Is Mercury Retrograde Bad?

So many people write to me distressed because they will have to sign a contract, make some trip or do some business while Mercury is retrograde. Modern astrology has managed to portray those periods of the year, during which Mercury is moving backwards as seen from the Earth, as malefic and inauspicious in all areas of life symbolized by Mercury: communications, business, travel, written and spoken word, documents, etc. But is this really so? I have always suspected the validitity of this extreme opinion of modern astrologers that all retrograde planets(not only pooor Mercury) have negative effect in the life of the person who has such planets in his birth chart or in the periods when the current planetary positions start moving backwards. I have obsereved in my practice just the opposite effect in many cases: for example, trips going wonderfully during Mercury retrograde, best business deals being signed then too, improved communicatons, etc, or if it is in the chart of a person, most of the people with retrogarde Mercury I have checked, had higher than average learning skills and fast, detailed oriented minds! Something was not adding up! I was starting to even doubt the validity of astrology.

How can every astrologer say that retrograde Mercury will make one a bit slower on the mental plane, less business efficient and more disorganized and in real life, while in practice most of these people turn to be just the opposite? Then I came across ancient Sanskit text revealing the truth. I learned from these that when a planet is retrograde and in particular when Mercury is retrogarde, it has the strongest influence. This is due to the fact that during its retograde motion the planet is actually closest to the Earth in its orbit. Mercury is right between the Earth and the Sun, which makes it possible for its rays to fall directly on our planet without the intereference of the Sun. While Mercury is moving directly, it is sitting behind the Sun, so its rays cannot come straight to us, hence it is most post powerful when retrograde. How does this affect us here in Earth then? Mercury's influence become strongest when moving backwards and this for many people can really auspisious. The things that Mercury rules like business deals, communications, documents and travels, become emphasised during this period and those people who have good Mercuries by birth, will be naturally good at Mercuries activities, so the more intense MErcury retrograde periods will become very busy and efficient times for sorting business affairs, dealing with practical issues, managing daily affairs and the other things that Mercury rules. For example, one of clients has a strong natal Mercury, and by chance he bought all his cars(deals are rules by Mercury) while Mercury was retro. They all turned out to be great deals!



But some people have afflicted Mercury in their natal chart, meaning that they are naturally not very good at practical affairs, details, order and efficiency(me including-so forgive any spelling mistakes) so when transiting Mercury turns retrograde and becomes more powerful and forces one to deal with practical mercurial things like organizing, managing, details, documents etc, then this person is faced with doing the things he is not skilled at much and things start to turn wrong for him! He might have forgotten to print the ticket for the flight or might have missed some small print on his contract, has mismanaged his affairs less efficiently(as he normally does) but when Mercury is retrograde he will not be able to get away so easily with the consequences because Mercury is so powerful then. So the person starts thinking that the stars are ganged up against him and Mercury retrograde is bad for all mercury affairs!



But it is not so, as I said most people have good or at least average Mercury in their horoscope, so they are quite good at managing daily and detailed problems, hence when Mercury's influence becomes stronger when retrograde they get much Mercurial work done and organize their practical affairs with more vigor and success. You see that it is never black or white in astrology. For most people Retrograde Mercury periods will be the best times to sign documents, do deals, study, organize practical things, etc etc. And for those with less auspicious Mercury, this will be an invaluable time when they develop better through trial and error their less managerial skills due to the focus Mercury puts on these affairs then! Mercury is the planet that goes retrograde most often than other planets: three times a year, and the most wise Architect of the Universe has done this for a reason! We live in a material world where the most precious and invaluable skills are those of managing practical matters and details-and this is what Mercury rules. Hence we need such intense periods of Mercury retro influence more often. So stop fearing those periods and just become more conscientious and practical when they come around: Mercury will help you!