When Mercury is the ruler of the mind, communication, and short trips. When he is in retrograde there can be travel delays, misunderstandings, computer crashes, internet mix-ups, and sometimes even wrong decisions. But, Mercury's retrograde can also bring positives into our lives. When Mercury is in retrograde, its time to look at the past. Some may find themselves reminiscing down memory lane, and others may find themselves reuniting with ex lovers or old friends. Its also a great time for spiritual connections and "ghost hunting," because the veil between us and the other side gets thinner. Often things initiated during a Mercury retrograde will fizzle out, so its not a good time to change jobs or make major investments.

All of the planets except the Sun and the Moon will go retrograde every now and then. When a planet is passing us, or we are passing it in our orbits, it appears to be moving backwards. Its similar to when you pass a car on the freeway, and for a few moments while you are passing, the car appears to be moving backwards. So, basically, when a planet is in retrograde, its orbit is close to the earth (and possibly adding a little more gravitational tug). That's why we notice those retrogrades.

Mercury is a fast little planet. His orbit around the Sun takes about 88 days, and he usually turns retrograde about 3 or 4 times a year. Venus and Mars actually turn retrograde about every 2 and 1/2 years, but because they don't do is as often, they don't get the attention Mercury gets.

Mercury's retrograde lasts approximately 24 days. The first day of his retrograde is called retrograde station, and the last day of his retrograde is called direct station. When a planet is at it's stations, it is practically burning a hole in the universe. That is why these days are considered the most difficult. Some astrologers also look at the entrance (the day the planet crosses into the retrograde zone) and the exit (the day the planet moves forward past the retrograde zone).