Does Mercury in retrograde really cause chaos?

Is Mercury in retrograde? Tamara thought as she stared at her glitching phone.

Tamara couldn't get the app to work correctly. She was expected on her 3:00 PM call five minute ago. The app kept closing unexpectedly. Her computer also died this morning after producing strange symbols on the screen before going dark.

What is going on? 

Tamara's phone lite up suddenly. A text from Abby appeared, "Is Mercury in retrograde?? My car just died!"

"Yup," Tamara said aloud. "Sure seems that way!"

Mercury Retrograde often explains technological and situational chaos for those who follow astrology. "Think undelivered love letters, email blunders, and frazzled travel plans!" the Old Farmer's Almanac explains.

A few times a year, the planet Mercury appears to travel backward in the sky. The illusion has to do with the position of the Earth and its relationship to the planets. It doesn't travel backward, but the illusion is enough for some to expect frustrating and unavoidable turmoil.

Does Mercury in retrograde actually cause Earthly chaos? No, and yes.

This reality is one of "attraction," but more importantly, perception. The Law of Attraction states that like energies attract. This applies not only to experiences and people but also to ideas. 

The Law of Attraction isn't [to me] about attraction in the classical sense of the word. It isn't about one thing being drawn to another. It's about vibrational relativity.

Vibrational relativity is more about observing and witnessing things—people, situations, ideas, thoughts, and energies as they come (appear) and go (disappear) from your experience and recognizing you're the center of everything.

Vibrational relativity is similar to hearing what's playing on a radio station because you're tuned to it. If you're in vibrational proximity to people, thoughts, ideas, and situations, they "appear" in your reality.

Everything you experience in this reality is a vibrational translation. Your eyes, ears, nose, skin, and mouth are organs that translate vibrations into tangible experiences. The basis of this physical reality is vibration. You decipher it based on your current beliefs and perceptions.

The Law of Perception is a vital aspect of this reality. Your perception is everything. It's how you view yourself, your experiences, and how you assign control.

Example: Something must be messing with my life (Mercury Retrograde). How else could this be happening? I didn't ask for this!

Active beliefs directly affect how you perceive something. If you believe experiences, ideas, and people can be inserted into your life without you being vibrationally harmonic, it will appear as if something is happening outside your control. A feeling of being out of control breeds fear.

Example: "Mercury Retrograde (the illusory movements of a planet 90 million miles away planet) can negatively impact certain aspects of my life—causing chaos."

You will also seek external explanations if you believe you aren't in 100% control of your life. By "control," I don't mean you can control people or situations. I'm referring to your perception. You are always in 100% control of your perception. How you see something is up to you.

So no, Mercury retrograde does not cause negative life situations. It doesn't have the power to insert circumstances into your reality.

And yes, it might appear to be the only logical solution if you believe Mercury Retrograde can create chaos for you. Blame is automatically assigned to the illusion of a planet traveling backward. Your belief about control guides your experience and influences your perception.

If Mercury retrograde had positive astrological meaning, you would perceive it as helping. You would look for positive experiences and proclaim, "Look at my good luck!" When you assign it harmful properties, you perceive it as a disruptor.

Your POV is the key to solving the Mercury Retrograde mystery of whether or not it can cause chaos in our life. 

Every experience contains positive, negative, and neutral. The meaning of anything depends on your POV.

Your perception is the central creative ingredient in life. How you perceive something creates emotion; when things feel real, it reinforces an active belief.

If your active belief says a planet's illusionary behavior causes chaos (assigning blame) and there's nothing you can do about it, you think, feel, and act accordingly. This is what a belief is—a repeating emotionalized thought. The intensity of emotion reveals the "strength" of an active belief.

Seth said, "You create your reality."

Seth is a multidimensional personality construct channeled by Jane Roberts in the 1960s and 70s. Seth explained the nature of existence. They spoke about consciousness and its creative properties educating on the true nature of this time-space reality.

We are all 100% Nonphysical consciousness experiencing a transient state of physicality. We only hold the physical gaze briefly—somewhere between 0-100 years, but it's an intense experience.

What you believe and how you perceive create your experiences. Everything experienced in physical reality is happening INSIDE your consciousness as a projection. There is no outside, despite it seeming very real.

If there is no outside, and all experience is happening inside the "boundaries" of your consciousness, there is nothing external being inserted. There is only that which is perceived inside All-That-Is.

Everything is here, within the ethos and boundless multiverse. Your perception translates all that you are vibrational harmonious with in that One Moment.

The effects of Mercury Retrograde are within the confines of your awareness. While the planet exists as a physical and energetic construct, its effects on your life are up to you.

Mechanically speaking, Mercury never inserts "chaotic manifestations" into your experience (there is no Law of Insertion, only Law of Perception (i.e., Law of Attraction) in this reality). It exists within its reality, and you observe that reality. What you take away from each co-creative experience depends on you.

What you observe from external energies and experiences will mirror your current active beliefs. In other words, apparent external experiences mirror your current active beliefs.

Let's say that instead of Mercury Retrograde, you believe that butterfly migration can negatively influence your life. You've heard of the "butterfly effect," and now you're nervous about its potentially harmful influence. When migration occurs, you become fearful, and it seems like the only logical explanation when stuff goes wrong. Why else would this weird stuff be happening? A + B = C.

Depending on where in the world you live, butterfly migrations happen several times a year on different dates. Your friend sent you several projected dates created by a reputable Lepidopterologist indicating when to look out for trouble.

Several months passed without much thought about the migration dates. Then one day, you lost your keys, someone dented your car, and your meet-cute was canceled. Checking social media, you realize many people are experiencing weird phenomena, none of which is positive.

Everyone seems to be posting about "butterfly migration," so you check the dates. They line up. Aha! It must be the cause of all the chaos!

If you can see the "obviousness" regarding Mercury Retrograde but not butterfly migrations, that awareness reveals your current belief about planetary influence. And it's always good to know what active beliefs you have.

Next time someone talks about weird stuff happening and Mercury Retrograde, tune into how you feel and what you believe. Ask yourself, "Do I believe I create my reality?" or "Do I believe negative stuff can be inserted into my reality by illusionary planetary backward movements?"

As the author, I have no judgment about active beliefs. It's not about one belief being better than another. It's not better to believe in Mercury Retrograde than to not believe. Determining what beliefs you want to hold onto and what beliefs you want to change is more critical than what someone else believes.

If believing in Mercury Retrograde positively influences your life, and you're pleased with the outcomes, then keep that belief active. If you feel the belief negatively influences your life, examining it catalyzes change. Ask yourself, 'What would I need to believe is true ABOUT MYSELF regarding this idea, situation, or experience to FEEL the way I do right now?"

Allow the negative belief to expose itself so you can examine it. Upon examination, it's clear that the belief is nothing more than a repetitious thought with emotion attached. Decide what you'd prefer to believe and put energy into that instead. Look for proof of your newly focused energy (belief) and congratulate yourself on growing awareness.