Separating the real astrological effects from the social media mythology.
Mercury retrograde has become the internet's favourite explanation for everything that goes wrong. Missed texts, broken phones, delayed flights, arguments with ex-partners, all attributed to Mercury retrograde. The reality is more specific, more interesting, and more useful than the memes suggest.
What Mercury Retrograde Actually Is
Mercury retrograde is an optical illusion. Mercury does not actually move backward. From Earth's perspective, because of the relative speeds of Earth and Mercury in their orbits around the Sun, Mercury appears to slow down, stop, and then move backward before resuming its forward motion. This apparent backward motion is what astrologers call retrograde.
What It Actually Affects
Mercury rules communication, contracts, travel, technology, and the mind. When Mercury is retrograde, these areas of life tend to experience disruption, delay, and the need for revision. This is not random chaos. It is a specific type of disruption: the kind that forces you to slow down, review, and reconsider things you thought were settled.
The classic Mercury retrograde advice, do not sign contracts, do not make major purchases, do not start new projects, is based on this principle. Retrograde periods are better suited to revision than initiation. The re- prefix is your guide: review, reconsider, reconnect, revise, reflect.
What It Does Not Affect
Mercury retrograde does not cause your phone to break, your ex to text you, or your flight to be delayed. These things happen all the time. Mercury retrograde simply makes us more aware of them because we are looking for them. This is confirmation bias, not astrology.
The 2025 Mercury Retrograde Dates
Mercury will be retrograde in 2025 during the following periods: January 25 to February 20 (Aquarius/Capricorn), May 29 to June 22 (Gemini), September 21 to October 15 (Libra/Virgo). Each retrograde occurs in a different sign, which colours the specific area of life most affected.
How to Use Mercury Retrograde
The most sophisticated use of Mercury retrograde is not avoidance but intentional engagement. Use the retrograde period to review contracts you have already signed, reconnect with people from your past who you have lost touch with, revise projects that have stalled, and reconsider decisions that do not feel fully resolved. The retrograde is not an obstacle. It is an invitation to do the work you have been postponing.
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