The Astrological Reason Holiday Travel Will Still Be A Mess Post-Mercury Retrograde

It's no secret that Mercury's retrograde period complicates already complicated holiday travel plans (and also everything else), but a lesser known fact is how Mercury's retroshade period will affect holiday travel. Spoiler alert: getting from point A to point B will be harder to navigate, and chances are, you won't get there in one piece. That said, with a little bit of foresight and careful planning, you'll be able to get to where you're going, eventually.

Just as Mercury's retrograde period ends on November 20, the planet goes into its retroshade period until December 7, which is a transitional stage it enters before moving into prograde (aka normal programming). While there isn't as much backward energy pushing against us during retroshade as there is during retrograde, momentum is still hard to grasp. According to astrologer Lisa Stardust, we're basically locked into this foggy mindset where it's hard to remember basic things, like packing your passport, and the little details that are most important, like what day your flight is.

Without any extra planetary stressors, holiday travel is stressful. Even with excellent planning and organization, there's a lot of room for things to go wrong. So when you add retroshade energy into the mix, which makes us feel sluggish and easily overwhelmed by minor complications, we're bound to make more mistakes than usual. You have to be pretty clear-headed and motivated to leave your home in order, pack efficiently, make your way through a crowded transportation facility without losing something, forgetting something, and misunderstanding some key detail that's essential to getting you to your destination. With so much on your mind to juggle en route, the retroshade fog is bound to make holiday travel, for Thanksgiving especially, problematic.

While it's almost impossible to predict what kinds of issues you'll run into (seriously, everything is fair game), Stardust suggests adding the following steps to your travel plans to decrease you chances of having a mishap:

Pack & Plan Early

Do not rely on yourself to pack efficiently. Stardusts suggests packing at least a day in advance, using a checklist, and going through everything once more before zipping up your luggage before your trip. Any other time of year you might be able to rely on your instincts to pack obvious things like your wallet, your ID, your passport, your phone charter, but during retroshade, you're not you. You're not thinking about these things because you're overwhelmed with stress and confusion. So even if you're a seasoned packer and traveler, make a list like you've never left the house before and use it as a compass.

Leave Earlier

You mother has been warning you your whole life to leave earlier for the airport and you've been ignoring her, but during retroshade you actually should listen to her. You're not the only one with a foggy brain right now, your cab driver is foggy, the airport staff is foggy, and so is everyone else wading through the terminal. The earlier you leave, the more time you have to spare for mishaps. The last thing you need right now is to be rushing. According to Stardust, giving yourself ample time will actually allow you to think more clearly, because your brain won't be fending off stress.

Share Your Itinerary

Make sure you let a friend or family member know about your travel plans. There's as good chance your trip will be delayed, re-routed or even cancelled. To reduce the amount of chaos that causes, make sure that people on both ends of your destination are aware of your itinerary so that they can help you if you need them to.

Though it's a pain to have to put in all of this extra energy and effort, you're going to be glad you did when you get to your destination and can finally relax. Once December 7 rolls around, we'll be free of the mercurial complications and we'll be able to enjoy Sagittarius season for all of the fun-loving sociable opportunities and adventures it offers.