How To Get Through Mercury Retrograde With These 7 Soothing Self-Care Practices
If you've been feeling a little weird for the last week or so, it might have to do with the fact that Mercury went into retrograde on Dec. 3. As you probably know by now, Mercury goes into retrograde about three to four times a year, and the event generally causes mayhem and confusion across the planet. With that said, it might benefit you to have a few tricks up your sleeve so you know how to get through Mercury retrograde and make it to Dec. 23 unscathed.
Mercury goes into retrograde when it speeds past Earth in its orbit, and things tend to get a little wonky during this time period, hence everyone around you blaming weird events and situations on the smallest known planet in our solar system.
Aside from being the smallest, Mercury is also the planet of communication, which means that you can expect general miscommunications and confusion with your relationships while the planet is in retrograde. What's more, you might want to watch out for sudden bursts of emotion and irrational thoughts (both from you and from those around you). You might even feel like you're totally unhinged for a few weeks.
Look, there's no need to stress about all of this. And even if Mercury isn't affecting your life, the weeks leading up to the holidays and the new year can be stressful in general. Either way, here are seven self-care strategies to help you get through Mercury's latest retrograde period (or just plain life in general).
01Take Some Extra Time To Meditate
If your life is feeling especially hectic, there's no better remedy than to take 10 minutes out of your schedule to recenter your thoughts and emotions.
Mercury's time in retrograde tends to make us feel a little bit untethered, so a quick bout of meditation (even on your lunch break or during your daily commute) might be just what you need.
02Detox From Social Media
When miscommunications and disagreements are more likely to occur, the best thing you can do is totally remove yourself from potentially contentious situations. And what causes more miscommunications than a poorly timed social media post?
Taking occasional breaks from social media is a good idea in general, so you might as well time your detox with a time of the year that is especially rife with conflict.
03Give Yourself Some Extra Self-Love With An Essential Oil
Essential oils have amazing antibiotic, medicinal, and psychologically healing properties, which make them a fantastic (and totally portable) tactic to help you fight off any bad juju that may result from the latest Mercury retrograde.
Lavender, peppermint, and chamomile essential oils are all extremely soothing, and they can definitely help provide you with that sense of overall well-being that you might be missing right now.
04Make An Extra Effort To Communicate
If you keep having weird little arguments with friends or family members, now might be a good time to make that extra effort to clearly communicate your thoughts and feelings.
This is a good practice to make a habit of in general, especially since we have to communicate more and more without the aid of body or facial gestures to convey our emotions. Take the time to follow up with a phone call or additional text if you feel like someone's reading you wrong, and it will definitely pay off later.
05Plan Ahead
With holiday travel being a nightmare in general, and Mercury retrograde affecting the execution of plans, you should expect a few aspects of whatever journey you're taking to go awry. Do yourself a favor and plan ahead: Give yourself an extra hour to get to the airport on time, or make sure you actually booked that train ticket when you thought you did.
The best way to deal with any sort of travel delay or issue is to be proactive about the situation. And, FYI, remember not to yell at customer service reps, because they essentially hold your life in their virtual palms.
06Give People The Benefit Of The Doubt
This is an excellent life strategy in general, but especially right now while Mercury is in retrograde, you might want to give people five strikes instead of the usual three before you freak out on them. If someone says something unkind, or they're being unusually inconsiderate, you might want to let it slide. After all, everyone's dealing with Mercury retrograde together.
07Give Yourself The Benefit Of The Doubt, Too
Give yourself the same extra leniency you're giving to everyone else. If you have a bunch of deadlines piling up, or you overbooked yourself with friends on the weekend, don't let Mercury win by having a total meltdown.
Take a deep breath, and think about what's causing the most stress for you, and how you can take steps to relieve that stress (even if it's just through those 10 minutes of meditation). Everyone deserves a little bit of a break at this point in the year, and that absolutely includes you, too.
