Ever have a week when nobody understands you? Your cell phone erases itself, people argue over nonsense, traffic sucks, and your computer crashes as you're typing the last sentence of your Great American Novel?
Bleck! It’s mercury retrograde time again! Although Mercury doesn’t “officially” go retrograde until April 17, the backward energy started being felt on April 10th.
Three or four times a year, Mercury passes the earth in its orbit. From a space-geek's telescope, this creates the illusion that Mercury is spinning backward. Mercury rules communication, travel, and technology -- so all of these areas go haywire for about three weeks.
Are we having FUN yet? Just wait.
Now, most people know Mercury as the ruling planet of all things ‘technological.’ Phones, computers, cars, appliances, electronics, etc. Computers crash, emails disappear, cell phones start random dialing, washing machines bite the dust (and eat the laundry), and the car starts acting up or breaks down., or both.
(A special note: Back up your computer, calendar and cell phone address book. Expect delays if traveling, and pack a book to entertain yourself while you wait for the tardy bus or plane. Get in touch with old friends – and don’t be surprised if people from your past track you down. RANDOMLY and without reason or notice. Mercury also rules contracts, so think before you ink. Either wrap up important negotiations before the cycle starts, or wait to sign documents until Mercury goes direct.)
Mercury is also the ruler of all things joined together - closely associated with all realms of communication; thinking, writing, concentrating, expression, comprehension and speaking. Finding yourself tongue tied, searching for words, misunderstood or forgetting what you were saying in the middle of a sentence? Blame it on Mercury’s retrograde action!!
There are plenty of upsets and snafus that go with Mercury retrogrades – which is why many of us shudder, shake and stick out our tongues at the mere mention of one. How does one avoid a nervous breakdown during a Mercury Retrograde, you ask? For starters, focus on the prefix “re-“, which means to go backward. Don’t start anything new. Review all your contracts before you sign. Renew your commitments, rather than making new ones. Prepare to repeat yourself often.
And remember, (this is really important) the purpose of a retrograde is to slow us down and make us take notice - forcing room in our busy and hectic lives for retrospection, introspection and contemplation.
Now before you get all mopey and despondent, there IS a silver lining….. Mercury retrograde is a great opportunity to handle unfinished business. Most of us start a million things that we don’t complete, never realizing how much psychic clutter this creates. The retrograde is like a quarterly review, a chance to tie up those loose ends and create a clear vision for the future. Take advantage of it, and you’ll emerge fresh and ready when Mercury goes direct. As the cliché goes; what you resist persists. So the more you can embrace having zero control (and isn't control an illusion, anyhow?), the better you'll survive this cycle.
That and a few tips from the “I survived Mercury Retrograde” files.
WHILE MERCURY IS RETROGRADE:
Stay in bed and pull the covers over your head. This one only lasts until May 12. A little too extreme for you? OK – be out in the world, but take these “Retrograde Survival Tips” along with you:
(warning: this most probably falls under the redundant catagory, but some people like bullet pointed lists. If you aren't one of those people you can skip past this part.....)
• Mercury is a mental planet, and much of how we experience it (whether direct or in retrograde) involves our attitude.
• Remember all the “RE” WORDS such as Re-confirm, re-assess, re-evaluate, re-commit, re-view, re-new, re-start, re-vise, re-search, re-write and re-submit! (And any other “re” words you can think of!!)
• Slow down! Take a breath! Rushing often works against us, but particularly during a Mercury retrograde. Take the time to really think things through.
• Be careful with communications. Misunderstandings are almost guaranteed! Don't put ulterior motives where they don't exist!
• Don't make major purchases during a retrograde. This is not the time to buy a house, car or that big screen TV.
• Avoid making long term commitments. Just about anything can wait. If you do commit to something, be prepared for it to get shuffled around, be more challenging, work out differently, have delays, and generally work out differently than you planned.
• The way to make commitments is not words, but actions. The things you do during a Mercury retrograde establish a pattern, and you can use the time to get the pattern the way you need it. It may be challenging, but you will get some good opportunities to tune your routines and work out the bugs.
• Work on resolving the past. Take the emphasis off of new projects and plans and wrap up those things you may have started but not finished.
• Things that seem broken usually aren't, so don't try to fix them - it will usually make things worse! If something isn't working 'right' - leave it alone and 'do' nothing until the station-direct in three weeks.
And on the lighter side, here are 10 reasons to love a Mercury Retrograde from the astro-twins at “astrostyle”;
1. If your computer crashes, at least you don't have to work.
2. If the train doesn't show up, well, you can't really work either.
3. You have an instant excuse for being a raging bitch.
4. You can pretend that you "just didn't understand" annoying people.
5. You no longer have to drunk-dial an ex to hear his voice-- he'll probably call you first.
6. No need to invent elaborate stories when you run late; just blame Mercury.
7. You'll finally lose the contact information of all those toxic people you needed to ditch anyway.
8. When the Internet goes down, you'll actually go outside this spring.
9. If you're a control freak, you'll be forced to learn the art of surrender (okay, so maybe it's not so great -- but we'll blame Mercury retrograde for giving us this crappy idea).
10. Procrastination is no longer a bad habit, it's an "essential coping strategy."
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