At the end of April, we were having a meeting about our schedule for May.
Me: *as i flipped through the pages of my moleskine* Oh by the way, I’m doing my detox from 20th to 22nd May, so i’m out of action, which means no meetings, no office time and no events cos it’s so intense. It’s a perfect time tho, cos Mercury also happens to be in retrograde…”
Baby shocked me with her dramatic response, “Ughhh!!! I HATE it when Mercury is in retrograde!”
Me: Well it’s gonna happen anyway, so we just have to deal with it and chill
Last year when Mercury was in retrograde, all these crazy dramas were happening based purely on miscommunication via cellphone, and emails crashing. I remember i was working from Sydney at the time, juggling a ton of emails just before the Love Bonito fashion show in Publika, and whatasapping furiously about Vincent going missing and the police having to go to his house. In the end, he just happened to have left his phone in the car, gone into artistic hermit mode, and everyone thought he got kidnapped or was dead.
That’s one of the most dramatic Mercury in retrograde situations i’ve been close to.
When Mercury goes into retrograde (usually 3-4 times a year), it looks like it’s stationary from Earth while our planet ‘catches up’ with it. I totally believe in the placement of our surrounding planets and stars affecting us, so i’m all for believing such a phenomenon is bound to affect us in some way.
“Astrologically, Mercury represents the principles of communication, mentality, thinking patterns, rationality and reasoning, and adaptability and variability. Mercury governs schooling and education, the immediate environment of neighbors, siblings and cousins, transport over short distances, messages and forms of communication such as post, email and telephone, newspapers, journalism and writing, information gathering skills and physical dexterity.
In Chinese astrology, Mercury represents Water, the fourth element, therefore symbolizing communication, intelligence, and elegance.” [source]
One is told to expect breakdowns in communication in all forms- whatsapp messages, verbal conversations, phone calls, etc. Because the universe just won’t LET you go about your day and work life as per normal, it’s said to be a good time to slow down and reevaluate what’s going on in your life.
“These three weeks are meant to be a contemplative period where we review past ideas and insights we’ve had, activities we’ve been involved with, projects that we’re are working on, communications with others and all the plans we’ve been making.” [source]
I even wrote down on the first page of my moleskine at the beginning of the year all the phases Mercury would go into retrograde this year so i’m prepared for it.
“Jan 21 – Feb 11, May 19 – June 11, and Sept 17 – Oct 9
During retrograde one is advised to: remain flexible, allow time for extra travel (or avoid traveling if you can afford it), avoid signing contracts, good time to review projects and plans, and try not make final decisions till after.”
You can read more by googling it, it’s everywhere.
I dun laiiiikkk 🙁