The finish line is in sight, stargazers: The final Mercury retrograde of 2018, which began on November 16, will come to an end next Thursday, December 6. Those of you with major holiday plans later this month can breathe a (small) sigh of relief that they won't be directly affected by Mercury's backspin, but the messenger planet has one more trick up its sleeve before it goes direct for good this month.
This weekend, Mercury's reverse motion will take it from rambunctious Sagittarius to sly Scorpio, setting off a serious change in tone for this retrograde's last week.
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As anyone who has ever interacted with Sags and Scorps already knows, these signs are, er, quite different, despite being right next to each other on the Wheel of the Zodiac. Where the former is outgoing and enthusiastic, the latter tends to be private and intensely thoughtful — it's fair to reason that the effect Mercury retrograde has on our lives can be pretty different depending on which sign it's visiting. As astrologer Susan Miller writes on her site Astrology Zone, we need only look at Sagittarius and Scorpio's respective ruling elements to understand just how different the influence will feel to us.
Up until this weekend, the current Mercury retrograde has been in fire sign Sagittarius, and when this planetary retrograde expresses itself through this volatile element, you can expect short tempers and overblown reactions to abound. The upshot of a fire sign hosting Mercury retrograde is that our passions and creative drives are lit up, too, so we stand a pretty good chance at finding an innovative solution to whatever problems come our way.
As of this Sunday, however, we may take a turn for the introspective as Mercury glides into water sign Scorp. Miller writes that you're better off acting based on your instincts, rather than attacking challenges with logic, when Mercury retrograde occurs in a water sign. So, if you hit a rough patch with a friend or face a difficult decision before Mercury goes direct next Thursday, listen to what that little voice in your head is trying to tell you — that's where you'll probably find your solution.
Luckily, we won't experience another Mercury retrograde until March 2019. With any luck, 2018 will end on a relatively quiet, miscommunication-free note — as long as we can make it through next week with some Scorpionic grace and self-preservation.