Mercury Retrograde gets dragged through the mud too often. However, there are some pretty ingenious ways to not only tap into the energy Mercury Rx is serving us, but also navigate it all successfully! Keep reading to learn some easy ways to navigate this potentially confusing time.
Mercury is the fastest orbital planet, other than our dear sweet lady Luna. Mercury speeds through the sky at an astonishing 107,082 miles per hour and hastily takes a mere 87.97 Earth days to orbit the Sun. Mercury is considered the "Messenger of the Gods and Mediator between Gods and Mortals." Due to the way Earth's orbit interacts with the orbits of the other planets, they sometimes appear to be traveling backward through the night sky with respect to the zodiac. This is, in fact, an illusion, which we call apparent retrograde motion. Mercury takes this apparent retrograde motion three times per year.
Mercury rules over your intelligence, perception and reason, memory, communication including speaking and writing. It reflects the way you see, hear, understand and assimilate information. It also affects daily travel, trips, and various means of transportation. Mercury energy controls the nervous system, arms, hands, and fingers. Mercury is the natural planetary ruler of both Gemini and Virgo.
When the Messenger of the Gods makes its illusionary about-face, however, that's when things get interesting! Communications get wonky and we often aren't fully understood nor are we able to really, fully understand others around us, travel plans turn tricky fast, and even worse, our electronics are subject to coffee spills, drops, or breaks! We are often also much more nostalgic during this time. Sometimes old friends from the past, and lovers too, can pop out of the woodwork, seemingly from out of nowhere! Mercury Retrograde CAN bring back an old flame but beware, often it’s for the purpose of closure, not necessarily because this is "the one that got away.”
The cool thing about Mercury Rx is that it gives us the time to really revise, revisit, restructure, rejuvenate, release, regain, revitalize, re-envision, and reframe. Basically focus on activities that start with the prefix “re-,” which means to go back. Review all your contracts before you sign. Renew your commitments, rather than making new ones. Prepare to repeat yourself often. Reunite with old friends. Redecorate a room or all of them!
Here are my top tips to help you enjoy a successful Mercury Rx.
Double, triple-check travel plans, contracts, and fine details - especially written correspondence such as text and email. Since Mercury rules over communication, travel, and basically all things information-based, these are usually the first to give us issues. Plan ahead for delays in travel or last-minute changes, and try to stay in the moment with deep breathing exercises so that you don't get overwhelmed or experience anxiety. Review all communications before sending them out if you can. It's really easy to be misconstrued or taken from the wrong perspective during Mercury Rx. Try to be as clear and concise as possible, but also understand that even though you think you're being crystal clear in your communications, there is still a possibility that you may not fully be understood.
Create Self Care Scenarios. When Mercury wreaks havoc and communication etc begins to break down ultimately causing you unwanted stress, breaking out some of those self-care routines can really help you unwind. Self-care comes in all kinds of varieties, such as journaling to help release mental/emotional stress, practicing Yoga or another form of mindful movements such as Qi Gong, or Tai Chi, calling up a trusted friend to talk it out, or even taking a spirit walk out in nature, simply observing your surroundings and taking everything in. If you enjoy soaking in the tub, salt soaks are excellent ways to transform energy + relax your muscles. The salt literally pulls out toxins from your body. Adaptogens are another delicious way to help your body combat stress hormones! Every Moon Milk recipe I share has adaptogens inside! So definitely check out those recipes in the musings section of the website! Here's a link to the current fan favorite Moon Milk recipe, CLICK ME.
Allow for a bit of Nostalgia. This may actually happen on its own! I always notice emails and messages from old friends that I haven't spoken to in a while pop in during Mercury Rx. This is an excellent time to reconnect with old friends you haven't spoken with in a while, especially if they've been on your mind lately. You might just be on their mind too! As stated above, beware those old flames, likely they're coming back into your life to offer you some closure about either the relationship or the experience is offering some type of message that your subconscious needs to hear. This leads me to my next tip!
Do your Seasonal Energetic Cleansing & Hygiene routines. This one is super important and goes right along with the flow of Mercury Rx, which is asking us to "re-organize" our lives! Check out this article to learn more about seasonal energetic hygiene to go along with your regular seasonal cleaning. This is just like Spring Cleaning, but just at the opposite end of the year.
Mercury Retrograde in Aquarius & Capricorn: January to February 2022
Mercury enters the Retrograde Zone (pre-retrograde shadow) on December 29, 2021, at 24° Capricorn 23′
Mercury stations and turns retrograde on January 14, 2022, at 10° Aquarius 20′ Rx
Mercury stations and turns direct on February 3, 2022, at 24° Capricorn 23′
Mercury leaves the Retrograde Zone (post-retrograde shadow) on February 24, 2022, at 10° Aquarius 20′
Mercury Retrograde May to June 2022
Mercury enters the Retrograde Zone (pre-retrograde shadow) on April 26, 2022, at 26° Taurus 05′
Mercury stations and turns retrograde on May 10, 2022, at 4° Gemini 52′ Rx
Mercury stations and turns direct on June 3, 2022, at 26° Taurus 05’D
Mercury leaves the Retrograde Zone (post-retrograde shadow) on June 18, 2022, at 4° Gemini 52′
Mercury Retrograde September to October 2022
August 20, 2022, Mercury enters the Retrograde Zone at 24° Virgo 12′
September 9, 2022, Mercury stations and turns retrograde at 8° Libra 55′ Rx
October 2, 2022, Mercury stations and turns direct at 24° Virgo 12′
October 16, 2022, Mercury leaves the Retrograde Zone at 8° Libra 55′
I really hope these tips and tricks help you during this Mercury Rx season. It's only about a three-week period of time when we'll really be experiencing the bulk of these issues. However remember, that as Mercury travels backward during its retrograde motion, it will eventually have to travel back over the same piece of sky it just went retrograde over to reach its origin point before it stationed Rx. This means that there is a Post Mercury Rx shadow period which lasts about two weeks after Mercury stations direct. SO keep these tips in your pocket, for repeated use throughout this Messenger's journey through the cosmos.
If you're curious about where Mercury is in your chart, schedule an Astro Natal chart reading with me, I can't wait to dive into the cosmos to help you discover the magic in your stardust!
Thank you so much for your continued support Cosmic Soul Fam!
Mucho Amor!