For many, hearing "mercury is in retrograde" can elicit feelings of concern, worry and fear. But according to one astrologer, it may not be as bad as you think.
Astrologer Danielle Beinstein spoke to NBC Chicago to break down some of the common misconceptions around the phrase for those who follow astrology -- and even those who don't.
"So mercury retrograde usually happens three times a year, sometimes four. It's the illusion of mercury, which is the planet named for the winged messenger, going backwards. And so the kind of tropes around it are: don't sign any contracts, don't sign any papers, things may go haywire," Beinstein said. "But really, mercury retrograde is ... I liken it to, in ancient Greek theater, there's something called a deus ex machina, God by machine, and it was a character that would come down - seen in Shakespearean plays as well - come down and kind of rearrange things, often for the benefit of the characters in the play. And I think of mercury retrograde often as a kind of course correction."
This year, Mercury will be in "retrograde" until May 14, with additional retrogrades happening in August and December.
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According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, the planet enters a retrograde when it "appears to travel backward across the sky."
"To those who practice astrology, these times in particular were traditionally associated with confusion, delay, and frustration," the Almanac reports. "Think undelivered love letters, email blunders, and frazzled travel plans! This is an excellent time to reflect on the past, however, and it’s said that intuition is high during these periods. Coincidences can be extraordinary."
Beinstein said mercury retrograde often alters perspectives, allowing people to "see things through a more interesting and dynamic lens."
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"Often I find that there's really synchronistic events that happen," she said. "We may hear from people from our past and reconnect to people from our past, which can be really wonderful, especially if there's a romantic angle to it, even a friendship. There can be a reacquaintance and these synchronistic events that help guide our lives and so there's a lot of negativity out there about it, and sure, I'd say maybe not sign a contract without looking over it with a fine-tooth comb, but I'll have clients who are looking for, let's say a home, and during mercury retrograde, they find, you know, through inspection that something is off with the house and they decide not to go through the buying of the house. Well in that case, one could say, 'ugh mercury in retrograde,' but really mercury in retrograde helped to clear the pathway or show you something that you may not have seen."
Astrologers often suggest that a Mercury retrograde is not the best time to make big purchases or sign major contracts, or for those who do, they should carefully review them.
While Beinstein agrees, she notes that it can be different for each person.
"It's going to show up in each individual chart in a really unique way," she said. "So this blanket idea that it's a bad thing - I never look at the world as black and white in that way. I think there's a lot of really beautiful synchronistic events that can happen with mercury retrograde."
So what should you watch for?
Astrologers have said mercury in retrograde is closely linked to communication.
"The biggest pitfalls is that the messages sent may not be the messages heard or received," Beinstein said. "So if someone takes something you say the wrong way, use it as an opportunity to build intimacy and to build connection rather than to get frustrated. And it's an opportunity for us to look at how we communicate and really understand our mental processing, because ... we see the world as we are, not as it is. So mercury retrograde can be a wonderful opportunity to say, 'Well how am I perceiving this? How am I looking at this and how is the way that I'm looking at it impacting my experience of it?'"
Beinstein said rather than seeing retrograde as "everything is going to go wrong," use it as a learning opportunity instead.
"It's really a chance to sit, to really take stock and inventory of how we perceive and how we use language and how language shapes our reality," she said.
And some may be feeling the impact of this particular mercury in retrograde more than others, she added.
That includes Virgo and Gemini signs, along with Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius.
Her biggest advice for navigating it? Notice and respond, rather than reacting in the moment.
"So if you find yourself getting frustrated, having the perspective of, 'This is happening for you' so what is the long-term benefit in there? There may be a short-term deficit, but what is the long term benefit to it?"
