If you've noticed that things have felt a little off balance lately, you're not alone. Mercury retrograde has been going on for the last few weeks, and will hang around until August 18. Mercury retrograde is known for messing with communication, travel, and technology, making things a little more complicated and confusing than they need to be. But it does more than just make things frustrating when you're awake — it even affects your sleep, and Mercury retrograde can affect your dreams as well.
During Mercury retrograde, what's happening is that the planet Mercury loses speed and goes slower than Earth. From our position on the planet, it seems like Mercury is going backwards. It isn't, of course, but that's where the name comes from. This change affects our lives because Mercury is the ruler of communication. During retrograde, you might feel more brain fog, and it's not the ideal time to start anything new.
So it makes sense that it all affects you when you're sleeping. As Eight Sleep reported, because Mercury rules your nerves and brains, it can result in people getting less sleep. It can also disrupt your sleep, making it harder to fall into a very deep sleep where you get the optimal amount of rest. Not only does this tend to make people feel exhausted and cranky, but it can also mess with your dreams.
When you're not getting the right amount of rest during Mercury retrograde, you're more likely to experience weird dreams. The blog Dreaming with Neko alleged it can make you dream about your past more often. You might see people in your dreams who you haven't seen in years, or end up dozing off and dreaming about an old argument you haven't thought of in a very long time. And, if you think about it, this makes sense. Mercury retrograde is known as a time of reflection when you're supposed to think about your past instead of moving towards the future. Since this is the best time to do that, it makes sense that your subconscious mind would go there while you're sleeping.
Dreaming with Neko also says that Mercury retrograde might lead to "false awakenings," which is when you feel like you're awake doing something, but you're actually dreaming. It's kind of like an optical illusion, and it feels pretty strange. That kind of confusion also makes sense, considering the way Mercury can eff with our minds during the retrograde period.
The other reason your dreams might be a little more weird in usual is that Mercury isn't the only planet retrograde right now. Four other planets are as well: Neptune, Saturn, Mars, and Pluto. Horoscope.com says that Mars retrograde can result in "first-person survival scenarios." This is because we feel frustrated with a lack of forward movements, and so our dreams are about situations we can't seem to escape.
Horoscope.com also says, "Dreams mixing Neptune and Mercury’s qualities might include public embarrassment, sudden realizations, or unusual conversations." On top of that, Saturn retrograde can leave us feeling some sort of burden in our dreams, or maybe cause us to dream about an argument with an authority figure.
Overall, Mercury retrograde will make you feel a little more groggy, and will cause you to dream about things from your past that you may not have thought about for a very long time. To give this a positive spin, think of it this way: it helps you reflect!
