Did anyone else have the worst Mercury retrograde ever? The planet of communication goes direct on July 31st, but before you sigh in relief, we’re not out of the woods yet. After Mercury goes direct, we’ll begin a “retro-shade” period. This means we’ll continue to see the effects of Mercury retrograde until August 15, and these effects will be strongest from July 31 until August 5. (In case you forgot, those effects include major misunderstandings with communication, travel and technology mishaps, and texts from our exes.)
“Before and after Mercury retrograde, we have a two week period that’s known as the ‘retro-shade’ period,” explains astrologer Lisa Stardust. “This is the time when Mercury retraces its steps (now that Mercury is moving forward).”
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During the "retro-shade," we can try to fix everything that went wrong during Mercury retrograde. “It’s a time for a cosmic do-over, in which we can reassess all of our Mercury retrograde blunders — either by making amends or taking a stand with others,” Stardust explains.
However, it’s not all good news. “One would think that the post-retrograde zone would be beneficial. But more often than not, it’s a time when communications and dramas are taken to the next level — when the effects of Mercury retrograde are felt and dealt with,” Stardust says. When Mercury goes direct, we slowly come to understand just what happened during Mercury retrograde.
During the “retro-shade” period, Mercury will be in Cancer and Leo. These signs “will add strong emotions and flair to all communications — particularly how we express ourselves and make decisions,” Stardust says. “There will be DRAMA again, and this time it won’t be pretty, as we are ready to put our pride and egos first as a form of protection.”
After the pre-retrograde period (June 20-July 7) and the retrograde itself (July 7-31), the “retro-shade” period “is our third chance to revise our summer 2019 story — try to use it for good to transform, rather than a time to argue and cause drama with others,” Stardust says. Good luck to us all.