I’ve heard the phrase ‘mercury retrograde’ countless times over my 30 years on earth but it wasn’t until 3 years ago that I decided to sit down and actually research (aka google) what this phrase actually means! It’s an absolutely fascinating topic which I think affects everyone, regardless of whether they are spiritual and believe in the power of the stars, planets and astrology or not. Since I’ve started paying attention to what it actually means, I’ve really seen how big of an impact it has been having my life, so I thought it’d be interesting to document how it’s been going over the past 3 weeks!
Mercury retrograde: what it means.
When Mercury (or any planet is in) retrograde, it means that it appears that the planet is moving backwards from the earth’s perspective. This isn’t actually the case, but it looks this way as Mercury is the closest planet to the sun so it’s orbit is a lot shorter than ours. A good analogy of the retrograde is:
“About three or four times a year, Mercury speeds past Earth, and that is when we experience a Mercury retrograde period. If you were in a car and another car passed you, you could tell it was going faster than you. But if it slowed down and you then passed it, it would appear that that car was actually going backward. Then when the other car speeds up and passes you again, it kicks up all of the dust in the road. As Mercury speeds by, it is like a train flying past, creating a powerful, turbulent gust of “wind” in its wake. The turbulence and disruption Mercury creates when it retrogrades can affect what we feel on Earth in our everyday lives.”
(quote from astrology zone)
How it affects us.
Mercury is the planet of communication and so when it is in retrograde, many things can go haywire. Things involving learning, reading, editing, writing, negotiating, buying are affected, as well as important documents, technology, contracts, agreements, transportation, travel etc.
There are lots of things you should do or avoid throughout this period too – you should never make any big new plans or decisions while in retrograde season (change jobs/move house/start new projects), don’t buy new technology, think before you speak, know that things are subject to change. People will find it harder to make decisions, electrical items might break, you might be forgetful and also romantic relationships are often confused!
How it’s affected me over the last three weeks.
The fun part I find is seeing how it’s affected me. Here are some of the ways it has over the past three weeks..
1) Three ex’s have got back in touch. Seriously, people I’ve dated in the past who I haven’t spoken to for YEARS have popped back up and initiated meeting again. This seems to be a recurring theme every retrograde season for me and it’s always a surprise seeing who it’s going to be this time. I do sometimes think these people have come back into my life for a reason (I like to think everyone has a message or lesson to pass on to me) but I completely stand by the saying that an ex is an ex for a reason so have been definitely dodging some advances!
2) I similarly seem to think an awful lot about my past relationships during a retrograde season but I’d never go as far to reach out to them (perhaps because I know it’s mercury’s doing).
3) Something ALWAYS breaks technology wise for me. Past years it’s been my laptops/phones and hardrives which have had meltdowns and completely broken (loosing loads of important documents and images along with them). This time, my brand new dishwasher has decided to stop working and I can’t listen to podcasts/music on my phone without it skipping as if I was listening on a cd player. I’ll see if these continue after the retrograde season but it’s been super frustrating (but I’m just glad my laptop and phone are still in good condition… at the moment!)
Note – to combat this I’ve started backing up my phone and laptop before the mercury retrograde starts, just to be safe!
4) I’ve had some REALLY big personal issues surrounding communication recently which has ended up in the police getting involved and a harassment order being issued… can’t discuss this online but let’s just say it’s been bad and has really affected my personal life in a big way over the past 3 weeks.
5) I’ve been exhausted. Now I don’t know if that’s just because there have been ALOT of big changes recently (moving house/turning 30) but my brain just feels completely foggy and tired and unmotivated to do anything. I’ve been feeling a bit down about myself, not about looks or work, but just like I’m not a good enough person. I’ve been doubting myself a lot (much more than I normally do) and have been feeling quite sensitive as well which I think it definitely a symptom!
6) I think my friends have experienced a lot of typical mercury errors this month too, one of the biggest being my bestie got to Heathrow airport for a holiday before realising that her flight was actually from Stansted! I would have definitely freaked out in her situation but she handled it like a pro!
Positives about the retrograde.
They are however some really great positives about mercury retrograde that we should all try and take into account during these periods. It’s a real chance for us to slow down and re-evaluate parts of our life. By understanding what is happening we can be more self aware, ground ourselves, become more spiritual and handle unfinished business. It’s also a great time to organise your life, declutter, self reflect and analyse where you would like your life to go so you can make new changes once the season is over!
We have two days left of this retrograde (ends on Aug 18th, horaah) but the next Mercury retrograde is November 16-December 6th, keep an eye out for the changes you experience then!
Do you think the Mercury Retrograde affects you? How?
Katie xxx
This actually makes a lot of sense to me and I CANNOT WAIT for this to be over! My boyfriend and I are in the process of buying a house at the moment and the past few weeks have seen plenty of arguments (not just between us but also with the solicitor/surveyor), intense work stress as a result of an announced restructure and a falling out with my friend of 20 years. My anxiety has been really bad and I’ve been filled with self doubt, worrying myself literally sick and struggling to talk about how I feel. Even minor things have been blown up in my head to epic proportions. Even though the things I’ve been through are objectively stressful, my reaction has still felt out of kilter and having an explanation like this makes everything slot into place. Here’s hoping that things pick up post August 18th and that life settles down a little. Very much enjoying your blog and vlogs at the moment and I hope that the post retrograde period brings you peace of mind and happiness.
Clare – I am exactly the same! My boyfriend and I are also buying a house together, we’ve never lived together before, and I am so stressed at work. I totally hear you! We have argued SO MUCH recently, it’s been so bad! I think we’re all on edge and so stressed? My self esteem and self worth is also at an all time low, it must be all linked? We are due to move in just before Christmas, then it’s my 30th, and my brain is like aaaaah!!!
Katie – I definitely feel differently and am affected by the mercury retrograde! Some of my friends think I’m mental but I 100% feel it! My communication with people has been terrible, especially with my boyfriend! Great post, thank you! I also have been thinking about my ex partner a ridiculous amount recently- it’s so annoying!
I never knew this was a thing, but now everything seems to be making sense. For some reason, I’ve not been able to make any sort of set plans with friends or anything lately, like the communications seems to be everywhere haha! Really sorry to hear you’ve had a stressful experience with communication, I hope everything gets settled soon! xxx
http://izzyk1998.blogspot.com/
http://izzykreviews.blogspot.com/
Wow, reading this has made me think a lot about the “bad luck” I’ve experienced lately! Communication with family members, my doctors appointments being cancelled without being notified and also the fact that somebody vandalised my car!!! Also a complete meltdown with my anxiety. So glad I read this. I hope that over the next few days everything will calm down for you Katie! x
This was so, SO INTERESTING babe! I only really became aware of this last year, and everything suddenly made so much sense. I must admit this time round I don’t actually feel like I’ve massively felt it as much as I have in the past thankfully (and fingers crossed!) but in the past it’s made relationships haywire for no reason and life just bloody difficult! I’m loving reading more into astrology at the moment! x
http://www.stylepetal.co.uk
I’ve always heard people talk about mercury being in retrograde and never fully understanding what it means. This explains it a lot better and I totally think that things have gone a bit haywire since its been in retrograde. I’ve felt so incredibly anxious/awful the past three weeks or so and I’ve heard a lot of other people experiencing the same issue!
Lucy | Forever September
Fabulous pics! Feeling really inspired at the moment.