“Mercury retrograde is the only event that affects everybody across the board,” Miller tells Vogue.

Susan Miller is arguably one of the world’s most famous astrologers her website Astrology Zone has 309 million page views a year and 11 million unique users-and that’s not taking into account her phenomenally successful app of the same name. While there’s a logical astronomical explanation for why Mercury appears to change course, astrologers believe something more significant is at play.Īlso Read: Your January Horoscopes and Cosmic Tips for the Month Ahead What about Mercury retrograde’s astrological implications? But, unlike Mars for example, Mercury’s orbit is quicker and so the event occurs more often, making it noteworthy for some people. It’s all about the relative positions.”Įvery planet in our solar system retrogrades and it’s worth considering that if we were to stand on the surface of Mercury and look back at Earth, Earth would appear to move backwards, too. We see this even though neither train is actually moving backwards. If we don’t know that our train is moving, what we see is the train next to us move slowly forwards, then level up with us and then apparently move backwards. “The train on the next platform slowly starts to move forward, but then our train takes off quickly and overtakes it. To put this into perspective: “Imagine we’re sitting on a stationary train,” she continues. This generally happens about three times a year.” As Mercury overtakes Earth in its inner orbit, it looks as if Mercury has changed direction and is in retrograde. When Earth and Mercury are on the same side of the sun in their orbits, Mercury appears to move through the sky from west to east. This means that Mercury travels around the sun over four times for every one of our orbits. What’s the science behind Mercury retrograde?ĭr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, a renowned space scientist, science educator and author of The Sky at Night: Book of the Moon–A Guide to Our Closest Neighbour and the children’s book Dr Maggie’s Grand Tour of the Solar System, explains the science behind Mercury retrograde: “If we look at Mercury, it sits closer to the sun than Earth and its orbit around the sun is much shorter, just 88 days compared with our 365.25. So, does this mean we don’t need to add Mercury retrograde to our (already long) list of anxieties this year? We speak to the astrological experts to find out what the event actually means, and how we can best navigate its effects.

The next two retrogrades are also taking place in air (otherwise known as thinking) signs-Gemini and Libra-meaning they could be good times to reflect. Interestingly enough, the first retrograde is happening in the astrological sign of Aquarius, which is proving to be a very significant sign this year, with the new Age of Aquarius-a sign associated with “abrupt change, forming communities, fighting for causes that you care about, and making technological advances,” according to astrologer Alice Bell.

When does it happen? Usually three or four times a year, with 2021’s all-important dates being: January 30 to February 21, May 29 to June 22, and September 27 to October 23. Scientifically speaking, Mercury retrograde is simply an optical illusion where the planet appears to change course and move backwards in the sky. You may find yourself losing your keys, missing appointments, or your computer suddenly breaking down. Thought to affect communication and technology, it’s a time when everything can feel slightly out of whack. Even if you’re not an avid fan of astrology, you’ve probably heard of Mercury retrograde-the planetary phenomenon we’ve all come to dread.

Mercury retrograde 2021