Mercury Retrograde Might Be Over, But Beware of the Retroshade

The final Mercury retrograde of 2021 is done and dusted. Beginning on September 27 and ending on October 18, you can slowly begin to exhale after a challenging few weeks. Chances are that communication and technology issues were a large part of what made this retrograde difficult.

Mercury is the planet of communication and as such, can affect all types of communication including formal contracts and agreements, as well as one of our most important commodities: Technology. Before retrograde begins, you’re encouraged to back up your phone and laptop as it’s common to encounter technical difficulties during this time.

Same goes for the way you relay information. Mercury retrograde can scramble communication and illicit the feeling of a foggy brain so it’s not uncommon to experience misunderstandings because of this. While you can celebrate the end of retrograde for another few months — the next time Mercury goes into retrograde is January 14, 2022 — we are still experiencing the “retroshade”.

This refers to the weeks just before and after the period of retrograde — unfortunately, Mercury retrograde has a shadow period that hangs over for about two weeks following the official end date. This means you’re still likely to experience some of the same side effects for the next little while.

According to AstroTwins, this shadow period following the end of retrograde is all about “integration and processing”. This is when you consider the lessons learnt during the last few weeks and examine what is working and what isn’t. “Use the time Mercury turns direct to the end of its shadow to make big, bold changes,” says AstroTwins.

Use the next few days as a time of review. What came through as an overriding theme over the last couple of weeks? What areas of your life need changing? The retroshade energy is largely about tying up loose ends so use it accordingly.

While this shadow period can allow you to begin to move through issues that arose during retrograde, be careful of the same things that tripped you up over the last few weeks.

“The retrograde energy may bleed into the shadow period, so many astrologers advise taking the same measures you would during the retrograde itself,” says Digest Online. “It’s not a cease and desist notice, just a warning to proceed with caution. Snap decisions made in post-retroshade haste might still garner unfavourable results.”