Mercury Retrograde
Mercury (ruler of Gemini, Virgo, exalted in Aquarius), Element Air, Throat Chakra, Communication, Truth, Reason, Rationality, Integrity, Clarity, Turquoise, Lapis Lazuli, Larimar, Tea Tree Oil, Chamomile, Numerology-3.
Mercury Retrograde is likened to being caught in a turnstile or a revolving door with an accident waiting to happen. Mercury goes retrograde 3 or 4 times a year for a 3 week duration so it’s a familiar tune, rerun and scene we come to know and despise! Mercury retrograde is a fairly pedestrian term most are familiar with. It’s all about a repeat, redo, retry, reconnect, repair, research, resolve, revise, reverse, revisit and anything with a prefix of re-replay, return, reconfigure, release, re evaluate, rewrite, rethink, resign, repair, retrofit, renovate…
Mercury in mythology is the messenger of the gods also known as the trickster up to his little schemes to throw us off course and play with our heads with these disconnects. Whatever happens during Mercury retro is going to have you turn a few circular spins making you feel stuck in a perpetual “Groundhog Day”. Starting anything under a Mercury retrograde has usually had the reputation of bad timing as the processes are in the mires of the past and its usually the case that what was started will need to be fixed once Mercury moves forward.
Especially avoid any major actions such as buying a car, signing contracts or purchasing computers or communications equipment unless you have no choice. There is a lag motion at this time, as the clarity and precision of a Mercury in motion is missing, often with miscalculations and the finer weeding and sifting process. It becomes a time best to fix and edit and finish what was already started before Mercury went retro and to resolve unfinished business. Essentially, Mercury retrograde is giving you that second chance to refine matters and possibly learn something you missed.
Mercury enters a shadow and station period critical in the cycle which carries the cycle into a further duration beyond the 3 week time frame. As Mercury begins to slow down during the shadow phase and turns around during the station where Mercury sits at a degree point going direct is where many of the Mercury retrograde mayhem gets stirred up. Weather patterns are usually shifting during the cycle which affects travel. While in retrograde motion, the quality of Mercury is skewed.
Mercury is the natural ruler of the 3rd house, associated with Gemini. It is the house of learning, teaching, speaking, communication, writing, computers, phones, accidents, short trips and travel, weather, commerce, shopping, merchants, siblings, neighborhoods and neighbors. Mercury is the razor sharp grasp of an essential impartial reason of intellect. It also rules motion and movement hence its connection to accidents. It sees through the haze, cloud and skirts and dodges emotional tangles and ruffles.
Mercury also rules the 6th house of health, work, pets and routine, associated with Virgo. It also can bring up a time when you don’t feel at your best, where energies may feel thwarted and stalled. Mercury rules Gemini and Virgo and rules rational thinking, mental processing and sorting, reasoning, impartiality, curiosity and multitasking. Because Mercury is the most direct link to the mind and mental processes, consciousness and the ability to become aware and conscious gets a ready pointer with Mercury where, during the retrograde cycle, we witness many of the hazards of conscious awareness take a nose dive. The gift of Mercury retrograde is to force the hand of consciousness to make us aware of those areas we let get caught up on auto pilot.
At this time communications break down with traffic jams, nervous tics, car stalls, weather shifts, accidents, lost messages, losing voices, phones and keys are lost or the all too common locking keys in the car or dropping our cell phone in the toilet. Anytime Mercury goes retrograde we can be certain there will be some snags, delays, reversals, redoes in anything Mercury related with communication, meetings, writing, speaking, short distance travel and issues with computer crashes and glitches. Good time to back up data and a time to fine tune your messaging, communications, get your facts straight, review and edit. Retrogrades are a great time to have another shot at refining and repositioning giving points to gather that may have been missed had you not had the second look. If Mercury is hitting a sweet spot in your chart, you can look forward to some pleasant repeats.
Depending on the sign Mercury is retrograde in will point to where you find the rehash or relapse whether through your 10th house of career, to your 6th house of health, pets, work or to your 7th house of relationships. People and events or times from the past often pop up again whether old loves, friends, connections, past haunts and places with a sense of deja vu. The concentration will posit some focus for you to deal with extra mental attention.
Mercury Retrograde through the signs and houses:
Mercury in Aries and the 1st house. Taking initiative in communications may be thwarted or halted, checking self absorbed, competitive and one sided communication tendencies. Energies may be restrained and held back. Typical to lose patience and tempers at this time and to speak fast forcing tempered speech and improved listening skills. Headaches or head injuries and eye ailments, accidents from rash action. Rethinking leadership tactics or taking a new direction. Watch speeding and sharp objects.
Mercury in Taurus and the 2nd house. Retakes on finances and rethinking values. Communications can become more stubborn and obstinate. Delays in payments or reversals in income levels. Health issues with the neck, thyroid or the throat as well as the voice. Common to lose one`s voice at this time.
Mercury in Gemini and the 3rd house. Issues with neighbors, siblings and short trips, phones, computers and busy commuting with traffic jams. Communications become busy with much multitasking and juggling. Health issues to the arms, hands, shoulders, lungs, hiccups, frazzled nerves and curiosity killing the cat.
Mercury in Cancer and the 4th house. Communications around family, home, home repairs, emotions, mother, food and nurturing. Stomach ailments, sensitive reactions, protective and turned inward.
Mercury in Leo and the 5th house. Communications around children, performing, recreation, creativity, the ego and love affairs. Communications can become dramatic and animated. Health around the heart and the upper back, heart ache and heart break. Fires, burns and inflammation.
Mercury in Virgo and the 6th house. Communication infused with detail, fastidious and fussy. Health issues with the digestion, intestines and general assimilation. Issues with pets, work, health.
Mercury in Libra and the 7th house. Communications center around fairness, cooperation, relationships, diplomacy and social etiquette. Health issues with the lower back, diabetes and the kidneys.
Mercury in Scorpio and the 8th house. Communication snags and delays with taxes, debts, shared resources, inheritance. Health issues with the reproductive organs, sexuality and elimination, toxicity, poison and you can expect communications to have a hissing tone.
Mercury in Sagittarius and the 9th house. Communications with travel, legal issues, religion, beliefs, expansion and growth. Communications are blunt, loud (squawking) direct and the focus is on honesty and typically the case of TMI (too much information). Health around the hips, thighs and liver.
Mercury in Capricorn and the 10th house. Communications with career, authority, government, parental and public figures. Discipline, realism and consequences figure in strong at this time. Health with the skin, knees, arthritis and depression.
Mercury in Aquarius and the 11th house. Communications with friends, community, groups and sudden, unusual, erratic change, Tourette syndrome. Health issues with the ankles, arteries and circulation.
Mercury in Pisces and the 12th house. Issues with addiction, forgetfulness, distortion, misunderstandings, deception, woolgathering and delusion. Health issues with the feet, blurred vision, insomnia and mental fog. Leaks, slipping and flooding. Dreams and imagination may be more vivid and pronounced.
Find out where Mercury is taking you for a ride this month and how your natal Mercury helps or hinders your communication processes with an astrology reading.