The Truth About Today’s Mercury Retrograde — What It Really Means

Mercury retrograde is happening again. If you believe astrologers and some parts of the media, mishaps, miscommunications and misunderstandings in relationships and travel arrangements are inevitable. This belief in the effects of Mercury retrograde dates back to ancient times when people observed the apparent backward motion of Mercury and attributed it to negative influences.

Thankfully, it’s all complete nonsense. Mercury in retrograde is an optical illusion without consequences for us and our planet. It’s a perfectly natural, normal and regular occurrence that cannot possibly affect your mood or anything else. But it does tell us something important about our ever-changing view of the solar system.

Here’s everything you need to know about Mercury in retrograde — why it happens and what it really means:

What Is Mercury Retrograde?

According to Glamour magazine — which illustrates its article with an image of Pluto — “Mercury retrograde refers to the period of time where Mercury moves slower than the Earth around the sun.” No, it does not. Mercury never moves slower than Earth. Mercury orbits the sun in 88 days and Earth in 365 days. Mercury travels at around 29 miles (47 kilometers) per second, and Earth at 18 miles (30 kilometers) per second. That never changes.

Mercury retrograde is when the closest planet to the sun, Mercury, is in apparent retrograde motion. This means that, from our perspective on Earth, it appears as if Mercury is moving backward in its orbit around the sun.

When Is Mercury Retrograde?

Mercury in retrograde is not a rare or sudden occurrence. It happens three or four times each year. So far in 2024, it’s occurred between Apr. 1-25 and Aug. 5-28. This third and final Mercury retrograde in 2024 begins on Nov. 25 and continues until Dec. 15. It will occur in front of the constellation Sagittarius — another line-of-sight illusion.

Understanding Mercury Retrograde

How planets appear to move in the night sky changes because our planet is also orbiting the sun. All the planets in the solar system orbit the sun on the same plane and in the same direction — west to east. That’s called prograde motion.

Mercury is constantly racing around the sun, and because it orbits so closely to it, it’s almost always lost in the sun’s glare. We can only see it either just before sunrise or just after sunset when it appears farthest from the sun from our point of view. It reached its highest point — its greatest elongation east — on Nov. 16, when it appeared to be 22.5 degrees from the sun in the evening sky. Around this time, it appears to move slowly because we’re watching it appear to turn. As it completes that turn, it appears to be traveling east-to-west.

Panic about Mercury in retrograde? No — it cannot possibly affect any of your relationships.

Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.

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