As an evolving boss in a human suit, you would be crazy not to appreciate the value of this thrice a year opportunity to enhance, reset & renew your reality!
Mercury goes Retrograde for about 3 weeks, but has a pre- and post-phase that lasts just as long, making the total time this transit affects us basically half of our lives. There’s a rhythm to Mercury’s Retrograde and Direct motion, oscillating us between two very important sides of the polar coin of our mind’s eye.
When it’s Direct, we perceive the projection of our mind as reality. Then when it goes Retrograde, we get to put life in “maintenance mode”, look in on the design of the projector, & make changes to the memories, thoughts, & beliefs running the show. We get to change the game.
Here’s how you can make the most of the before, during, & after of Mercury Retro so you can’t help but love & appreciate it…
pre-retroshade preparation
Before Mercury goes Retro, we move through a pre-deja vu. This is when we experience themes we will soon revisit with setbacks, so we can reconsider the best way to show up for the familiar. This is a time for preparing our mind & tech for what’s to come. Here are 3 ways to prepare:
1. heighten your subtle senses
Anticipate & ease the transition by slowing down before the Retrograde hits. There are clues in your environment during this time around what will stir & challenge you. Allowing your attention to tune in to the subtleties of your experience will help you feel more grounded when you revisit this energetic territory.
Like a waking lucid dream, pause often to notice the sights, sounds & smells that surround you. Take deeper breaths. Begin to release your attachment to your thoughts. They will soon begin to change anyway, so why not wish them well often as they come & go now!
2. Add more cushion to your schedule
Reboots are not to be rushed. The setbacks, glitches, & mishaps of Mercury’s antics are needed to redirect you. Knowing this, show the usually speedy self that you’re here for taking things slower together by adding some extra time between appointments, or to get anywhere.
If you use an automated scheduling system, go into the advanced settings and add a bigger buffer before & after meetings. You may also want to extend your timelines & deadlines, stretching everything out a bit more. It’s a funny thing, but doing this often results in less of this needing to be done. Isn’t it just amazing how much easier things flow when someone’s needs are seen? Even if that someone is a metallic ball in the cosmos!
3. purge / backup / clean / update your devices
Your tech does so much for you. Instead of dreading Mercury Retrograde as a time it doesn’t serve you the same, let it be a time to return the favor to show it how much you appreciate it. Practically, your chances of damaging glitches go way down and energetically, you rewire your relationship to this transit to be one of reverence & devotion.
Your devices are little robots constantly showing up for you in so many ways. They need to be groomed just like anything else to stay healthy. For your tech familiars, this looks like purging them of unneeded data or apps, backing up what is definitely needed, cleansing their surfaces & cracks, and updating them so they have the freshiest systems. They’re constantly supporting you in upgrading yours, the least you can do is make sure they are operating at peak possible efficiency!
FUN FACT: Apple releases big things during Mercury Retro because they know most people are shitty to their devices, will get disappointed by them during this time, and will just want to replace them! But not you, you’re committed to a healthy, sustainable relationship with your tech.
retrograde adaptation
While Mercury is Retro, things act up to get our attention, or encourage us to pay it elsewhere. Familiar workflows stop working to inspire us to find a new way. Tech & communication seems unreliable so we put our minds to evolving it. Here are 3 ways to show up in flow:
1. redirect your energy often
If something’s frustrating you, step away. It’s really that simple. Communicate what you must, and step the fuck away. Turn your attention to something else. Anything else. And keep it away until you forget about the mental & emotional pretzel you were just in. When you return, it will work better.
Do this even if you’re not frustrated. Mercury Retro activates your inner multi-tasker. Trust in the scatterdness. Allow the divine redirection. Day dream if you feel like it. You’re re-wiring your mind so your reality can work better. That’s worth taking breaks from said reality when needed.
2. triple check your comms
If you don’t want to sound like a broken record blaming Mercury for everything in the damage control of communication wires getting crossed, slow down enough to do your due diligence to avoid it. I’ma go ahead & motion that this tip of mindfulness is a great idea regardless, so thanks Mercury, but seriously… do it.
Check your recipient before you hit send, re-read your text before you release it, refresh your calendar before you commit it to the short-term memory of your day. Assume the trickster is always at play. Be vigilant. Don’t get played.
3. trust (& laugh at) the magic of unpredictability
If you can’t slow down enough to laugh at it, you’re doing it wrong. When the weird haps get the most ridiculous or I get the most frustrated, or both, I feel like Mercury’s laughing at me, and it always disarms me. Then I realize I was taking myself or my task or my self-imposed deadline too seriously, and I land in more of a childlike wonder at the mystery of what’s beyond my prediction.
Then I usually do something fun or that makes me feel good, and I find a miraculous solution when I circle back. Magic.
post-retroshade integration
After Mercury’s Retro, we go back over the same territory with the blessing of contrast. The invitation is to feel gratitude for the relative flow, notice the deja vu of similar themes, and get the opportunity to apply our new tech tools or communication skills to approach them better. Here are 3 ways to integrate like a boss:
1. INTERRUPT THE PATTERNS
When Mercury was Retro, familiar patterns got interrupted for you when things didn’t work right so you could ultimately find new & better ways forward. Now that Mercury is Direct again, you’re in charge of pausing when you notice the familiar opportunities arise to apply what you learned.
Pause. Take a deep breath. Remember what you learned. Thanks to the pattern interruption of your breath-filled pause, you can implement your new skills & tools. You can start to make them a new normal. You’re so much better at your life now!
2. GIVE THANKS FOR YOUR TECH
Obviously giving thanks is always a good thing. But think about it like this… which kind of relationship feels better: one where they only express frustration when you’re not doing what they want, or one where they make it a point to appreciate you when you please them?
Mercury going Direct is a great time to notice & appreciate how well things flow most of the time. Give thanks for your tech. Give thanks for your devices. Give thanks for all the tools that make communication & commerce function so well for you most of the time. Do this & watch how much easier your future Mercury Retrogrades get.
3. LAUGH SOME MORE
You just went through some shit! Whether or not you learned something this time around (& I hope you did), you had to muster more patience than usual to roll with the gear wrenches your life & biz threw at you. Congratulate yourself for making it through. Laugh, shake, dance, or scream if you need to. Do what you do to move energy so you can move forward fully present for the next chapter of Mercury’s Direct Motion.
Part of being a Cosmic Boss is getting better & better all the time at transitioning. The spaces we transition from & to are important also, of course. But the skill of transitioning in general, the muscle you develop around that, is crucial. Gracefully moving forward with the Direct motion will set you up to transition into the next Retro just as gracefully.
🎯 how did this land for you?
Have a Mercury Retro story to share? Feeling inspired to love on Mercury more next time around?