You've probably been hearing the phrase "Mercury in retrograde" lately and wondered what the heck it could possibly mean. In astrological terms, Mercury in retrograde is a period of time when the planet Mercury turns in the opposite direction, which happens several times throughout the year. In astrology, Mercury is considered to rule over the mind and communication, which is why things (supposedly) tend to get a bit crazy during periods of retrograde.

If Mercury in retrograde allows me to use even more Ryan Gosling memes than usual, please sign me up.

Since Mercury in retrograde is said to cause communication mishaps and less than ideal decision-making skills, it is typically advised that people do not make any significant decisions in these areas during this time since they may be more prone to slip ups than usual. Anything from not making big agreements (moving in with someone new, starting a new job, making big career moves at work, etc.) to avoiding traveling is recommended.

To make things even more complicated, Mercury in retrograde affects people differently based on their zodiac signs and birth charts (birth charts are detailed charts of all of a person's signs--- yes, you have more than one!). Even though Mercury in retrograde sounds like an utter annoyance, it isn't completely terrible. While it may mess with our communication for a short period of time, phases of Mercury in retrograde can be beneficial in that they can allow us to step back and think through the decisions we make on a day to day basis. In some ways, Mercury in retrograde can help us get more in touch with ourselves and save us from making bad decisions that we may have gone through with otherwise.

In case you were wondering, these are the dates that Mercury will go into retrograde in 2017:

• January 1 to 9
• April 9 to May 3
• August 13 to September 5
• December 3 to 23

Luckily, Mercury in retrograde only lasts for a couple of weeks, so you don't have to suffer through it for too long. Whether or not you genuinely believe in astrology, horoscopes, or zodiac signs, or simply just do way too much research on it in your free time because you think it's fun (like me), it doesn't hurt to keep Mercury in retrograde in mind. So go ahead, blame Mercury for all of your problems while you still can this month. At the very least you won't feel as bad about the things that you managed to mess up on your own...Thanks, Mercury!