Mercury retrograde: what it is and how it affects your life

Every 4 months, Mercury — the planet of communication, travel, technology, and contracts — appears to stop in the sky and move backward. This is called Mercury retrograde, and while astronomically it's just an optical illusion, its influence on daily life is widely documented by astrologers and increasingly validated by popular culture.

Why does Mercury "stop"?

Mercury orbits the Sun in 88 days, much faster than Earth. When it "overtakes" us in orbit, it appears to move backward against the background of stars for about 20-24 days. It's an optical phenomenon, but the astrological tradition considers it a period of review, rethinking, and reworking in mercurial matters.

What areas does it affect?

Communication: misunderstandings, unsent messages, lost emails, words said at the wrong moment.
Technology: device failures, connection issues, crashes, slowdowns.
Travel: delays, cancellations, scheduling errors, lost documents.
Contracts and agreements: problematic signatures, confusing clauses, renegotiations.

What to do during Mercury retrograde?

The classic advice is: review, re-evaluate, reconnect, rethink. It's not a time to start new projects on mercurial planes, but it is a time to:

Resume pending conversations.
Reread contracts before signing.
Back up your files.
Reconnect with people from the past (if it makes sense).
Close open cycles.

What NOT to do?

By tradition, it's recommended to avoid:

Buying new electronic devices (or if you do, with extended warranty).
Signing important contracts without thorough review.
Starting new projects that depend heavily on communication or technology.
Making hasty decisions.

Is Mercury retrograde dangerous?

No. It's simply a period of slowing down. If you know you're in it, you can navigate it better: things take longer, you have to double-check, and plans may need adjustments. But it's not a reason to panic. In fact, many people report that during these cycles they resolve pending things they'd been postponing for years.

When is the next Mercury retrograde?

Mercury goes retrograde approximately 3 times a year, every 4 months. Each cycle has three weeks of retrogradation plus a "shadow" of a few weeks before and after. At Tu Verdad you can check the cosmic calendar to see the upcoming retrogrades not only for Mercury, but also for Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. → See the cosmic calendar.