Why I’m Not Using Generative AI
February 21, 2025
It’s Mercury Retrograde season!
These three wonky weeks started on Sunday, November 9, 2025 and will end on Saturday, November 29, 2025
You may have heard about how Mercury is in the gatorade. But WTF does that actually mean?! And why should you care?
Let me give a taste of what could happen by putting on my astrologer’s hat and reviewing the hell week that I had last week. 😭
Hacked!: A Mercury Retrograde Story
Last week, I got hacked multiple times and had multiple hacking attempts. I think I’m in the clear? And this happened with me having antivirus software, password protection — all the things.
But what can’t be helped is when your own ESP (Gmail) has a security breach. Apparently, Facebook had one, too earlier this year. We live in the age of security breaches that you only learn about months later, or not at all.
What does that have to do with Mercury retrograde, though?
Getting hacked is a typical Mercury retrograde issue in two ways:
1) It’s a technical snafu. Mercury is a fast-moving planet that rules communication, travel, and commerce. When it starts to “slow down” and “move backward,” we start to see, especially in our modern era, how much we rely on our tech in our speedy society. These hacks took up so much time to address. I’m not even finished addressing the mayhem these losers made.
2) When hiccups and snafus happen, it gives us an opportunity to REview our routines. My passwords were strong, but it didn’t matter if I had something on my machine possibly keylogging OR of my ESP failed me AND didn’t bother to notify me. Thankfully, I have some good security protocols, although this incident did leave me hypervigilant and overly suspicious (and thus, exhausted), even though I know that these issues are bound to happen. My antivirus software finally picked up TWENTY PUPs (potentially unwanted programs).
🤓Technically, these shenanigans happened during Mercury retrograde shadow period, the three-week period when Mercury starts to slow down to go in reverse. This period can give you a preview of what you’ll be dealing with during this wonky time. (There’s another post retrograde shadow period which is like a clean-up time from the six weeks of issues that came up before).
So 27 to 36 out of 52 weeks in a year, we’re dealing with Mercury’s trickster ways.
This Is A Test. This Is Only A Test.
Glitchy stuff happens. A water leak forms in your ceiling. Your computer HD gets fried. You get into a car crash. You lose the important document you were working on. You lose power while you’re on a video call with a colleague.
So one thing you can get out of this is that the trickster planet’s transits is that it can be a test of your routines — like how you travel, communicate, keep safe, and connect.
You can also see Mercury retrograde happening more broadly. For example, here in the US, we’re having major slowdowns with air travel due to the federal government shutdown. That Mercury retrograde is happening during the Thanksgiving holiday is obviously obnoxious.
So again, what does this all mean for you?!
Even if you don’t think astrology is real, you can at least use these times of REview, REst, and REflection to fine tune our business practices, like our communications, data security, and finances.
Three Tips to Get Through This Wonky Time
1️⃣ GO SLOWLY. Mercury likes to rush rush rush, but you may miss details. So take extra time to review your documents, writings, and contracts. If you’re a writer working on a book, essay, or article, you can use this time to edit and revise. Usually, it’s ill-advised to sign contracts because most likely, you’ll need to REvise it. At the same time, this could be a good time to review contracts, even your credit card agreements, your ISP, and your cell phone bill.
2️⃣ ADD TRAVEL TIME. Again in the US, you’re probably already doing this because of our own transportation woes. But if you are always running late, try your best to leave earlier than usual. If you never run late, leave earlier than usual. It could be that your own car breaks down (typical) or the method of transportation breaks down. Or there’s a freak accident on the road. Or there’s some random travel delay at the airport. You know how it goes.
3️⃣REACH OUT TO OLD FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES. You may find this happening to you, especially if it’s an old ex (which I would caution REconnecting with), but we all get busy. Just check in to see how people are doing, not necessarily with the goal to land a sale or a job. The holiday season is upon us, so you may even feel compelled to send a card or e-card. It’s been an especially rough year for many of us and you never know what relationships may be rekindled. Also, I just think it’s a good idea to spread good cheer and well wishes to folks.
Mercury Retrograde Can Be Your Friend
I’m still very tired from having to change passwords a gazillion times and sending apology emails to people who got spammy emails from me. But I do have stronger security now. I have some other opportunities to protect myself. And if you know a little astrology, this is Scorpio season so being on guard but also deeply curious already comes naturally to us right now.
Mercury retrograde reminds us that we can’t always be going forwards in life. We have to look back and see what we’ve done. We must:
⏪Review
⏪Reconsider
⏪Remember
⏪Restore
⏪Re-establish
⏪Research
⏪Relax
⏪Rearrange
⏪Readjust
⏪Reconcile
When you think of Mercury retrograde, think of all the RE-words.
And take it easy on yourself. Stuff happens. It’s how you REspond when stuff happens that matters.
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