Readers’ Comments and Questions on Mercury Retrograde

©7-6-2013 by Donna Cunningham, MSW

It’s been a lively Mercury retrograde period here on Skywriter, with lots of interesting comments, questions, and discussion from readers on this topic. I thought I’d share some of them with you, in case you don’t visit the comment sections.

Q: Donna, I had an astrologer choose our marriage date, March 2, and was horrified to find out a few days before that it was during Merc Retro (would never have chosen that had I known), and though it was fine in the end, all kinds of things went “wrong.”

I was wondering “What was the astrologer thinking???” But we had been together for most of 10 years with some ups and downs, so would Merc Retro be appropriate for finally doing something we should have done long ago, as we are very happy now??? Thanks.

A: Hiya, Happy Mrs. One of two things could be in operation: 1) perhaps one or both of you had natal Mercury Rx, or the date you moved in together did, or 2) perhaps the astrologer did a good job and the relationship indicators in the chart were very good and outranked Mercury Retrograde. Mercury in and of itself is NOT a marriage indicator, neither good nor bad for a happy marriage. It more often affects trivial things like missed appointment dates, not life-changing events like a wedding. Donna

A reader contributed this helpful perspective: Once years ago a friend told me that she’d signed the contract to buy her condo. I was concerned that Mercury was retrograde at the time of the signing. Later I read from a more experienced astrologer (name lost now) that often contracts, etc are signed during the retrograde season—especially if it’s a culmination of plans started earlier.

Q: I appreciate you addressing the hysteria, though I’m confused still. Are you saying that entering into contracts depends more on aspects of Mercury or other areas of the chart? Would you buy a car or sign a lease during Rx? 

A: No, though it may sound like I contradict myself, I probably would not sign any important legal document or make a major purchase (car, computer, etc.) during Mercury retrograde, as too many annoying details could go wrong. I most certainly would never send my income tax return in during that interval. The retrograde period, after all, is likely to be over soon enough that it’s easy to wait until afterward.

But I would be especially reluctant to do any of those things if transiting Mercury had difficult aspects, such as a square from Neptune or Uranus that lasts pretty much the whole time it’s retrograde and moving slowly. That reluctance is far from the kinds of hysteria I am talking about. Donna

PS: Are you’re asking whether Mercury rules automobiles?  There’s debate among astrologers about that, some thinking Mars is more likely, since  (excuse me, but) it pretty much acts as a phallic symbol for men. Sigh, I honestly can’t decide based on clients’ auto purchases, some under Mars, some under Mercury.  Might it not depend on what’s in their 3rd house instead?

A Reader compares the pop version of Mercury Retrograde with the trendy reality T.V. shows:

I have been studying astrology for over 45 years and have observed enough telephone, computer, car (battery, alternator, solenoid-switch) malfunctions to be able to rank Mercury retrograde occurrences along with tidal changes associated with the Moon as one of the most obvious physical evidences of the efficacy of astrology.

However, I do understand somewhat that this “popularization” is one of the aspects of astrology which keeps it “alive” within in the collective social milieu.  (Yes, I use terms like that because among other reasons, I don’t believe it helpful to treat such a serious subject as astrology like it is on a par with the current, trending reality T.V. show.

A. I couldn’t agree with you more–it’s a LOT like trash TV.  People love the drama of a horrific Mercury Retrograde story and the goose bumps that come from anticipating how awful an upcoming retrograde period might be. Insight into how they may contribute to the difficulty isn’t welcomed, because insight tends to quash the rush that drama provides them.  So naturally, they don’t really want to hear about the helpful ways to use this period and sensible precautions to take to avoid the difficulties.

A reader notes that Mercury seems to be strongest during its stations, either going retrograde or going direct.

A: I’d say that one reason Mercury Rx is stronger at the stations is because whatever aspects Mercury is making to other transiting planets last much longer than when Mercury is moving a degree or more each day.

Let’s say transiting Mercury is squaring transiting Neptune and then slows down for the station. Rather than being in aspect to Neptune for only 4-5 days, it could be making the square for as long as 2 weeks. Since Neptune’s presence in the mix tends toward fog and confusion, things can get muddled indeed. Seeing that square forming in the sky, we’d need to be more careful about double-checking or even postponing for a couple of weeks mission-critical projects. Common sense, not hysteria. Donna

Q: Could you touch on how it affects those of us with Mercury Retrograde natally?

A: The Mercury RX natal people I know seem to routinely start things, sign contracts, etc. during the times when transiting Mercury is retrograde, and it works just fine for them. Donna

From Business Astrologer, Ellen Longo: Natally, I have Mercury retrograde as my chart ruler, and I had a name change within days of my birth. I have a birth certificate with one name and then an amendment stapled to the back with another name.

I was appalled at the astrologer that recently said the volcanic eruption was due to Mercury retrograde. If it was the same person, she put it on Facebook too and I let her know there that I disagreed. It takes a much more massive influence than Mercury Retrograde–I’d be looking at the Pluto-Uranus square.

Since I know you don’t mind, Donna, I wanted to tell your readers that I wrote a post titled Best Practices for Mercury Retrograde on my blog today, http://www.astro4business.com.

From an astrologer: THANK YOU DONNA. There are only a few things in astrology that I truly believe are power of suggestion bunk, and they are 1) medical astrology, 2) anything that involves being able to predict sexual orientation or mental disorders, and 3) Mercury retrograde.

Provided that you’re not some careless slob who leaves all your shit till the last minute and then freaks out when it doesn’t go your way, Mercury retrograde should not be THAT much different from any other time of the year- except that you’ll want to put additional effort into clearing out the stuff that’s not working, because it becomes apparent just how much it’s not actually working. But that can be done without hysterics.

And from an obvious skeptic: When I first started reading, I found myself nodding my approval. People losing their heads over the apparent motion of an orbiting planet in the sky? Ridiculous. I agree.

But then you go on to substitute one fiction for another. So the retrograde motion doesn’t matter “THAT much?” I’ll do you one better. IT DOESN’T MATTER AT ALL! The idea of sensible astrology makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time. I mean, if you’re nutty enough to believe in any of this crap, you might as well commit. What’s with the half-assed conviction? So I can do a business transaction, but I just can’t back up software? Oh, ok, that makes sense. Wait a minute.. No it doesn’t.

Nothing short of a detailed, double-blind statistical analysis will convince me that the motion of the planets affects our lives in the slightest. And since astrology has a proud history of shirking the scientific method, I doubt I’ll find a corroborative study any time soon. Enjoy your day.

That’s all, Readers. To end on a humorous note, it’s apparently good business to write about Mercury Retrograde, whether you’re among the astrologers who feed the hysteria or among those who, like myself, want to introject a note of common sense about it.

Today by noon, even though I hadn’t added any new posts to the site in going on a week, my statistics had hit a new all-time high: 7142, more than double my previous one-day high, even though the day is far from over. The single biggest contributor to the spike is a very old post from 2008 (Why Mercury Retrograde is a Good Thing–Its Helpful Uses). It’s had 5049 hits so far today

Final count: I can see why so many astrologers write about Mercury Rx–it definitely improves circulation to your site. By the end of the day, I had 10,349 page hits, triple the number of my previous highest one-day record, and that doesn’t include the subscribers who got it by email. Over 7000 read the post about why Mercury Rx is a good thing. I’m really happy that I’ve done my part to counteract the hysteria over Mercury Rx.

Is this what they mean when they say something went viral?? Do I need penicillin?

Readers, if you’d like to join our discussion with your own observations, you’re welcome. Scroll down below this post to the comment section.

Mercury Retrograde Articles on Skywriter:

• Enough with the Mercury Retrograde Hysteria!
• Why Mercury Retrograde is a Good Thing–Its Helpful Uses
• Mercury’s  Pre-retrograde Shadow and Post-retrograde Shadow Periods
• Obama’s  Flubbed Oath–Perfect Mercury Retrograde Story?
• Mercury Advisory—Keep your Eyes Open and your Mouth Shut!

 More Articles that Share Readers’ Insights into Astrology: 

• Talking to Clients about Difficult Transits–Readers Have Their Say
• Highlights of Our Discussion on the 5th House and Children
• Skywriter’s Readers share their own Neptunian Career Tales
• AstroDebate—What’s the Ruler of Virgo?
• AstroDebate—Which Sign does Venus Really Rule?
• Readers’ Insights into their Stelliums
• A  Few Last Insights into Stelliums from Readers
• Readers’ Observations about Quintiles and other “Minor” Aspects

Other Articles here about Mercury You Might Enjoy:

• How Strong  is your Mercury? Here’s the Score!
• Four Kinds of Smart–Which One Are You?
• Understanding Mercury  Aspects to the Moon
• Understanding Mercury-Saturn Combinations
• Understanding Mercury-Uranus Combinations—It’s DIY Time!
• Understanding Mercury-Pluto Combinations
• Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Mercury and the 3rd House
• Readers Ask: Q & A about the 3rd House, Mercury, and Gemini