Mercury retrograde: May 11 - June 3

After about 3 months of no-retrogrades, they're ba-aack. Pluto's the first to go on April 29, followed by Mercury on May 11 in the early degrees of Gemini, though it will retrograde back into the late degrees of Taurus. This is the second of three air--> earth Mercury retrogrades (the third will be this fall and then it's just retrograde in earth for a while)(retrograde means appearing to move backwards from the perspective of earth and the planet in question is always closer to earth than normal when it’s retrograde, either because it is passing us or we are passing it).

You guys know the drill, right?Miscommunications, missing paperwork, travel snafus, late or missing packages, buying stuff you don't really need, appliances not working properly. People who are Gemini or Virgo rising feel extra introverted for 3.5 weeks and if they don't know astrology, they don't know why.

So when it's in air, watch for miscommunications in terms of what you say or what you're told (May 11 - 22). When it's in earth (May 22 - June 3), NO CONTRACTS. Do not look at or touch contracts. Do not say the word "contract" or you will burst into flames immediately. Just kidding: signing contracts is generally not a good idea during Mercury retrogrades but it is especially not a good idea when Mercury is retrograde in an earth sign. Often there's something wrong with it or you gotta re-do it later, or something like that. If you absolutely have to sign a contract, you're going to sound like a maniac if you refuse on the grounds that your astrologer told you not to, so obviously live your life and sign the damn thing, but when you get an awkward phone call about that something went wrong or the paperwork went missing, etc., just roll your eyes and do it again.

The right way to use this energy is introverted thinking things through by yourself in the area indicated in your chart. Find 4 Gemini - 26 Taurus and which house it is in, and then use your strong critical thinking skills when related issues inevitably come up. Generally, Taurus is about values and resources, and Gemini is all about logic and finding specific information, so you might find that you don't have all the facts that you need to make a judgment call... or that another person thinks you have no moral compass because they don't have all the facts about something you said or did. (Clear it up June 4.)

I'm not Mercury-ruled, but I do work in communications, and the trend I've noticed is the wind goes out of peoples' sails for a couple days at the beginning and end of the retrograde, so if someone tells me they'll get me a document on Monday, I'll get it on Thursday (and no amount of pestering them gets it to me sooner). So I've found that the correct spirit is patience and eye rolling. If you have to fly, just expect your flight to be delayed and then be overjoyed if it's not (and then roll your eyes when they lose your luggage).

Another thing you can set your watch to: Virgo risings specifically get real lethargic, but as soon as Mercury is forward again but slow, there's this tasmanian-devil-like flurry of cleaning and organizing and then all of a sudden once all their stuff is properly cleaned and in the right place, they're ready to be a functioning member of society again. It's adorable.

XO,J