Should You Be Worried About The Mercury Retrograde?

When everything seems to be going out of hand, most people just attribute it to bad luck. But as someone who believes in astrology, one likely explanation for all the chaos is Mercury retrograde.

This is a phenomenon that happens about three or four times every year. When Mercury retrograde occurs, the planet Mercury appears to be traveling backward in its orbit.

This has some serious consequences since the planet Mercury has a lot of significance in Astrology. The planet Mercury rules communication and intellect and a retrogression in its orbit can lead to problems with the zodiac signs associated with it.

The Mercury retrograde phenomenon occurs about three to four times a year. In 2021, it happened three times; the final one for the year began on September 27th and lasted for four weeks, ending on October 18th.

What is Mercury retrograde?

The Mercury retrograde is an astrological phenomenon. It occurs when the planet Mercury—which is typically fast-moving—seems to slow down. Planets move from east to west around the sun, but during a Mercury retrograde, Mercury appears to be moving backward from west to east.

But Mercury retrograde is actually an optical illusion, the planet itself isn’t really moving backward as it appears. Instead, the observation is due to the difference in the speed of Mercury and Earth. While it takes the earth 365 days to circle the earth, Mercury only takes 88 days. The difference in speed makes it seem like Mercury is slowing down in its path as it overtakes earth.

Astrologers believe that this phenomenon has repercussions down here on earth. During these seasons of backward movement which may last for three to four weeks, all the aspects of life associated with Mercury are affected. What are these effects and how can someone prepare against them?

What are the astrological effects of Mercury retrograde?

Astrologists attribute Mercury to all things related to technology, travel, and communication. Thus, when Mercury retrograde occurs, people will experience troubles and failures in these aspects of life. The effects may vary from a simple one like texts failing to deliver, forgetting to attach a file to a mail you are sending, or more serious ones like leaked secrets or a fallout with a friend.

The effects of Mercury retrograde may also depend on the time of the year in which it occurred and is likely to reflect on the sacred message you receive at that time of the year.

For instance, the last Mercury retrograde for 2021 occurred at the height of the Libra season. Since Libra governs partnerships, relationships were highly affected by the Mercury retrograde leading to miscommunications, breakups, and shakeups in both romantic and non-romantic relationships.

But Mercury retrograde not only impacts events, but it can also affect people directly too affecting their ability to process things properly, anxiety, brain fogginess, and confusion. Also, the planet’s backward motion can affect memory, bringing back nostalgic past events, meetings with old friends, ex-lovers, and so on.

Will Mercury be in retrograde in 2022?

As earlier mentioned, Mercury retrograde occurs 3 to 4 times in a year. For 2022, the planet’s retrograde motion will happen four times, with the first one on January 13th and lasting till February 3rd. The second event for the year will happen on May 10th and last till June 2nd. The third event for the year will begin on September 9th and end on October 1st.

The final Mercury retrograde for 2022 will begin towards the end of the year on December 28th and last well into the new year, finally ending on January 18th, 2023.

How to thrive during Mercury retrograde?

Given all the confusion and disarray associated with the Mercury retrograde season, it is common for people to worry about how to thrive during this season. The simple trick to surviving the Mercury retrograde season is to relax, pause and take time to reflect.

Astrologers often recommend that you take time to observe various aspects of your life during this season and identify those areas where changes are required after the retrograde ends. But you should also avoid making any big decisions as they may be affected by the cosmic upheavals of the season.

As far as the physical effects of the Mercury retrograde go, here are a few tips that may help with that:

• Cleanse your personal space, electronic devices, and cars with lavender
• Keep lapis lazuli, citrine, or any other healing crystal around to aid communication
• Keep a journal to keep track of your thoughts and feelings
• Meditate regularly to reach a state of peace.

Top survival tip during the Mercury retrograde

Many people tend to blame Mercury retrograde for all the chaos that happen in their lives during this season. However, not all the disarray that happen is caused by retrograde.

In some cases, you may be losing balance simply because you’re overexerting yourself in various aspects of your life. The best approach is to take a step back to reflect and rediscover who you are and what you are doing or aren’t doing right.

Filed under: Astrology