This may come as a shock to many, as we are so absorbed in the negativity of this planet and its ability to wreak havoc on our communication and technological lives, but Mercury going retrograde has a light side that can benefit us in ways we might have never considered.

The entire Mercury retrograde cycle lasts eight weeks and happens about three to four times per year, where it goes into the underworld and our statements of “don’t sign contracts,” “don’t get married,” “don’t buy any technology gadgets,” ramps up and fills our heads with noise that is quite negative.

We always seem to resort to the negative stuff regarding Mercury retrograde.

I fall into this quite often, and have a tendency to schedule trips and haircuts and agreements around these eight weeks. But what if we can shift our perspective just a notch and actually see the positive during this cycle?

This planet has a tendency to zip between two worlds in our brain, the light and the dark. We can’t hide from it forever, and yet this particular February retrograde is firing up our creative artistic right brains and causing the psychic and emotional self to be hyper-present.

It almost has a Venus retrograde feel to it where we start to question everything, and feel as though we need to redo, re-evaluate, revise and reflect on all of the projects that had our left-brains going into overdrive.

Mercury retrograde (during this month of professed love) wants us to explore our creative side and let the hypersensitive modes emerge from the shadows.

We might even feel somewhat psychic and translucent to everything around us. What this retrograde won’t do is allow our brains to go on auto-pilot. Some important projects that were possibly overlooked before might need a second peek before progressing forward again.

There are always going to be the danger zones of Mercury retrograde where we feel a bit jittery about signing contracts, thinking “is this what I really want?”

That constant nagging in our heads about doing the right thing and feeling okay and confident about the decision might leave our left brains in a world of confusion. It might be best to finish up old projects and take time to reflect and delve into the right brain for a spell.

I particularly find the onset of Mercury retrograde coming up in conversation as the day approaches. It almost has an apocalypse feel to it.

This daunting sensation stretches into the cosmos and we all have our woes during the weeks it stations retrograde. If there is any good in this natural planetary occurrence tunnel, it is a wonderful time for this:

• Drenching ourselves in pleasurable pursuits.
• Explore the meaning of right-brain thinking and how that magnifies in our creative senses.
• Plan a vagabond trip post retrograde and after old business is finished up.
• Slow things down a bit and seek out feel-good friendships.
• Trying on different filters in our world and experimenting with art.
• Shining a light on our shadows and demons.
• Seeking out the emotional self and understanding how it relates to dreams.
• Never forgetting the heart and what it wants and needs.

We are all thinking of ways to escape and enter into the mermaid influences of warmer temperatures and journeying to unknowns.

Neptune is also at play here and siding up with this retrograde, which wants our brains to live in fantasy world. There is water all over this Mercury retrograde and even though it will feel sopping wet and full of balancing two overlapping zones of right and left-brain thinking, it can be a colorful and energetic time.

Despite not being able to think straight for a few long weeks, it can electrify more psychedelic sensationalism, and that is where the positives come out to play.

Communication of all types may still get turned upside down and inside out, and emotional outbursts are definitely begging us to understand where the turmoil lies. If we can keep our wits about us, tap into the right brain when we feel bogged down and dreamy all the same, this Mercury retrograde will give us that sense of being whisked away by our vulnerabilities and sensations and plant us on firmer ground when March rolls around.

A positive time, indeed!

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Editor: Catherine Monkman

Photo: elephant journal archives