Nowadays, it seems like more people are talking about Mercury retrograde. For sure. It is because Mercury will retrograde four times in 2023, and the third time is coming soon. First of all, let me talk about the term Mercury retrograde, which is from astrology and shares the same roots as horoscope. In fact, the horoscope that everyone often talks about is the simplified version of astrology. So you can say that Mercury retrograde is related to your horoscope. Those who don't work hard when they are young and blame Mercury retrograde when they grow up, are actually very knowledgeable.
Since the 19th century BC, the planets mentioned in astrology (actually including stars) only talks about the stars in the solar system. Even elementary school students know this, how can the planets run backwards? Mercury retrograde must be a lie, isn't it? Yes, planets don't run in reverse, but Mercury retrograde isn't a lie either. Because in modern science, the solar system is viewed with the sun as the center, and the planets in the solar system revolve around the sun in a single direction. The other planets besides Uranus even orbit almost on the same plane. That's science, and it's a fact. Oh...by the way, the earth is round (even people in the 19th century BC knew it).
So, how do we explain Mercury retrograde? That's because, in the age of astrology, the earth is viewed as the center of the universe. If you take the earth as the center, because of the optical illusion, you will see that the planet is moving backwards for a certain period of time. So from the viewpoint of astrology, only the moon and the sun will never retrograde. It is because the earth revolves around the sun, and the moon revolves around the earth, so when the earth is the center, the sun and the moon will never seem moving backwards.
Astrology looks at the positions of the stars in the sky at the time of your birth, and must be accurate to the minute: classical astrology looks at the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Modern astrology would include Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. And most of the horoscopes only take regard at the sun, so without taking the whole picture in regards, I'll be surprised if the daily horoscope gives accurate prediction each day, though some people may say it is very accurate.
In astrology, in addition to looking at the position of the stars on the day of birth, the optical angle and combination of the zodiac houses, constellations and planets in the perspective, PLUS the coordinates of your birthplace on earth...AND! If you are predicting this week's fortune, you also need to take regards to the position of the stars, houses and constellations of each day in the week, and then cross-reference with the astrolabe on the day you were born to see if there is any special information. So "Horoscope" is actually very complicated if you take it seriously. And the impact of Mercury retrograde will not be the same for everyone. Besides Mercury retrograde, there are Mars retrograde, Venus retrograde etc - the faster the planet travels, the shorter the retrograde time.
In fact, Western astrology, Chinese fortune-telling, or the Enneagram of personality based on your date of birth (not the one you answer questions in a test), are all related to the stars in the sky in their analysis. There are differences between them, but they basically share the same root. After all, everyone on earth is looking at the same blue sky above us