Mercury retrograde means a greater potential
for holiday mishaps.
It’s Mercury retrograde time again, and that means the chances for miscommunication are dramatically increased. Mercury rules the movement of objects or ideas from one place to another, usually over short distances. This covers anything from chatting at a cafe to FedExing a Christmas present. Currently Mercury is (from our perspective on Earth) moving backwards in Capricorn, and this planet won’t start moving direct (or forward again) until December 30 (in Sagittarius). This means a greater potential for holiday mishaps.
If you’re partnered up and you’re celebrating Christmas or any other “end of December solstice-related holiday,” the whole family issue rears its ugly head. You may be bringing your boyfriend to meet your parents, or you may be spending an entire day with the in-laws. Whatever the case, family outings can be a stressful time for couples, and the fact that Mercury is retrograde only adds fuel to the fire. Misunderstandings or just plain old disagreements regarding the two verboten topics—politics and religion—can destroy any semblance of civility at the dinner table.
To top this all off, Mercury is conjunct Pluto, the planet of manipulation and underhandedness. Because Mercury’s final pass over Pluto won’t be until January 18, this transit is active throughout all of the retrograde and beyond. Pluto likes to root out secrets, dig up the dirt. While this aspect is in effect, people have an uncanny sixth sense about precisely that information we do not want shared at Christmas dinner. Information is power, and it can destroy relationships.
OK, now that I’ve scared the bejesus out of you, here are some tips to survive this Mercury Retrograde Christmas:
1. If you’re hiding an affair from your partner, DO NOT tell your sister or your mom or your second cousin. With your significant other at the table, all it takes is one meaningful glance from a family relation to arouse suspicions in your mate—especially if your relationship is already strained.
2. If you’ve been having an affair and have been meaning to fess up and pledge to never mess around again, either do it as early as possible or after Christmas is over. If you do it early, then your partner can have enough time to pull out from your mutual Christmas plans. And you’ll have enough time to save face with your fam when you tell them he won’t be coming for the annual Xmas goose. Whatever you do, don’t tell the truth Christmas eve or day. You will potentially ruin that day for him for the rest of his life.
3. If you’ve been visiting your S.O.’s family for years, you likely know what the sore points of discussion will be, based on past performance. WRITE THESE POINTS DOWN. Awareness is the best medicine when Mercury is retrograde. Old points of disagreement (“unresolved issues”) can raise their ugly heads, and you want to lop them off before a monster grows. There are two ways to do this: (1) rehearse lines that politely change the topic so that your father-in-law can’t bait you; (2) commit to bring everything out in the open and then bury the hatchet. Just directly state that you two will never agree on matter X, that no argument will change your mind, and that for the sake of family you should both just declare a stalemate and let it go. Do it with love and firmness, and do it away from everyone else. There’s no need to subject the whole table to this.
4. If you and your honey are in the middle of a fight, don’t just sit on your unexpressed feelings. Everyone at the family gathering will be able to cut the tension with a knife; people will take sides, pry into your private affairs, and generally only make things worse. As long as the fight isn’t about some horrible secret that could potentially destroy the relationship (see #1 and #2), you should attempt to resolve it as best as you can, even up to the moment you pull up into Dad’s driveway or get picked up at the train station. Put it all out on the table when you’re trekking across state lines (but drive safely). You don’t have to come to a resolution, but both of you have to have had the opportunity to share how you’re feeling about the issue and to be completely heard by your partner. That way there won’t be any underground tension (Mercury-Pluto) that is bound to erupt during dinner and destroy your holiday equanimity.
5. Go easy on the booze.
