Mercury spends roughly 20% of its cycle in retrograde motion, so there is a very high chance that some of your problems can be blamed on the planet of communication. It is actually common for retrogrades to occur, and every planet experiences retrograde motion and brings changes to our lives, so these are some tricks to “surviving” your next retrograde.
When a planet is in retrograde, the Earth is passing it in orbit and the planet is moving backwards from our perspective, which means the energy of the planet experiences delays. Mercury influences our day-to-day interactions, technology, and relationships in general, so when retrograde is in motion, these are delayed.
Mercury goes into retrograde more often than other planets due to its proximity to the sun, and Mercury will be in retrograde four times this year. Astrologer Lisa Starbust says, “Messy and wonky things happen during the retrograde shadow periods, thanks to the fact that Mercury is feeling more like a trickster than ever.”
There are three phases to the Mercury retrograde — the first is pre-retrograde where Mercury begins its backspin through the zodiac until it comes to a complete halt, then the planet moves backwards through the zodiac a second time, until finally moving forward through the zodiac for the last time. During the retrograde, your emotions will be all over the place, but you can use this time to reflect on your life, and the best thing to do is remain flexible.