For year's now, I've wanted to make a shirt that says, "stop blaming Mercury." Seriously. It has become the top excuse for things going wrong for every bottled blonde sporting a pair of Lulu's. I'm not saying there isn't some legitimacy to the planets being where they are. I became a believer in the power of planetary positions when I was just a kid.
Growing up on St. Pete Beach in Florida, my parents owned a row of efficiency apartments that shared our property. It was a great way to grow up (even though there were times when I was embarrassed not to live in a traditional Single Family Residential on a quiet suburban street). Instead of a postage stamp lot with neighbors you ignore, I grew up with an array of "characters" near me on the daily. One such character was Terry. Now to be clear, Terry was 100% affected by the full moon. My parents used to say every month, "oh no, Terry is going to get in trouble tonight," Terry would inevitably get in a bar fight, get arrested, need bail, or end up in an alcohol-laced lump on his doorstep the morning following a full moon. So yeah, I believe that the planets can affect us, but how many of us use this as a crutch?
I'm not a believer in using something like Mercury in retrograde as an excuse for bad behavior or bad luck. What we need to consider when it comes to the planets and nature, in general, is to FOLLOW THEIR LEAD. Instead of rushing around during the coldest of winter months (aka holidays) and running ourselves ragged, why don't we do ourselves a favor and slow down? All of nature is taking a moment to pause right now. Nature is hiding out.
Do yourself a favor and meet this retrograde time with compassion for yourself. Of course, you don't have to go dormant during the winter months, but how about setting realistic goals with realistic timelines, which include room for rest and, most likely, some self-compassion for redos?