Why Was Pop Music So Obsessed With Mercury in Retrograde This Year?

Astrology is—scientifically speaking—a whole bunch of bologna. That aspects of our personalities and livelihoods could be affected by the course of celestial bodies’ indifferent orbits is complete fantasy. Yet, we puny humans are easily entertained and constantly searching for meaning—a dangerous combination—and what better place to derive some existential significance than the vast heavens above?

What was maybe a few decades ago considered a kooky fad is now a full-blown millennial lifestyle. Whether you take the stars seriously (like one Phoebe Bridgers) or you’re just curious (like me), you probably flirt with a horoscope every now and then. The internet makes it virtually impossible not to—just about every lifestyle brand on Instagram cashes in on astrology memes (not to mention the accounts that are solely dedicated to the cause), while Twitter is positively aflutter with sign jokes. Do I really believe that Venus sextiling with Neptune will yield me creative clarity and financial freedom in the month of December? Of course not. But will I click through this entire Refinery 29 gallery until I hit the Aquarius slide, just to have a little peak for funsies? Absolutely. It is in fact possible to take unadulterated delight in astrology even if you’re a non-believer, ok?! The Atlantic even says so.

Since millennials are so obsessed with their birth signs and coinciding forecasts, it makes perfect sense that artists of our generation frequently take inspiration from the planets. Few have pulled it off as well as Soccer Mommy’s Sophie Allison, who wrote the astrology song of the decade in last year’s heart-wrenching “Scorpio Rising.” “I’m just a victim of changing planets, my Scorpio rising and my parents,” she sings, reminding us that even if we’re not beholden to a solar system’s schedule, there’s still so much out of our control.

However, in 2019, pop and rock artists went a little wild with referencing a different astrological phenomenon. Enter Mercury, our Solar System’s smallest and most unassuming player. She may be small, but, according to astrologists, Mercury is capable of causing a whole lot of trouble in your personal life at certain times during the calendar. When Mercury is in retrograde, or “retrograding,” it appears to move backwards across the sky, though the boomerang effect is actually just an illusion visible only to us here on earth. Mercury’s retrograde has been associated with bad luck and hard times dating back to farmers almanacs published in the mid-18th century, per a recent Mental Floss examination, and astrology-minded folks still dread it like tax season. Car break down? Dating life in a mess? Spill your coffee on the train? Between Oct. 31-Nov. 20, 2019, you could’ve blamed all this and more on Mercury.

Kentucky country singer Sturgill Simpson casts Mercury as responsible for a whole host of unlucky occurrences, most of which relate to touring life, on his bluntly-titled song “Mercury In Retrograde,” a dazzling cut from his recently released album SOUND & FURY. It’s a sharp look at problems musicians face on tour and otherwise, like the artist/fan dynamic, loneliness on the road and music industry bullshit, all things that are becoming increasingly relevant in Simpson’s life as he plays bigger and bigger arenas. He has no time for fake relationships: “Mercury must be in retrograde again,” Simpson sings in the chorus, “but at least it’s not just hangin’ around, pretendin’ to be my friend.” Damn. Now there’s some astrology discourse with heat.