I am fairly certain you’ve at least heard this term mentioned even if you don’t know much about Mercury Retrograde – the last decade it has picked up momentum all over Social Media – and not necessarily with accurate information.
Now for clarity, I am not an astrologer, nor am I going to try to take this post down the path of full blown astrology, but beyond the hashtag hype there actually is truth to this, and it goes far beyond the newspaper horoscopes that come to mind when we think of astrology and can touch our lives in a very real way.
For clarity, we are in the full swing of a current cycle now so you may be experiencing some of this yourself, as you read.
Every planet goes retrograde at some point in time – smaller planets such as Mercury will retrograde multiple times a year, the larger the planet the less often it retrogrades with some planets only retrograding one time (or less) per year. When a planet turns retrograde it appears to slow down and move backwards in our sky; it doesn’t actually, but nonetheless it affects our lives in a multitude of ways.
Mercury is a planet that represents communication, technology and travel, so when it goes retrograde it affects these areas of our lives the most.
There are four main phases of a retrograde process:
- Pre Shadow
- Retrograde
- Stations Direct
- Post Shadow
The best way I have found to explain this process is to imagine this planet is going on vacation; the pre-shadow phase is similar to when we are preparing to leave for vacation; it is usually a flurry of activity trying to get everything prepared, your bags packed, making sure you haven’t forgotten something – think of the movie Home Alone – when the family wakes up late and is rushing around panicked trying to make it to the airport on time. This is the pre-shadow phase to a T. I find it to be one of the most difficult and easy to recognize of the phases.
When it actually turns retrograde the planet has made it to its vacation destination and is relaxed, not checking emails, not really available and distant. You’ll find that life slows down, communication becomes sporadic and misunderstandings often run rampant, your technology may or may not work and when it does you’ll find delays. Remember, the planet is essentially on vacation so whatever it is repsonsible for; in this case communication, travel and technology, are receiving an out of office reply from Mercury.
When the planet stations direct it has officially stopped the retrograde process and will be returning to the regularly scheduled program. This is akin to arriving home from vacation and the post-shadow phase is when the planet is starting to get back to normal, beginning to ‘unpack’ from vacation…these phases can be a little frustrating and annoying; similar to when you return from vacation; you have bags to unpack, laundry to do, emails to check, mail to catch up on…things may be a little rushed, frustrating and you’re likely wishing you were back on that beach soaking in the sun rather than reading through a dozen unnecessary emails. Right?
Retrogrades aren’t something to fear, but it’s important and helpful to be prepared and understand WHY you may have been feeling a little more irritated over the past two weeks, or having things slowing down, printers not working, emails not going through…things not working the way they usually do.
It is definitely an overplayed theme on Social Media in my opinion, but that doesn’t make it any less true or mean that it doesn’t affect us; I can assure you it certainly does.
I tend to lose track of time; I especially find that I don’t realize when we are nearing certain moon phases or astrological events such as retrograde – and then hitches & glitches begin to happen and something clicks; ‘ohhhh wait. It is Mercury Retrograde happening again already?!’ Every. Single. Time. I have wondered this to myself, it has turned out to be true.
Think back and ask yourself if you’ve you been feeling extra irritated? Been experiencing delays or communication and technology break downs since February 11, 2026
Let me know if you have any questions or if you’d like to hear a message and insight from Spirit about this current phase we are in.
As always, bright wishes,
Jillian
Soul Gazer 