation, where everyone feels seen and respected.
CONNECT WITH NATURE Things do have a habit of breaking during Mercury retrograde, especially technological systems. If your website crashes or you are locked out of your e-mail, use the time to disconnect. Go for a walk, look at the sky. Remind yourself that not everything is digital, and sometimes we need a forced break from our devices to connect with what really matters, ourselves. Use this time to communicate with nature and you’ll find yourself able to deal with what is man made.
SPEND TIME WITH YOURSELF A wonderful side affect of Mercury retrograde is the increased ability to talk with yourself. Retrogrades spin the energy inward. With Mercury, our communications begin to flow inwardly instead of outwardly. This allows for deeper access to our heart, our intuition and our inner compass. Spend time journaling, and exploring the inner workings of your mind. Try to start each morning listing your gratuities and affirmations for the day. This clarity will help you pace your day and avoid some of the common Mercury retrograde pitfalls.
BE OPEN TO REALIGNMENT If Mercury Retrograde breaks something in your world, consider it a good thing. If energies are perfectly aligned, Mercury won’t be able to affect them. If he does wreck a few things, then they were never aligned in the first place. See this as an opportunity to build from the ground up. This next version will have a better foundation, hopefully so aligned it’s impervious to Mercury Retrograde, or anything else for that matter.
Disconnecting and reconnecting with the world around is a lost art in these times. Especially for those who rely on technology too make a living. Sometimes you need to take advantage of the IT breaks and remind yourself what it’s like to actually see the world as it is....