Ah! Mercury goes into retrograde and suddenly I’m losing my luggage during travels or missing connecting flights, having awkward interactions with strangers (and friends), getting gross illnesses, and experiencing an overall feeling of weirdness.

 Often, I don’t even know that Mercury is in retrograde when the above happens. I simply start to feel uncomfortable in my own skin, and the next thing I know, someone is telling me it’s because of this astrological phenomenon.

This used to send me into a total tizzy! I’d get all bent out of shape when my life seemed to turn a bit sideways—my luggage has indeed been lost, I’ve had bad moments at work, and have totally felt like some dude was throwing me for a loop.

Now, however, I have a new outlook on Mercury in retrograde, and even sometimes look forward to it (or at least what comes after it if I embrace it).  

What is Mercury in retrograde

Before we can get into my ultimate survival guide for this super kooky time, let’s answer the important question: What is Mercury in retrograde anyway?

Technically, it’s a phenomenon when the planet looks like it’s moving backward in the night sky.  If you ask any astrology girlie, however, it’s a time when you can expect some gnarly occurrences in your life.

It’s also, as I came to learn, a time of change.

I can’t remember where I read this (it was probably some silly article from an online magazine) but this reframing of the concept totally changed the game for me!

In the article, it explained that the uneasiness and discomfort one felt during this time was because we were experiencing a change—a change that likely required you to be pushed out of your comfort zone.

During this time, you have two choices:

1.        Lean into the change (even if it doesn’t feel great) and try to identify what it is and what you can learn?

2.        Feel totally obliterated by it and come out the other side the same as you were.

With the above in mind and seven days left in this most recent Mercury in retrograde session, here are my tips for surviving it.

The Ultimate Guide to Surviving Mercury in Retrograde

 1.        Prepare yourself

Don’t let yourself get caught by surprise. Know when this phenomenon is occurring and mark it in your calendar.

This is important for two reasons:

• ONE: you won’t be so hard on yourself when the weird stuff starts to happen if you know Mercury is in retrograde

• TWO: You can accomplish tips three and four on this survival guide.

Of course, one could argue that knowing it’s coming may result in the weirdness happening… manifesting and all that so take this tip with a grain of salt. If you’d like to know when it’s happening this year, scroll down.

2.        Prepare others

If you know you’re going to be having some weirdo interactions or experiencing awkwardness, you can let people who matter to you know. That will at least soften the blow of the interactions slightly.

You can also enlist them in helping you with the next tip.

3.        Do some reflecting

As I mentioned above, the reason we all feel so uncomfortable during this time is because it’s a time of change. However, it can be super tricky to understand what the change is that you’re supposed to be going through.

When you encounter an uncomfortable situation during this time, take a moment to do some reflecting. This can simply be sitting and meditating on it or it can be journaling or talking to friends/family (see above) or a therapist.

 You are a phoenix currently in those hot hot flames and it will take some careful thought to rise out of those ashes!

 4.        Maybe avoid anything that can lead to “extra-ness” (even during non-Mercs in recs days)

This is a mistake I seem to make every. single. time.

 I’m not in my #sober era yet, but I certainly don’t like to over-indulge when it comes to drinking. I’m a lightweight and know that if I have too much, I can turn into a wild, troll-like version of myself.

For the most part, I stick to beer (lower ABV and I get too full too fast to have very many).

However, on multiple occasions during which Mercury is in retrograde, I have somehow tricked myself into thinking that a cocktail would be fine and an easy-going night has turned into a wam, bam messy jam!

I could maybe argue that this is part of the process that the astrological phenomenon is putting me through in order to push me into whatever change I need to make (yes, I have awoken hungover the next morning thinking maybe I need to find other ways to have fun or reconsidering the relationships I have with certain people).

STILL, it’s not my favorite experience so whenever the planet seems to tread backwards, I try to avoid this activity in general.  

5.        Be easy on yourself

Finally, I think this is most important (and what I still work on every time). Especially when I’ve failed on the point above, it can be difficult to deal with living in your own skin when it seems like every little thing is going haywire.

That’s why, it’s important to take a moment to remember that this is a time for feeling unwound, uncomfortable, and messy—and let that be okay.

 You’re okay, and you can be easy on yourself.

Hopefully, with those tips in mind, you’re ready to survive Mercury in retrograde. And if not, luckily, there are only seven days left for this round!

 Mercury in retrograde dates 2024

·      August 5th to August 28th

·      November 25th to December 15th

Mercury in retrograde early dates in 2025

·              March 1st to April 12th

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