What Actually Is Mercury Retrograde?
“She’s Back.”
For years, I’ve blamed Mercury Retrograde after a string of bad luck. A fight with a friend or a few too many days of technology failing me, and I’ll ask myself, “Is this Mercury Retrograde?” Almost every time without fail, I open my astrology app and there it is. The retrograde has begun.
If you’re new to Western astrology, Mercury Retrograde is when Mercury—the planet that rules communication—appears to go backwards in the sky. The phenomenon is simply an illusion of planets changing direction, and it’s what modern astronomers now call retrograde motion.
“Mercury Retrograde is when Mercury—the planet that rules communication—appears to go backwards in the sky.”
“Retrogrades are essentially optical illusions seen from our view of the solar system from the perspective on Earth,” explains Kirah Tabourn, an astrologer and host of The Strology Show. From our perspective on Earth, it can appear that a planet is changing speed or seemingly changing direction.
“It’s important to know that the planet isn’t actually going backward,” says Tabourn. “All planets retrograde at some point in their cycle as seen from the Earth.”
Though all planets go through the retrograde motion, Mercury’s retrograde gains all the attention. Mercury is closest to the sun and therefore has a much shorter orbit. In fact, it takes only 88 days for Mercury to circle the sun, according to NASA. This is why we experience the retrograde three, sometimes four, times each calendar year lasting for up to three weeks at a time.
According to astrology—an ancient practice of observing the sky (this piece offers a non-whitewashed and non-heteronormative history)—each planet governs different aspects of our personality. The moon, for example, rules our emotions and feelings, and Mars is the planet of action and assertion—how we get things done.
Mercury, on the other hand, is the planet that governs communication. It's the force behind how we share our ideas, our thoughts, and experiences. It’s this specific retrograde that can impact technology and our means of sharing information on Earth, creating a general sense of unsteadiness in our everyday pursuits.
“[Mercury’s] a planet that is collectively responsible for things like commerce, communication, transportation, writing, data, facts, figures, and the devices we use to communicate with one another,” says Tabourn. “So when it goes retrograde, challenges and delays may occur around those topics.”
“Mercury’s retrograde can also bring up the past as a way to help us work through unresolved situations, helping us to move forward.”
Mercury is tricky that way. And in my own life, the retrograde often brings up my past—an ex will slide into my DMs, for example. While this feels uncomfortable, Mercury’s retrograde can also bring up the past as a way to help us work through unresolved situations, helping us to move forward.
Before blaming Mercury for what might seem like a chaotic time in life, we can ask ourselves: What can I learn from this? While Mercury is the planet of communication, it is also the planet of ideas and curiosity, which can help us find clarity and a deeper understanding.
“Retrogrades are regular invitations to slow down and reassess where you are in particular areas of life,” says Tabourn. “[They] can be immensely healing and times of recentering or recalibration.” And like it or not, this may include random texts from an ex.
Consider other areas in your life that need special attention, too. Mercury Retrograde may give you that push to finally rearrange your dresser or organize the photos on your phone.
“The slow-down helps create space for reorganization in physical and mental spaces,” says Tabourn. “So tossing out and clearing away clutter can help in the recentering process that retrogrades already invite in.”
However, to prepare for possible challenges, Tabourn recommends backing up data before the retrograde and avoiding big projects, explaining that details are often overlooked, causing frustration later.
“Be open to things not going smoothly and remain flexible enough to go with the flow.”
“More than anything, be open to things not going smoothly and remain flexible enough to go with the flow and be prepared to repeat or reschedule things as they come,” she says.
Astrology aims to help us connect to ourselves on a deeper level and the world around us. So the next time we’re in Mercury Retrograde, try to embrace it with curiosity and allow it to be a time to turn inward. Who knows what you may discover.
Is Mercury currently in retrograde? Use this easy reference to find out!
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Courtney Jay is a writer at The Good Trade. She is also a yoga instructor, health enthusiast, and sustainable fashion advocate. She believes the most powerful way to nurture the planet is to nurture ourselves. You can find more of her writing and take one of her online yoga classes on her website Coincide.