A little something from ECLIPSE:

Mercury Retrograde The Messenger retrograded on the 6th at 1:43 PM Pacific time at 3 Pisces 20, and during his backward trip re-enters Aquarius; in the Whole Sign chart, this means a definite change of Houses occurs, emphasizing the shift in atmosphere with a shift in area of expression, as well. Starting the Mercurial journey in Water suggests the first issues that surface will be emotional ones, likely seeming to intrude on the mind either from the larger Collective or from one’s own overactive imagination. At the point of turnaround Merc is in close aspect to nothing else (the conjunction to Neptune isn’t technically perfected, and so lacks oomph or relevancy, yet). This implies the possibility that we may enter the retrograde receiving emotional messages or info that we are completely unable to process mentally—and this suggests, upset or ecstasy, that we will be hard pressed to understand or communicate our feelings, leading to unavoidable frustration. Then Merc retreats to Aquarius, and the mind may suddenly unscramble the earlier emotional reactions, with the current danger that we will go too far toward intellectualizing—and so distance ourselves from feelings we really need to deal with. When Merc turns, just let the emotions happen—it’s normal for a Merc retro period to make understanding difficult, so don’t try—and when the mind is suddenly up and running again upon Merc’s entry into Aquarius (albeit with lots of short circuits, thanks to the retro!) you will (almost without any effort) get a handle on the preceding emotions—then the trick is to not talk yourself out of your feelings—which will be the most likely temptation as Merc moves backward through Aquarius

And from the Search Terms grab-bag:

“getting laid off in Mercury retrograde”

Since this term showed up before the actual start of the retro this afternoon, I’m wondering if this individual is anticipating bad news–and that means, you knew something, even if it was only through your spidey-sense, that told you it’s coming. The real focus, then, might need to be on what happened during Venus retrograde (21 December 2013-31 January 2014). Since this clearly affects the income, I think detective work on matters that manifested during the Venus turnaround is called for, as that will likely reveal the true issue. If you’re wondering if a layoff during Merc retro has particular consequences, the answer is yes; as an employer, making a hiring or firing decision during such a cycle means that you may be drawing conclusions from incomplete information, that you may not be assessing individuals correctly, and that you almost certainly will change your opinion of your choice after direction. For the person who receives such news, you can bet that you don’t know the real reasons behind it, and you may receive some satisfaction in the idea that your employer will probably regret moving on it at this time–though of course, you may never know that for sure. There is also the possibility that, if you did receive signals of a potential job loss before the retrograde, the actual commencement of the retro period may bring a change of mind, a re-consideration, that could nix previous decisions. So, don’t despair yet–and if it does come to pass, embrace the idea that something not so great is being removed from your life (albeit forcibly) to make room for something much better.