“Mercury in retrograde” has become the most ominous phrase to a girl in her 20s. We start treading lightly everywhere we go and do our best to harness some good karma. Mercury in retrograde is almost more of a trend rather than an actual celestial occurrence that we understand. Essie has even created new nail polish shades to go with the three weeks where the world is against us.
To be honest, I’d probably feel better with the cosmic “Keep Calm” or “Mercury On" lighting up my fingers whether I know what Mercury retrograde is or not.
Mercury retrograde happens about three to four times a year (that’s it? I feel like we hear about it every other day), and parts of the world were also recently treated to a blood moon and one of the longest lunar eclipses of recent years. Add in the fact that four other planets are in retrograde, and we’re basically a hotspot of weird astronomical happenings right now.
But do we even know why we’re so scared of Mercury? What’s the science behind this phenomenon that clearly runs our lives? Let’s break it down.
Unhandled
Does the word “retrograde” even mean anything?
Kind of, not really. All this word means is that a planet is reversing its orbit. Normally a planet orbits from east to west; when it’s in retrograde, it spins west to east. It’s just a lapse from what astronomers know as typical planetary behavior.
However, the planets don’t actually start spinning differently -- it’s just an illusion from the point of view we have from Earth from a faster planet overtaking a slower one. Newsweek put it into layman’s terms: Think about the planets as cars on the highway. As you move into the left lane to pass the grandma going five mph under the limit, in those few seconds when you’re overtaking the car next to you, it looks like it’s moving backwards. Once they end up in your rearview mirror, though, everything’s back to normal.
So...what does this have to do with our lives?
Retrograde is simply associated with negative connotations -- it’s a deviation from what we know as normal, and because people are afraid of differences, the assumption that retrograde is weird circulated quite easily.
The jury is still out on whether or not believing the motion of a planet can affect your life and mood, but it definitely makes for a decent scapegoat when you’re explaining why you’re late to the 10 a.m. meeting for the third time in a row.
Regardless, the National Science Foundation found that more than half of 18- to 24-year-olds believe that astrology can determine aspects of your life. Hiii, millennials.
Why is Mercury's the only retrograde we’re afraid of?
Basically, the themes that the planet represents are going to be reversed. Mercury happens to be the most intense retrograde due to what energies it controls: communication, travel and technology. So, everything from interpersonal communication (aka fights with your friends) to digital communication, like that proposal you’ve been working on when your computer crashes, is up for grabs.
You can thank Roman mythology for that. Expect tons of misunderstandings with those closest to you, travel problems (your subway is definitely going to be delayed tomorrow) and scheduling conflicts.
On top of that, Mercury retrograde is always going to be paired with a sun sign if we follow the zodiac calendar. We’re currently in Leo season (July 22 through August 21), so Mercury retrograde is going to align with the typical traits of the Leo, i.e. obnoxious bold communication styles.
Anything else?
Whether you choose to believe in the problems caused by Mercury in retrograde or not, you’re probably going to hear a lot about it for the next few weeks while everyone around you blames their misfortunes on a floating rock 48 million miles away.
And if you’re one of the believers, there are some other spatial events to look forward to: the next lunar eclipse that the United States will be able to see is happening in January 2019, and Mars will be closest to Earth since 2003 on July 31. Mark your calendars!