Oh Mercury Retrograde.

These words have, at times, been all I can say these past few weeks. Along with, “I surrender.”

The day after this tiny, fast moving planet appeared to be moving backwards on the 21st of January, I was “forced” to face what I had overlooked over the past few months. Illusions evaporated, and I was left with an open space to reinvent my life.

We astrologers often describe Mercury Retrograde as the perfect time to focus on all of the re- words, as in renew, reflect, remember, rediscover, reconsider, revive, etc. It is a time when breakdowns occur in external reality so that we slow down, turn inward, reconnect and realign with what’s true. What is not working, what has not been dealt with or overlooked will rear its head. Where we once felt clear, we now feel fuzzy as to how to proceed, which is perfect. When we surrender to Mercury’s retrograde phases we discover great gifts present in the breakdowns.

This Mercury Retrograde seemed to spin me around, shake me up and spit me out on a whole new life trajectory. And it’s good. I needed to be revived, to wake up to what I was afraid to see. As it stations direct again and begins to continue on its forward journey, I find that I’ve shed so many layers and found clarity in ways that I had no clue I was lacking. There is a sharpness to my awareness and a rediscovery of my courage and resolve, a revival of my commitments.

So, if life has felt like an impossible conundrum of twists, turns and mishaps this past month, I invite you to dig in. What do you now see that was necessary for you to see before proceeding? Where do you now have power, clarity and insight where you didn’t have it before? What have been the gifts hidden behind the breakdowns?

I am loved by every process unfolding in my life, and I’ve come to revere the blessings of Mercury Retrograde, despite how frustrating and rattling they can be.

It’s a good time to experience the power of surrender, y’all.

:)Melissa