It’s that time of year again. Mercury Retrograde is about to occur. This happens about three times a year for approximately a three-and-a-half-week period. My mom seems to think Mercury is in retrograde more than it is not. This retrograde starts Sunday, December 3 at 2:34AM ET and goes until Friday, December 22 at 8:51PM ET. If you’ve been keeping up with my blog, you’re probably familiar with Mercury Retrograde. If not, click here for a brief on this troubling time period. You can also learn to work with this phase, instead of against it by doing this short journaling exercise.

Mercury Retrograde has a lot of dos and don’ts. Mercury is headed into retrograde in Sagittarius. Sagittarius rules optimism, expansion, exploration, new experiences, and Mercury retrograde can impact these areas of life. According to The Dark Pixie Astrology, “We can be unrealistically optimistic, or overly pessimistic and miss the optimism; we can expand too much in some ways, and not enough in others; we can explore places we shouldn’t, and avoid the places we should go to; we can dive into experiences we should run from, and avoid experiences we should have.”

Take this time to discover meaning and reflect. Sagittarius is the ruler of long journeys that take you out of your comfort zone to introduce you to a broader perspective of the world. Mercury retrogrades are a wonderful time to do anything that involves “re-” such as re-do, reorganize, reflect, etc. Use this time to reflect and rediscover the importance of your life journey. It is a excellent time for journaling and developing creative ideas.

This retrograde takes place during a time we often spend with family and loved ones. Since communication can get a bit haywire, try to focus on the things you love about your family during this holiday season. You can also use this time to find growth and meaning in each of your experiences.

A full moon will occur the same day Mercury retrogrades. Full moons are often charged with emotional energy. They allow you to release those things in your life that no longer serve you. Use this time to re-open any old wounds and let them fully heal. Mercury retrogrades aren’t really that bad after all!