Mercury Retrograde Survival Guide

temperenceMercury, that wily planet of communication and patron god of merchants, writers and thieves will be shaking us up by committing its thrice yearly act of trickster’s mayhem– going retrograde on July 26th.  Mercury will be in the emotional sign of Cancer.  In addition to causing delays, misunderstandings and mix-ups galore, it will do so with lots of potential for emotional drama, so remember to check in with yourself and stay centered and grounded.

There are many who believe Mercury retrograde times bring into effect Murphy’s Law–“Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.” While that’s true in some cases, it also provides us with opportunities to go within and connect with our sources of inner truth.  It gives us the chance to become conscious of our true essence and learn how to position ourselves to our best advantage in all circumstances. Rather than Murphy’s Law, I find much more power in this admonition– “Be still and know.” 

By going within and being one with your inner silence, you can access a level of wisdom, brilliance and awareness that will enlighten and empower you.

True, some things will definitely go awry. How you deal with them makes all of the difference. A few Mercury retrogrades ago, a friend and her mother were traveling abroad.  After they checked their bags at the airport, my friend paid attention to her intuition, went back to the ticket counter and insisted that she be allowed to check the airport identification tags on their luggage against the baggage claim tags they’d been given. Sure enough, she discovered that their bags had been mis-tagged and were scheduled to be sent to a destination different from theirs! (Although this type of mix-up happens too often on its own, with Mercury retrograde, it becomes an epidemic.)

My friend averted several other communication and travel disasters on that trip because she never forgot it was a retrograde Mercury running the show. She double and triple checked everything and was able to make all of her connections with her baggage in tow.

Mercury retrograde is also a great time for research and investigation because both of those activities require a person to delve deeply into something as opposed to reaching out for results and what is hidden or not obvious tends to show itself more easily during a Mercury Retrograde period.

Yes, sometimes things will go wrong, but if you’re alert, you’ll come through this potentially stressful time just fine. A few other things to keep in mind– if you can, hold off on buying (or leasing) any big ticket items.  This is NOT the time to buy a house, a car or make a big investment. If you must, though, please make sure there’s an ‘out’ clause in your contract. And always, wait until Mercury goes direct before making any big decisions.