What Mercury Retrograde in July 2019 Means for Cancer Season: A Summer of Reflection and Drama, Says Lisa Stardust

It's been months since the last Mercury retrograde brought confusion and complication to our everyday lives. As the ruler of communication in astrology, Mercury retrograde can cause things to feel out of order. Areas in which people generally thrive may suddenly seem to to be clouded with newfound difficulty.

Mercury retrograde occurs several times each year. During the period, the planet appears to be moving backward. However, it's actually just speeding past Earth during its swift 88-day orbit.

People are prone to taking things out of context and misconstruing messages, while some may have trouble conveying thoughts and intentions. Just about all forms of communication—whether it be negotiating, buying, selling, speaking, listening and editing—may seem to face some roadblocks during retrograde.

While every Mercury retrograde brings its own complications to navigate, July's event could be a doozy for some people, mainly because the retrograde will start ahead of the astrological chart in Leo before eventually returning back to Cancer for the rest of the season. Due to this, astrologer and writer Lisa Stardust said people should expect to hear some uncomfortable truths during the retrograde.

"People will be reevaluating facts they've heard and will really have to decipher if they're sure of the truthfulness or not," Stardust told Newsweek. "People will really begin to see the truth and question their actions from the past as well as the actions and motives of others. It may cause a real contentions time in people's lives by bringing a lot of self-reflection on our actions and the actions of others. It's just a summer of reflection."

Some folks may have already started experiencing the type of flubs Stardust spoke of during the pre-retrograde shadow period—also known as the weeks leading up to Mercury retrogrades. What's more, Stardust said, the total solar eclipse on Tuesday may have added an extra sense of confusion to the air.

Many of the challenges Stardust suspects people may experience early on during retrograde are related to the fact that the fiery Leo is a commanding and authoritative sign that has the tendency to say things without thinking first. "Mercury in Leo is a loudmouth," Stardust, who's practiced astrology in New York for over a decade, said.

"[Leos] say things without speaking and they're very nonchalant about the truthfulness of their pride. That's how they go about life, and when it's retrograde, people have a tendency to say things that are very cocky, things they don't need to say or things that come off arrogant," she continued, noting that Mercury will will only be retrograde in Leo until the second eclipse of the month, a lunar eclipse on July 16.

As Mercury retrograde transitions back into Cancer, people can expect to reflect on their communication struggles from earlier part of the retrograde, according to Stardust.

"The second eclipse July 16 is all about letting go of people who are not at our level, shedding the past and letting go of our shadow selves, the power struggles and the love triangles," Stardust said. "Mercury goes direct on July 31 but it leaves its post-retrograde on August 15. Maybe people will make up or just part ways amicably. But that's how the story's going to go. Drama, drama, drama. We'll use the post-retrograde shadow period to make amends and then we decide if it's even worth it by the end."

Of course, there are a few ways folks can at least try to avoid off-kilter communication. "Count to three before you respond to someone's message," Stardust said.

"Let yourself cool off before you respond to someone. Nothing's going to change if you just take a minute to calm yourself down," she continued. "You don't have to engage in any arguments right away. People may come at us really fast, and—unfortunately, in today's world of emails, texts, Twitter and Instagram—people can get at us through all these outlets very fast in hopes of getting a reaction out of us."

She added: "We can't control what other people do, but we can try to give ourselves a moment to relax and control how we react."