Mercury Retrograde

What is this “Mercury Retrograde” that we keep hearing about? I think we all generally understand that this refers to the planet Mercury, also known as the messenger planet, appearing to move in a backwards, or “retrograde” motion for a set amount of time. There is really no backwards movement, but this is how it appears to us from earth’s perspective. (Mercury went retrograde on June 16th, 2007, and will remain retrograde until July 10th, 2007.) This happens three times a year, and carries with it energies that do affect our day-to-day lives.

Several significant areas of life are affected, including communications of all types, travel, and business affairs. This is most definitely not a time to start anything new, or to sign contracts and the like, if it can be helped. We are turning inward, and looking more at how everything affects us, than looking at anything outside of us. Travel and communications will experience delays and miscommunications, and our dear computers … well, expect the unexpected, including crashes!

There is a silver lining in everything, and a Mercury Retrograde has one too! This is a great time for finishing up projects, rechecking details, doing research, reading a book that you have read before, even traveling to somewhere that you have been before. The trick here is to avoid, if possible, taking on anything new during this time period.

To act in a proactive manner to avoid snafu’s, recheck your data before sending it out, confirm times and dates for meetings, have all of your material ready well before any deadline, and have it backed up so that a computer crash doesn’t act as a final farewell for weeks, or even months of effort.

Slow your life down a bit, and have some empathy for others that are obviously caught up in the snares of the retrograde. However, do not let it control your life. Panicking at the sign of a retrograde effectively gives away your power. Note the actions that I mentioned above, and learn to flow with the energy of the universe.