On January 30th, Mercury goes in Retrograde and doesn’t go direct again until February 19th.
It is said this period interferes with communication. So messages are misinterpreted easier, negotiations break down, contracts are misinterpreted, and Spells go awry. .
Do you believ this?
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Ohhhh I love these astrology discussions 
You are right- looks like we are heading back into Mercury retrograde time 
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For anyone interested in learning more about this celestial event What is Mercury Retrograde and Mercury Retrograde and Difficult Communication both have a lot of helpful information
Personally, I use astrological events and tips to find ways to improve myself during particular periods. So during a Mercury Retrograde, my goal is to be more aware of how I communicate with others and try to improve this aspect of my life.
If anyone is looking for some spellwork to aid them in this time- @Silverbear shared a great Mercury Retrograde Spell to help ease tension and improve communication during this period 
Thanks so much for bringing this up, @john4! 
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Yes! I can’t stand mercury retrograde! My wifi slows down, everyone around me is emotionally haywire. I can handle it but those around me cannot, unfortunately.
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I tend to just keep doing what I’m doing, honestly. I’m very careful with my communication anyway because of anxiety and the way my brain processes information, but I do have a funny story about Mercury retrograde.
Back when I lived in Oregon and was working in a hospital, our tech team was working on an upgrade to our EMR (electronic medical record) system that was desperately needed. They finally got it to a point where it was ready to be pushed live and there were no bugs that they found, so they scheduled a date for the go-live. It just so happened to be during the beginning of Mercury Retrograde.
So naturally, when the go-live happened, we had nothing but problems with the entire system. So many bugs, so many technical issues. The update was basically useless 
As soon as Mercury went direct, everything started working more smoothly! So yes, I do think the retrograde has an effect and, even though we might be able to avoid it sometimes, it can still affect the things around us. My manager at the time was very spiritual and big on astrology. When she was telling us about the issues we were having, I made a snide comment about, “Well they shouldn’t have upgraded us during Mercury retrograde…” and the look she gave me was one of exhaustion and understanding 
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Yes I do believe in these events affecting us personally. They affect each person differently but I tend to misinterpret a lot more and have a loss for how to respond appropriately. So that is something that I will actively work on to avoid an argument that didn’t need to happen.
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Just being honest here…
My workmate used to remind me that Mercury was going retrograde and I would grit my teeth and cringe. 90% of our job was communication related. Even if I tried to ignore the effects, there were enough people out there on HIGH ALERT of being misunderstood that sent them into hyper vigilant mode. Like a self fulfilling prophecy. sigh…
SO, YES, I pay attention, but I also try to hold a hard line with my own reaction to it. Keep with my plan to speak plain and try to be open and clear in what I say and who I say it to. I believe it is a good time to challenge our own words and make them authentic and truthful.
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Most definitely. I think the average person doesn’t realize that Mercury goes into retrograde several times a year and they think it’s this some crazy thing that happens on rare occasions. There’s a difference between being passively aware and being hypervigilante 
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Agreed with Berta and Megan! It can definitely lead to superstitious and fearful thinking, such as “Don’t start anything when Mercury is retrograde” which isn’t realistic, and as a trend in Astrology it only started in 1979.
From the same article I linked: “The power attributed to the event has become so overblown that today it’s blamed for everything from digestive problems to broken washing machines.”
But as it was mentioned above, retrogrades are a time of reform and reflection. Here’s another interesting Forum topic about that: Retrograde Planets in your Birth Chart
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Retrograde is nothing to be feared 
Personally I think they are great for self discovery and reflection <3
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This might explain why I’m feeling a bit “off” today. Great time for reflection and journaling.
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And having weird dreams too! Or am I the only one?
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I dreamed that my dad bought me a raised toilet with bike pedals… 
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Sounds like a good idea, @jill! I’m with @Francisco on this one- my dreams are always weird, but they’ve been very vivid lately. I’m remembering a lot more than usual when I wake up- perfect for journaling! 
That’s one incredible dream, @praecog29! If you find any deeper meanings to it, def let me know. It’s a curious one for sure! 
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Definitely some weird dreams.
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I had a weird dream the other night & I actually remembered it so I wrote it down. Now looking at it, I’m like, what just happened. It definitely wouldn’t happen in real life, but I’m sure my anxiety about upcoming events is what triggered it.
@praecog29 I’m not sure what kind of meaning that would have behind it. Yay for presents?
@BryWisteria the last dream I had was one of those really real dreams, I woke up & my heart was racing I remember that part.
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That makes several of us, @jill! 
It does seem that Mercury Retrograde or something in the air/changing seasons is at play with our dreams.
I had one like that last night too, @Susurrus! It seemed so real and serious while I was asleep, but when I woke up I realized how silly the situation within the dream seemed Something about spreading cream cheese like a face mask to break a contract with demons 
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Oh my goodness 
this is hilarious! I’ve certainly had strange dreams like this, too.
I did have a dream the other night about a tornado. My friend and I were resigned to just let the tornado take us because it was a quick way of traveling 
I mean, okay? But damn…don’t let a tornado take you anywhere!
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Travel by tornado- now that sounds like a wild way to get around! It reminds me of the old movie The Wizard of Oz 
Dream logic is baffling sometimes- it seems so intense and important during the dream, but often becomes hilarious when we wake up.
Crazy dreams (whether caused by Mercury Retrograde or otherwise) certainly make great entries into the dream journal! 
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I get really bad headaches in the lead up to retrograde! The 2 week shadow period is quite an uncomfortable time for me 
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Right? And it wasn’t like a happy oh hey let’s do this. We were terrified lol
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