Are you feeling a little worried that Mercury went retrograde yesterday? Like the last thing you need right now is more stress or chaos? I get it. With the world seemingly falling apart—madness, violence, hate everywhere—it’s easy to feel like we’re all losing our minds. Every time I open the news or scroll social media, I’m bombarded by horrific events that just don’t make sense. I catch myself asking, how can this be happening? Where are we headed? Will we even make it through?
And honestly? I’m tired of waiting for some promised “new earth” or savior consciousness to swoop in and fix it all for us. The cavalry isn’t coming. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. That’s why this Mercury retrograde feels like the perfect moment to talk about fear and self-responsibility—and how they’re dancing together right now.
We love to blame Mercury for everything. The printer breaks—Mercury retrograde. The Wi-Fi goes down—Mercury retrograde. You get in a fight with your partner—definitely Mercury’s fault. And listen, I’m a huge believer in working with the planets as mirrors for understanding the energetic soup we’re all swimming in. But I don’t buy into the idea that they’re “doing” something to us. If anyone’s messing with us, it’s us. When things feel chaotic, it’s easier to point upward than to look inward. But every time I do that inner check-in, I realize the planets aren’t punishing us. They’re simply reflecting what’s already stirring within us.
When Mercury appears to move backward in the sky, it’s not actually reversing—it’s our earthly perspective that’s shifting. Mercury rules the mind—how we think, communicate, and process the world. When it’s retrograde, it invites us to pause, reflect, and take out the head trash. Thank you, Linda Perry, for that perfect phrase. You know exactly what it means the moment you hear it. We all have that mental clutter—those looping thoughts whispering that we’re not enough, that something’s wrong with us, that we’ll never change. Mercury retrograde is simply saying, hey friend, open the windows of your conditioned thinking and do a little psychic spring cleaning. It’s not about fear; it’s about awareness. Retrogrades aren’t punishments—they’re cosmic permission slips to slow down and rethink how we’re thinking.
So here’s your Moon Monday microstep for this Mercury retrograde: pick one small mental loop you’re stuck in, some nagging thought or unhelpful pattern, and take one teeny-tiny step to shift it. For me, it’s been my relationship with TV. I’d fallen into the habit of zoning out most nights, which isn’t how I truly want to spend my time. So I started simply timing how long I was watching. That’s it—just bringing awareness to the pattern. And it’s working. I’m reading so much more now, which is what I wanted all along. Sometimes we know something isn’t working, but the rest of the pattern runs on autopilot. When I started tracking it, I could pause and make a conscious choice: do I want to do this right now, or do I want something different? That’s how awareness creates change.
So what’s your version of that? Maybe it’s noticing when you start doom-scrolling and taking one deep breath after putting the phone down. Maybe it’s pausing before saying yes to something and checking—do I really mean yes? If your microstep feels almost too easy, you’re on the right track. The smallest shifts lead to the biggest transformations.
Let this Mercury retrograde be your time to slow down, rethink your thoughts, and clear out your inner clutter. Small steps, real awareness—that’s how we transform.
Next week, I’ll be back for the Scorpio New Moon, where I’ll be getting on my soapbox a bit about why setting intentions alone isn’t enough and what it really takes to turn desire into transformation.
Until then, I’m wishing you an empowered feminine week. Download my free Moon Guide to start working with the moon cycles in your own life, and if you’re ready for deeper transformation and sisterhood, join me in Moon Sister Circle—where we gather twice monthly to flow with the moon, release old patterns, take out our head trash, and realign with who we came here to be.
✨ With love,
Sheridan
Astrology Life Coach
