Mercury Retrograde can be unsettling, but it can also bring a learning curve to enable a life reset where you need it most.
Some say that Mercury retrograde is a three-part series, with the pre-shadow period being a time to prepare for the more chaotic retrograde period. The post-shadow period can also cause last-minute issues, so some recommend avoiding major decisions until after January 3. Mercury retrograde in November 2024 is expected to occur as follows:
- Pre-shadow: Starts on November 7, 2024 at 4:33 AM PT
- Retrograde: Begins on November 25, 2024 at 6:42 PM PT
- Post-shadow: Starts on December 15, 2024 at 12:56 PM PT and ends on January 2, 2025 at 7:15 PM PT
There’s good news and not-so-good news this November. The not-so-good news is that Mercury turns retrograde on November 7 and won’t be fully out of reverse until the end of the year. The good news? It’s the final Mercury retrograde phase of 2024, leaving you to start 2025 on a fresh and forward-looking note.
It’s all happening in one sign this time around. If you’re Sagittarius or Sagittarius is your rising sign, you may feel the effects of the communications planet’s backwards dance more strongly than other signs, but every sign is likely to feel the pull of Mercury in reverse to some extent before the year is out.
Sagittarius rules long-distance travel, so if you’re travelling over the next two months, check your passport validity now, and have a back-up plan just in case things go wrong. Communication, technology, plans, money issues, language barriers and bureaucracy in other countries could potentially catch you out. Add to that lost keys, credit cards or missing trains, boats and planes due to unforeseen changes or simply by not checking the timings for events or journeys. If you’ve gotta go, however know to travel boldly as you may have a wild story or two to tell on your (eventual) return. Staying home? Your relationship with media, your spirituality, fame, justice, the law, education, and doing anything to excess could take a Mercury Retrograde hit.
While your world may feel like it’s spinning in reverse over the next two months, the planet Mercury doesn’t physically turn backwards during these retrograde phases. Each time it occurs, usually three to four times each year, Mercury slows down so its orbit gives an optical illusion that it’s heading backwards. When what’s ‘up there’ goes off kilter, it’s been noticed over the centuries that things ‘down here’ on Planet Earth feel the effect as well.
Mercury retrograde can be a time to:
- Revisit old projects
- Reach out to old friends
- Rediscover a book or movie
- Meditate or journal
- Exercise patience
- Learn from mistakes
