International Zwei

Zoë Bogale

Stuck in traffic this morning? Or did your Smartphone or PC randomly start malfunctioning or better yet, did you just attach the wrong files on the email you sent out? Well, welcome to Mercury Retrograde!

Mercury is known as the Messenger in Roman Mythology and is the planet of Transportation, communication and commerce, so don’t be surprised next time you can’t make out words, end up speaking gibberish or making typos while chatting, even if you thought it was right. You might even question if you’re using words in the right way. Bought the wrong shoe size? Lease gone wrong?

Welcome to Mercury Retrograde

All planets have a period of Retrograde, with each lasting a few weeks. When this happens, we feel the intense energy and its affects life on Earth in many ways. We experience roughly 3 – 4 Mercury Retrogrades a year, with each one being different from the other depending on which Zodiac sign it is back-spinning in.

Planets spinning in retrograde motion are not meant to a bad thing. Retrogrades are a time for review, revisits and maybe sometimes edits although this is not a period to make any big and final decisions.

Depending what on which zodiac sign a Mercury Retrograde is in, it will impact us differently.

Here are the top 4 tell-all signs that it is Mercury Retrograde:

The network/ signal is bad (even the best Wi-Fi connection can be impacted, coupled with malfunctioning tech such as phones, computers, Air Pods and even home appliances. Your computer might pick up a virus, your system might crash. Your Smartphone/tablet or smart watch could fall and break badly.

Communication

Communication is tough. You might say one thing to someone and they hear it in a completely different way. Typos are very common during retrograde as well as verbal misunderstandings. Online messages may even fail to go through more than usual. You could even stutter during this period, oh, did I mention that when you type “it’s” and hit send, you actually sent “it”? Emails and text messages could remain unsent while you are waiting for a response.

You may bump into exes, past friends or connections or you may receive communication from them unexpectedly. You may also feel the urge to connect to past people, places or things. Communication with siblings or children can go astray.

Transport.

You may get a traffic fine, your vehicle might break down, or you could be involved in a minor car accident. Your bike could get stolen or you could wait for an hour for a cab when you usually just wait for 4 minutes for one. You could miss a flight or be late when picking someone up. Your GPS can malfunction. Point is, movement could potentially be slowed, no matter what mode of transport you use.

Technology

Tech or gadgets can go haywire at this time, only to start working again after the Retrograde. This includes any and all tech you have in your possession! Oh did I mention, you could think you charged your phone because you need it for something important and on your way there BOOM! Battery is on 1%

Point is, being aware of any planet’s retrograde helps you better prepare for the bumpy ride ahead. It will help you quickly fix misunderstandings that otherwise would have made your life unpleasant at this time. Retrogrades are great, as they give us a chance to pause, review and edit. So that when the planet moves in a forward motion again, we can move forward easily and with grace.