Mercury, the planet of communication, is retrograde from today Monday 12th March until Wednesday 4th April. This relatively common occurence happens three times a year and gets a lot of bad press amongst astrologers; don’t travel, don’t sign anything, don’t make any major decisions, etc. As far as I’m concerned, Mercury retrograde is not a reason to stop living and do nothing. Forewarned is forearmed but life and the show must go on.
In my personal experience, things do tend to go awry when Mercury is giving the illusion of moving backwards in the heavens, which is what a retrograde planet means. It’s a good idea to back up your computer, have any car niggles checked out, double check all important arrangements, meetings, interviews and follow up snail mail, emails and phone calls. We’re talking misinformation and misunderstandings surrounding communication and travel, so double check everything and be super-tolerant in all your relationships.
The key to understanding Mercury retrograde is that during the three-week retrograde period you don’t yet have the full story and more information often comes to light once Mercury turns direct. It’s a great time for “re”- words so research and reassess, rework, rethink, revise, reimagine, reenvision. Slow down the pace, take things easy over the next three weeks, kick back and contemplate your life and your work. Old friends may emerge from the woodwork and old contacts could be useful.
Be aware that for new projects and new ideas, early April is when it’s all stations go. This is effectively a gestation period to get your ducks in a row and be ready to show them to the world in a few weeks time. Once they’re flapping happily, you can launch them confident that they’ll fly directly to their chosen destination. But for the next three weeks, allow your ducks to swim round in circles and take their time making up their minds.