Did you know that Mercury retrograde has a “shadow phase” that can extend its chaotic effects? Actually, all planetary retrogrades do.
The last Mercury Retrograde of 2019 begins the Pre-Shadow in Scorpio (11o 35″) on October 11, 2019
The Mercury retrograde shadow happens about two weeks before and two weeks after the planet’s backspin. Before and after a planet is retrograde, it goes through a period called “stationing,” where it’s adjusting to the U-turn. We may feel its effects ramping up or winding down…like the lingering fumes of a car with a bad exhaust system.
During the shadow phase before Mercury retrograde, we should take the necessary Mercury retrograde precautions, moving ahead at a gentle clip and not rushing into anything binding. Back up all data to password-protected (or firewall-protected) cloud storage, change overused login codes and make sure that important bills are paid in a timely fashion.
We are likely to start to see signs of the impending Mercury retrograde then: foggy brains, scrambled communications, exes and old friends coming out of the woodwork. This is an ideal time to prep for Mercury madness too: back up digital data, clear the air with loved ones and be sure important documents and secret codes are locked and password protected.
Mercury goes Retrograde in Scorpio 27 degrees on October 31, 2019
The Direct Station occurs in Scorpio on November 20, 2019