*Eleditor’s note: Astrology isn’t a religion. We’re not sure it’s a science, either. It’s magic, maybe. But, as with feng shui, say, things affect things. So as long as we don’t go blaming our problems on the stars, as long as we assume responsibility for our own actions…well, hell, a little auspicious coincidence and applicable wisdom can’t hurt. And so, with that grain of salt…enjoy!

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Hopefully, you’ve already made your New Year’s resolutions because if you make them during the next three weeks, you’ll never keep them!

It’s time to buckle up your seat belt and strap yourself in your high chair, executive chair or chaise lounge, because another Mercury Retrograde is about to begin and shake up your day-to-day existence between January 5-25^th.

During this time, you’ll have to be careful about the way you operate your life in order to avoid a variety of problems that tend to occur during this cosmic event. The retrograde period is when the world seems to go haywire with miscommunications of all types.

7 Tips To Successfully Survive This Retrograde

1. Take special note of technology breakdowns, travel delays and lost items. (Things don’t work, poor planning creates long waits, and you’re likely to be more careless than usual.)

2. Watch your communications with others; take extra care with your words to avoid arguments and upsets. (You’re more likely to be impatient or to misspeak.) 

3. Double-check the documents you write, your emails, even posts on Facebook and Twitter. (You’re mistake prone.)

4. People from your past pop up and re-enter your life. (Even though you’ve long-since forgotten, magically they appear months or years later.)

5. It’s a bad time to negotiate or commit to taking a new job. (You’re missing important details that may affect your decision. Or, you may find the information you’ve been given is not reliable or that you haven’t been given the whole truth and “nothing but the truth.”)

6. Cars break down or the one you buy turns out to be a “lemon.” (Makes sure to get your car serviced before that long drive to your vacation destination. Don’t buy that car until after the retrograde ends when you’ll have all the facts to make the right decision.)

7. Avoid signing documents, or executing contracts, or making firm commitments of any kind. (There’s something you don’t know that you will when Mercury goes direct on January 25).

What Happens During Mercury Retrograde?

Astrologically, each planet in the sky exerts a unique influence on us, and the world we live in. The planet Mercury rules our intelligence, mind, memory and all types of communication ranging from talking and texting to writing. It also affects our self-expression and communication style. In a more public sense, it rules commerce, computers, telephones, transportation and air travel.

How Mercury functions in a person’s birth chart explains a great deal about how they formulate ideas and share them. It indicates how someone makes sense of the everyday world they live in. During these three weeks when Mercury is retrograde, one’s mental faculties are not functioning well; in fact, they “go on vacation.”

When this unique event happens (3-4 times a year), communications of all types go “bonkers!” Suddenly, normal communication becomes unreliable, filled with misinformation where important data is missing or misunderstood. The passage of information from one person to the other seems to be unintentionally cloudy or confused in some way. After all, Mercury does rule the mind, mental clarity, talking, self-expression and overall communication. During the Retrograde period, a person’s intellectual, communication and mental processes are less acute. They become mistake-prone and forgetful.

What Is the Purpose of Mercury Retrograde?

You may be asking: “What is the purpose of Mercury retrograde?” Well, sometimes, in order to move forward you need to move backward. This gives you the opportunity to rethink your actions and even “fix what might be broken.” By doing this, when you do move forward, you will produce even better results.

These three weeks are meant to be a contemplative period where you review past ideas and insights you have had, activities you’ve been involved with, projects that you are working on, communications with others and all the decisions you plan to make. Take time to reflect on each of these areas. Ask yourself: “Have I missed something?” This is an excellent time to review, research, revise, reevaluate and reconsider all your plans so you can make more successful decisions when Mercury goes direct on January 25th.

When Is It Over?

Wait until Mercury goes direct on January 25, to take action and make important decisions.

When that happens, clearer communication will return, important data can again be relied on, and you’ll see matters with crystal clear vision. You’ll possess important information you didn’t know while Mercury was retrograde. This new knowledge will help ensure you’re making a correct decision.

If you heed this cautionary advice, you’ll have less frustration, fewer mistakes and disappointing failures during these three weeks.

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If you want to know if you were born with Mercury Retrograde; and, where your personal transits are – to see if they are affecting your life, go to the FREE Transit Calculator and entering your birth date. And, if you’re curious to learn more about your personal Horoscope and what it says about your love relationships, career, investments and health in: Order your customized Report: Your Horoscope & Future in 2016. Or, a report on Your Love Compatibility with another person.

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Relephant Read: 

An Empath’s Guide to Mercury Retrograde.

Relephant bonus:

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Author: Larry Schwimmer

Editor: Emily Bartran

Photo: Hernán Piñera/Flickr