Hold onto your hats because Mercury begins its second backspin of the year this week.

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If the very words ‘Mercury Retrograde’ fill you with horror and leave you trembling then you are not alone. This astrological phenomena is INFAMOUS for turning your whole life and world upside-down with breakdowns in communication, tech outages, travel delays, and a general feeling of things being off-kilter and out of balance.

Like many fears, the best way to overcome Mercury Retrograde is to face right up to it and get to know your enemy. You will soon realize that it can actually be your friend! Yes, you read that right! Mercury Retrograde really is not the end of the world, and in fact, it can be an incredibly insightful and enlightening time of the year if you work with it, rather than battling against it.

What is Mercury Retrograde

We all like to complain about Mercury Retrograde, to share memes and blame it for any chaos that shows up in our lives during the time but do you actually know what it is and what is going on in the sky at this time?

During retrograde, the planet Mercury, the planet that rules and influences our mind, our thinking and communication, slows down as Earth begins to move faster. This creates the illusion from the Earth that Mercury is moving backwards. 

You can read more about what is happening during Mercury Retrograde and what this can feel like for you in our post explaining the first retrograde of the year, right here.

The Importance of Astrological Sign

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All of the planets are continually on the move, or transit, through the Signs of the Zodiac. The Sun takes exactly a year to move through the Zodiac. Some of the slower moving planets, like Pluto and Saturn, can stay in one sign for many years. Mercury takes around a year to complete a full transit through the Zodiac. This means that we experience its retrograde in several signs throughout the year.

The Zodiac Sign any planet is in at the time influences and colors the way it behaves and influences our life and experiences.

This retrograde begins on May 10th in Gemini, Mercury’s own Air Sign of thought, communication, adaptability and experience. This is going to make this an especially POWERFUL retrograde that could bring about an especially high level of misunderstandings and confusion. 

On May 22, Mercury will slide back into Taurus, the slow, steady but stubborn sign of value, comfort and gathering material resources.

How will this most impact you?

We are all going to experience the beginning of this retrograde in a BIG way in our perceptions, our clarity of thought, communication and travel plans. 

When Mercury swings back into Taurus, we may all feel frustration in feeling our efforts are not moving us forward with our intentions and plans. 

You can also find out how and where all this may impact YOU personally the most by taking a look at your birth or natal chart to see where Gemini and Taurus hang out for you. The house these signs rule, or are placed in, is the area where you may feel this retrograde hitting especially hard.

If all this talk of signs, placements and houses is gobbledygook to you, or you don’t know where Gemini and Taurus are in your chart, then check out our FREE Birth Chart Basics Course here, where we talk you through understanding your own natal chart.

Enjoy this Birth Chart Basics Replay and learn more about our Astrology Program

If you don’t have your birth chart, we recommend astro.com as a great place to pull a free chart.

Making the Most of Mercury Retrograde

OK, so earlier on I suggested you make friends and use Mercury Retrogrades, then moved straight on to say this retrograde could be particularly chaotic! 

You CAN make the most of Mercury Retrograde and use it for some self-discovery and self-growth. It’s all about expectation and, our favorite word here at The Sisters Enchanted, Intention.

If you expect Mercury Retrograde to bring about a storm of chaos then, guess what, it will! But if you approach it intentionally as a time to learn some lessons and grow then it is a super useful, even exciting time of year.

I explained earlier that Mercury APPEARS to go backwards, but really it isn’t at all. It is all about the perception from the Earth. We are looking at it from a different perspective from usual.

SO, retrogrades are a great time to 

STOP

SLOW DOWN

CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE

Pausing and looking at things in a different way is a super useful thing to do and the best way to work with a retrograde. Mercury is the planet of thought and communication so use this to explore your thought patterns, your communication and the way you perceive others and the world around you. When you look at all of this from a different perspective you can see things that may be causing you problems, where things could be improved and where you may be stuck in thought processes and patterns that do not serve you so well anymore.

Mercury Retrograde 3 Card Spread

1: What do I need to see about my shadow right now?
2: How is this shadow impacting the situation?
3: What other perspective can I take on this situation?

Our 5 Hot Tips For This Mercury Retrograde

1. 1. 1. Stop and think before you speak or react to others. There will be chaos and confusion around so take the extra time to navigate your thoughts and interactions with others.
      2. Be patient. This retrograde promises a lot of frustration so, instead of giving into it, take a deep breath and keep pushing forward. You will get there! 
      3. While Mercury is in Gemini, take some time to really look at your patterns of thinking and communication. Are they in alignment with your intentions? Where could you make some changes?
      4. When Mercury slides back into Taurus, think about things you value. Are these in alignment with your intentions? What smell steps are you taking each day towards your goals and intentions? Are they the right ones to get you there?
      5. Take a look at your birth or natal chart and pay special attention to the houses ruled or influenced by Gemini and Taurus.

You really can survive and thrive through Mercury Retrograde but if things get a little chaotic and confusing, remember it won’t last forever! Mercury goes direct on June 3rd.