What mercury retrograde is actually good for
And how I'll be working with the transit as a professional astrologer and stay-at-home mom.
The pop astrology zeitgeist loves to hate on a Mercury retrograde.
Maybe because it makes us feel better to have something to blame when shit hits the fan. But I promise you, Mercury retrogrades aren’t why everything is going wrong! (Blame the fascists for that.)
In fact, none of the planets make things happen. They’re more like reflections of the current energy buzzing through our cutie planet Earth.
And the energy of a Mercury retrograde isn’t just about making you late for work or instigating an argument with your mother-in-law. (Although, Mercury is a trickster, so be prepared for a little trickery. But tricks are good! They keep us humble.)
It’s actually a very useful and important energy, if we surrender to it.
Mercury is about to station retrograde from March 14–April 7, so I want to offer you some ways to work with this energy rather than against it.
In astrology, Mercury is the planet of communication, the mind, our thoughts. It’s the closest planet to the Sun, so it moves quickly.
The planet is associated with the Greek God Hermes, who was the messenger of the Gods. He also guided souls to the underworld.
Mercury is transaction, commerce, and trade.
Mercury governs our local community connections, our bikes, our neighbors and neighborhood.
You can find Mercurial energy in the connecting threads between the different rabbit holes you go down, what you’re curious about, and when you switch between topics and hobbies.
Mercury is the messenger, the trickster, the psychopomp.
During a retrograde, Mercury moves backwards and retraces his steps. The energy is reflective: Are you sure that’s how you want to word that? Is this project really something you want to commit to? Do you need to take a different approach if something isn’t working?
Maybe we have a hard time with Mercury retrogrades because we don’t like to sit with these kinds of questions (and that in itself is something to reflect on lol)
Below is a non-exhaustive list of things you can do during this (or any!) Mercury retrograde:
Edit or revisit a piece of writing, a project, etc.
Strategize and plan for your next big thing (a wedding, a product launch, a birthday party for your dog)
Take a class and/or start learning a new skill
Reflect on the ways you’ve been communicating lately—are you getting your points across? Are you being misunderstood? What needs to shift here, if anything?
Reevaluate your relationship with technology and social media. Having good boundaries around social media are super important! Start by unfollowing people you don’t care about anymore, or limiting your screen time if needed
Do some journaling to help you self-reflect
Take life a little less seriously
Play a harmless trick/prank on someone, you know, as an offering to the God of Trickery
Take more walks in your neighborhood and actually talk to your neighbors
Generally move and live at a slower pace. Even the busy Messenger God slows down—you should too
And here is how I personally plan on working with the energy of this transit, as a professional astrologer trying to run a business while also being a stay-at-home mom with a two-year-old:
Re-writing the copy on my website: I launched my site in July 2024 and even though it’s been less than a year, so much has changed. It def needs an update to match the current energy of my business and what I’m offering.
Re-organizing the structure of my website: Mostly what I mentioned above. Things have changed and my website needs to reflect that!
Working on a new product launch (but not launching it yet): I came up with a juicy idea for a new digital astrology reading a couple weeks ago, so I want to use this time to nail down all the details, write the copy, set up the landing page, create graphics, etc. I’m unsure when I’ll actually launch it, but this one is more of an undertaking than previous digital products and I want to make sure I take my time with it!
Better boundaries with my phone and social media: Since I have to use social media for my work, I’ve been finding more and more that my relationship with my phone and social apps has been draining me. This feels like a good time to re-evaluate how I want to spend my time on socials, and also have better boundaries with myself around scrolling to zone out.
Going for bike rides: I went for one today with my toddler and we were both giddy. Hard to be in a mad mood when you’re riding an e-bike imo.
Finishing and filing my taxes: While I would prefer not to file in the middle of this retrograde, now is a good time for me to review last year’s finances and get all my paperwork together.
Donating clothes that don’t fit my toddler/clothes I don’t wear anymore.
Kind of mundane stuff, I know. But these are the kinds of things that you should be putting your energy toward during a Mercury retrograde. Or not, you have free will! Do what you want!
Wishing you grace and silly-goose energy as the psychopomp takes his backward stroll 🛼
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