Mercury retrograde is back Nov 9–29, and before you clutch your pearls and your Wi‑Fi router, hear me out: this can be a really good time to get curious. Not doom, not drama—just a season for asking better questions and noticing what wants to shift. Curiosity takes the edge off change. It turns “why is this happening to me?” into “what if this is giving me a nudge?”

The timing is chef’s kiss because it lands right as holiday plans kick in. Traditions are wonderful—until “that’s how we’ve always done it” becomes the house rule no one remembers voting on. Menus, game-day requirements, decorations, the exact placement of the nutcracker brigade… these expectations can help us connect when we don’t see each other often. They give the gathering a backbone. But rituals were born from circumstances, not commandments. The pan was smaller once. The kids were younger. Aunt Lisa worked nights. When someone suggests a tweak and everyone gasps in unison, that’s your retrograde bell ringing. This is the perfect window to review what stays, what softens, and what can gracefully retire. Mercury’s trickster energy actually helps here—curiosity loosens the rules just enough to let something new slip in.

Case in point: the classic ham story. A newlywed follows a tattered family recipe and asks, “Why do I have to cut three inches off the end?” One aunt says it braises better. Another swears it’s all fat. A third shrugs, “We’ve always done it this way.” Eventually she asks the original recipe author, a great‑aunt who wanders in after a few years away. The verdict: “Honey, I cut it off because it didn’t fit in my pan.” Tradition: explained. Curiosity: vindicated.

So, during this Nov 9–29 retrograde, try a gentle audit of your holiday habits. Not a courtroom cross‑examination—more like a curious tour.

Try this: name one ritual you adore and why it still feeds you; name one that secretly drains you and what tiny tweak would help; name one you’re ready to retire and what meaningful thing could take its place. If you’re feeling brave, ask the room: what tradition did we invent for a problem that doesn’t exist anymore?

Journal sparks for this Mercury Retrograde: where am I acting on autopilot? what am I scared will happen if we change this? what tiny action would make this a little kinder or a bit easier?

Retrograde doesn’t mean break everything. It means review, revise, and re‑align with what’s real right now. If you sprinkle in curiosity, even the trickster energy becomes an ally.

For more on the flavor of this retrograde, Julie Simmons has a thoughtful read: https://alignedformercuryretrograde.com/2025/10/14/mercury-retrograde-in-scorpio-insights-and-reflections/

What’s one tradition you’re curious to test‑drive differently this year?

With Light and Love

Carolyn Winter

Life Repatterning Coach