Dates:
August 23 – September 14, 2023
Mercury is a planet which governs all transportation and communication issues. Mercury is not an emotional planet, but rather a truth-seeking one. It rules intelligence, education and truth. When it is in retrograde, some of its power is held back. Gemini and Virgo are signs ruled by Mercury, so if you are one of those born during those months, you will be complaining.
What happens when Mercury retrogrades? You miss appointments, your computer equipment crashes, checks get lost, and your major purchase turns out to be a lemon. There will be countless delays, cancellations and postponements–but know these will benefit you in the long run. Don’t fight them, although your frustration level and feeling of restlessness will be hard to cope with at times.
All machinery and things with moving parts–such as computers, VCRs, camera equipment, garbage disposals, handheld devices, wi-fi connection and so forth, will reveal their weak links now. It is critical that you back up your data system.
In matters of the heart, if your significant other breaks up with you or says something hurtful, don’t react right away. Since Mercury rules speech, they may not mean what you think they are saying now. Let them have some space, and wait to see if they mean it in February.
Why would the Universe give us Mercury retrograde? Because to move forward it is sometimes necessary to backtrack and reconfigure our paths in life. It is important to reconsider, repair, reflect, and reconnect. Mercury forces us to slow down and fix what’s broken, and in so doing, rethink things. It also gives us time to get to projects we have put on the back-burner.
Some activities are lucky or actually improve when Mercury retrogrades. You are likely to bump into old friends that you haven’t seen in years. It is a perfect time to schedule work on projects that you haven’t had time to do and you’ve let pile up. Bring your resume or portfolio up to date, and clean out your closets. Take time to paint the house. Clear your decks.
Just try not to start new things. If you have to start a job during a Mercury retrograde period know that the nature of the job is likely to change dramatically over time
Use this time wisely to go within! Clear out that inner clutter as well.