A New Look At Mercury Retrograde in Pisces in February 2007 - What Is It Good For?

by Robert Wilkinson

I'm often asked what Mercury retrograde is good for. We all know we're NOT supposed to sign contracts, make purchases of electronics, make major moves or decisions, and are supposed to hang out with the energies, seeing that things may not be as they appear, and so on. That said, there is much that a Mercury retrograde period is good for, such as traveling, research, and other important things.

I have found that as long as one is flexible, retrograde travel is actually a good thing. So is research, reflection, review, rehearsals, and returns from the past. It's also a great time for reconnecting with old friends, finding people and things thought lost, It's a great time to explore possibilities, as long as no definitive decisions are made, since they are usually modified or reversed later on.

It's a good time for doing things left undone, or neglected, from previous times. It's good for resuming something from the past, as long as you remember that it may not look like it used to, or requires a different approach than before. It's also good for doing things that fill in gaps in understanding or activity, or for doing things that seem to go in one direction but lead you to entirely new information and understanding.

It's a good time for resuming things begun in previous retrograde periods, or for picking up threads that had to be set aside while other things developed. It usually indicates a time when you need to be able to build in a time lag with whatever you're doing, since retrogrades often show that there are things yet to develop that will ultimately fill in whatever is missing in the present.

In my book, "A New Look At Mercury Retrograde," I included a chapter on Mercury retrograde in the signs. Obviously what sign Mercury retrogrades through makes a huge amount of difference in what is appropriate during that period. Since it is going retrograde in Pisces, I'll offer you some possible manifestations of what we may expect, regardless of what Sun sign we are or which house(s) it moves through in our individual chart. That said, here's a bit about Mercury retrograde in Pisces from the book.

In Pisces, Mercury's energies show down to retink in a movie-watching or witness mode. It is over-attracted to the past and re-examines endings and universals that may be beyond words. It is in an intuitive mode, and not quite sure of what it is seeing, hearing, or knowing.

There may be visions from the distant past, as information is constantly coming in from the collective consciousness or Collective Unconscious. This position is highly receptive to subtle signals from the subconscious, whether one's own or that of another. There is often a lack of clarity about these signals and their meaning, resulting in ambivalence or an inability to decide anything with certainty.

There may be feelings like being lost in a fog, pressure drops into sorrow, as the mind is shifting in empathy with its environment. Mercury here is able to become a living conscience witnessing the universal human experience. This position reasons intuitively, sees whole situations, but may have a hard time communicating satisfactorily. There is an atmospheric sensitivity and an environmental impressionability. In Pisces, Mercury retrograde can offer a gift of visionary poetry, and use a subtle sense of humor to communicate universal truths.

Mercury in Pisces is in its own 7th sign. Here compassion is a constant self-renewing opportunity, and deceit a constant self-renewing judgment. Here one sees the equality of all beings and the universality of human experiences through all times. This position offers the opportunity to witness another's selfhood, or balance another's karma through offering alternatives.

It is also in its own 10th sign, offering compassion as its own fulfillment and the culmination of the communication process. There may also be deceitfulness that will inevitably show itself in some public way. This sign position gives an awareness of universals, the ability to know and teach the true nature of personal responsibility, and the ability to mitigate the karmic process when appropriate. Knowledge comes from feeling the vastness around the immediate; knowledge also comes from passing on the truth to those who also serve.

Eventually I'll get the book files straightened out so those of you that are interested can purchase it as an ebook. That's probably a perfect Mercury retrograde project. On a final note, I would suspect the coming Mercury retrograde three weeks will be a good time to harvest the best of the old year, forgive much, let go of old sorrows, ambivalencies, and karmic patterns you no longer need to live with.

Do not allow the mind to wander off into self-pitying points of view. You can bet that intuition will be up, but so will misunderstandings, misinterpretations, and self-deceit. Of course, the atmosphere will shift when Mercury retrogrades back into Aquarius, the sign of its exaltation. I'll discuss elements of Mercury retrograde in Aquarius in the near future.

Which brings us full circle to something I said in the first paragraph: Hang out with the energies and information, pay attention to details while remembering that a lot of it won't make sense for several weeks or months, and don't believe everything you're told. It will be a great time to see to the core of things, taking a wide view of recent entries into a new life, new motive, new feelings, and why certain closures were necessary.

Mercury retrograde in Pisces is great for busing old lies, old misunderstandings, and old seductions. Just let go, embrace a vaster point of view, see the seeds of what's emerging, and be willing to close things out patiently and compassionately, since a whole new pattern and vision should stabilize by the end of this retrograde period when Mercury goes stationary direct in Aquarius.

© Copyright 2007 Robert Wilkinson

(Originally published in a different form March 01, 2006)

Comments

[michele]

robert, thanx for this and thanx for the CLEAR interpretation for we are not suppose to sign contracts during a merc retro.
some astrologers hedge on this to our detriment!!!
every time i do i have looked back at the long line of maladjusted situations, whether computer/tech issues, or contracts, communications, etc.
so, thanx for firm viewpoint on this.

i agree, it seems like a clearing of old misunderstandings with ourselves and others. i find i am "waiting" this retro out a bit, even tho it just started. i don't feel so quick to respond, initiate or 'do'.... feel a bit more inward and watching/observing.

thanx for insight and input.

:)

[Robert]

Hi michele - Yes, well, as they say, "you can't fight city hall," and Merc RX IS city hall! The front end of RX is always more unclear than the back end, so it's a great time for hanging out a bit before committing to a course of action.

[gaye]

hi robert,
hope all goes well with you. definately noticing the dropping into that universal sorrow space, watching the inner world self-deceit and the outer world/societal denial as well. But the quietness seems to be allowing exactly that personal compasssion and dropping away...waiting to find the same compassion for the outerworld deceit and denial. thanks for your words..

[Robert]

Hi gaye - Sure. It's a natural time of endings, deepening our compassion and offering chances to bless the passages. And of course, practice dispassion and detachment from the Weltschmertz as we go deeper into the mystery. Glad the article helps.

[Kat]

Hi Robert.

I was born with ME RX (conj SU ME JU MH 4/28/64), so I must ask the eternal question: what is ME RX like for persons born ME RX natally? For me it has always felt like a blessing; when everyone else is moving backwards (it looks like it's happening in slow motion)I feel like am fleeting forward -- with understandings, ideas, projects. Of course, none of the obvious no-no's like contract signing - but a deeper, more mystic for lack of a better word, propulsion. What sayeth thou?

Blessings on your infinitely cool self,

Kat

[Robert]

Hi Kat - What you describe is also what I've heard from the many with Merc RX I've been close to. These are times when your own life and affairs should actually move forward amidst the general chaos. It's a time when people with natal Merc RX get clear about things, or events come together, or old stuff that was problematic gets taken care of in brilliant fashion. And yes, it does seem that these are times when Merc RX people feel more comfortable in their own skin with the outer pace of things.

[michele]

hi robert,
quick question on merc retro-
i know you are not to sign docs during this time, better to review, etc.
also you mention also not good to get electronics; however if it is something you have been planning or researching for awhile is it ok to get??? or, is it better to wait to purchase after the retro?

also, a client of mine wanted to know about surgeries....well, 2 questions :)
anyway, is it a bad time for operations/surgeries?

thanx

m

[Robert]

Hi michele - I would NEVER buy any electronics during at least the first two weeks of the retrograde! I've tried to beat it every way I could figure, and always wound up taking them back, or having them repaired (sometimes more than once!) and generally frustrated from not taking my own advice! (Plus right now we have an exact Saturn opposed Neptune.) I would recommend buying what you need to on March 6, early in the day, since the Moon is favorable to Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Neptune, and Pluto, and Mercury is almost out of RX.

As for surgeries, maybe or maybe not, depending on the type of surgery and whether it's correcting something that was out of whack to begin with. The primary indicator of timing surgeries is the Moon, since it controls the body fluxes. There are better and worse times for various parts of the body, depending on a lot of factors. Email me, since bungled surgeries can lead to disasters.

[michele]

thank you..thank you..thank you...
you are the first astrologer that has been emphatic on this re: the electronics...
i too, "should" know from experience as i have in the past purchased stuff during a retro, even worse have bought and signed cell phone contracts during this time to horror story results!!
i have been told b-4 "if you were contemplating or researched the product/s"
and, each time i did purchase or sign during this time, was not great experience, and unfortuntely sometimes the issue didn't come up until months to a year or so later, when the bungle was revealed. so, i wasn't sure.
so, this really helps me. i will wait, it is not so long.
really glad i asked....saves me some frustration and good learning. :))

have a great one
m

[Robert]

Hi michele - Well, I'm only as emphatic as my experience dictates! I tried to "image the best possible whatever" only to be confronted with a Merc RX reality too many times with too many types of machines. I bow to the wisdom of the cosmos in its timing, whether I know why or why not something is or is not the way it is. I think we're either in synch with the moment or not, and not all moments are equally good to fulfill certain desires. Then we learn the virtue of patience.

[Lynnette Grande]

I am having an endometrial ablation done on Friday right smack dab in the center of Mercury Retrograde. This procedure is to try and help my problematic menstrual cycle. Should I go for it?

[Morvah]

Lynette, sorry to hear you've been having menstrual problems - I'm sure the females here will sympathise! Without a lot more information and in such a short time it is impossible to give you any personal advice but bear this in mind; hospitals don't stop procedures whenever Mercury goes retro. Hundreds of thousands of people receive treatment perfectly safely at these times.Just be sure you understand what will happen, read carefully anything you are asked to sign and concentrate on your recovery and better times ahead. Wishing you the very best of health,
Shanti

[Lynnette Grande]

Shanti,

Thank you for your response. I will let you know how I make out.

[Morvah]

Lynette, lighting a candle for you this morning, Morvah