It’s Mercury retrograde and for the next 4 to 9 weeks (including the post retro shadow period) you can expect all kinds of disruptions in communications and travel, annoying mishaps, forgetfulness, do-overs, and the typical Mercury retro snafus.
But this Mercury retro comes with a bonus - Venus is retrograde too and surprise! they both went retrograde at the same degree, 10 Aries, that will be featured in the solar eclipse of March 29.
No it’s not necessary to sit at home and do nothing for the next 12 weeks but it is an opportunity to do some serious introspection and life path review and while you’re at it, consider the results you want in your life now because this special astro aspect has only happened a few times in over 2500 years, most recently in 1248, 1782, and 1985.
Notice the 1782 date - that marked the previous Pluto in Aquarius transit - also called the ‘Age of Enlightenment’. Welcome to the Age of Enlightenment 2.0.
Now the other interesting thing about this Mercury Retrograde is its timing and path. It is time to coincide with this year’s Spring Equinox, the start of the astrological year, when the sun crosses the 0 Aries point, the very beginning of the zodiac. In ancient times this was the new year and it is a new year for us.
And Mercury will be retrograding from Aries to Pisces with this retrograde, also hitting the 0 Aries point (as will Venus) and on March 31 Neptune will hit the 0 Aries point, as will Saturn in mid-May. That is a lot of energy for new beginnings, fresh starts, and new beginnings. In fact, in 2025 the 0 Aries point will be crossed no less than 9 times. That’s a new record.
Considering everything else that has been happening in the past few months, starting with Pluto’s historic entry into Aquarius in November 2024, it’s time for a giant redo of our ascension path. What are we doing, where are we going, how are we progressing, what is our focus and what do we want to achieve - what are the results we want? That seems like a lot to consider but it all boils down to a single, common denominator - we want to be happy, feel safe and secure, to know joy, and to feel accomplished and fulfilled. If we can also feel loved, valued, and appreciated, that’s icing on the cake, as the saying goes.
And this is our time to allow that to happen. It may mean getting rid of a lot of outdated energies and people, giving ourselves an energetic makeover, taking care of ourselves, and giving our ascension path a good look. Are we connected to people who really ‘love, honor’, and respect’ us? Do we like who we are and who we are being? Do we like our life or is it time for a radical change. Remember we are also in an eclipse portal now too so anything is possible and radical moves can be expected.
So with all of this going on just remember it is Mercury retrograde until April 8, with the shadow period ending April 27. And if you feel like making some radical, life altering changes during that time, don’t be surprised.
Meanwhile, here are some guidelines for Mercury retrograde.
Mercury retrograde happens 3 or 4 times a year and it lasts for a total of around 9 weeks. It’s a time when it’s wise to be aware of the situations that can arise during these periods, such as missed communications, delays in travel, technology glitches, misplacing items, misunderstandings, and a wide variety of upsets and annoyances that always seem to happen during a Mercury retrograde.
During retrograde periods Mercury appears to slow down and go backwards and while that doesn’t really happen, from the earth’s perspective it appears to. Mercury rules communication, short travel, siblings, and karma and while it’s retrograde these situations appear to be highlighted and can cause a great deal of trouble and chaos.
For example, you’re taking a trip and you run out of gas on the way to the airport because the 2 gas stations you tried to stop at were busy or closed. During a Mercury retro you should not wait until the last minute to do something like fill your gas tank.
During a Mercury retro I misplaced my set of keys and could not find them for 2 days. I finally found then hanging on a bulletin board in the kitchen - which I had passed by dozens of times as I was looking for them but I never saw them.
If you have important meetings or events, double check your communications and make phone calls, this is not a time to rely on email. For example, you have a critical meeting set up with a new client and you have sent the scheduling emails and confirmed everything. You show up at the appointed time and the client is not there. You wait for 30 minutes and then leave, thinking you have been stood up. But the client had a computer problem and lost their email and the event address, as well as your phone number, so they did not know where to go. Mercury retrograde is never a good time to rely on electronic communications!
I have always been amazed at how many organizations schedule big maintenance projects or software upgrades during a Mercury retrograde. I don’t know if it is intentional or not, but as a former network administrator and software manager, I would never have done that without making adequate preparations and taking precautions to ensure I was covered for any unforeseen down times, problems, issues, or outages because if they are going happen, they will during a Mercury retrograde.
Some people say that you should not start new projects or sign contracts during a Mercury retro but since that would involve delaying these matters for 36 weeks out of the year, that is not logical or possible. However, it is wise to go over fine print, review all details, and to anticipate delays and do-overs during a Mercury retro.
While life doesn’t stop during Mercury retrograde it does slow down and it is a good time to refresh, regroup, renew, reconsider, release or reboot, relax, rest, and double check everything!
Here is a Mercury retrograde survival guide for you, all things to do during a Mercury retrograde which includes the period before and after the actual 4 week retrograde, called the ‘shadow’ period. Hopefully this will help you avoid problems and disruptions during this time. Overall, each Mercury retrograde lasts about 9 weeks and they happen 3 or 4 times a year.
- allow extra time for travel and be prepared for delays, reroutes, and cancellations
- double check your communications and if it's important, follow up in person by phone, especially for email and other electronic communication
- any new projects started now may require review or do-overs, carefully look at all the details
- watch where you put your things, it's easy to get distracted and forget where you put things during Mercury retro times
- Take some time to rest, reflect, relax, review, renew or release, reconsider, and reorganize, regroup, and re-vibe your life. If things go wrong or there are problems they will come up in a Mercury retrograde and rather than responding in the same way, it may be time to reconsider your options and do something different this time.
Life is so busy that we have to go on autopilot to handle it all. This means we ‘put up with’ or tolerate a lot of things, we have learned to ignore or disregard the less annoying life challenges, and we set an acceptable level of chaos and discord in our lives. But that gets amplified with Mercury goes retrograde so we have to pay attention to it and start making changes.
Use Mercury retrograde to take some down time, reorganize and restructure those aspects of your life that could use some attention, organize your kitchen, closets, and your physical space. And know that Mercury retrograde doesn’t last forever and it will eventually be over and you’ll be back on track again - maybe with a different focus, a new perspective, and less chaos and disruption.
