Some people (like me, an easily frazzled Gemini) count cracked iPhones, awkward conversations, and inconvenient transportation delays as part of daily life. Others are quick to consider Mercury retrograde—the notorious astrological occurrence believers say happens several times a year and allegedly ruins lives communication, contractual matters, and more for about three weeks at a time.
Whether you’re chatting with friends who warn you not to buy that new laptop or you’re consoling someone who just had a major email fight with an ex, odds are you or someone you know has muttered, “Mercury retrograde,” to explain a misfortune or the need for acting with extra caution. Since yet another Mercury-retrograde period just started on February 17, now’s as good a time as any to talk about this phenomenon.
We at SELF fall all over the map when it comes to astrological beliefs. Some of us harbor a not-so-secret fascination with the stars and planets (there might be a staffwide spreadsheet with our sun, moon, and rising signs), while others among us are committed skeptics. It’s all good. But given how pervasive Mercury-retrograde conversations can be, we wanted to explore how public fascination around it (i.e., tweeting, chatting, meme-ing, and muttering) might actually influence our experiences during this time (and what you can do to make things a little easier if you’re pretty freaked out about Mercury ruling your life for a bit).
First, let’s talk about what Mercury retrograde is from a scientific perspective. Mercury retrograde means the planet appears to be moving backward instead of following its usual forward trajectory. “Retrograde is an optical illusion,” Aliza Kelly, a celebrity astrologer and host of the podcast Stars Like Us, tells SELF, adding that all planets have periods of this seemingly retrograde motion. But, as Kelly explains, “Planets don’t ever really go backward in the sky.” Then what’s actually happening?
Every planet in the solar system travels around the sun, but they each make the full journey at different speeds. Planets closer to the sun, like Mercury, have a shorter orbit than the ones farther away from the sun, like Earth. So, when Mercury laps Earth, it looks as if Mercury is traveling backward, according to the Farmers’ Almanac. To account for the difference between our perception and the reality, astronomers call this illusion “apparent retrograde movement,” per the Farmers’ Almanac. Even though this happens with every planet, Kelly posits that Mercury gets the most attention because it goes retrograde more frequently than other planets. Astrological interpretations of Mercury’s role in our lives also play a part.
“Mercury is the planet that governs communication and expression,” Kelly says. “Any conduit for transmission or expression is going to be ruled by Mercury. This includes communication, technology, [and] transportation.” For those who believe that Mercury governs certain aspects of our lives, when the planet appears to be moving backward, we shouldn’t count on any of these parts of our lives moving forward at a normal pace.
Kelly says that since mercurial energy governs such big parts of our daily lives, these retrogrades don’t bode well for the natural order of our overly communicative world. This is why it’s not unusual for horoscopes to warn against making major decisions during this time.
Even if you don’t really believe in astrology, ubiquitous conversations about the retrograde planet might still make you feel like life is a bit more chaotic than usual in these times. This is especially true if your more astrologically inclined friends are blaming your life mishaps on Mercury retrograde.Most Popular
“Across different fields of psychology, there’s lots of evidence that we will distort information, or misremember information, or do things that make us feel comfortable and confirm our worldviews. We’ll forget the information that doesn’t fit with the schema that we have,” Kate McLean, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Western Washington University and an associate editor of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, tells SELF. McLean, whose research focuses on how people interpret important events from their lives to maintain a coherent sense of identity, explains that human beings are naturally inclined to categorize and predict events so as to make the process of interpreting reality a bit quicker. While McLean’s work doesn’t involve astrology, she says that people often employ these types of beliefs to help make sense of what’s happening around them. “The kind of satisfaction that comes from that stability, predictability, and confirmation is pretty strong,” she says.
This can all be harmless if you’re just a bit on edge before and during the retrograde period (especially if, ahem, your entire job is based on communicating effectively via the internet). But if you’re having major Mercury-retrograde-related jitters, McLean suggests digging a little deeper. “Sometimes when we’re searching to make sense of something…and we stop at the first thing that makes us feel comfortable, we’re missing the opportunity to figure out what’s really going on,” McLean says. The tension between what appears to be happening when Mercury is retrograde and what is actually happening can be an apt metaphor for how many of us interpret the planet’s hold on our lives. Are you holding off on having a big talk with your partner because it’s Mercury retrograde, or is there a bigger reason behind your hesitation? Is Mercury retrograde really to blame for that less-than-stellar work presentation, or did you just not give yourself enough time to prep?
If you’re certain that Mercury retrograde has the potential to basically ruin your life, Kelly has some solid advice. For starters, take a deep breath. “Retrograde is by no means like doomsday or apocalyptic,” she explains. “I know the effects of Mercury retrograde can be annoying because nobody wants to get stuck in traffic, but they are not permanent. They’re not going to screw up your life forever.”
Also, remind yourself that there are undoubtedly many things that have gone right in your life during Mercury retrograde. That’s great, because even Kelly admits that not signing contracts and putting off big conversations during Mercury retrograde can be a little impractical (even if it might be tempting). “There have been many, many, many times in my own practice as an astrologer where I have begged for a contract to come through before Mercury retrograde,” Kelly says, “like, ‘Please, you know this is an astrology contract for me, an astrologer, to do astrology work. Is it possible that we could get your legal team to expedite it?’” It doesn’t always work, and that’s okay.
If it helps, try to prevent any possible snafus you might blame on Mercury retrograde by making sure that you’re moving slowly, trying to anticipate how you might misspeak or hurt someone’s feelings (and apologizing), and reading the fine print before you make major commitments, Kelly says. “If we see [the retrograde] less as an inconvenience and more of this really important moment in time to catch our breath, I think that it’s easier to work with it,” she says.
This is why, ultimately, Kelly says Mercury retrograde (and even some of the mistakes we make during it) can be a “nice organic reminder” to get organized and slow down. “We need to make sure that we are going with the flow of these natural cycles while understanding the fact that we are complete and full agents of our own experience,” she says. This seems like sage advice, TBH—no matter how the planets appear to be moving.