Mercury Retrograde Starts Today: Your Survival Kit So You Don’t Lose Your Mind

You’ve felt it coming, haven’t you? These past three days where everything’s going sideways: the text sent to the wrong person, your computer crashing at the worst possible moment, that conversation that spiraled over nothing. Spoiler alert: it’s not you, it’s Mercury. She just hit the « chaos » button and won’t let go until November 30th. Three weeks where your messages won’t go through, where you’ll fight over stupid stuff, where your phone will die exactly when you need it most. But breathe. We’ve got the playbook to get through this without having a breakdown. And promise, you’ll even find some silver linings.

Mercury Retrograde: What’s This Cosmic Mess About?

Mercury is the planet of communication, travel, technology, and exchanges. Everything that moves and connects, she’s in charge. Messages, emails, transportation, conversations, even your spotty wifi, that’s all her territory. When she goes retrograde, she’s not actually moving backward in the sky, but energetically, it’s like she hit pause. Everything that depends on her slows down, glitches, goes haywire.

And this time, heads up: Mercury’s going retrograde in Sagittarius. That changes everything. Sagittarius is the sign of truth, philosophy, big speeches, international travel. The result? For these three weeks, you’re getting the usual Mercury retrograde problems, but supersized with cross-cultural misunderstandings, ideological debates that spin out of control, and this unfortunate tendency to say exactly the wrong thing at the worst possible moment.

Picture this: you launch into this passionate speech in front of everyone, and boom, you realize you were completely wrong about everything. Or worse: you were right, but you said it with so much force that nobody’s even listening. Welcome to Mercury retrograde in Sagittarius.

The 3 Main Disasters (And How to Dodge Them)

Your Messages and Conversations Are Going Off the Rails

The text meant for your boss lands in your crush’s inbox. The important email gets stuck in spam. Your sarcastic message gets taken literally and triggers a diplomatic crisis. With Mercury retrograde in Sagittarius, add to that a tendency to write too fast, too long, too passionately, without rereading. You’ll want to explain your viewpoint in three heated paragraphs when a simple « can we talk about this? » would’ve done the job.

Conversations are also going to transform into heated philosophical debates. You’ll start talking about the weather and end up arguing about the meaning of life. Someone drops a political opinion at family dinner and it’s World War III. Sagittarius thinks it holds THE truth, so the result is: nobody listens to anyone, everyone digs in, ego takes over everything.

How to Survive: Reread EVERYTHING before sending. Twice. Three times if it’s important. Write your angry messages in your notes app, let them sit for an hour, then reread. If it’s urgent and crucial? Call instead. Also avoid controversial topics. This is not the time to debate politics, religion, or any other hot-button issue.

Technology Is Going to Betray You

Your computer crashing in the middle of something important. Your phone randomly restarting during a crucial call. Your wifi deciding to die right when you have a video meeting. Apps glitching. Passwords not working. During Mercury retrograde, technology becomes your worst enemy. With Sagittarius in the mix, add travel-specific problems: your translation app dying abroad, GPS sending you to the wrong place, online reservations not registering.

How to Survive: BACK UP. Everything. Now. Your photos, documents, contacts, passwords. Do your updates before November 9th, not during. Print your train/plane tickets as hard copies. Yes, it’s annoying. But when your phone dies at the worst moment, you’ll thank us.

Transportation and Your Brain Are Going to Glitch

Train delays. Canceled flights. Random traffic jams. GPS sending you down a dead end. During Mercury retrograde, anything that moves is suspect. And with Sagittarius involved, it especially affects long trips and international travel.

Mentally, you’re going to forget your keys, show up late because you were convinced it was Thursday when it’s actually Wednesday, mix up two people, tell a story convinced it happened one way when it absolutely didn’t. Mercury retrograde scrambles your focus, your memory, your ability to process information correctly.

How to Survive: Always leave 30 minutes early. Check your routes the night before AND that morning. Have a backup plan. For your brain: slow down. Double-check everything. Before signing anything, read it. Before making an important decision, sleep on it. Use lists, reminders, alarms.

The Bright Side (Yes, It Exists)

Mercury retrograde in Sagittarius is also the perfect opportunity to question your certainties. All those deeply held opinions you’ve been carrying around for years, those beliefs you’ve never really examined: it’s time to sort through them. What do I actually believe? What comes from me versus what comes from others?

It’s also perfect for deepening your studies. Pick up that book you never finished. Redo those exercises you skimmed through. This period favors deep absorption over superficial accumulation. If you had a big trip planned, now’s the time to review your plans, double-check everything to avoid headaches later.

And exes coming back, old friends resurfacing? Instead of panicking, see it as an opportunity to close the loop, clarify what needs clarifying, make peace with certain situations.

Your Survival Checklist

□ I’ve backed up my important data
□ I’ve updated my apps and system
□ I’ve verified my travel reservations
□ I’ve added 30 minutes buffer to important trips
□ I’ve decided not to debate any controversial topics until November 30th
□ I’ve accepted that the next three weeks will be chaotic and that’s OK

The Bottom Line

Mercury retrograde in Sagittarius through November 30th is going to be wild. Things will glitch, derail, spiral. You’ll fight over silly things, miss trains, cry over your crashing computer. But you’ll also get the opportunity to revise your beliefs, deepen your knowledge, review your projects with fresh eyes. You’ll learn to let go of what you can’t control.

So yes, prepare yourself. Back up, verify, anticipate. But most importantly, keep your sense of humor. Because ultimately, Mercury retrograde is just a slightly crazy cosmic period that’ll pass. By late November, you’ll look back thinking « I survived that. » And you’ll even be a little proud of yourself.

In the meantime, breathe. Everything’s going to be fine. Well, more or less. But you’ve got this. Promise.