Your Mercury Retrograde Survival Guide - September/October Edition

Quick, grab the Black Tourmaline and the Smokey Quartz, and back up everything on your computer!

Oh no, you hear from all your astrology loving friends that Mercury is in retrograde again this year, and they’re all making it sound bad. Or maybe you are the astrology loving friend, and none of your pals understand what this means for their lives. Whatever the case, I’ve got you covered with your survival guide for Mercury retrograde this summer. This retrograde will last from September 27th until October 17th, and the shadow period lasts for two weeks on each side of those dates. That’s about a month of possible Mercury related problems!

When Mercury is in retrograde, it isn’t actually travelling backwards through the sky, but we perceive it that way from our perspective on Earth during certain times of our year because Mercury orbits at a different speed than Earth does.

The planet Mercury was named after the Roman god of travel, financial gain, commerce, communication, messages, and boundaries. The Roman deity had several other roles, but those are the aspects in people and their lives that are typically viewed as being influenced by the planet Mercury.

So, when Mercury has gone retrograde, you can expect (and try to prevent) problems involving communication, travel, and technology.

If you don’t identify as someone who is involved with witchcraft or folk magic, there are still some easy steps you can take to lessen the potential impact that this Mercury Retrograde will have on your life. If you do identify as someone who is involved with witchcraft or folk magic, you might want to consider these next steps, but the steps specific to your lifestyle will be listed second.

My biggest tip for dealing effectively with Mercury Retrograde, whether you identify as a witch or not, is to engage in shadow work. Mercury Retrograde begs us to look at those deep, dark parts of ourselves. So, ask yourself the hard questions. Do what makes your inner child happy. Shadow work can manifest in many different ways - through journaling, art, music, movement, meditation, and many more. Do what helps you connect the most with yourself. As Autumn approaches for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, we are encouraged to turn inward, seek refuge inside of ourselves, and let go of things. Keep your home or at the very least your bedroom a sanctuary for you to return to during this time so you have a positive space in which to process your thoughts feelings.

Non-Witch Tips for Mercury Retrograde

1. Get organised. Mercury Retrograde tends to make our brains feel like Swiss cheese, and we are prone to forgetting things. Write important dates on your calendar, in your diary or planner, and keep daily to do lists if you have things you can’t afford to forget. Set multiple alarms or reminders on your phone for your plans. Avoid becoming time blind by keeping a clock in sight.

2. Keep a journal. I don’t know who needs to hear this, but that brand new notebook you bought six months ago is begging to be used. Since Mercury Retrograde can be a time of communication problems, that can make us emotional. Writing down our thoughts and feelings can also help us prevent communication problems. If we need to speak to someone, writing our thoughts down in advance can help us to prepare what we need to say. Alternatively, keep a gratitude journal. During Mercury Retrograde, we tend to be full of negative thoughts and feel down on ourselves and insecure in our abilities. Keeping a daily journal of 3 things you're grateful for (no matter how small they might seem!) can help you have something to return to when you're feeling low and you can look back on the days and remember all the little things that make you happy. Studies have shown that keeping a gratitude journal helps to elevate one's mood and promote a positive outlook.

3. Give yourself time. Since travel problems are common during Mercury Retrograde, make sure you give yourself more time than you need for your daily commute and for any leisure travel. Be flexible, and expect delays.

4. Check what others mean. Communication problems typically boil down to misunderstandings. These can be easily avoided by checking the meaning of people’s words. If your partner asks you to do something before they get home from work, repeat back to them the thing they’ve asked you to do and check you have it right, and write it down if you might forget and won’t be doing it immediately. If your boss asks you to cover a shift, repeat the time and date back to them to confirm you have it correctly.

5. Back up your phone and computer. Since tech problems are common during Mercury Retrograde, maintaining regular backups is clever.

Witch Tips for Mercury Retrograde

1. Make sigils to protect your technology (i.e. on sticky notes) and attach them to phones, laptops, external hard drives, and cars.

2. Protect your energy. Stay away from energy vampires, wear grounding crystals such as Black Tourmaline, Obsidian, or Smokey Quartz, wear enchanted jewellery or clothes, veil, cleanse, meditate, whatever you do in your personal practice to protect your spiritual energy. A great place to snag some ethically sourced crystals are from Awen Witchery, where you can use my discount code TWISTER10.

3. Keep a dream journal. Many people have experienced prophetic dreams during Mercury Retrograde. Alternatively, keep a list of any repeated signs you notice during the shadow period and the retrograde. A quick way to tell whether something is a sign is if it has appeared three times or more. Keep track of repeating (angel) numbers, repeating tarot or oracle cards, animals you might see regularly, repeating themes in your dreams, even songs that just seem to happen to play on your shuffle regularly.

4. Do divination. Mercury was a god of messages, including those received from divination methods. Take time during Mercury Retrograde to connect more intuitively with your tarot or oracle cards, your pendulum, your runes, your bones, your tea leaves, the clouds you see, the flames, or whatever method of divination you use.

5. Ground yourself. Because Mercury Retrograde is often an emotional time, it’s important to take time for grounding yourself. You can do this by earthing (connecting with the Earth through your bare feet), immersing yourself in wild water, forest bathing, meditating, doing yoga, cooking or baking, crafting, listening to music or ambient sounds, listening to healing frequencies, and many other ways.

If you enjoyed my Mercury Retrograde tips and think someone else might, please do pass them along.

You may find my new Crystal Prism Meditation useful for clearing yourself of negative, overwhelming brain chatter during Mercury Retrograde.