Why Should We Be Grateful To Mercury Retrograde?

Every while and then we hear that this or that planet goes retrograde. But what does it mean in practice?

Achala · July 6, 2026 · 6 min read

Vedic Astrology Principles

Why Should We Be Grateful To Mercury Retrograde?

Taking a step back is an important part of moving forward.

Whenever we call a planet retrograde, we refer to a planet which from our earthly perspective seems to be moving backwards, opposite to its natural trajectory. This is, however, only our subjective observation. In reality a planet does not just start moving backwards out of a sudden. It keeps moving with its natural speed around the Sun in its orbit. But since our own planet, Earth, meanwhile, moves independently around its own orbit, from our subjective perspective it might appear that some other planet, from time to time, starts moving backwards.

In reality no planet ever goes backwards. It is just our subjective perception.

Isn’t it often the case with life itself? We all face from time to time the situations that make us feel like we are “moving backwards” instead of progressing — or as if we are repeating some of our life lessons over and over again, and therefore not really moving forward. Yet, similarly like with retrograde grahas, it is just our subjective perception — because, in reality, sometimes even a step backward is an important part of progress.

And that is exactly what happens within us when a planet becomes retrograde in the sky, astrologically speaking.

What is the deal with Mercury Retrograde?

We hear about this one a lot, isn’t it? This is because Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun — and the fastest one, too: it takes only 88 Earth days for Mercury to make a full round around the Sun, which is roughly 3 months. This is why Mercury from our perspective goes retrograde 3-4 times a year for a period between 20–24 days. This is the time during which you will hear all the statements:

“My phone is not working! Must be Mercury retrograde.”
“Oh, I lost all the data on my computer because of Mercury retrograde!”
“Let’s reschedule this meeting, Mercury is retrograde!”

The general public has a certain understanding that when a planet becomes retrograde, some of the natural areas of its rulership become a bit “glitchy” — in case of Mercury it is primarily governing communication and tech devices. And it’s true to a big extent. When Mercury goes retrograde, indeed, we may experience issues with some of our devices, lost data, as well as encounter problems with communication, clarity or memory.

But it’s not all what Mercury retrograde is about. And even if he is messing up with some of our plans sometimes, he has a very good reason for doing so.

Hidden blessing of Mercury Retrograde

From perspective of astrology, a retrograde planet might, indeed, partially “neglect” some of the external areas it rules — but it is only to inspire us to find those things within us.

Mercury is a planet of communication and intelligence — and to a big extent also a planet of fun and curiosity. In our day and age, when both our communication and intelligence, as well as our entertainment, depend so much on the electronic devices we use, we are constantly overstimulated by the amount of information our brains need to process — and we keep pouring in and more and more. And, yet, even though connecting to others or any information we are looking for seems to be easier than it ever was before, internally, collectively, we are becoming more disconnected and isolated.

And here is where Mercury retrograde comes to help.

When Mercury goes retrograde, he may sometimes “crash” some of your devices or give rise to unexplainable technical issues. But when this happens, stop for a moment and ask yourself: why is this happening right now? What can I learn from it?

Mercury, when retrograde, inspires us to stop chasing for information or yet another dose of dopamine in the outside — but to finally stop for a moment and start looking for real answers within. In the times when any answer can be found in Google in matter of seconds, we have all forgotten an ancient art of sitting in meditation and finding our own answers, our own truth, deep within. We have forgotten the art of questioning the reality around us and staying genuinely curious — which is so much closer to Mercury’s true purpose and nature.

When Mercury makes you forget about things, or when it becomes hard to memorise information — don’t get upset about this. He might be simply inspiring you to pay less attention to these things and depend less on intellectual knowledge, but more on intuitive wisdom within you.

Mercury, above all, is a planet of connection. Real connection. Nowadays we mainly connect with other people through words and non-verbal communication — but these can be easily misunderstood or misinterpreted when Mercury goes retrograde, which is why this time is so prone to give rise to conflicts. Of course there are things we can do on our end to prevent this from happening, like speaking in a more precise manner or trying to deliver our message as clearly and emphatically as possible. But what Mercury really inspires us to do in the periods when he goes retrograde, is to stop for a moment, give little less importance to our external connections, and nourish the connection with our soul. Communicate with the Divine within you. Find a more reliable and superior source of connection inside. Spend few minutes daily in silence and connect with something far greater than your limited mind.

When Mercury goes retrograde, he teaches us to depend less on our intellect and focus less on the external reality — but nourish the connection with something greater within us.

This 20–24 period when Mercury seemingly goes backwards in our sky is due to that also an excellent time for honest introspection, as our intellect becomes naturally turned inwards — making it a potent period to find some real answers and real solutions within.

One thing you should not do when Mercury goes retrograde is overthinking. Overthinking is the real enemy of progress and the mother of all conflicts — and can happen to a lot during the period of Mercury’s retrograde movement. When your mind starts running left and right during these times, counteract it by writing your thoughts down, sitting in meditation or going for a walk in nature. After all, overthinking is just the protective mechanism of intellect that refuses to let go and make way for intuitive wisdom to emerge.

So next time, when Mercury goes retrograde… When some of your devices refuse to cooperate or when it feels impossible to talk to your friend… Don’t panic. Go for a walk in nature, have fun in real world for a change. Or just sit peacefully for a moment and look for answers within. Communicate with your soul. Connect with the Divine. Take a step back, like Mercury does in the sky — and you will see how much easier it will become to move forward.