The cosmic confusion is shaking plenty of things up – including your beauty routine
D o you often find yourself citing Mercury retrograde as an explanation for all the things going wrong in your life? Like a delayed train, a miscommunication with your partner or even *that* unexpected breakout? Well, same, because when all else fails, just blame the universe… Right?
Like many teens growing up in the 00s, I developed a fascination with astrology at an early age, critiquing (and heavily relating to, may I add) my birth chart that came via every glossy magazine (read: Cosmo, of course). However, unlike my emo phase, it’s a fascination that’s carried through to adulthood. On every first date, I’ll find myself asking, ‘So, what’s your star sign?’ (Sure, they often scowl and retreat with ‘the ick’, but I’m unphased, TBH…)
And as far as I know, when it comes to Mercury retrograde, it’s not just a me – or Zillenial – thing. In fact, it’s so farreaching it’s hard to ignore. Every few months, my social media timelines are filled with folks speculating on the power of the planets. Like in April, when Taylor Swift branded an injury on tour ‘Mercury in retrograde coded’. She’s not the only singer to defer to its powers, either – way back in 2013, Katy Perry lyricised, ‘Is Mercury in retrograde, or is that the excuse that I’ve always made?’
If you’ve not been keeping up-to-date with us zodiac girlies, let me fill you in. Mercury retrograde is the gremlin season of astrology, occurring several times a year for a few weeks at a time. ‘From our vantage point on Earth, Mercury looks like it’s spinning backwards. But it’s an optical illusion caused by orbital speed,’ says Kerry Ward, a psychic and astrologist, also known as TarotBella. She adds, ‘Cosmically, this reverses Mercury’s powers – in commerce, travel, technology and communication – so, expect setbacks in relation to all.’ Yikes.
Astrological beliefs, such as Leo’s selfcentred, drama-adoring and performative traits (it’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me) for example, are often widely disputed, and Mercury retrograde has long been touted as based in pseudoscience. It’s like the astrological version of a pumpkin spice latte – kind of basic, but we love it anyway, if only to help us feel like we have the answers to all our troubles.
Let’s take spots, for example. I, for one, am prone to a breakout every once in a while and have tracked a recurrence of blemishes in the time of retrograde. Not to mention an out-of-the-blue diagnosis of contact dermatitis during one, too. Coincidence? I think not. After all, the planets seem to be wreaking havoc on just about everything else.
So, to prep
