The One Reason Mercury Retrograde Isn’t As Bad As You Think

When Mercury goes retrograde, it's not abnormal for many of us to reach for our hard hats. Well, not really. But we do collectively prepare for a tumultuous time of delayed travel and the kind of miscommunication autocorrect can't help with. Despite the dreaded transit, March's Mercury retrograde has spiritual meanings that make this fiery phase easier to understand. And, therefore, deal with.

Why must this planet spin out of sorts to mess with our daily zen? It's all because what's happening up in space. Astronomically, about three times a year, Mercury catches up with Earth and passes us as we make our merry way around the Sun. As the site Ask Angels explained, "When Mercury makes the pass, from our perspective it appears to slow down, stop completely and then move backwards. This backwards movement is the retrograde period." Astrologically, Mercury in retrograde most notably disrupts our travel plans and daily communication. Our Instagram captions might not entirely make sense. Our e-mails may not actually send. Your spring break flight just might be delayed, keeping you a few more hours away from palm trees.

But there is spiritual significance to this muddied planetary shifting time. And it's not all that bad when you look at it from a more ~spiritual~ perspective. Get ready because from Mar. 22 to Apr. 15, we'll be entering 2018's first Mercury retrograde. Don't grab your hard hat though — maybe just your journal.

Retrograde has a really bad reputation. While walking down the street during Mercury's retrograde, I have overheard multiple conversations about how someone didn't sign a deal or another person isn't taking an offer seriously until we break free of the retrograde. And, to be fair, astrologist do advise against signing any major deals and contracts until Mercury once again turns direct. Because there is a time and place for everything.

Mercury in retrograde is the time and place to revisit the past instead of leaping into the uncertain future. As the website Forever Conscious explained, "When a planet goes retrograde, it allows us to revisit old feelings, thoughts and behaviors in order to re-work them and identify what needs to be changed and what needs to be released." Spiritually speaking, retrograde is a good time to do some real life editing. Which is a positive thing. It allows us time to work on what's affected us from the past so that we can move into the future — once the planet is direct, of course — refreshed. "Re" is retrograde's mantra. We get a spiritual re-do, and that's something to focus on as our phone's randomly drop important calls and emotions run high.

Forever Conscious explained what Mercury spiritually represents, saying, "Mercury is the Divine messenger of the gods and rules over communication and the throat chakra. When Mercury is operating as normal, he works alongside the amazing light of the Sun. But when Mercury goes retrograde, he travels into the darkness of the underworld, unearthing secrets and old pains of the past." But from this "unearthing" of the past, we get to see the light of the truth. And at the core of it, isn't that the happy ending we all deserve?

And speaking of ~emotions~, this particular retrograde will be a fiery one as it occurs in the fire sign of Aries. What does this mean for our energy? Dark Pixie Astrology elaborates, "Mercury retrograde in Aries can bring some hot-hot-hot energy, as Aries is a high energy fire and cardinal sign. We can be more impulsive, impatient, wanting to jump into things without thinking, and this can get us in hot water in a flash, or cause some unexpected problems because we didn't think things through." It's important to remember to breathe. Practice meditations. Dig your pen into a sheet of paper and carve all your very intense feels. It's better on paper than in someone's face. Which you'll most likely come to regret.

Dark Pixie Astrology explained further, "Aries energy can be prone to accidents and injuries because of the impulsive energy, so we may see some extra accidents occurring around the world, especially with things where we didn't do our due diligence beforehand. Don't neglect the things that need maintenance!" And what's suggested is that we all channel some Cancer energy as the retrograde —and all this hot energy — progresses. Because really, in a time that's impulsive and explosive we could all use some nurturing, home-y vibes to lighten up.