What does “Mercury retrograde” actually mean?
To understand this, we must start by talking a little about ancient astrology. Planets in terms of astrology have different meanings from the astronomical understanding of what planets actually are. In ancient astrology, planets represented the will of the gods and what sort of influence they had upon human interactions and everyday life. In modern day, we believe that this idea may uncover unconscious urges or behaviors that may be driven by the planetary placement.
Anyone feeling like their social battery has died lately? Well… Mercury retrograde might be to blame. This retrograde started on January 30 and ends on February 21.
So what is “retrograde”?
Simply put, retrograde refers to the illusion that a planet is moving in reverse for a short period of time. “It has to do with the orbital relationships between Earth, Mercury and the sun,” said astrologer Brian Allemana. Illusion or not, it is believed that this phenomenon can affect us here on earth.
Now that we have talked about what Mercury retrograde is, we can discuss how it might affect us. Mercury is known as the planet that rules communication. This is because the major Roman god “Mercury”, or “Hermes” in Greek Mythology, is the god of messengers, travel, and commerce.
This means that during this time period of Mercury in Retrograde we tend to experience communication breakdowns, mishaps like missing important phone calls, business deals falling through, or even electronics acting a bit buggy. Because of this, it is advisable to refrain from making any major decisions that revolve around communication, like signing contracts or discussing relationship struggles. During retrograde it is better to instead try channeling your energy into retrospection. Maybe it’s time to heal from a past trauma. Slow down and pay close attention to details for a bit, and don’t forget to be kind to yourself mentally during this time period. Hang in there, this too shall pass.
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