Image via the Alex and Ani Blog

My friends. We've made it.

Mercury's latest retrograde, which ran from July 7-31st, kind of sent my life spinning out of control, and perhaps it did the same thing to yours. Actually, over the past three weeks here in NYC, everything has felt even more out of whack than usual, what with the heat waves and the power outages followed by torrential rainstorms.

But at some point around midnight last night, when July 31st slipped into August 1st, I felt a weight lift. This morning, when I remembered that Mercury finished its retrograde period, I wasn't surprised.

This year's Mercury Retrograde started in fire-sign Leo and ended in water-sign Cancer, if you care about these sorts of things. If you don't, you may still have some respect for the idea that there is power in convincing yourself that everything in your life is controlled by the stars.

Image via TrendMap

So, what actually is Mercury Retrograde? It doesn't actually mean that Mercury is going backward. Mercury is much closer to the sun than Earth, so its orbit is far shorter, and during retrograde periods Mercury just zips right on past Earth, and appears to be going backwards for around three weeks.

Astrologically speaking, Mercury rules communication—writing, talking, negotiating, contracts, etcetera—and so when it gets off kilter, order and communication supposedly go haywire. During retrograde periods, you're not supposed to sign leases, start new jobs, close in on deals, or launch new plans. If you had to do something like this, just make sure to read the fine print and be prepared for things to veer off course.

Mercury Retrograde was a good time for going back to your roots and staying grounded. Now that it's over, you can start to push towards the future. The next Mercury Retrograde period won't start until October 31st, so we've got some time to recuperate and set the autumn into motion.

We are now in Leo season, and there will be a full moon in Aquarius, which might mean something to you, or not. According to the astrology experts over at Refinery 29, now is a good time to begin to look over the messes and bad decisions you might've made during the retrograde period. It won't all be smooth sailing: You might have to live with some of the fallout from those mishaps during this time. There may be serious drama, especially because now Mercury is moving into emotional Cancer and Leo, but play your cards right, and that drama will be accompanied by metamorphosis.

Until Halloween brings a retrograde in Scorpio (God, help us), we're out of the astrological woods. So, take a deep breath and get ready to start the rest of your life.