Decoding Mercury Rx
Although Mercury goes into retrograde twice or three times a year, people go crazy every time the media announces we’re about to go into another one. The question that doesn’t want to go away is, Do you really understand what Mercury retrograde is about?
Mercury was one of the famous gods in the Greek-Roman pantheon. The Greeks called him Hermes, and he was known to them as the interpreter and message-carrier of the gods — that is, the big courier of Olympians and consequently, of astrology.
Mercury represents speech, rhetoric, phone calls, emails to bosses, WhatsApp messages, tweets that talk shit about exes, an agreement between bar friends… Mercury rules every verbal exchange we make with others, and consequently, all the ways that we do so. There’s no way to escape it – not even letters, smoke signals or drone messengers — because all of these fall under the auspices of Mercury.
When a planet is in retrograde (“Rx,” for those in the know), it means that it’s orbiting the sun in a different way, giving off the impression that it’s simply just going backwards. Neat, right? But all this is an astronomical view of the whole thing. What does it mean for astrology?
Well, being that Mercury is the planet of communication and it makes certain planets look like they’re going backwards when they’re in retrograde, it’s easy to jump to the conclusion that during a period when it’s happening, we need to be more cautious with what, how, where, when and to whom we say what we say. It’s not the time to sign contracts, and it’s not the time to have relationship arguments. But if you need to do any of those, give one, two or three reads of the documents or messages you’re about to send to your crush.
Neither is it the time to have a conversation about polemical issues. Do you know why? Because everyone is feeling the same way, where they also not understanding things very well. If there’s one piece of advice I can give you, it’s to wait or give yourself some breathing room during this time.
REtrograde starts with “re,” which the words “revision,” “reflection” and “responsibility” also have in common. When Mercury is in retrograde, it’s the best time for you to look at the past few months and double-check everything: social networks, friendships, conversations, agreements and things you said you would do and maybe didn’t even realize the impact that they caused.
The Rx movement is like getting to the front of the club line and realizing you forgot your ID at home, and need to return to get it. If God made you go all the way home, honey, it’s because something went wrong back there, and it has to do with what you said or thought about something or someone. (In the end, no one’s a saint, right?)
So, let me bring up the sacred Bible here: In the beginning, there was a verb. And this verb, baby, can build or destroy. Reflect on what you are screaming your lungs out about, think twice before babbling about things that you actually don’t understand very well, and reconsider those long hot-blooded posts these days. Words are silver, but silence is gold studded with diamonds.
Things don’t always turn out the way we want. Not all of Mercury retrograde will solve the b.s. we started, but it’s like that saying: May the bridges you burn light your way.
The first Mercury retrograde will be in Aries starting on March 22, and will end on April 15. Take a look at where Aries is on your birth chart – that house should be your focus of review.
“Ogunhê & Laroyê!”
* Denise Carvalho
Publicist, psychology student and, in her free time, a witch. For questions and spells, follow her on Instagram.
