Mercury goes retrograde about four times a year — which, if you ask me, is four times too many! My old guide on How To Survive Mercury Retrograde is one of my most popular articles for a reason!

Well, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but Mercury is way retrograde… and I thought you might like to read about it from a different perspective.

There is a silver lining to every cloud, of course, and Mercury retrograde gets a bad rap. It’s not all terrible! I read somewhere recently that Mercury retrograde is a great time to take part in anything that starts with the prefix re-… Well, except “react”! This is the perfect time to refresh, revive, review, reboot, rebound, recall, reconcile, recover, reflect, recycle, reelect, research, refinish, refocus, reformulate… You get the idea!

Here are some ideas to keep you out of trouble, and on Mercury’s good side!

1. Renew your vows.
You lovebirds! If you’re already in a committed relationship, marriage or partnership, this is the perfect time to renew your promises to one another. You could have an elaborate ceremony or you could keep it simple: go to the restaurant where you had your first date, look at old photos, talk about how far you’ve come since you met. Bless!

2. Clean out your closet.
I did this last Tuesday and it was a bit of a life-changer! The energy of Mercury retrograde is fantastic for trimming the fat, so to speak, so you’ll have lots of astrological help as you go through your wardrobe and cull it mercilessly! If you need a bit of help doing it, check out my Wardrobe Taming series! (Blast from the past, baby!)

3. Look up an old love or your ex-best friend.
This is an excellent time to revisit those old relationships and see where the land lies. You don’t need to resuscitate them, of course, and often things we try to start during Mercury retrograde end up being short-lived anyway, but there can be a lot to learn from reuniting. You could find that the closure is exactly what you needed.

4. Forgive and forget.
Mercury retrograde encourages us to tie up loose ends, and the ultimate loose end is sourness or bitterness towards someone else. Holding a grudge is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die! It’s time to move on, and if you can’t forget, do your best to forgive.

5. Take a fabulous holiday.
Even though we’re usually not encouraged to travel during Mercury retrograde — simply because it’s something that is easily affected by the natural miscommunications of this period — if you can get away, you should! Honour any hankerings you might have for a bit of downtime. Go to a tropical island and lie on the beach for a week, or simply have a staycation at home. You’ll feel so much better for it!

6. Relax and take care of yourself.
The classic old checklist of getting enough sleep, staying hydrated and doing a lot of stretching absolutely applies during Mercury retrograde. If you’ve fallen off the H2O wagon, buy yourself a cute drink bottle and keep it on your desk! (I have a vampire drink bottle. I love it.) Make an extra effort to relax before bed, maybe by turning off the television and having an Epsom salt bath, and get your solid 8 hours. Get a massage, do some stretching, and move your body as much as you can.

7. Rejuvenate your living space!
If your house isn’t looking its best, now is the time to start dreaming about it! Your home should be a reflection of your most fabulous self: a place that you’re excited to return to. While it’s not the best idea to make big purchases during Mercury retrograde, it is a truly excellent time to do any research. Start investigating: look at Pinterest for interior decorating ideas, scope out websites for the best prices, and make a list of the things you’ll need. Once Mercury goes direct, you can start to put your plans into action!

8. Work on your CV or personal mission statement.
Mercury retrograde favours rewriting, revising or editing any documents. Why not put that energy to good use and rework your CV or personal mission statement? You could spice up your blog’s bio page or make some long overdue changes to your business plans. Mercury’s magic will help you out as you do it, and you might be astounded by what comes out when you sit down to start writing!

9. Read old journals.
If you go back to your old journals or notebooks during this time, you’ll be amazed by the things you read and the revelations that occur. It will be incredible to you to see how far you’ve come and how much growth has happened! (Plus, it’s usually pretty good for a laugh!)

10. Get a bit nostalgic!
Mercury retrograde is the best time ever to listen to old albums that you loved when you were a teenager, to watch movies that used to mean so much to you, and to revisit activities you have given up. Yesterday, I had a musical trip down memory lane, listening to Marilyn Manson, Sleater-Kinney, Deftones, and A Perfect Circle — all stuff I loved years ago! Why not jump back into that sport or activity you loved a decade ago?

See?! It’s not all bad. Mercury is still retrograde for a few weeks, so you have plenty of time to get all of this done! Okay… Ready, set, go!

(Still counting down the days…)