Holy cats! Mercury goes retrograde on December 3!
Oh shit. Mercury’s retrograde. It's the last time this year that you'll have wild ancient history rear its ugly head and a few (or a thousand) mixed messages because he’s back to play some tricks through the month of December. Think of Mercury Retrograde as a 30-night stand with a toxic ex. You’ll go through the entire process of purging your memories, cry a lot, and make a mess of a few situations, but by the end of it, you’ll be laughing about it and realizing how much you’ve figured out about who you are since. Boy bye.
I’ll start with the good news: the best thing about Mercury Retrograde is that things and people come back to pay visitation—people you’d never bet in your wildest dreams you’d see again sometimes. In that way, it gives me a Six of Cups feeling. There’s a distinct sensation that we’re returning to an old way of thinking that we’ve long abandoned. Sometimes this time is innocent and we play host to old friends we cherish, other times it brings out the nasties. Keep your feet on the ground, all of this is a lesson in forgiveness.
The primordial cautions from astrologers always center on its tendency to also contribute to errors in communication, thinking and damn—outright lies too. For real though, those claims are true: 10/10 would recommend that you not sign a contract, get married, accept a proposal, accept a job or buy anything electronic from December 3-December 21. But the only reason I’d tell you not to do it is because right now, everything’s vibing in the realm of “more will be revealed.” You don’t have all the information for whatever choices you think you need to make right now so pleassssee stop. Take a break and sleep on it as long as you can. The only things that are worth pursuing right now are things you know very well and trust implicitly. You’re not going to be able to venture out right now into new territory—stick to what you know and where you’ve already been.
It comes without saying that this is a powerful time but weak for making decisions. We have so much overflow from the past that the present’s water is contaminated. You’re seeing things through the eyes of others, soaking up their perspective, and getting your lines crossed. This causes confusion and sometimes literal mixed messages. Be patient with yourself—you’ll feel like you’re making more mistakes than usual. Use this time to learn the art of apology on a new level and take your ego out of any crossed wires. Everybody's feeling it right now.
The best way to heed the directions from your inner mind at this time is to take it sloooooow. Mercury is typically that quick-witted little shit who’s like outsmarted you five steps ahead and neglected to let you know it—right now, taking it slow has its advantages because he's off his game. You don’t have all the information you need to make your decision, you might not even know what the choices you're making are really about until Mercury goes direct on December 22. Anything “re” is going to be lucky right now: review, retreat, reword, reread, redo, rewatch, recycle, react, remember. Go for it on all those things--you're golden. Also, watch out for secrets being revealed right now. Anything you or someone else has been holding back is likely to come out right now out of necessity but also probably accidentally. Mercury's still the trickster after all.
Decisions I have made that have backfired during Mercury Retrograde:
1. Signed a lease too quickly and it turned out my apartment was a roach nest and had a psycho landlord and I had to spend months paying for two apartments so I didn’t have to live there
2. Chose to take my car in and it turned out to need to be fixed all over again because they used the wrong part (electronics/transportation ruled by mercury)
3. Started a job that I thought I’d love in a new field (anything new is a no-no), but it turned out to be very different than what I expected (I didn’t have all the information) and I quit 3 weeks later
4. Decided to make a big change with my hair color and I spent a long time trying to bring it back to what it was before (new color, chemicals—ruled by mercury)
5. Sent work emails to the wrong person, mixed up a patient’s numbers when I emailed a doctor.
Things that happened that worked out great during a retrograde:
1. Accepted a job with a big old employer in my usual field and stayed for a long time and met great people (the only exception to the rule is if you accept an offer from someone from your past, it is blessed at this time).
2. Moved into an old apartment I used to live in (after the roach blow up) with no issues and loved it and stayed for two years (past is lucky).
3. Edited my poetry extensively (redacted) and finally got it accepted into a magazine (redoing).
4. Had an ex come back into my life and tell me that he loved me finally (exes, secrets revealed).
5. Found old jewelry my mom had thought she had lost forever in a bag under the couch (finding things that have disappeared, things coming out of the woodwork).
I wish you luck and many blessings during this Mercury Retrograde period. You deserve love and light, so take it slow and beware anything that looks fishy. Trust what you know and don’t be afraid to take a few steps backward for a few weeks. “Sometimes you have to pull the arrow back before you can move forward” :)