Mercury is the planet in Astrology that most closely symbolizes our brain. They represent our mental processing, how we digest and interpret information, our learning style, writing style, and our internal and external communication.
Mercury transits also represent communication in the collective. It’s how people connect to each other, public transportation, travel, commerce and trade, social media, technology, and the expansion and contraction of ideas.
Mercury is also the planet that goes retrograde the most frequently. What is a retrograde? A retrograde is when a planet goes “backward” in a Zodiac sign, re-visiting parts of the Zodiac that they previously moved forward in. This happens for about 3 weeks.
Eventually, Mercury moves “forward” again, re-visiting the same degrees of that Zodiac sign for a 3rd time. Mercury goes retrograde 3 times a year and spends roughly a ⅓ of their time in this retrograde process, including the time they spend going direct in the degrees they were previously retrograde in.
Because of this, it’s said symbolically that Mercury retrogrades are a time of pausing or moving more cautiously through any kind of forward momentum on any endeavors involving communication or travel, at least until Mercury moves direct again. Like us humans, who spend roughly ⅓ of our time asleep resting, Mercury also needs time to rest to be refreshed with new ideas!
This time of rest doesn’t make Mercury lazy. Just like us, we need a time of deep introspection to digest our thoughts. During a retrograde, Mercury is going more “inward,” and taking time to reflect on ideas that they were putting into motion before. It’s a time to revisit, review, and research.
Think about the process of writing a book. Mercury direct is the writing or publishing of a book, finalizing thoughts and ideas, and moving them forward in the world. Mercury retrograde is the time to review and edit what was previously written, so that it is more polished and precise when Mercury goes direct again and is ready to share their ideas with the world.
Retrograde best practices:
Take things much slower than usual. It can be frustrating if you are trying to move forward too fast during a retrograde, and things might even go wrong the more you push. It’s ok to take your time. Trust the process. Try to avoid signing contracts if possible. If not possible, take more time than you typically would to review the contract and ask for any needed revisions. Go with the flow. There may be some things that you are not sure about and need to revisit later. If it feels off, circle back to it later.Rest. Like Mercury, some of the best ideas come into fruition when you take the time to rest or meditate. During retrogrades, we also may feel indecisive, with good reason, and need some time to let our thoughts marinate.