Odds & Ends: What It Means When ‘Mercury Is In Retrograde’?

I don’t know about you, but recently I’ve heard more and more people blaming Mercury for things. At first, I didn’t understand why this poor planet was being accused of breaking cell phones, causing communication issues, and just generally making every aspect of life just a little bit messed up. So, I decided to do some research and find out what it really means when someone lists “Mercury in retrograde” as the culprit in whatever issue they’re dealing with. Here’s what I found out…

Three or four times a year, the planet Mercury looks like it’s going backwards for three weeks, give or take a couple days. It’s not actually moving backwards, but it slows down a lot, which gives the optical illusion of receding, which is where the retrograde part comes in. And according to astrology, Mercury is the planet responsible for communication (including listening, talking, reading, negotiating), contracts, and transportation. Mercury is also in charge of computer code (I’m not sure how it works, but that’s what I hear…), which is why phones, computers, tablets, printers, and any other technology devices can go haywire during this time period. So because of this, all of those aspects of life can go awry during the time period of Mercury in retrograde.

Essentially, miscommunication thrives, mistakes happen, technology goes on the fritz, and travel plans can turn nightmarish. So to avoid these issues, there are a bunch of things that the experts recommend not to do when Mercury is in retrograde. And because I want to make sure none of you suffer from this planetary problem, I’ve put together a little cheat sheet for you:

What Not To Do While Mercury Is In Retrograde

  1. Don’t Sign Contracts, Talk About Contracts, Shake Hands or Swear (FYI: Email and text can be a form of contract also)
  2. Don’t Buy A New Car
  3. Don’t Start A New Job or Project
  4. Don’t Travel Too Much
  5. Don’t Buy Computers, Cell Phones or Tablets
  6. Don’t Have Plastic or Elective Surgery
  7. Don’t Repair Auto
  8. Don’t Move in Anywhere or Select a Roommate
  9. Don’t Make Any Life Changing Decisions
  10. Have “That Big Talk”
  11. Don’t take any chances on anything or anyone
  12. Don’t agree on anything and read carefully, even in text messages.

Now, it kind of seems like you can’t do anything during these time periods… However, take this with a grain of salt. Advice from the experts? Wait until Mercury goes direct to make any important decisions.

Mercury Retrograde will also affect people differently based on one’s zodiac sign.

Lucky for us, Mercury in retrograde ended December 06, 2018, and we don’t have another one until March 2019.

Now that you know what Mercury in retrograde means and what it’s blamed with causing, I want to hear from you guys…

Do you agree with this? Have you found that Mercury in retrograde actually causes some of these issues? Or do you think it’s just superstition?

Share your thoughts in the comments!

XO LEE

Leave a Reply