Similarly with Venus, making us loving and compassionate.įascinating stuff. For example, Mars, the god of war when it goes retrograde we are inexplicably belligerent or short-tempered, looking for a war. Note that ALL planets have an apparent retrograde motion, and have psychological impacts on us. This is related to what is called the Mercury Archetype. So, it is not the planet Mercury that causes such glitches, but our own unconscious. In modern times, we humans remember the Roman god deep in our psyche, and we are affected by the apparent retrograde motion of the planet Mercury, and so our unconscious causes some of our conscious behaviours to be erratic. Briefly, since Mercury was the Roman god of communication and messaging, when he went 'backwards', his messages got lost, or garbled, of mis-delivered. It was C.G.Jung, to my mind, who offered a Psychological hypothesis for the Mercury Retrograde phenomenon. Nice article, but it could be better if you explained just WHY Mercury causes such communications glitches way out here, millions of miles away, where the gravitational pull from Mercury must be so trivial that no discernible effects would be noticed. Make sure that your gardening does not go awry when Mercury is in retrograde by reading your zodiac profile for gardening. Learn more about zodiac sign profiles in general, and check out our monthly horoscopes. What’s your Zodiac Sign? See here: “Mercury Retrograde and Zodiac Signs. The type of influence you feel also depends on which of the 12 zodiac signs Earth is in when Mercury goes retrograde. Mercury retrograde can be an excellent time to take a step back and reanalyze who you are and what you are doing-but do refrain from making any drastic changes until after retrograde has ended. However, this is a good time to sit back and review what you put your energy toward.įor example, if family and faith are important to you, are you putting enough energy into them , or have you overextended in other areas such as your career or a hobby? Losing the balance between different parts of your life can cause all of them to suffer, so being aware of their connections-especially during Mercury retrograde-can help you maintain or at least better understand how that balance works. Some blame Mercury retrograde for all chaos that happens in their lives. You can’t stop your life but plan ahead, have backup plans, and be prepared for people’s shorter fuses and miscommunication. Review projects and plans at these times, but wait until Mercury is direct again to make any final decisions. Double-check your email responses and check in with reservations before you take that trip. So, when Mercury is retrograde, try to remain flexible, patient, and understanding, allow extra time for travel, and avoid signing onto any new contracts that you’re unsure of. It also rules travel, automobiles, shipping, and mail. The planet Mercury rules communication in all forms-listening, writing, reading, speaking, and so on-as well as activities closely related to communication, like negotiations and contracts. What You Should Do When Mercury is Retrograde Please note that dates reflect Eastern Time U.S., not Universal Time. In 2023, Mercury will be in apparent retrograde motion during the following ranges of dates: This is why we call the phenomenon apparent retrograde motion, as it only looks like the planet is moving backward (“retrograde motion”)! When Is Mercury in Retrograde in 2023? This is, of course, an illusion caused by the position of Earth in relation to that of the planet since a planet in orbit always travels in one set direction and can’t suddenly reverse course. Sometimes, it can appear (from our perspective) that a planet has abruptly switched directions and has started to move in reverse across the sky. While we orbit the Sun ourselves, we can observe the other planets moving across our sky, following their own paths.

The astronomical explanation for retrograde motion starts with understanding that the planets in our solar system orbit the Sun at different distances and speeds.

Think undelivered love letters, email blunders, and frazzled travel plans! This is an excellent time to reflect on the past, however, and it’s said that intuition is high during these periods. We refer to these periods as times when Mercury is in apparent retrograde motion or simply ” Mercury retrograde.” To those who practice astrology, these times were traditionally associated with confusion, delay, and frustration. Three to four times a year, the planet Mercury appears to travel backward across the sky. What exactly does it mean for each of us, though? Read on to find out. Mercury enters retrograde motion starting on August 23, 2023! According to the age-old practice of astrology, we are all influenced by the effect of Mercury in retrograde.

Retrograde motion example