Planning for the summer break took a lot of work. Summer break lasts around three months. Summer camps are booked by the week. The good camps are fully booked within 15 min of registration opening. Some have a lottery system. Reviewing the options, signing up, and coordinating everything in an elaborate Excel file took about a week. Can you blame me for booking our family vacation on Mercury Retrograde? There was just no way to factor this into all the other considerations.

Our flight and the drive on Monday went as planned. But our hotel was less lovely than I expected. The room was small, the pillows were too thick, the blankets were too thin, and the hotel staff was kind but apathetic. The town we were in was not charming, and most restaurants and coffee places were closed at the beginning of the week. Our hike on Tuesday was nothing special, and it was full of annoying mosquitoes. By the end of Tuesday, I did not sleep well, did not eat well, and was totally grumpy.

Maybe Mercury’s retrograde was not so much about plans going wrong as it was about being more irritable. I wondered if it was more of an internal influence than an external one.

I could take responsibility. My husband and I were busy during the summer and made our plans under pressure. Still, it felt like a failure. We had this precious time to enjoy as a family, and we blew it.

Admitting that was a relief. I realized that during the last two days, I was pushing away my frustration. I sat on our cabin’s porch, cuddled in a warm blanket, and immersed myself in my grumpiness. It does not mean I allowed my mind to keep spinning around it. On the contrary, my mind was quiet. I was focused on feeling the grumpiness in my body. I felt the corners of my lips pulling downwards. I felt tension in my jaws and stress around my neck. I did not take a deep breath. I did not try to change it. I just allowed it to be. After a few minutes, I felt much better. I was willing to accept that this was a Mercury retrograde vacation and that not all vacations should be amazing.  

But then I remembered something I read in Alice Bailey’s Esoteric Astrology book. “The moment that a man becomes aware of his own soul and is endeavoring to control his own ‘path of life,’ the influence of the planets, per se, weakens and steadily becomes less and less.”  While Bailey talks about the influence of the planets in our birth chart, I think her statement also applies to current influences such as retrogrades and transits.

The study of astrology is meant to free us from external planetary influences and to give us back the reins so that we can take control over our lives. With that, we often use astrology, therapy, and spiritual practices to escape responsibility. It was tempting to use Mercury Retrograde as an excuse to remain negative about my vacation. My other and better choice was to turn on my observer, as my dear teacher Debra Silverman likes to say, and watch my grumpiness, as I did. Then, I could release myself from its grip. I could release myself from Mercury Retrograde’s grip. It was up to me to make the best out of my vacation.

That night, I slept well despite the thick pillows and thin blankets. The following day, the hotel owner was there and was pleasant and accommodating. We found amazing coffee places and restaurants. We enjoyed strolling through the cute little shops in Woodstock and then had a magnificent hike. We eventually had to end our vacation earlier than planned since Hurricane Debby was coming to our area, but it was already at a point where we had so much fun that we decided to come back to this area soon.

During this Mercury retrograde, ask yourself who is in charge of your life. Do you let the planets, gurus, therapists, psychic mediums, or other external forces and authorities dictate your life course? Do you only seek answers outside of yourself? Or do you use the wisdom you learn from your spiritual and therapeutic practices to connect with your inner wisdom and take control over your life? A good astrologer, therapist, or teacher will help you learn to trust yourself.

Wishing you a wonderful week,

With love,

Yael