“Three or four times a year,” explains senior astrologer Annabel Gat in a CNN article, “Mercury stops moving forward through the degrees of the zodiac and begins moving backward, or at least only appears to!” 

The term “retrograde” refers to “the appearance of the planet moving backward in the sky,” and you’d be surprised what kind of havoc this little movement can cause!

From technological disasters to organisational misunderstandings, plus missed flights, apps crashing, and misunderstandings galore, it’s all Mercury’s fault. The planet of communication plays a crucial role in the astrology of our everyday lives, but during its retrograde phases, the heat is turned up a notch and chances of things going… not exactly according to plan… go through the roof. 

Chani Nicholas reminds us that while things can get “tricky, testy, and tedious” during this phase, Mercury Retrograde is also “essential to our growth and evolution,” as it can help us learn important lessons about communication, and our own ego. So, let’s strap ourselves in, and find out how to work with Mercury’s energy, not against it.