Your Mercury In Retrograde Survival Guide Is Here
Heads up: Mercury is going retrograde in Aries on April 1, 2024.
Mercury goes retrograde three times a year, and this round, it may impact how effectively you communicate.
Mercury in retrograde will affect all zodiac signs, but Aries will feel it the most.
In today's day and age, it's easy to fire off emails and texts without thinking and forget to proofread a word or two. You know that 😳 feeling you get when you look back at your phone and realize a message you just sent is full of gibberish? Well, as of Monday, April 1, Mercury has gone retrograde in the sign of Aries and—bad news for speed texters—it’s going to magnify that feeling.
To cope with this celestial chaos, slow your roll in the communication department—or risk having to send some awkward apology messages.
But there's no need to start panicking. While Mercury in retrograde does tend to stir up a little trouble, it's not the end of the world. “Your life will not fall apart,” says Donna Page, an Atlanta-based astrologer with a graduate degree in counseling psychology.
That said, each Mercury retrograde affects your life in different ways, depending on the which zodiac sign it’s synced up with and what else is happening in the universe. This time around, because Mercury is going retrograde in the sign of Aries, its impact will be hyper-focused on communication, according to Page.
Here’s everything your zodiac sign can expect from the latest Mercury in retrograde.
What is Mercury in retrograde, again?
In astronomy, things go retrograde when they look like they’re moving backward in the sky. When Mercury goes into retrograde, in particular, the planet moves from east to west instead of its usual west to east.
By the way, all planets go retrograde at some point—this isn’t just a Mercury thing—however, Mercury retrogrades *do* tend to get the most attention. Not to fear, NASA stresses that this is just an optical illusion and not the planets going rogue or anything.
How will April’s Mercury in retrograde impact your zodiac sign?
This Mercury in retrograde is happening in the sign of Aries, so “overall, this is telling us to double check to make sure communication is delivered correctly,” Page says.
That means you’ll want to take a beat to eyeball a text to your date before hitting send, or give any email to your boss the twice-over before passing it on just in case. “You may want to get out what you need to say and pass it on now, but you don’t want to regret that you did it too quickly,” Page says.
On the flip side, it’s also a good idea to be careful of how you interpret messages from other people. “Don’t jump to conclusions,” Page says. So, if you get a text from your S.O. that says “wish you were her,” assume they simply left off an “e” and laugh about it instead of, you know, spiraling.
And if your co-worker who is normally cool makes a joke that just doesn’t land right, don’t pass permanent judgement. “Try not to assume the worst when someone accidentally offends you or says the wrong thing,” Page says.
Mercury in retrograde will impact all astrological signs, but Page says that Aries will feel it the most.
How will Mercury in retrograde impact your sign in the future?
Mercury in retrograde won't last forever, but the vibe might stick around for a few weeks. So, keep reminding yourself to proofread those emails and texts before you send them out into the world. If nothing else, it will make you a more efficient communicator. (Nothing bad about that!)
At the same time, learning to be a little more forgiving when other people slip up in their own communication can go a long way toward making you a more compassionate person—and earn you a reputation as a chill friend.
When is the next Mercury in retrograde?
The next Mercury in retrograde is on August 5, 2024, so you’ll have a little bit of a breather before the next one. For now, just think before you speak—and type. You'll be glad you did.
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