Mercury Retrograde in Virgo

Yes, it's that time again when Mercury goes into retrograde. It seems to happen all too often, doesn't it. For those of you interested in the mechanics of it, when a planet retrogrades this means it appears to be going backwards in the sky (it isn't really but it is the best way to describe it!). Most planets will retrograde at some point, some more frequently than others-Mercury being one of them. You've probably heard of it as it's referred to a lot more now within our culture and society. When a planet does retrograde this shifts the energy for us mortals here on earth, it "bends" the energy of that planet. It's absolutely nothing to fear, if you think about it, you will have been going about your day-to-day life for years, before you were even aware of astrology, without even noticing when or which planet is in retrograde!

Let's get down to it then. Mercury will be retrograde on Monday 5th August 2024 (GMT) in the sign of Virgo. Before we even start a Mercury retrograde there is a 2 week shadow period before it turns retrograde. This is similar to when we have a full moon, the energies slowly build toward the retrograde officially starting, so we might feel or see the effects of this. A good place to notice this is in the media, we often see news related stories with Mercury retrograde themes happening. During the summer period this can translate as delays with flights etc.

In astrology Mercury represents communication, thinking and travel. When Mercury goes retrograde and "bends" that energy and you may notice things like travel disruptions, miscommunications and sometimes over-thinking or re-thinking. "Re" is a wonderful suffix to use for a retrograde as it describes perfectly things which can be done during a retrograde period. Review, re-do and reconsider are a few of them. The retrograde period gives us time to reflect, it's the universe's way of "saying time out humans, stop scurrying around like the worker ants that you are and stop to think".

Mercury will be retrograde from the 5th August to 28th August (and then another 2 weeks shadow period after that). Here are some things which we may experience during this time:

• Miscommunications, especially with friends or groups. Read and re-read any emails, texts etc. This is the time when you press send and it goes to the wrong person!

• Re-connecting with people from the past, especially old friends - it can be a great time to reach out to old friends etc, although always check your motives first ie: don't text the ex!

• Re-evaluating friendships

• Delays or set backs with group collaborations

• Tech problems - always back up during a retrograde! (Personally I also find if you have any electrical equipment which glitches or stops working, it usually comes back to life after the retrograde!).

• Having to "re-do" things - meetings and plans often get cancelled or times changed.

• Revisiting any unfinished business, such as circling back to collaborative projects or ideas.

• Unclear thoughts or thinking, things will become clear after the retrograde has ended.