If everything has felt a little upside down lately, you are not imagining it and you are definitely not alone.
Maybe your phone has been playing up. Maybe there has been a misunderstanding with someone close to you. Maybe your plans have changed at the last minute or an ex has decided that right now, of all times, is the perfect moment to crawl back out of the woodwork. We have all been there. And if that has been your week, I want you to know that Mercury Retrograde is almost certainly having a word.
This one runs from 29 June until 23 July 2026, and whether astrology is your thing or you are just a little bit curious, I always think these periods are worth paying attention to. Not because I believe we should blame a planet for everything that goes wrong in our lives. Life happens regardless of what Mercury is doing. But because these weeks have a way of pushing us to slow down and look at what we have been too busy to notice.
Mercury is the planet that governs communication, travel, technology and the way we process our thoughts. When it goes retrograde it appears to move backwards in the sky, and in astrology that is seen as a time to reflect rather than rush forward. To review rather than launch. To feel rather than just do.
This particular retrograde is falling in Cancer, which makes it feel even more personal than usual. Cancer is all about home, family, relationships and emotional safety. So do not be surprised if old memories are surfacing, if conversations you never expected are happening, or if something you have been quietly pushing aside is suddenly demanding your attention. That is not the retrograde punishing you. That is it doing exactly what it is supposed to do.
I have learned to actually welcome this energy rather than dread it. When I was in my most anxious years, every delay felt like a disaster, every miscommunication felt like a crisis and every unexpected change felt like proof that things were falling apart. Now I have done the work to calm my nervous system and regulate my energy, I see it differently.
Sometimes a delay is not there to frustrate you. Sometimes it is there to protect you from something you cannot see yet. Sometimes a difficult conversation clears the air that has quietly been suffocating a relationship. Sometimes something coming back into your life is not a step backwards. It is a reminder of how far you have actually come.
That shift in perspective changes everything. And it is only possible when you are calm enough to see it.
This is something I go really deep on inside my course Nervous System Glow Up. Because here is what I know after everything I have been through. You cannot manifest from a place of fear. And Mercury Retrograde has a way of stirring up exactly that. Old anxieties, old doubts, old stories all rising to the surface at once. When your nervous system is stuck in survival mode you are not calling in the life you want. You are calling in more of what you are scared of.
Calming the anxiety first, before the vision boards, before the affirmations, before any of it, is the foundation that makes everything else actually work. That is exactly what Nervous System Glow Up is built around. Ten modules taking you from anxious and overwhelmed to calm, clear and finally able to call in the life you actually want. If this retrograde has stirred something up in you, that is your sign to start.
One thing I am always more conscious of during Mercury Retrograde is protecting my energy. When everything feels more emotional and more intense, it is so easy to absorb other people's worries, opinions and negativity without even realising you are doing it. You can go from feeling grounded to feeling completely derailed by a single conversation if you are not careful.
That is one of the reasons I created my Evil Eye Protection Bracelet. The evil eye has been worn as a symbol of protection across cultures for centuries and while I see it as a meaningful tradition rather than a magic guarantee, I love what it represents to me personally. Every time I put mine on it is a quiet reminder to stay grounded, trust my intuition, protect my peace and not pick up energy that does not belong to me.
We all need those little anchors. Life gets loud. It is easy to lose yourself in the noise of everyone else's needs, opinions and dramas without even realising you have drifted. The small rituals matter more than people think. Five minutes with a cup of tea before the house wakes up. A walk without your phone. Journalling what is actually in your head instead of letting it circle. Putting on a piece of jewellery that reminds you who you are and what you are protecting.
So over the next few weeks, be gentle with yourself. Double check your travel plans. Back up your laptop. Read the message twice before you send it. Give yourself and the people around you a little more patience than usual. And most importantly, do not panic if life feels slower than you would like it to. Slower is not always worse. Sometimes slower is exactly what we need.
Mercury Retrograde is not here to ruin your life. Maybe it is here to help you reconnect with it.
That is exactly how I will be approaching this one. Protect your energy. Trust the timing. And know that everything is unfolding exactly as it is meant to.
All my love always,
Tanya xxx 🤍
