Is your calendar mixing up the times and dates for your plans and maybe you’ve even had to mourn the sudden passing of a phone or other mechanical apparatus? That's because It's here again!
Mercury is heading backward in the sky for a while so here are my tried and true tips and tools for navigating the next few weeks. Maybe you've already felt the shadow of Mercury and communication in all its forms has been distorted, leading to misunderstandings and confusion piling up.
Mercury is the planet that rules communication in all forms: speech, writing, information, technology, money, systems, contracts, transport, travel, coordination, ideas and business. So these are all areas that can be challenging to move forward in when their ruler has decided to take inventory and spend some time looking back.
Mercury rules the Sun signs of Virgo and Gemini and base number 5. If you have these signs in your chart and/or were born on the 5, 14, or 23 in any month and/or the digit sum of your birth year is 5 - like 1985; then you might feel the influence of the retrograde period more intensely.
Mercury is connected to your body’s central nervous system. While we mostly talk about Mercury as a ruler of the communication that takes place outside your body, it can be helpful to pay attention to any anxiety or old thought patterns that resurface in this period.
Your brain interprets and sorts all the information that your nervous system picks up and when communication pathways get blocked or confused the brain suddenly doesn’t have all the information it needs to analyze a situation and choose the best response. Be patient with yourself, the impulses that show up and anything that feels counter-intuitive, you might have to sit with a decision or emotional challenge for a bit until it unravels itself for you.
A tip for your business in this period: Make sure you back-up important files, write down notes from meetings straight away and confirm any appointments or calls scheduled for the next few weeks.
It’s the small, everyday transactions and meetings that get affected the most when Mercury is in retrograde. Since it’s all the little details that in the long run snowball into something that genuinely trips you up, it’s imperative to pay extra attention to the details of any agreements and transactions that come up. This means triple-checking plans and confirming details. Read the fine print or wait on signing up for anything that shows up in your inbox during this period.
Pro tip: Re-frame any negative thoughts that come up during this period. Any emotions that are ready to be released or brain pathways that are ripe for reprogramming will appear now. Know that Mercury is here to do you a favor by de-cluttering your life, even if it feels like it’s trolling you six ways from Sunday.
Any relationships that were started during a retrograde period will often be tested during the next one. This is a time to clear confusion and move on with clarity and renewed faith in the future. Make sure you’re both on the same page and understand what the other person needs. Take the love language test or read up on Marshall Rosenberg’s work on nonviolent communication – both excellent sources if you want to expand your tools of clear and effective communication.
Pay attention to everything that resurfaces in your life right now. See if it's time to rewind, reinvent, rediscover, recover, reread, realign, relearn, research, redecorate, release or recommit to the things that pop up.
Get rid of excess baggage. Mercury might break your belongings or even make them suddenly disappear if you're overdue for an upgrade. Instead of getting overly protective and buying a Kryptonite lock for your bike helmet, spend your energy on releasing and expanding. This means de-cluttering, cleaning out your spaces and head, resetting boundaries, deleting, unsubscribing, unfollowing and disengaging from people, places, and platforms that no longer serve you and bring you joy. Make space for better things by getting rid of the old. Make sure you don't cop out on this one by falling into the trap of organizing things - by just moving the piles around or storing it differently.
Re-frame your year. Are you stuck in some rat race with a previous version of yourself? This retrograde period is giving you a chance to slow down, take stock and dwell on the ways you’ve expanded and explored the areas that Mercury rules. It’s helpful to not look for failures or successes but more for areas of growth and challenge. When looking at communication in all its shapes – how have you expressed your truth since the beginning of this year? Where have you stepped up or protected yourself by stepping aside? What are the ways you have grown and authentically shown up in line with your essence and wishes for the future?
A note on name changes and Mercury in retrograde. Should you wait or postpone a name change until after Mercury goes direct? It depends on if the idea of the change is something that predates the retrograde period or if you suddenly got inspired to book a session during Mercury’s backward move. As a rule, projects, ideas, and plans made before a retrograde period can be worked on and followed through to the end. New ideas, partners, and policies should be put on the back burner until at least a week after Mercury heads back in forwarding motion.
Remember to breathe and laugh! If nothing else Mercury in retrograde is here to show us that the majority of the control we think we have over our lives is an illusion. When things don’t work out, or you show up 3 hours late to a meeting it’s the best test of your ability to relax the perfectionist idea you have of ‘how it’s supposed to be!’
100% Love
Novalee Wilder
Professional Numerologist + Writer
PS: I loved this video by Colin Bedell on the Mercury/ Mercutio figure in Romeo & Juliet as a great reminder on not shooting the messenger the next few weeks.
PPS: Forward this blog to a friend who needs a guide to Mercury Rx, we all could use a little support during the next few weeks.
PPS: Is mercury actually retrograde? Check here if you're unsure.