07/05/2026
I think Mercury retrograde has done some good things for us, I really do.
Today I replaced the bottom bracket on my bike. I've been struggling with it for months: cranking the bolt every few rides, unable to push with full power on the pedals, worrying about something snapping irreversibly and stranding me.
Today I paid $30 for a new part and $30 to watch a dude swap it out in front of me. Problem solved. Not *nothing* in terms of expense (and there have been times in the past year when it wouldn't have been an option for me), but a pretty small stitch in time.
I knew I didn't have the tools nor the competence to tackle it on my own (though now that I realize I swap the part, not rebuild it, all I need is that tool). So I've been debugging, replaced the chain, cranked that bolt, and let worry and inconvenience become my new normal.
We think of Mercury retrograde as a time of inconvenience, when things don't go according to plan. Mercury, the planet of best-laid-plans, of travel and communication, well, it's moving backwards in the sky, it just won't cooperate. We should expect trouble.
But that backwards movement is an illusion. It's really the time when we see the true movement of Mercury rather than the relative movement of the Earth around the Sun-- along with its closest companion planet.
It's also when Mercury is at its closest point to Earth, between us and the Sun.
(And all the other other planets, too, even the outer ones moving very differently from Mercury, are retrograde when they're closest to Earth.)
It doesn't have to be a time of inconvenience and trouble. It's a time to pay attention to Mercury, to better understand its motion. And to give some extra attention to the parts of life it rules: how we move around, how we share information, how we negotiate meeting each other, getting on the same page. All that, and the sense of ease we get when plans come together and things go the way we expect.
Mercury retrograde isn't the time for that ease. It's not the time to take the path of least resistance or to take anything for granted. It's the time for setting up the systems that can bring that ease once they're implemented. It's time for paying extra attention and for putting in the work.
♋🦀
The symbol for Cancer (where Mercury is currently retrograde) is the most like a wheel out of all the signs. It's pretty circular, it has a direction of rotation. Cancer is the cardinal water sign. Cardinal, it's about motion and impetus; water, it's about flow and finding the path of least resistance (though water can be heavy, eh). Sounds a lot like a wheel. Moving water rolls.
So check your wheels this month! Put in the work to save yourself trouble. Do something you've been putting off that will make it easier for you to roll.
Don't worry, don't get caught in an emotional whirlpool of shame and hopelessness, but take action!
Of course, the other lesson of a retrograde is the "re-". Re-do, re-evaluate, re-hash.
A solution doesn't always take the first time. Paying extra attention can mean learning a new lesson. So my fingers are still crossed for this one. It sure feels good today, but like a rolling wheel, there can always be another shoe to drop (if the wheel is made of shoes, I guess, imagine it; it works). So let's take this win as an unfolding lesson, maybe a future opportunity, or maybe just the end of a period of frustration, when I finally decided to pay attention to the situation enough to move on.
And if you don't think Mercury retrograde has done good things for us... Tell me in the comments! 💫
