What is Mercury Retrograde? What does it mean?
Often abbreviated as “Mercury Rx,” Mercury Retrograde is the three-week period when Mercury — known as the messenger planet — appears to move in reverse. This happens about every four months when Mercury’s orbit around the Sun aligns with Earth’s. Since Mercury is closest to the Sun, its orbit is shorter allowing it to cover more territory faster. This speed brings it in sync with Earth’s location on three annual occasions — coined “Mercury Retrograde.” During this time, Mercury spins directly between Earth and Sun (with Venus in the middle), presenting the illusion that Mercury is going backwards. In fact, Mercury is moving the same pace it always does — about three times faster than Earth. The only difference is our perspective of Mercury shifts — in the same way a car next to us on the freeway appears to go backwards as we inch beside it. The car isn’t going slower — we are simply catching up with it.
