Mercury, known for his messenger role, governs communication, travel and technology. Astrologers speculate that Mercury goes retrograde several times every year, creating instability in daily life.
Mercury Retrograde can cause texts with typos, unanswered emails and missed phone calls to become unintelligible – but what exactly is Mercury Retrograde and when is its runover over?
1. The Moon is Direct
Mercury Retrograde may seem like an inconvenience, but it shouldn’t be seen as a time of doom and gloom. On the contrary, it provides an invaluable opportunity to take some time for reflection on areas in your life that need additional focus – and by accepting and learning from its lessons you could emerge even stronger and better prepared to face what lies ahead!
Mercury will enter its final leg of retrograde motion in Virgo this week, which should begin to clear away miscommunication and technology glitches that had caused delays, missed trains, car trouble and missed appointments – an ideal time for travel; just make sure all plans and arrangements are up to date to avoid surprises along the way!
Mercury, as the planet of communication and information, can become especially susceptible to misinterpretations when retrograde, leading to miscommunication as well as mental stagnation. But all is not lost: according to astronomer Carolyn Ernst, Mercury actually orbits faster than Earth so that any optical illusion that it appears moving backwards is actually an optical trick; “imagine being on an overcrowded freeway with slow lanes; you might perceive another car passing you suddenly appear to move in reverse!” Ernst points out.
Mercury, being closest to Earth and closest to our solar system, experiences this illusion more frequently than any of the outer planets. Due to their closeness to the Sun, their relative position from our line of sight changes frequently, giving an impression that they may be moving in different directions. As its orbit changes oftener than others in our solar system, Mercury suffers most from this deception.
Ancient astrologers believed that planets moved according to certain patterns, while modern astrology has its followers today. However, it’s important to keep in mind that planets do move in a uniform pattern around our Sun and they all orbit on an equal plane in an identical manner; astrology simply uses science as a way of translating this data and applying it in our lives.
2. The Sun is Direct
Mercury, the planet responsible for communication and information flows, throws its influence onto everything it touches during its three to four times per year retrograde cycle. Affectionately known as Roman messenger god Mercury, this swift planet oversees everything from emails and texts to contracts and travel arrangements – at any one time or all simultaneously! During a retrograde cycle miscommunication is more likely, ideas don’t flow as freely, people become forgetful or absent-minded and mistrust arises more quickly.
Mercury appears to move in reverse due to Earth’s different orbital speed than any other planet; hence it seems as if Mercury is constantly going backwards from our point of view.
As Mercury moves forward in Leo and out of its retrograde shadow period, it will retrace any steps it took in reverse during its retrograde shadow period. Therefore, it is advised to wait at least two days after Mercury directs before starting any major projects or making major purchases.
Now is an ideal time to get back into action and complete projects, just be sure to leave yourself some leeway before Mercury enters another retrograde cycle. Before sending proposals or creative efforts for approval, double-check them carefully since errors could linger unnoticed during this chaotic phase.
Once Mercury changes direction again, it will enter Virgo – an intensely analytical sign known for providing introspection into relationships and communications. With Mercury back in this intimate sector of your chart, making meaningful relationships is much simpler; now that lessons learned during Mercury retrograde have come full circle you could even work towards solidifying new partnerships or refreshing stale ones! Whatever happens from here forward you will emerge stronger and wiser – with an appreciation for what makes for healthy, happy connections!
3. The Sun is Direct
Mercury, as the planet that rules communication and its associated activities such as emailing, contracts, travel plans, shipping and even emails, controls communication activities from emails to contracts to shipping arrangements and even shipping. Astrologers claim it plays an integral role in technology as well as our daily lives – and its retrograde motion often throws us off when going backwards causing things like lost mail and luggage as well as technological mishaps, misunderstandings or issues with communications, news or travel plans.
Mercury orbits Earth at an extremely short distance, meaning it encounters it several times annually and appears to move backwards as it laps around it several times annually. It’s like passing by a car traveling in your direction that suddenly slows down before passing you again — they appear to be going in reverse when in fact their speed has actually been increasing all along!
Mercury’s return brings renewed energy into our lives, often prompting a reflection and examination of relationships, to identify what we value most while considering any necessary adjustments or discards that need to be made in order for us to move forward. It can also serve as an opportunity for resolution as any issues raised during Mercury Retrograde are tackled head on.
Allow at least two days after Mercury shifts back into direct mode before starting any major projects or making major purchases, this way giving yourself enough time to detect any possible glitches that might arise – as first week Mercury direct can still be somewhat unpredictable!
After a three-week hiatus, Mercury is back at work. Over the next several weeks, as Leo gives way to Virgo on September 9 – it should bring with it more clarity than chaos! This Mercury Retrograde marks its second appearance of 2019.
4. The Moon is Direct
As Mercury returns to direct motion, much of the miscommunication that plagued this period begins to subside. Mercury governs all forms of communication: written, spoken and transmitted over devices and the internet. With Mercury back on course again, now would be an opportune time to increase your attention on correspondence – check it thoroughly for any possible misunderstandings, and take extra time reviewing any documents or contracts that need signing before signing them off.
Mercury retrograde provides an opportunity to evaluate your priorities and reconsider what works and doesn’t work in life, such as devoting too much energy to work while neglecting important parts of life like family and spirituality. Mercury retrograde can also provide a good time for taking stock of how balanced your life really is.
One important thing to keep in mind when Mercury goes direct is that he’s back in its element – air. This offers the perfect opportunity to discuss any concerns that have come up over this time with others and gather possible solutions from them. Air signs tend to be highly communicative, which often leads them to come up with innovative and creative ideas when Mercury directs.
As an interesting sidebar, Mercury usually becomes a trending topic online every three or four months for no scientific discovery or space mission; but due to the innermost planet’s apparent backward movement in its orbit for some weeks every four months.
Lisa Caves of Astrological Perspectives notes that Mercury’s apparent retrograde movement is only an optical illusion due to speed differences. When Mercury moves more quickly than Earth, its orbit can sometimes slip past our perspective making the planet appear to move backward. Ancient astronomers were well aware of this phenomena which helped advance heliocentric beliefs which eventually overtook earth-centric beliefs of their day.