Late-19th-century British astrology periodicals

On Mercury retrograde: The Astrologer's Magazine; The Science of the Stars

According to Mental Floss, late-19th-century British publications such as The Astrologer's Magazine and The Science of the Stars connected Mercury retrograde with heavy rainfall. Only a handful of articles called it an ill omen, and the link to outright disaster was less common then than today. The same article says Mercury retrograde was written about in astrology circles from the mid-18th century and noted in British agricultural almanacs.