Photo via NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

There’s a lot more to Mercury retrograde than frustration and delays. In fact, Mercury retrogrades can be wonderfully productive times to review your past, your direction, and in general, slow down. Here’s a look also at some of the major misconceptions…

Can you believe it? Mercury is not retrograde! Mercury is also not going through the roughly two-week “shadow” period before the retrograde-when we get a sneak peek of what shit shall hit the fan during the main event-or in the approximately two-week shadow period after the retrograde, when we get to tie up loose ends before moving on in our lives. Since Mercury is all good right now, you have no excuse for being late, all your electronics will work just fine, and you will not hear from any of your exes.

Just kidding! Do you hear how silly these claims sound? As a professional astrologer,          I hate nothing more than pop astrology written by wannabe mystics  (Hilter was not an Aries!). Pop astrology has many faults: Not only does it generalize the signs and symbols of the movements in the sky, but it also makes things sound unnecessarily scary and difficult.

This is especially true when it comes to the world’s most newly infamous planetary movement, Mercury retrograde. Mercury retrograde has gone mainstream,  subject of articles and tweets by Real Housewives alike-poor Bethenny Frankel once wondered if her “shit day” was due to Mercury retrograde, and Lisa Rinna, Kyle Richards, and Dina Manzo have flexed their astrological knowledge as well.

The superstitions surrounding Mercury retrograde are well known. Common warnings include: Don’t start new projects or sign contracts; don’t buy electronics; and don’t travel or expect anything to happen according to schedule. These are all accurate generalizations based on themes relating to Mercury,  which rules communication,  logic,  information, movement, and commerce. However, there’s a lot more to Mercury retrograde than frustration and delays. In fact, retrogrades can be wonderfully productive times to review your past, your direction, and in general, slow down. Let’s take a look at some of the major misconceptions and inaccuracies surrounding Mercury retrograde:

Grammar
Let’s get this out of the way first: Mercury is never “in” retrograde. This mistake comes    up a lot-take, for instance, this bumbling video about Mercury retrograde starring Taylor Swift. Taylor’s a big-mouthed Sagittarius, and we know that most Sagittarians don’t care much about detail or preparing ahead of time; that’s something their opposite sign, Gemini, is more into. Of course I’m not happy about Taylor feeding the public’s fear of Mercury retrograde here, but what I really, deeply hate about this video is the fact that she says Mercury is in retrograde. Mercury is never in retrograde. It either is retrogradeor it isn‘t.

That said: While I can’t be sure, it seems to me like this was an impromptu video,               so I applaud Swift’s ability to improvise-so Sagittarian!

Frequency
There’s a misconception that Mercury retrogrades are surprising, rare, and/or random occurrences. They’re not: We know when they will occur, and they occur three, sometimes four, times a year. 2016 will be a year with four Mercury retrogrades. There’s no real special significance to this, except that you get one more opportunity that year to complain about the retrograde.

Is Mercury really going backward during a retrograde?
Nope! It’s an optical illusion created when Earth and another planet move at different speeds, like when you’re on the train and another zooms past-the train can look like it’s going backward. That optical illusion can be confusing and disorientating, but just like a retrograde, it does give you a moment to pause and consider a new perspective.

Other planets go retrograde, too
Not counting the Sun and the Moon, all the other planets in the sky also go retrograde. We actually have a Venus retrograde coming up this summer-Venus goes retrograde July 25 through September 8.

As mentioned earlier, retrogrades give us a chance to slow down and reconsider decisions we’ve made before moving on with our lives. Venus is associated with love, beauty, and luxury; expect these themes to get turned on their head when the retrograde kicks in. (Note: Venus retrograde is not the time for a makeover, so if you want to try something new, book your appointment before July 25!) During Venus retrograde, you may not feel so seductive, and your self-esteem may even take a hit, but this is an indispensable chance to review your love life and financial situation. Sometimes we need to wake up feeling gross, without any money for morning coffee, in order to look around and really wonder, What the hell am I doing here, with these people, in this city, with this job? After Venus goes direct again, you may find that not only have your wardrobe and hairstyle been revamped, but your values and ideals around Venusian themes like love and money have, too.

Saturn, Neptune, and Pluto are also currently retrograde. Saturn deals with responsibility and structure, Neptune’s all about fantasy and confusion, and Pluto seeks transformation. We’re all currently redoing and reviewing these themes, whether or not we’re conscious of it. (Being conscious of these movements is how we make the best of them.) Uranus, an inventive and rebellious energy, will go retrograde on July 26, which may push us to make some unexpected, surprising changes in our lives. Jupiter-the planet of philosophy, growth, and abundance-will turn retrograde on January 7, 2016, inspiring introspection.

The shadow period
Although the shadow period isn’t often discussed, it’s arguably as significant as retrograde itself. The shadow period before Mercury retrograde gives clues about what areas of your life you can expect to revisit during the retrograde; the shadow period after the retrograde offers you yet another chance to reconsider the situation, tie up any lose ends, or clarify any remaining confusion. If you and your partner fight a lot during the pre-shadow period, you might find that during the retrograde, those issues will pop back up, possibly resulting in a break up-only to be reconciled during the post-shadow period!

There’s an old saying that says that whatever you lose during Mercury retrograde will be returned to you. The pre-shadow period reveals what that may be, and the post-shadow period resolves the issue.

Will everything be fucked up/late/broken?
Mercury retrograde is a great excuse for your lack of time management skills, relationships not working out, or your shitty cell phone finally breaking-especially since Mercury is retrograde three to four times a year, and there’s also a shadow period on either side. That’s not an insignificant amount of time! You’re basically constantly covered for your inability to be reliable-not.

It’s important to remember that the stars don’t hold absolute power over you. You have free will. I look at astrology for what it is: a calendar. You’re likely to do certain things during certain planetary transits, and astrology is a great way to watch out for those time periods. But it’s never an excuse for bad behavior or lack of organization. Furthermore, it’s said that people who are born during a Mercury retrograde thrive during the retrograde period. Could you be one of those people? Ask an astrologer or Google the Mercury retrograde dates for your year of birth.

But it‘s really not so bad, and you can totally work with the energy
The best piece of advice I can offer you about Mercury retrograde-other than not to worry about it too much-is to not make any commitments, unless it’s about something that’s old news. Mercury rules logic, and, if a retrograde is hitting you hard, your thinking may not be totally straight. However, letting your fear of Mercury retrograde guide your behavior would make life nearly impossible. If you need to sign a new lease, or sign a contract for a new job, you likely won’t be able to ask if you can hold off until Mercury is direct. Do what you gotta do when you have to do it-things will work out the way they will, Mercury be damned!

The mythological roots of Mercury retrograde has a lesson for us: A few hours after his birth, Mercury decided, as siblings often do, that it would be fun to steal his brother Apollo’s cattle. For some extra fun, he turned the cattle’s hooves backwards (what a trickster). Apollo was appalled, but Daddy Jupiter thought this was pretty funny. I think we should all take on Jupiter’s attitude and just drop this drama with Mercury retrograde. I don’t know about you, but I love being able to take a break. Taking one’s time, reconsidering, reflecting, and generally getting a grip on life is mandatory for happiness-as is a sense of humor. Laugh at the blunders Mercury retrograde brings your way. Instead of saying, “Oh, it’s Mercury retrograde; everyone will be running late,”why don’t we all say “Hey, it’s Mercury retrograde, take your time!”?

Mercury retrograde shouldn’t be a disaster: It should be an excuse to leave work early (or arrive late), to chill the fuck out, look at old photo albums, reminisce, reconnect, and reflect. Jupiter could cut Mercury some slack; I think we can, too.

How To Handle Mercury Retrograde

Mercury Retrograde is a three-week astrological cycle in which the energies associated with Mercury, namely communication and the mind, tend to create an atmosphere that can feel rather slow, heavy, or even stormy and negative. Life may seem to flow slowly, or in a confused way, and it may seem that everything seems more effortful than usual.

These curious changes result from an energetic shift in consciousness during Mercury Retrograde: The subconscious may seem to become dominant, as if it were the main influence in your awareness. However, the conscious mind, which is usually in charge, seems to be less available to you.

This reversal may account for the perception, often noticed during Mercury Retrograde, that things feel somewhat dreamlike. This is because in a dream the subconscious is dominant, and the conscious mind is less present. The difference here is that during Mercury Retrograde, you are actually awake, and so you notice things surfacing from your subconscious that you would not ordinarily see or feel.

During this Retrograde time, you may have assumed that your heightened feelings are entirely originating from within your own personality. However, though your emotions and thoughts are your own, please understand that the planetary energies may be affecting and amplifying certain hidden patterns within you. And also, the energetic influences of an entire population affected by this sub-conscious / conscious shift may create an unusual energetic atmosphere, and this may affect you as well.

You are generally warned not to make major purchases or sign important contracts during this period. This is because when you are more influenced by the subconscious than the conscious mind, deeper hidden forces may affect your perception and judgment. These deeper subconscious patterns, whether in other people, or in yourself, may lead to unwanted results. However, if you treat yourself with kindness and care during this period, you will be fine, and you can even benefit from the opportunities that Mercury Retrograde offers you…

Your discoveries about your subconscious self during Mercury Retrograde can be revealing and healing. Although being aware of your deeper emotional and mental patterns would be useful at any time, during this unusual three-week period you can see, feel, and hear the workings of your emotions and your mind more easily that usual. This is because of the tendency during Mercury Retrograde for your subconscious to be more prominent than usual. And that can be an advantage for you…

When you consciously listen to the voice of your inner self talking, you have an empowering strategic advantage, because you can respond to the subconscious patterns in a new way. You can introduce conscious, positive thoughts to yourself. You can have a conversation, and this introduces the voice of your conscious self to the subconscious self. Without the conscious self to introduce new ideas, the negative patterns in the subconscious may keep automatically repeating themselves.

Of course, your subconscious never announces, “This is the subconscious talking.” Instead, you may find yourself saying negative statements to yourself, without your having consciously chosen to make such statements. This is how you notice your subconscious patterns.

During the Retrograde period, your self-talk may be more insistent, as if it were louder, and as if the emotional intensity of the beliefs are more forceful. This is why you benefit from knowing when the Retrograde cycles are taking place, so that you don’t get stuck in the Retrograde tendencies of feeling slowed-down, confused, or inclined towards negativity. You can easily do an online search to find the dates for Mercury Retrograde.

It is during Mercury Retrograde that negative inner voices can seem to be more prominent in your consciousness. So what do you do when your inner self voice is insisting that life is awful, or that you are no good, or that the people in your life can’t appreciate you?

First, you acknowledge the negative statement — without agreeing with it. You notice that your emotions and mind are insistently making claims about your life…

And you listen to your inner voice, but in a new neutral way:

1. You listen to the statement as if you were a reporter on the scene. You are not emotionally involved with the statements, and you are just listening to them.

2. You notice the sound, or tone, of the inner voice. And this is something that you might not have noticed before, because generally we listen to the words of our inner voice, rather than the tone. When you become conscious that the tone is angry, fearful, or sad, you become empowered — because you are noticing the voice tone, without getting stuck in the message.

3. So what do you do when you have noticed that your inner self has negative or limiting thoughts about your reality, and you hear the tone of voice that is being used? You approach the voice as if you were a reporter:

“So, inner voice, you are saying that…________________…”

Your ability to listen neutrally, and to play back the statement, actually shifts the emotional statement to a different, less emotional part of the brain. And when you consciously notice the emotionality of the statement, you are also experiencing it with a different part of yourself. Just the fact that you are now consciously noticing the voice tone means that you are not stuck in the emotional grip of the negative message.

4. You may be inclined to tell your inner voice that it is wrong, but this would create resistance. What are your choices here? Put on the best friendly coach or counselor hat you can manage, and just listen to the voice. Ask the voice to share its concerns. As the inner voice speaks, just respond with friendly yet neutral responses that show that you care, and that you are listening, such as, “tell me more,” or “I’m listening.”

Notice that you are staying neutral — you are not agreeing, and you are not jumping in to help. Nor are you making the inner voice wrong. When your responses have calmed the voice, at least somewhat, you can offer some new possibilities…

5. Show the inner voice a range of possibilities. Imagine a scale, like a thermometer, except that rather than showing temperature, this is a scale of the emotional range of possibilities… from lower heavy vibrations ranging all the way up to higher lighter vibrations. Share this scale with the inner self in a non-judging way.

6. Use your imagination to help the inner voice shift upwards on this scale. Gently shift just a little bit upwards, towards a higher vibration on the scale. Don’t force your inner voice to a much higher place on the scale, because a radical shift may create resistance. Shifting just a little bit upwards on the scale is actually a powerful thing to do, because a slight shift upwards helps your subconscious self recognize that it doesn’t have to be stuck in one negative state.

In other words, change is possible — when you approach it from a neutral attitude, and when you shift gently and gradually.

Help your inner voice gently shift to a somewhat lighter or smoother state. And once your inner voice realizes that this is possible, it begins to take in new messages, new thoughts, and new emotions of hope and possibilities.

7. When you have raised your vibration, even somewhat, you will have learned an important lesson about consciousness, which is that any shift that helps you get unstuck makes it easier to continue shifting your reality. This is self empowerment.

To sum up, although Mercury Retrograde may affect many people emotionally and mentally, it offers you a unique opportunity to converse with your deeper subconscious. This can give you emotional healing and deeper self knowledge. Though many people irrationally fear Mercury Retrograde, this is because they do not understand the opportunity that this period offers.

Now you know how to use the Mercury Retrograde time to cultivate deeper awareness. This lets you generate useful discoveries, and heal your inner self when you communicate with your subconscious.

May you be enriched and empowered in every aspect of your life when Mercury Retrograde next offers its fascinating gifts to you.

Empaths are overly open to energy, as you know, so your goal is to be more present in your body, in present time.

Practice being aware of your breath, as this keeps you present in present time, in your body. Notice that you are not other people.

Make a strong choice to be yourself, and to release other people’s energy from you.

Imagine your aura, and imagine your aura fibers weaving together, so that your energy field is strong, and other people’s energy bounces off.

Whenever you feel suffocated, calm down, and imagine people’s thoughts and feelings releasing from you, and dissolving away.

Then re-weave your aura fibers so your aura is even stronger.

Blessings for empowerment,

and Many 0ther Blessings,

Mercury Retrograde – How To Handle It Emotionally

Mercury Retrograde teaches you to go with the flow. Don’t judge yourself, and don’t assume that you have to be the same all the time.

Take the opportunity to look at the curious thoughts and feelings. See what you can learn from them.