A few times a year, Mercury appears to move backward across the sky. It is not really reversing — it is an optical effect, like a slower car seeming to drift back as you overtake it.
What it actually means
Mercury governs messages, travel, and small machines. During its retrograde, those things ask for a second look: emails get misread, plans shift, and old conversations resurface. It is less a curse than a prompt to slow down and re-check your work.
Mercury retrograde does not break your life. It turns the proofreading on.
Keeping perspective
Retrograde periods are normal, frequent, and survivable. Treat them as built-in editing time and they stop being something to dread. The sky is not out to get you; it is suggesting that you read things twice.