How to Prepare for the Next Time Mercury Is in Retrograde

Have you heard anyone blame all their problems on Mercury’s retrograde?

If you got dumped or your car just broke down, you might be able to blame the planets, too.

According to astrologists, Mercury’s retrograde can negatively affect your life.  But what does that even mean? And what does this have to do with your relationship?

Well, we’re here to explain what happens during Mercury’s retrograde and share ways you can prepare for it. Let’s get started.

What does it mean when Mercury is in retrograde?

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When something is “in retrograde,” it is moving backwards.

For planets, they are in retrograde when they appear to move in the opposite direction to Earth. Planets typically move from east to west around the sun. However, when Mercury turns to move from west to east, then Mercury is in retrograde.

To better explain this, the Mother Nature Network compares it to a car passing a train. “When you’re in a car on the highway moving faster than a train alongside you, [the train] appears to be moving backward, but it’s just moving more slowly than you are,” they write. The same thing happens when Earth passes Mercury as it continues its orbit around the sun. Because Mercury is moving slower than Earth, it looks like it’s moving backward.

And this happens many times a year. During this time, astrologists believe it causes more confusion, delays, frustrations and mistakes.

According to Astrology Zone, “When a planet retrogrades, astrologically it is in a resting or sleeping state. Therefore, while Mercury naps, the activities that it governs doesn’t have the benefits of a well-functioning, wide-awake planet.” In Mercury’s case, it governs communication, intellect, logic and reasoning, so these things are affected.

Also, because the planets’ movements have a lot to do with zodiac signs, Mercury in retrograde can even affect your horoscope.

Want to know what dates to look out for? Here are the Mercury in retrograde dates for 2017. (Thankfully, some of the periods have already passed.)

• December 19, 2016 to January 8, 2017
• April 9, 2017 to May 3, 2017
• August 13, 2017 to September 5, 2017
• December 3, 2017 to December 23, 2017.

How can I prepare for this?

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Mercury’s next retrograde is coming soon, so how should you prepare for all the bad stuff that could come?

As previously discussed, Mercury controls communication, travel, contracts and selling and buying things. Now that you know this, take care of these things before hand or avoid doing certain things during that time period.

For example, don’t start any new businesses involving communication, such as magazines and advertisements. You also probably shouldn’t make any important decisions regarding your relationships. In addition, astrologers believe you should hold off on any important contracts or business deals, or take care of them beforehand.

Need more proof? Here are some quotes from Reddit users who have experienced Mercury’s Retrograde.

• “Irritable mood, ran into two exes, shower broke, split up with my boyfriend, miscommunication causing drama, brother got into a car accident. It’s been a rough month, to say the least. I am noticing a pattern though with how mercury retrogrades affect me. Seems to put me in very bad moods, and it causes relationship trouble. It is also the time when I am most preoccupied with spiritual/cosmic things.”
• “Yesterday afternoon, my car battery died, I was shortchanged a dollar at the cash register, and I got in a massive argument with my spouse. Fuck retrograde periods.”
• “My flights for the holidays were delayed five hours, my bus ride was delayed two hours. I got lucky though, multiple flights got cancelled and no it wasn’t even due to weather, it was because they couldn’t find pilots! I blame that on the retrograde.”
• “Oh wow, should have known it was Mercury Retrograde time. I nearly missed my flight and had to beg for them to let me on after standing an hour in security line… Then, my return flight was delayed two hours due to mechanical issues, not weather. I accidentally tipped the car $103 instead of $4. Forgot about that $100 bill my grandma gave me. Got tonsillitis for the first time since I was a kid… This all in the last week.”
• “My Mercury is activated this year and I’m feeling like a wave of regret. Massive regret, everywhere. Question everything I did over the past two years and feeling stagnated big time. Wanting to do things and yet not knowing how… Things falling through too… It just sucks.”
• “I slid off the road into a ditch during an ice storm. My supervisor yelled at me and my coworker, which turned into a huge thing [where] we both had to write incidence reports and everyone involved got written up. It’s been a rough month.”

All in all, Mercury’s retrograde can be a pain and things may not go your way during that time. But these things will pass. Just try and avoid making any major decisions during this time.

We hope you have a safe and uneventful time during Mercury’s next retrograde.