What does Mercury retrograde really mean for me?

Mercury retrograde gets blamed for every missed email and broken phone, and I understand why — things do feel a little tangled. But I've always felt this time as a tide going out, not a storm rolling in.

Mercury rules how we think, speak and move information. When it appears to slip backward, the invitation is to review, revise, reconnect, reconsider. People from your past surface. Old ideas come back asking for a second look.

You don't need to freeze your life. Sign the contract if it's right — just read it twice. Send the message — just check the tone. The friction mostly comes when we rush.

And if an old flame reaches out during a retrograde? Ask yourself whether they're returning to be finished, or returning to begin again. You'll know in your chest which it is.

— Clair V.