Mercury in Retrograde, October 31 – November 20, 2019 in water-sign Scorpio.
And here it is ! The dreaded Mercury retrograde fall 2019 is getting a lot of attention because it starts on Halloween this year, which is pretty spooky — but that’s just one day of it. We’ve got three whole weeks to deal with this less-than-convenient transit, which rages on through Nov. 20.
What is “Mercury Retrograde”? Three times a year, it appears as if Mercury is going backwards. These times in particular were traditionally associated with confusions, delay, and frustration. Think email blunders and frazzled travel plans. However, this is an excellent time to reflect on the past. It’s said that intuition is high during these periods, and coincidences can be extraordinary. In addition to the usual Mercury retrograde antics (tech failures, scheduling conflicts, communication drama, e-mail typos, travel snags), this backspin will be asking us to focus our energies on the private, intimate secrets and truths that are likely coming up for air. These could be related to finances, sex, or any other issue that might harbor shame and secrecy for you — but preparing yourself to handle things with honesty and thoughtfulness will help you navigate this.
What to Do When Mercury is Retrograde
The planet Mercury rules communication, travel, contracts, automobiles, and such. So, when Mercury is retrograde, remain flexible, allow extra time for travel, and avoid signing contracts. Double check your email responses, check in with reservations before you take that trip.
Review projects and plans at these times, but wait until Mercury is direct again to make any final decisions. You can’t stop your life, but plan ahead, have back-up plans, and be prepared for angrier people and miscommunication.
Some people blame Mercury retrograde for “bad” things that happen in their lives. Instead, this is a good time to sit back and review where you put your energy in your life. For example, if family and faith are important to you, are you putting your energies there or just overextended in other areas?
Take a moment to reflect. Mercury retrograde can be an excellent time to take a step back and reanalyze who you are and what you are doing—but do refrain from making any drastic changes until after retrograde has ended.
We sometimes forget, but celebrations like Halloween (Samhain) remind us that even in death those that loved and cared for us in life can be called upon to help us. Our altars, offerings, prayers, and petitions become the bridge between us and them. Our ask becomes an invitation.
Mercury’s retrograde is blamed for many a malfunctioning laptop, missing text, misconstrued meaning, and lost password (and rightly so), but it’s often forgotten as a journey into our own unconscious motivations, memories, and past selves.
In Scorpio, this Mercury retrograde runs deep. Unfazed by horrors and harrowing journeys, the pieces of the past that this transit is sure to exhume will be startling, but necessary. Scorpio keeps privileged information on lockdown. Secrecy is sacred to this sign. When we are privileged enough to be privy to its safes, we can be sure that we are getting the goods. Because Mercury’s retrograde also asks us to reflect on the past, retrieving aspects of ourselves and the energy that got stuck there, there is a double emphasis on connecting the present to our roots. In the process of doing so, in the liminal spaces, we may be able to see another option, another route, or a third way that we hadn’t before. Helping us unlock our minds from the this/that, here/there paradigms we get stuck in, this Mercury retrograde is able to help us connect with an ancestor, an aspect of self, or an email long-lost in our inbox. Whatever it brings back to you, this Mercury retrograde is sure to resurface the perfect piece of information at exactly the right time.