The Tarot Reader's Guide to a Drama-Free Mercury Retrograde

What?! It's Mercury Retrograde?! Run for the hills! Escape while you can! Don't go anywhere! Don't talk to anyone!

I used to be a bit of a worry-wart when I saw Mercury Retrograde on the astrological calendar, especially with all the stories about travel delays, miscommunications and technical disasters. But over time, I have learned, as many of us have, to just deal with it and be prepared. Forewarned is forearmed, right?!

But what does Mercury Retrograde mean for us Tarot readers? Should we ditch the Tarot cards during this time? Or can we harness the special energy of this period and use it to our advantage?

To help you navigate Mercury Retrograde and still deliver amazing Tarot readings, here's my Tarot reader's guide to a drama-free Mercury Retrograde.

What's All the Drama About Mercury Retrograde?

Mercury rules communication, thought processes, self-expression, travel, and technology. Mercury reflects how you make sense of your external world and shapes how you formulate ideas and how you share them.

Three or four times a year, Mercury goes retrograde for a few weeks at a time. When Mercury goes retrograde, it means that the planet appears to be traveling backwards in the sky (it actually isn't really going backwards – it just appears that way). So, when we're experiencing Mercury Retrograde, it feels as if our lives are going backwards.

The ‘drama' around Mercury Retrograde manifest as travel delays and cancellations, miscommunications and misunderstandings, technological failures on a grand scale, and difficulty in expressing oneself. It's not a good time to start new projects or sign legal documents as often when this period ends, you realise you missed something and need to go back and fix it, and there may be further delays to the process.

However, Mercury Retrograde doesn't have to be as dramatic as you might think.

How to Work Mercury Retrograde to Your Advantage

There are a number of ways that you can easily work with Mercury Retrograde on a constructive level.

Given the theme of moving backwards, we can use Mercury Retrograde to review and reflect. Sometimes before we can move forward, when need to move backward, giving us the opportunity to check what might not be working and to fix it. Ask yourself, “Have I missed something?” Go back and review, revise and rework so that you are in a better position when Mercury goes direct again.

Be on the front foot. If you know that you are prone to travel delays, miscommunications and technological difficulties, prepare early. Before Mercury goes retrograde, back-up your computer and then during Mercury Retrograde, take extra precautions by having a Plan B, adding extra time to your schedule and double-checking the details.

Mercury Retrograde is also a powerful time to slow down and think carefully about what is most important to you in your life. Take some time out to reconnect with your Higher Self and ask what it is that you need more of or less of in your life.

How to Make Mercury Retrograde Drama-Free as a Tarot Reader

If you're a Tarot reader, you don't have to hide the Tarot cards away for three weeks until Mercury goes direct again. You can use this period to your advantage also and actually look forward to what it has to bring you. Here are my top tips for a drama-free Mercury Retrograde.

Be Kind In Your Communication

In a Mercury Retrograde, wires get crossed, words become confused and intentions are often misinterpreted. Pay extra attention to ensuring your Tarot readings are delivered in a compassionate manner and your message is clear and straight-forward.

In receiving feedback, keep an open mind and give the benefit of the doubt to what your client has to say. You might initially think they're having a go at you, when, really, they love the reading and just want some clarification. So, avoid entering into any heated exchanges. Instead, seek first to understand, before being understood.

Mull It Over

‘Sit' with the key messages your Tarot reading a little while before concluding the reading. This extra time to mull it over may create further insight that you didn't initially see in the cards.

You might also find it more challenging to communicate the key messages in your reading, so by allowing yourself a little extra time, those messages will flow more easily.

Check, Double-Check and Triple-Check

If reading via email, be prepared for possible technical difficulties. Have you sent the right Tarot reading to the right client at the right email address? Did your client actually receive the Tarot reading?

If reading face-to-face, take the extra precaution of confirming the date, time and location of the Tarot reading.

If you personally need to travel to conduct the Tarot reading, leave extra time for those ‘unexpected' delays that seem to crop up with a Mercury Retrograde.

Be Prepared for More Reversed Tarot Cards

Acknowledge that there may be more reversals in your reading, particularly reversed Swords cards (communication). It's likely to be as a result of the Mercury Retrograde, so don't read too much more into it.

Pull Out Your Mercury Retrograde-Themed Tarot Spreads

What?! Is there really such a thing? Not really. But given Mercury Retrograde can be a time for reviewing and reflecting on life goals, use Tarot spreads that use this as a core theme or concept, such as the New Year Spread or the Spiritual Compass Tarot Spread.

Mercury Retrograde is also a powerful time to get closure and let go of any grievances – my Release and Let Go spread is great for this.

You may even want to return to past Tarot readings and do a follow-up reading to evaluate what needs refining or how you can best gain closure on a persistent issue.

Be Prepared for Questions About the Past

Mercury Retrograde often influences people to think about the past, reviewing and reflecting on past actions, relationships, situations, etc. You may find that you are asked more questions that relate to the past, so be ready for this. Ensure you include a card or two that offers a review of what happened or that reflects on the learnings from this past situation, to truly harness the power of Mercury Retrograde.

Tie Up Any Loose Ends

Mercury Retrograde is not a good time to start new projects, but it is a good time to bring closure to any old projects or to tie up loose ends. If you're behind in your business administration, have clients who haven't paid, need to finish reading a Tarot book, etc. then this is the perfect time to do it. Think of everything that remains unfinished or incomplete, and make a commitment to close it off by the end of Mercury Retrograde.

Review and Revise

If you're learning to read Tarot (which we all are, no matter how experienced we are!), you may prefer to use Mercury Retrograde as a time to review and revise what you have already learned, rather than trying to learn something new about Tarot. Go through your old notes and personal readings, and extract the information that is most meaningful. Leave any new material until Mercury Retrograde has completed its cycle.

So don't let Mercury Retrograde be your demise! You CAN have a drama-free Mercury Retrograde with a little forward planning and a positive attitude.