Here's What It Means For Your Baby If They're Born While Mercury Is In Retrograde

In the land of star charts, natal signs, and all things mysterious and astrological, lies the looming dread some believers have over Mercury going into retrograde. Said to impact communication with others and communication with things — like temperamental cars and computers — a retrograde Mercury is a big jerk Mercury. However, it's reliably and predictably a big jerk, because it happens so frequently. But what effect could it have on someone who's new and fresh? I mean, babies' communication skills already suck, but could it get worse? What does it mean to be born while Mercury is in retrograde?

According to folklore, a lot of how it affects those born during retrograde has to do with what sign the retrograde is occurring under. That is to say, if you're born while Mercury is in retrograde during Taurus, it will affect you differently than someone who is born during this retrograde period which is happening during Capricorn. There are a few commonalities across the signs, though. According to Cafe Astrology, believers in the myths of change made via a retrograde Mercury contend that those born in Mercury are careful thinkers, they may doubt themselves more often than others, and they are quick on their feet when the case requires.

Being born during a period while Mercury is in retrograde is actually pretty common, and you can find out if you were born during this time by checking your natal chart. You scroll down your birth chart and look for Mercury and if there is an Rx beside the symbol, then you guessed it — you were born during Mercury in retrograde.

According to Astrograph, this retrograde period is a dynamic time because Capricorn is a dynamic sun sign. Children born during this stage are purported to become popular, methodic but adept, intrinsically energetic people. Let me tell you, my sister was apparently born during Capricorn retrograde (oddly, all of my siblings were born during retrograde), and while my big sister is brilliant and funny, she would absolutely rather not be popular, and instead hang back and chill with a few really good friends and her niece and nephew.

However, the Aries sun sign with a retrograde Mercury that I was born under? Fits me like a glove. We're said to be impulsive, but rational, enthusiastic, single-minded, and the life of the party. I am all of those things and more. In fact, I may owe the majority of my graduate school educational choices to Mercury. They were nothing if not rational and impulsive.

What does it mean to be born while Mercury is in retrograde the rest of the year? According to Astrology Booth, people born under a retrograde Mercury need to think things out all the way through, rip the blinders off, and get to the core of the matter before making a decision, because they can be fooled by the guises people and entities wear. They tend to be both too trusting and too skeptical when it comes to making decisions, requiring them to fully evaluate each option before moving forward.

If you're about to have a baby, it could be a fun experiment to have their natal chart drawn up after your baby's birth and see how it matches your tiny one's personality, especially as it evolves as your baby grows into a toddler and child. It could be like ticking items off of a chart. "Headstrong? Check. Creative? Check. Terrible at math and can't remember faces? Check." (OK, that last one might only apply to me.) Either way, having a birth chart done is a fun and interesting way to spend an afternoon, and really, what could it hurt?

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