Yes, I realize that a lot of people think Mercury retrograde is silly, that it doesn’t apply to them, that it’s just some nutty designation astrologers create. Well, it’s not. If you pay attention to what’s going on in your life during the three Mercury retros each year, you’ll find that things don’t run as smoothly as you would like.
Computers go haywire, appliances break down, toilets back up and overflow, creating chaos in your basement. Relationships suffer from miscommunication, travel plans go awry, you get locked out of your house, your manuscript is rejected, your car breaks down on a highway at night, the bank errs and it’s not in your favor. For Geminis and Virgos, which are ruled by Mercury, these periods tend to be really annoying. But everyone experiences Mercury retrograde in a unique way and the first retro of 2016 starts on January 5 in Aquarius at 8:04 a.m., slips back into Capricorn, and turns direct again in that sign on January 25, at 4:50 p.m. eastern time.
To give you an idea of the global scale of a Mercury retro, look back to November 7, 2000. Mercury had been retrograde since mid-October – first in Scorpio, then it slipped back into Libra and at 9:20 p.m., it turned direct in that sign. When Mercury stations – which means it’s about to turn retrograde or direct – the potential for miscommunication is strong. But for that date, the station caused bedlam because it was election day in the U.S.
Astrologers were predicting chaos and, sure enough, at 7:49 p.m., NBC decided they had enough data from exit polls in Florida and Tom Brokaw called the state for Al Gore. With Florida’s 25 electoral votes, it meant he had won the election.
However, shortly after 10 p.m. – less than an hour after Mercury had turned direct – Brokaw backtracked and said that George W. Bush had won the state and the election. We all know what ensued after that – the endless dispute over the chads on Palm Beach County’s ballot and the eventual decision by the Supreme Court that Bush was the 43rd president of the U.S.
On a personal level, your best way to navigate this period is to follow the rule of the 3 Rs: revise, review, reconsider. Don’t start anything new, don’t sign contracts, don’t move or travel, don’t take anything for granted, don’t assume. In fact, if you can get away with it, just hang out at home for a few weeks, sleep and eat and indulge your fantasies. Yeah, sure. Like any of us can do that without feeling totally guilty and anxious about what we should be doing or must be doing or…well, something.
Our daughter, Megan, is going to be moving and when I was looking at charts for January, I suggested that she be moved into her new place before January 5, when Mercury turns retrograde. As a Virgo, she’s now well-versed enough in this Mercury retro business to know what it means. She readily agreed.
These periods, despite how they seem in the external world, really aren’t negative. They give us a chance to lay low, to mull over, to move within and rearrange the furniture of our inner lives. People we haven’t seen in years often resurface. Old opportunities surface with new faces and possibilities. If we happen to travel during these periods, then our itineraries change without rhyme or reason, but we will undoubtedly revisit our destination in the future.
Mercury is about communication, travel, our conscious mind, how we learn and absorb, the stuff of our daily life. It can be a trickster planet, for sure, but it’s also the messenger, our most immediate and direct conduit to our left brain, our reasoning self, our ego. It’s smart to honor the retro with a gesture, a ritual, an intention: I’m going to quit eating desserts, stop smoking, start a regular exercise regimen. And well, if your toilet backs up and floods, so it goes. Take a deep breath. This, too, shall pass!
It’s now Saturday, and is the third time in six days that I’ve had to contact my DELL service folks with computer issues. I of course am aware of Mercury retro, and will be happy when that tricky old planet decides to turn direct again! Yesterday I had a problem not only with the computer but also with my wireless printer, so had to go back to Dell Printer techs and get THAT fixed!! Bummer. At the moment, the DELL tech is online with me. working in the system, making sure today’s issue is OK. Strange that folks don’t realize the impact the planets have on us.BTW, did Megan get her house stuff organized with no more problems??
No more problems on megan’s move. Maybe you should consider getting a mac, cj
We live several miles south of Jacksonville. Made it to the doc’s office and back home, but saw an unusual number of accidents and also stalled vehicles along the way, coming and going. It’s normal to see maybe one or two, but we saw bunches. Gotta be ole Mercury up to tricks! Was sorry so watch a brand new shiny truck right beside us ram the brand new shiny small car in front of him. The truck driver’s fault….following too closely in heavy traffic.. totally bent the new truck No one hurt, but the poor young guy looked about to weep when he saw the damage to his new truck. It still had the “buyer sticker” on it. Seems the vehicles are never the same once hit. Mercury beware!!!!
Heard from someone else that her car wouldn’t start yesterday and she had to work from move. Mercury rules travel!
Damn the bad luck. I turn 72 tomorrow January 7.
Have a happy birthday, anyway!!
darn, the last one was obnoxious.
Well, no matter what, wishing you a wonderful New Year!
Same to you, Lauren!
Does Mercury retro begin a day or two BEFORE it turns, and does the impact continue a day or two after it goes direct? That seems to happen often in my situations. Hubby’s work vehicle stranded him the day before, along with several other aggravating issues.
Mercury always “slows down” before it turns retrograde, so yes, the effects can be felt be the retro actually begins. At the other end, it takes the planet several days to stabilize.
Trish,
I am taking advice to heart, I just went and created a pdf of all the coming dates and placed it in my iBooks app.
Slowly reawakening with a gentle prodding from you!
Be well
Laurence
So, we spent the last three days helping our daughter move. We wanted to get it done before Merc turned retro. That said, things started going haywire on the 4thm when Mercury was slowing down. The house, built in 1945, has been completely renovated and Megan and her roommate are the first to live there since the renovations. Yesterday, the shower drain backed up, then the toilet. A plumber was called. He found a sheet of plastic in the plumbing system, probably left behind during the renovations. Today, after Merc had turned retro, the washing machine refused to go into the rinse and spin cycle. For everyone the issues seem to be different, but the end result is the same.
There has to be a way to neutralize such energies. This may sound crazy, but maybe just maybe megan needs to physically and with intent, break plates.
A prememptive first strike to clear the air, then a cedar, sage and sandalwood incense smudging. Notice the specific types of plants, it goes along with Dion Fortune’s work with elementals.
Now THAT is an intriguing thought!
Megan should create a simple statement and then say it with emotional content.
Then break plates.
Be well
Laurence
I love this breaking plates idea!
Aaaarrrrrrrgggggghhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! I purchased a new computer while Mercury was retrograde earlier in 2015, and it has been the worst purchase I ever made! Nothing but one issue after another. Fix one thing, another occurs, but I’m stuck with it. I will never make another electronic purchase during Merc retro! I see my cardiologist four times a year for routine check-ups unless something sends me to him between the regular checkups. Last year, each scheduled check-up was re-scheduled by his PA because he was in emergency surgery on a patient. Each time, Merc was retro. I have an appointment with him tomorrow, the 6th. I keep looking at the phone, silently
screaming NNOOOOO! don’t you dare re-schedule me!And am mentally programming seeing myself in his office tomorrow! Seems Merc retro doesn’t just impact machines, etc. It also affects other aspects of our lives. BUMMER.
Computers, appliances, anything with moving parts!
I am one of those people who has said that Mercury retrograde is not going to affect me. How could it? And then it always does. For me it began showing up yesterday when I could not get my television to work. Turns out when I called my cable provider I was told that all of Connecticut television was out in their system. When I wanted to go for a swim at L A Fitness there was no hot water which is been out for days. They said, maybe by the 6th. Ha! I’m not betting on that one. There were other annoying events like this too boring or too personal to tell. And Mercury had not officially begun. What’s with that? And p.s. I changed my internet provider in the middle of a the last Mercury retrograde. Big mistake.
So it’s impacting you in terms of comfort/conveniences/communication.
Yes! and a friend of my daughters died just as Mercury was going retrograde. We are not blaming Mercury. She was very ill. Just a note that is when she left.
Thanks for the heads-up. I’ve marked my calendar!