It’s the most notorious of all the astrological happenings, but according to Bumble astrologer Emma Vidgen, Mercury Retrograde has been WILDY demonised, especially on social media. Sure, there could be some communication bumps, especially in your relationship, but here Emma chats to Capsule and offers some insight into handling this new retrograde – August 23 – September 15 – with, ahem, grace. Well, as much grace as you can muster.
Astrology and dating is SUPER popular, with #astrologydating amassing more than 16.9 million TikTok views – the desire for Kiwi to understand star signs has never been higher.
Enter Astrolove: a term coined by Bumble that explores the intersection of astrology and compatibility. Bumble’s astrology badges are one of the most popular lifestyle badges with their community, with recent data showing people in NZ who added the astrology badge to their profile experience 81% more matches in a month than those who don’t (food for thought?!)
Emma says, “Astrology is a language we can use to help understand people on a deeper level and build more meaningful connections. It helps us build self-awareness which can only lead to better relationships”. Of course, pesky astro weather like Mercury Retrograde has the potential to stuff with our romantic side – or does it? Read on!
Kia ora Emma! We all know that Mercury Retrograde has the potential to REALLY stuff things up when it comes to relationships – what’s the main issue?
Actually, Mercury Retrograde isn’t the big bad wolf social media would have you believe it is! Although it can definitely set the stage for miscommunications, it’s not a season to be dreaded and definitely not something that specifically messes with love. In fact, the most susceptible aspects of life to Mercury retrograde hijinks are travel plans, technology, business, contracts and anything to do with communication – especially the written word. Mercury rules the coming and going of things – words, goods, data, vehicles – so when it is retrograde, these particular areas of life tend to “go backwards” figuratively speaking.
What should you be on the lookout for? What are the best ways to navigate the issues that Mercury Retrograde brings up?
Because Mercury retrograde is all about miscommunications, it’s definitely a time to take a little extra care with your emails and texts. Reread things, make sure you’ve run spell check and triple check you have addressed it to the right person. This is the exact kind of astro weather where you could write an email complaining about your boss, but accidentally send the email to your boss.
Astrologer Emma Vidgen
Why is a Mercury Retrograde so impactful?
In the scheme of astrological happenings, Mercury Retrograde really isn’t that major. It can be annoying, but the truth is it’s overdramatised, especially on social media. I think the reason may be because it does happen so frequently, so there are more opportunities for the internet to melt down (which is, in a metaphorical kind of a way, a very mercury retrograde situation – getting the wrong end of the stick or misinterpreting something).
Can Mercury Retrograde be a good thing?
Absolutely! The modern approach to Mercury Retrograde is to see it as a time for reflection. Its every-few-month cadence creates a wonderful rhythm to act as a kind of mindfulness bell in your life, reminding you to take your foot off the gas and use the following few weeks to recalibrate.
A great way to work with the energy is to plot out when Mercury Retrograde will be for the next 12 months and mark it in your calendar as a slower speed limit (astrologically speaking). Schedule leave, make space in your planner for more down time or set a goal to revisit books (also ruled by Mercury) that you love in those few weeks.
Can you give us a three or five step action plan to dealing with problems when they arise during Mercury Retrograde?
If something does go wrong ask yourself…
- Is this a disaster, or is this an opportunity to reframe the situation?
- What are the facts of the situation, and how am I feeling about it right now? Can I separate the facts from my feelings?
- Have I got all of the facts (really, truly, objectively?)
- What can I do to get more information?
- How can I make space to sit with any new information I discover? Journal it out if you’re into that kind of thing.
- Is an answer or solution urgent, or can I leave this for a couple of weeks to give myself space to reflect?
- BREATHE! This too shall pass.
