Aligned for Mercury Retrograde

If you’re following along with astrology these days you might think you are weary of so many retrograde planets, and now Mercury comes along to join the fray. Outer planets are retrograde for much of each year. But this year, 2020 we also have Venus retrograde (now) and Mars to come (September – November). Last month Venus Jupiter and Saturn all went retrograde within days of each other. Astrological front page news! What it seems to mean is that we are on shaky ground (no surprise) and we can’t really tell where we are  headed. As Mercury adds the trickster touch we have two choices (as they often say..) We can panic, feel out of sorts, and worry anxiously about things we can’t control or we can do something else. We can tune in to the fact that Mercury is retrograde in Cancer and that is a sign of security. We can think about what makes us secure and insecure. We can think about what we can and can’t do about this. Most importantly we can do what we can to help those we resonate with feel more secure. That might be about your family but it may also be about people suffering in a particular way that calls to you; homelessness, food insecurity, children, women, refugees; the list is as long as the circumference of the earth. The trick, if there is one is to stay afloat. Not to drown in problems but to reasonably consider what you have available that might nourish someone. Maybe you have heard the parable of the long spoons. In each of two locations people are given access to food, but the utensils are too unwieldy to serve oneself with. In hell the people cannot cooperate, and consequently starve. In heaven,  the diners feed one another across the table and are sated.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory_of_the_long_spoons

As Mercury journeys through its retrograde phase it will make only one strong aspect to another planet which is a square to Mars on July 8. This is easily a time of contention. Choose your battles. No tilting at windmills. It will also conjunct the Sun as it always does when retrograde, June 30^th. An excellent day to listen and see what messages call to you from the deep. 

Mercury will go direct on July 12^th  as the Sun trines Neptune. A good day to move ahead with a sense of how you can care for those around you as well as yourself. By this time Venus will be moving away from whatever her retrograde lessons were and Mars will be moving into to his. Mercury direct suggests that it’s time to see what gives.

Warm regards, 

Julie 

Shadow begins: Feb. 03 until Februry 16 2020
Mercury is Retrograde February 17 – March 10, 2020
Shadow Fades: March 11-Mar. 30 2020

This Mercury retrograde starts in Pisces but ends in Aquarius. These are the two most overarching and collective signs, suggesting that all of humanity are one. We like to think of that spiritually and in terms of political or social well being not to mention all humanitarian considerations. At this time we seem to be experiencing our collective oneness in anxiety producing ways, the most obvious being the virus which is slowly spreading throughout the entire world.

This retrograde period offers us an opportunity to step back and remind ourselves about all the good ways that we are one: one human family but also one living planet. It’s a perfect time to dive deeply into our connections with others and to acknowledge our hopes and fears of the future. As we do that we might consider how compassion for ourselves as well as others is the most peaceful and secure way to move into the future.

It also may be a good time to delve into your favorite flavor of science fiction or fantasy. We are the future of someone else’s past.

Julie Simmons, Astrologer

What area of your life will be affected by this retrograde energy?   Align with the best of Mercury Retrograde this year andjoin our alignment sessions at the webstore.

This particular Mercury retrograde period seems to start with a bang which I truly hope is not literal! Here is what I posted on facebook:

The gods (planets) are not in a good mood. You can tell when you tune into the news of the world or even your own sense of safety and security.
Our mandate as humans is to express the energies with as much kindness and as little reactivity as we can muster. This is not the same as pretending we don’t feel what we feel. It’s about not  hurling those feelings at the projection screen of our lives.
Mercury is gearing up for a pretty hot retrograde (July 7. Conjunct Mars, square Uranus).
That’s how it is in the ‘above’. Here in the ‘below’ we dance but we choose our steps, whether we think so or not.  

The astrology of Mercury stationery so close to Mars as it approaches an exact square to Uranus is like a finger pointing to the issues of reactivity, which is Mars’ specialty. To be human is to react. To be aware requires us to hold back on our reactivity and let the river flow until we are prompted to respond, not react. Uranus is explosive and revolutionary at its core. It’s as though Mars and Mercury are shaking their fist at Uranus and saying, ‘Enough already! Let’s do it!’ It’s about frustration, never a good starting place for action.  

I have very little to say about the ‘state of the world’. Just like everyone else I am fascinated and frightened by it all. And astrology reminds me over and over that each individual matters. How we behave in our own, small sphere of influence creates the ripples that bring change or not.

The intensity of this period peaks with the exact square of Mars and Uranus on July 11^th. After that it’s more of a regular retrograde period. Time to be in the flow rather than grabbing at things. Mercury will move back into Cancer on the 19^th and it will station at 23 degrees of Cancer which is opposite the conjunction of Saturn and Pluto in January 2020. That conjunction is big news in Astrology-ville so we should all catch a glimpse of the shape of things to come with the station at the end of July. We might be thinking in terms of security for our family, chosen or given. An increase in tribalism would be the worst… a sense of nurturing and fostering connections in our local environs would be most optimal.

The most important day of any Mercury retrograde period is the conjunction with the Sun which happens on July 21^st. This is the day when we might ‘hear’ a message from the depths prompting us to move in one direction or another. It’s subtle and only comes from stillness.

Mercury will conjunct Venus on July 24^th which is generally thought to be a time for art and poetry, music and expression of feelings. The shadow of Mercury retrograde period which suggest a time to put in order the things which were disordered or difficult while Mercury was retrograde, lasts until August 16^th.

You can read more about Mercury’s aspects at Insights for the Month. 

Warm regards,

Julie