Mercury Retrograde Might Mess With Your Holiday Plans — Here's How To Prepare

For the last couple years, Mercury has had a nasty habit of hitting a retrograde sometime in November and December, just time for the holiday season. What should be a merry time of year thus becomes a point of dread on our calendars. Unfortunately, this year won't be any different. Mercury will begin its third retrograde of the year this Friday, November 16, setting its sights on our Thanksgiving plans and any hopes we had for a quiet December.

Of course, planetary retrogrades of any sort are, to an extent, only as bad as we make them. If you're willing to take things slowly and adapt to Mercury's signal-scrambling whims for the next three weeks, you stand a good chance at ending this period on a high note. The holidays may make going with the flow feel especially tricky, but, trust us — it can be done.

This retrograde will come to an end on December 6, smack dab in the middle of Hannukah. Meanwhile, holidays that occur later in the month, like Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year's Eve, will narrowly dodge the effects of Mercury's backspin, though they could still end up feeling a little hazy. The shadow period for this retrograde, during which its influence will slowly fade, ends on Christmas Eve.

Whether you had elaborate plans for the holidays this year or already planned to spend them quietly, you can bet that Mercury retrograde will find a way to meddle in your affairs. Here's how to avoid letting the messenger planet wreak too much havoc in your life this time of year.