Have you felt fogginess and befuddlement over the last few days? Or been on the receiving end of numerous technical glitches or communication mishaps? Mercury is slowing down again in Pisces for his regular retrograde period (February 16 to March 10) and it’s always around the beginning and the end of this time that Mercury’s tricks are most prevalent.
Think of Mercury like a car. Cars move forward 90% of the time and like to go fast in that direction (faster than more natural modes of walking or riding). When you have to reverse is when it gets tricky. Imagine you are driving your car to a specific destination and you come across an obstacle. You cannot move past it and there is no room to turn around. So you have to back up, but you can’t just throw the car in reverse at the same speed. You need to slow down, then stop and change gears. Then you need to change your perspective, either looking in the rearview mirror or turning to look over your shoulder. And then you slowly reverse, perhaps picking up speed after a time until you find a space to either turnaround or wait for the obstacle to move.
Unless you are a stunt car driver, all of this feels unnatural, unusual and challenging, and you can’t wait to turn around so you can drive forwards again. This is how it feels for Mercury when he stations to go retrograde and that is why this is the most challenging times. Like Sunday and Monday, and then 10-11 March. When there is no speed and the perspective is shuffling back and forth. That slowing down can feel foggy and the change in perspective turns us inwards as we travel back over the Pisces and Aquarius roads Mercury just travelled down. A combination of Mars and the Sun on February 25 can dry things out and offer a brief moment of clarity, as we lift our heads above the Pisces waves for a check on where we are, but be ready to dive back down for more underwater adventures after this.
Tips for this Mercury retrograde:
- Turn inwards
If Mercury’s direction is always externally focused, then retrograde brings us inwards, into ourselves. Make time for contemplation, meditation, quiet walks, retreats – anything that allows the inside voices to have their say. I’m not talking about the monkey mind that babbles incessantly all day, usually full of criticism and fear. No, the higher voices, the ones that often whisper wisdom when we take the time to listen. The volume is turned up on these right now if we give them a chance to be heard.
- Review your dreams or visions
Pisces brings us the bigger picture, in dream or vision state, and Mercury here has a dreamy-like voice that is turned inwards during retrograde. Perhaps it’s time to revisit your castles in the sky and see if you really still want to live in them. Do they need tweaks? Or is it time to build new ones?
- Simple planning with built-in flexibility
Plan a basic outline for the days ahead so you have something to keep you anchored and focused on important tasks, but also be gentle with yourself beyond that. If you need a doona day, take it. A holiday? Book it. If something imaginative and creative beckons, slip off and follow the breadcrumbs. If you wish to spend your days dreaming and floating about, try to make room for that too.
- Have a Plan B
If the usual Mercury retrograde issues crop up (missed flights, miscommunication, car troubles, technology glitches) then have a backup plan in place if it’s something critical. Whether it’s a lift to the airport, an extra backup of your hard drive or a copy of important documents, it always pays to be prepared. And if it’s not urgent, then relax and enjoy the ride, sometimes it’s the detours that offer the best views!
* This is an edited version of an original article from July 2019.