Mercury gets blamed for everything these days.

Printer jam? Mercury.
Spilled your coffee? Mercury.
Hit “reply all” by mistake? Obviously Mercury.

I love that astrology is part of the mainstream conversation now. I really do. But somewhere along the line, “Mercury retrograde” turned into shorthand for “I messed up—but it’s not my fault.”

Honestly, I think most Mercury retrogrades would slip past unnoticed if everyone wasn’t on social media, dramatically warning each other “buckle up.” It’s become astrology’s version of seasonal allergies—the symptoms are vague, the panic is viral, and everyone’s sure they’re affected.

But Mercury isn’t some vengeful sky gremlin unplugging your phone charger or scheduling your haircut with the wrong stylist. (Though let’s be honest, you did kind of ask for bangs.)

Here’s something I’ve noticed: Mercury retrograde got its worst reputation back when home computers were still new, and the tech we depended on was a little… unpredictable. If your AOL dialup connection dropped in 1997, it felt like Mercury was out to get you. But our software is smarter now. Most of the time, we wouldn’t notice Mercury’s retrograde at all if everyone weren’t talking about it online.

Mercury retrograde isn’t chaos — it’s a cosmic pause. A chance to edit, reframe, revisit, and reflect. But we don’t like pausing. We like blaming. So we pin our spilled coffee and mood swings on a planet that’s just doing its job.

If you use Mercury retrograde to slow down, rethink, and be more present—congratulations, you’ve unlocked its actual magic. If you use it as a blanket excuse for every misdelivered DoorDash dinner … well, that might be another conversation.