Mercury Retrograde is an Illusion
You’ve probably heard that over the summer, 8 different planets were retrograde. Astrologers, witchy types, and anyone remotely interested in their zodiac sign were freaking out over what this might mean for their success and happiness. We were warned that life was going to be a rollercoaster of poor communication, brittle emotions, and misfortune, with planets like Mars causing tempers to flare, Jupiter bringing manipulation and unethical behavior, and our old friend Mercury pushing relationships to their breaking point.
Mercury just has come out of retrograde, but we’re still dealing with the Mars, Saturn, Pluto, Neptune, and Uranus—phew!
Current pop-astrology has made retrograde synonymous with hardship and struggle. Sites like Is Mercury Retrograde? give us an iron clad excuse every time we feel cranky or off, so much so that plenty of people use the planetary position to justify being a total asshole.
But here’s the thing: Mercury retrograde – in fact, most planetary retrogrades – is an illusion.
NO, IT’S NOT MOVING BACKWARDS
When I first heard about retrograde movement, I assumed that the reason it impacted our behavior and experiences was due to the physical reversal of orbit. After all, we know that the cycles of the moon cause changes in the tides (and, at least according to ancient wisdom and anecdotal evidence, can make people behave strangely).
Though science hasn’t yet proven that the moon makes people erratic and intense, plenty of people—EMTs, doctors, and psychiatrists particularly—report an upswing in wacky behavior during full moons. Perhaps this is due to the lunar influence over water – after all, our bodies are 60% h20. Regardless, it made sense to me that if the moon held sway over water, and that relationship could alter our behavior, then an entire planet moving backwards MUST cause some weird shit.
Except that almost all planetary retrogrades are optical illusions. According to NASA, what looks like backward movement is actually caused by the relative movement of Mercury and the Earth and how they’re moving around the sun. The StarChild website has some great examples of how you can observe this phenomenon for yourself, as well as handy diagrams of planetary motion.
I do not pretend to understand this in the slightest. Source.
Some planets do experience what’s known as retrograde rotation (Venus and Uranus, for example) but they don’t oscillate back and forth between prograde (forward) and retrograde (backward) movement. So, if there’s no physical reversal of planetary movement, how and why does Mercury retrograde seem to influence so many people?
RETROGRADES IN ASTROLOGY
Despite the lack of modern scientific evidence, folks have believed in the impact of retrograde motion for thousands of years. From the ancient Babylonians to the Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, astrology has persisted as a way to better understand ourselves and the world around us.
As an occult practitioner, I feel a bit like a killjoy for daring to bring science into a discussion of astrology. I’m a firm believer that there are many things science is unable (or unwilling) to explain. But to me, the case for Mercury retrograde seems pretty open and shut: it doesn’t move backwards, and therefore this particular facet of astrology is bullshit—right?
Except that anecdotally, many of us have experienced an increase in weird, upsetting events during retrogrades. In the last two months I was involved in a nasty car accident that totaled my vehicle and left me a mild traumatic brain injury and persistent muscle pain. I left my job due to some major communication and scheduling issues and found myself struggling to make ends meet. Several friends suffered sudden and severe health issues, multiple folks I knew broke up with their spouses, and on the final day of Mercury retrograde my partner’s car was hit by a vehicle that flipped onto its side and into their driver’s side door while their car was parked on a residential street.
MERCURY!!!!
WHY DOES MERCURY RETROGRADE AFFECT US?
If there’s no scientific reason for all this bullshit, why does almost everyone have a story about something totally garbage happening to them during the most recent bananas retrograde season? It’s easy to explain away small inconveniences and struggles—fights with our friends and partners, minor technological misshaps, and so forth. But once in a blue moon experiences like car accidents and hospitalizations? That’s a little stranger.
Some of Mercury Retrograde’s influence can definitely be explained by apophenia, the brain’s desire to see patterns and correlations where none actually exist. In other words, if we’re already believers in astrology we’re more likely to pay attention to difficult events and connect them to the web of misfortune suffered by our friends and family. Something that would otherwise be annoying but forgettable becomes significant because we already know certain planets are retrograde.
However, in my opinion something more potent is at work here. And it’s happening at the intersection of science, psychology, and magick. Why is so much garbage going down during planetary retrogrades? We’re manifesting that shit.
Scientific evidence of manifestation is well-documented. Naturally, scientists don’t typically think of it as magic—but the Placebo Effect is a concrete example of belief having a tangible effect on external reality.
It’s commonly held wisdom in the magickal community that the more energy we focus on something, the more likely it is to manifest. This concept explains prayer, the efficacy of ritual and spellwork, and the enduring belief that if you don’t believe in curses, nobody can truly curse you.
In essence, because of the recent resurgence of interest in astrology, a whole lot more people are attuned to the position of planets in the sky. By extension, that means a lot more energy is being funneled into the belief that retrograde motion spells doom and gloom! And thus, those of us who are inclined to believe in such things are experiencing the fallout of negative manifestation.
What can we do to counteract this unintentional negative feedback loop? For a start, we can look deeper into the astrology behind planetary retrograde and realize that it can actually be a force for positive momentum and change. Shedding the notion of Mercury retrograde as toxic and bad can free us to use this potent energetic source for good. Because, after the year we’ve all had, we deserve some blessings, right?
Failing that, though, stop Googling whether Mercury is retrograde or not. Stop blaming every minor setback and miscommunication on planetary positions. Understand that at the end of the day, the most enduring universal principle is agency and autonomy. You’re creating your own reality. Take responsibility for your actions instead of blaming them on Mercury!