Here's your Mercury Retrograde survival guide

Mercury Retrograde is a three-week astrological cycle in which the energies associated with Mercury, communication and the mind, tend to create an atmosphere that can feel rather slow, heavy and mostly negative. Here's 7 Signs that Mercury Retrograde has been messing with you.

Life may seem to flow slowly and be more inexplicably confusing. It may also seem as if everything seems like more effort than usual.

During this Retrograde time, however, though your emotions and thoughts are your own, please understand that the planets energies may be affecting and amplifying certain hidden patterns within you.

In 2018, Mercury is retrograde from:

March 23 to April 15July 26 to August 19November 17 to December 6

According to Almanac.com:

The planet Mercury rules communication, travel, contracts, automobiles, and such. So, when Mercury is retrograde, remain flexible, allow extra time for travel, and avoid signing contracts. Review projects and plans at these times, but wait until Mercury is direct again to make any final decisions.

About a week or two before Mercury retrogrades, finish any tasks or projects at hand. You can’t stop your life, but plan ahead, have back-up plans, and be prepared for angrier people and miscommunication.

Some people blame Mercury retrograde for “bad” things that happen in their lives. Instead, take this time to sit back and review where you put your energy in your life. For example, if family and faith are important to you, are you putting your energies there or just overextended in other areas? Take a moment to reflect. Mercury retrograde can be an excellent time to take a step back and re-analyse who you are and what you are doing, but do refrain from making any drastic changes until after retrograde has ended.

Mercury Retrograde Survival Guide

So, in a time of such uncertainty, how do we successfully pass through it without anything catastrophic happening?

Well, fear not we have got a survival guide that should get you through the retrograde relatively unschathed.

Watch your words

Throughout Mercury Retrograde, remember to pause before you speak. Take a few deep breaths and gather your thoughts, especially if you're unsure about what to say. If you are communicating with your partner, take regular pauses throughout the conversation to give both of you time to properly construct what you want to say.

During this time, it might be difficult to clearly articulate your thoughts so be careful before you say something that you may not be able to take back.

Let others do the talking

Mercury retrograde can cause us to talk incessantly and not allow others to get a word in sideways. Watch out for overpowering behaviour like taking up too much time in meetings and taking over conversations in general. Remember to pause and take a deep breath.

It's important that you create a balanced conversation, where everyone feels seen and respected.

Connect with nature

Things do have a habit of breaking during Mercury retrograde, especially technology. If you find yourself locking yourself out of an email account or accidentally deleting some vital files, it may be time to take a step back and use the time to 'log off' for a little while.

Remind yourself that not everything is digital, and sometimes we need a forced break from our devices to connect with ourselves and others.

Read the fine print

You can sign contracts in Mercury Retrograde however make sure you read through them thoroughly twice or thrice. Mercury retrograde has a habit of helping us miss the details and we don’t give ourselves ample time to process the meaning behind things.

Again, breath and pause. Read things slowly, take your time with them. You will be better off in the long run.

It's a time for introspection

A wonderful side affect of Mercury retrograde is the increased ability to talk with yourself. It's a great time for some intense introspection with the energy of retrogrades spinning inward. This allows us to access our heart and intuition Spend time reflecting and exploring the inner workings of your mind.

It helps to start each morning talking about what you're grateful for and repeating affirmations for the day ahead. This clarity will help you pace your day and avoid Mercury's trickery.

Go with the flow

Missed flights, long delays and unexpected changes in plans are really just divine course corrections disguised as setbacks.

Mercury has a way of leading us astray, in order to lead us to something which is actually a much better fit so sometimes, trust in where you are being led.