The very same day that the sun enters Virgo, it’s planetary ruler, Mercury, enters the pre-retrograde zone. Then, Mercury retrograde fully begins on September 9 in Libra. “This means that the whole month ahead will be met with major miscommunications, trauma, travel issues, and texts from our exes,” says Lisa Stardust, astrologer and author of The Love Deck. “The good news is that this can be a time of reflection and understanding — if we are open to hearing out other people and looking inwards.” We say this often, but retrogrades aren’t all bad — they allow us to relearn and reevaluate what’s going on in our lives, and coupled with the work ethic of Virgo season, it may be for the best.