How To Make It Through This Mercury Retrograde Alive

For a week, my iPhone has been dying with 45% battery left. Saturday, I almost lost a package in the mail. Yesterday, the computers at my yoga studio went down & they lost my account. Today, my boyfriend broke travel plans, put me through Hell & then re-planned the same trip. I feel like Teresa Guidice, post-prison sentencing: confused, anxious, unable to string together a coherent thought, and only 10% fabulous.

WTF is going on?

On Saturday, October 4th, Mercury went Retrograde… again. It seems like every time we survive one retrograde another one starts… but this is the last one for 2014.

What is Mercury Retrograde?

The planet Mercury rules communication, travel, technology & clear thinking. Retrograde means to move backwards. The planet doesn’t actually move backwards, but to us little earthlings, it appears to do so from our perspective. And when this happens, all of the things that Mercury rules seems to go backwards as well.

This means that the universe has opened us up to more misunderstandings related to or revolving around communication, travel, technology, and clear thinking, which can lead to arguments, heartache, stress, anxiety, etc. So let’s talk about how to avoid all that.

Let’s not think of mercury retrograde as a BAD time or a time where the sky will fall… but, let’s talk about managing the effects so you don’t get thrown off-kilter. I’m going to put little swimming floaties on you today…. Next time we’ll talk about how to be champion swimmer, okay?

Over Communicate

Okay so first and foremost, I mentioned communication is a big thing that mercury oversees… it can get a little wonky in this time, so in order to combat that – let’s OVER COMMUNICATE to avoid a MISCOMMUNICATION. Ask a lot of questions – more than you normally would. Get clarity. And most importantly, avoid arguments. This is not to say you would sweep things under the rug or not stand up for yourself, but understand that everyone is experiencing the effects of MR – and if you get in an argument, in a time when communication is already challenging, you’re adding a sticky layer of mercury confusion. No matter how well you normally communicate, you might misspeak, be unnecessarily mean or critical, or (since you’re probably also not thinking clearly) steer this seemingly little argument into a much bigger issue.

And we should always practice The Four Agreements but let’s put extra practice towards agreement #1: Take nothing personally. Remember – everyone else is experiencing MR too.

Managing travel

When it comes to travel & travel arrangements, don’t let things get out of your control. Show up early for your flight, allot more time for potential traffic and expect delays. The overarching advice is to just pay more attention to the details & double check your arrangements to head off any potential travel disasters.

Avoiding Technological Disaster

I had a dream that someone dropped and smashed my iPhone last night. Like completely cracked screen, in my dream. Not awesome. As soon as I woke up, I slapped that sucker in a case. So put your phone in a good case, back up your photos to iCloud, double check you’re saving that big work file and for goodness sake, just don’t upgrade your iPhone to the new iOS. For retrograde reasons or otherwise, I just don’t think it’s a good idea. Remember, communication is wonky, so if you’re purchasing travel or technology just be 100% confident your arrangements or warranties are 100% on point.

Other Craziness

Allow yourself some humanity if you’re feeling out of sorts. It’s normal during this time. You’ll straighten out when Mercury goes direct. So don’t be surprised if you hear from old friends or ex-boyfriends during this period.

One thing I just learned about MR is what’s called the shadow period, meaning that the effects can start happening a week before and can linger a week after. So if things have been a little shaky for you… since before Saturday, you’re not alone. Mercury doesn’t go direct until October 26, so hang on tight.

TL;DR: just stay calm, over communicate, double check details and understand that everyone is experiencing the same effects, whether they are conscious to them or not.

For the doubters out there, I think it’s better to be conscious of potential effects the planets have on us so at least you can be mindful of how you are & what you are experiencing. We can’t just get in bed for 3 weeks and hide from the world, so we have to make mini adjustments so we can survive. So adjust, get out there, go be awesome. And may the odds be EVER in your favor.