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Mercury retrograde is the often feared and a time in which most people live with a sense of intensity, overthinking, miscommunication, and oftentimes – poor judgment. If you had a retrograde anything like mine, you were probably looking forward to the end, but as we enter the shadow phase – you will find that it isn’t over yet. If you don’t play your cards right, things could get much worse.

Once Mercury goes direct, we go into a period we call the ‘retroshade’ which continues to August 15th; however, the effects are strongest through the 5th. While the retrograde period is known for miscommunication or people going back to their exes, among other strange steps back – the shadow is actually where this takes place.

“Before and after Mercury retrograde, we have a two-week period that’s known as the ‘retro-shade’ period,” explains astrologer Lisa Stardust. “This is the time when Mercury retraces its steps (now that Mercury is moving forward).”

But, if you take your steps the right way, you can utilize this time to make meaningful steps toward controlling the damage created during the retrograde.

Conversely, it can bring bad news if you let the ‘shadows’ of yourself and in your relationships take hold of the moment and cause you to act in ways that aren’t like your usual self. In turn, fights that have been weighing on the back of our mind come out, and our worst behaviors and feelings come to light.

Thankfully, on August 15th – we will be given yet another chance to make amends, and make right of the wrongs we have caused or encountered. So, if things seem increasingly dramatic for now – just take time to remember not to act irrationally, and wait for the true end. It won’t be long!