So, You Did Everything You Shouldn't Do During Mercury Retrograde — Now What?

In case you've forgotten — but really, how could you? — Mercury started its second retrograde of the year last Thursday. Camped out in the fiery sign of Leo, the communication planet is poised to spend the next three weeks, approximately, tempting us with petty conflicts, tenuous decisions, and more. Of course, we've survived this before — the trick is to know how to thrive during a Mercury retrograde.

Our one piece of advice for surviving Mercury retrograde? Don't panic. Things rarely go awry solely due to planetary activity (you know, because of free will), so you shouldn't tip toe through your life while Mercury's enjoying its backspin. Instead, just keep an eye on the sectors that this planet is believed to affect (communication, technology, plans) and consider how these influences may trickle down into your life in particular.

After all, everyone deals with retrogrades differently — some of us even thrive during them — and you shouldn't sweat these regular planetary events until you put them into the context of your everyday life and your astrological identity. Maybe you're a scatterbrained Sagittarius who won't run into any major miscommunications, but ought to download a password manager ASAP. Or, you might be a sensitive water sign who could benefit from guarding their heart in case of social strife.

Either way, it's unlikely that you'll get bombarded on all sides by a Mercury retrograde. You're far more likely to mess up in one specific way. Sorry, that probably isn't super comforting, but it's good to be prepared. Ahead, we'll help you navigate some of the most common Mercury retrograde missteps.