by Robert Wilkinson
In part two we explore more about this phenomenon that occurs three weeks at a time three times a year. At the end of this article I have included a table so you can find which house(s) this June-July 2007 Mercury retrograde period falls in relative to your Sun or rising sign. Then you can consult my article How Does Mercury Retrograde Affect Us In The Different Houses? to find how this transit will affect you personally as a result of Mercury retrograding through the houses in your chart.
Like all Mercury retrograde periods, these three weeks offer a chance to reorganize in the areas of our life ruled by Mercury. These are the houses of your chart ruled by Gemini or Virgo, any planets in these signs in your chart, and the house occupied by your natal, progressed, or solar return Mercury.
All retrogrades show us that sometimes it is more important to be inwardly oriented than outer-directed. These are times when our previous activities "echo back" information about what we've already experienced during a planetary direct motion phase. When the inner planets are retrograde, our personal life is most subject to review, reflection, re-doing or getting a new angle on those affairs. When the outer planets are retrograde, we get the same process of review but it impacts our place in the larger scheme of things, whether social, cultural, or transpersonal-global.
When retrograde, Mercury, the "Guide of Souls," challenges us to cultivate our personal understanding of our "fellowship with the Eternal," explore our deeper issues and useful but overlooked details in what's being discussed or asserted, take an unusual view, and allow ourselves to be led by the future implications of what's happening. It’s a time when we truly get a new look at many things and come to a different understanding of how the various affairs of our inner and outer life are coordinated, or need to be.
We can get different perspectives and insights into prior events, messages, and signals, and can fill in important gaps in our understanding. Sometimes it may seem like it's one step forward, two to the side, one step back, one to the other side, then two steps forward, but often we find that we are offered entirely new and crucial perspectives and knowledge that can help us when it's time to move forward again after the retrograde is past.
In Part 1 we explored some specific qualities of the present Mercury retrograde period. Remember to get your important paperwork in order by Wednesday, June 13, and be ready during the three week retrograde period to deal with things you've put off, or take care of things from the past. This June-July 2007 Mercury retrograde will give us new understanding about the events of the past four months.
We can again reconsider, reinterpret, and rework Cancer issues and activities, seeing their significance from new angles of understanding. We'll get more insights about our feelings, security issues, early life and family experiences, our home and family, how to supply what we need in our everyday life, and ways of experiening our past, present, and future. By the end of this retrograde period, we will stand on the threshold of four months that will test many of us to get out beyond the known and familiar, plunging into the "virgin possibilities of life," letting our Higher Spiritual Will lead our mind toward a greater spiritual fulfillment.
When Mercury is retrograde in Cancer it's a good time to re-examine our internal connetions, how our feelings are or are not adequately expressing our needs, and how we're experiencing life on a day to day level. Many will need to reconsider some habits that are no longer fulfilling, and ways of responding to perceived threats and events that generate insecurity. Through seeing what's being grounded in the way of a new emotional imperative, we can come to emotional power and forms of preserving ourselves throughout the rest of the cycle.
Regard much that presents itself these next few weeks in terms of integrating recent decisions on the individual-mental and spiritual levels that show a new life allegiance and dedication. Search for the mystery, use the illuminations you get to achieve forms of personality integration, and you'll find a new form of God, Truth, and your Eternal Self will take flight in your life. This is the extension of what we got earlier in 2007 that allowed us to prove our capacity to do what we claim to be able to do.
At that time we got management skills, efficiency in knowing what and how things work, and "Mental Efficiency." Saturn has configured in some very important ways with the past two Merury stationary direct points at 26 Aquarius and Scorpio since November 2006, magnetising “Efficient Functioning” in whatever ways it has in our lives. This is the next step in Mercury's process, and picks up new directions that will acquire maximum clarity around late July 2007.
The past four months we’ve been offered new goals, ambitions, friendships, and group endeavors. We've had important opportunities to manage our spiritual energies in ways that prove our ability to deliver a higher power, however that is relevant in our lives. Often it's taken an emotional form, but allowed us to check up on the powers at our disposal, and helped us get a sense of a greater view of things as well as potential "spiritual community."
As I pointed out yesterday, Mercury does not make many frictional aspects this retrograde period, with only semisquares to Saturn and Venus. Everything else is either harmonious, specializing, or productive of personality choices that will determine future elements of Mercurial, Venusian, and Jupiterian "destiny."
Mercury and Jupiter rule signs that oppose each other, so it'll be a time of decision and cooperative collective group work associated with the Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces areas of our charts. Most of the heavy action in this retrograde will involve crises between the signs Mercury rules and those that Saturn rules, with Venus ruled-sectors going between irrationality and decision making and internal choices about who and what and how regarding other people.
The frictional aspect Mercury makes with Saturn will create internal crises of deciding what we need to learn, how we need to view limitations, duties, obligations and rules, and challenges us to cultivate our spiritual rapport with others. Our habits will either show us our fear and limitations, or a more mature way to express our heart energies as we stand on the threshold of moving into practical forms of expressing that wisdom once Saturn hits Virgo.
During the times the Mercury semisquare Saturn is strong, there will be cross currents between the Gemini/Virgo and Capricorn/Aquarius areas of our charts, challenging us to become more optimistic and caring in realistic ways while decreasing our sense of rigidity and exclusivity. This configuration usually accompanies a very low degree of mental inspiration, so find practical ways of expressing your sense of purpose at the end of a larger cycle without being too narrow in view.
This retrograde will be dominated by the New Moon of June 14 at 24 Gemini, a degree of Triumph Over Entropy. After this point in time many will totally change how they view life's limitations, and find a power to use that which binds us to achieve "rhythmic freedom" in recreating themselves, as well as recreating however makes us feel good. Through an appreciation we can find a relaxation while we're dealing with inertias, the result of which can be a well-developed character and a transcendent approach to environmental factors.
Due to Mercury retrograde, it will show in various peculiar ways for some time to come, with crucial shifts and implementations to come when Mars crosses this point in mid-September as prelude to its retrograde back from Cancer to 25 Gemini, when it goes stationary direct on January 30, 2008.
Mercury is heavily influenced by the Moon this retrograde period, since it occupies the sign the Moon rules. That also means that the New Moon is heavily influenced by Mercury retrograde and vise versa due to the mutual reception, where two planets are in each other's sign. This should bring a lot of things together in some interrelated form.
The New Moon is very favorable with its sextile to Mars and Saturn and trine to Neptune. Like all Mutable New Moons at this time in history, this one is in a dynamic angle with Pluto, the opposition. This should provide the next step of us getting information from its contact with the Galactic Center helping free us from local conditions, narrow thinking, overattachment to rationality, and unhelpful perceptions.
As with all Mercury retrograde periods, review, reflect, research, gather information, and take a new look at your power to change your point of view and interpretations. This gives a chance to shift how you do what you do, how you coordinate your affairs, and indicates future shifts in the areas where Cancer falls in your birth charts.
The Mercury retrograde period in October-November 2006 showed us how to understand the emotional movement of 2006 so we could be more fluid in our responses and feel more deeply. Many got in touch with needs and feelings and became more certain in our focus, and began eliminating unhelpful corrosive tendencies as we moved into new dynamic activity resulting from seeing how we could be more efficient and adaptable. It activated the individual-mental-Spiritual level of “Faith,” and retrograded back to the mental Spiritual and emotional-cultural levels of “Communion.”
The last retrograde period in February-March 2007 emphasized the Individual-Mental-Spiritual level of "Federation," then retrograded back through the Emotional-Social-Cultural and Physical levels into the Individual-Mental-Spiritual level of "Management."
Thus we got a new look at new ways to manage ourselves and our energies in the past four months. This led to transfigurations as we "left our cocoon," and joined with new friends. The past Mercury retrograde had numerous favorable aspects to Mercury at that time, including the Venusian Grand Fire Trine now being activated by Mars. That would imply that we are seeing the need to act on what was inspired in March and April.
By learning about these recurring Mercury retrograde periods, we can understand how to deal with them productively, as well as the months afterwards, which they also indirectly influence. Since this June-July 2007 Mercury will go stationary at 12 Cancer and retrograde back to 3 Cancer, you can learn a lot about this coming period by reading all you can about Mercury retrograde in Cancer.
If you want more information from this site about how this important time of Mercury retrograde (which happens three times a year every year!) will affect you personally, if you can get a copy of my book, read the section on Mercury retrograde in the houses. However, in the meantime you can also get some useful ideas of how it will work by consulting the article on this site titled "How Does Mercury Retrograde Work in the Houses," linked at the top of this article.
The houses in astrology show us the specific areas of our worldly affairs where we are experiencing a given planetary influence. If you know your natal chart, then read the corresponding house in the article. However, whether you do or don't know your chart, you can find out Mercury's approximate position in your solar houses (created by your sun sign position) by consulting this table:
For birthdays between:
June 1 to 22, read Mercury retrograde in the 1st house.
June 23 to July 2, 12th and 1st houses.
July 3 to 24, 12th house.
July 25 to August 3, 11th and 12th houses.
August 4 to 24, 11th house.
August 25 to September 2, 10th and 11th houses.
September 3 to 23, 10th house.
September 24 to October 2, 9th and 10th houses.
October 3 to 24, 9th house.
October 25 to November 1, 8th and 9th houses.
November 2 to 22, 8th house.
November 23 to December 1, 7th and 8th houses.
December 2 to 22, 7th house.
December 23 to December 31, 6th and 7th houses.
January 1 to 20, 6th house.
January 21 to 30, 5th and 6th houses.
January 31 to February 19, 5th house.
February 20 to 28, 4th and 5th houses.
March 1 to 21, 4th house.
March 22 to 30, 3rd and 4th houses.
March 31 to April 20, 3rd house.
April 21 to 30, 2nd and 3rd houses.
May 1 to 21, 2nd house.
May 22 to 31, 1st and 2nd houses.
Of course, this table is approximate, and if your birthday falls near the edge of two possible positions you may need to read both. One should always have the chart calculated professionally in order to know where the planets are situated, as this helps clarify your exact cyclic pattern.
© Copyright 2007 Robert Wilkinson
Robert, is it an added Mercury RX-factor that my natal 3rd house is cancer (placidus) 11.10 degrees ...without any planets in it? ---(Having no water and looking forward to my return to earth I am functioning only with a windy-fire) Curious and grateful... mi amigo!
Posted by: Jan | June 06, 2007 at 05:07 PM
Hi Jan - Not particularly. Only that Mercury RX will traverse your 3rd and 2nd house this time. It's sort of a "stand alone" influence, though of course if you have anything in Gemini or Virgo it will be influenced. Thank heaven that we are soon to have some earth in the atmosphere. Y naturalamente, de nada.
Posted by: Robert | June 06, 2007 at 07:50 PM
Robert,though I know (as a "normal person" :)the position of planets in my natal chart,but I don't know what means "one's own cyclic pattern"...I think that among the amateurs,or beginners, I am not the only one who has got an intention for this clarification.Thanks in advance.
Posted by: Svetlana | June 07, 2007 at 05:49 AM
Hi Robert, every time I read your articles, I get so much information! Making me realize, of course, that there is so much more to learn. I look forward to reading and researching for a long time to come. :-) If I have my Sun in Scorpio at 19.06 degrees (working on Mercury RX 8th house items), what house should I read if my ascendant is at 25.19 degrees Gemini? Many thanks again.
Posted by: Vahana | June 07, 2007 at 05:52 AM
Hi Svetlana - Your "own cyclic pattern" is determined by your birth chart, as distinct from simply knowing the general sign of your planets, or the solar positions listed above. So you do know your cyclic pattern, since you know your natal planetary positions relative to your Ascendant.
Hi Vahana - Mercury will spend its entire RX period in your first house. Furthermore, it is the ruler of your 1st and 4th houses, so that which "rules" these areas will also be affected by the inward turning influence of Mercury RX.
Posted by: Robert | June 07, 2007 at 06:52 AM
Hi Robert, so that means with the 4th house being Virgo, I have Uranus at 4.55 degrees and Pluto at 11.47 degrees. Lots of ingredients in the mix. Any suggestions on the best way to traverse this RX? Thank you.
Posted by: Vahana | June 07, 2007 at 07:18 AM
Hi Vahana - Well, since they are at the bottom of your chart, take a new look at the Uranian and Plutonic influences in your early life, and see how they led you to radical individualism and any need you've had to break free of ancient influences. Perhaps a need to see how the emotions of your family and how they expressed them (or not) impacted your self image, furthering whatever duality or split is indicated by the Gemini Rising.
If Uranus and Pluto are well into the 3rd it's slightly different than if they are just in the 4th. I'm sure your Uranus is in your 3rd, showing brilliance and occasional nervous worry. Even though equal house would put your 4th cusp at 26 Virgo, Pluto influences the 4th through being in the same sign and not that far from the cusp. This usually shows a need to begin anew this life on a set of your own individual foundations, though you also come from a powerful Shivaic spiritual family line. This Autumn and Winter you'll figure out ways to crystalize these powers as part of your thinking and perception, preparing for about 20 years of making these manifest in productive ways after Saturn crosses over your IC. I suspect the Mars RX of this Autumn/Winter will show you a whole new way to "do your Being."
Posted by: Robert | June 07, 2007 at 07:53 AM
Hi Robert, Wow! A lot to think about. I'm not familiar with the Shivaic spiritual family lines, is there any reference or article to get a little more insight? I do feel like I have been "slumbering" although there has been a lot of upheval and havoc in my life over the past two years - it has started to level off and new opportunities/relationships have come my way within the past three or so months, so I'll just keep the door open! Thank you again for the more in-depth insight. I appreciate your wisdom and time.
Posted by: Vahana | June 07, 2007 at 08:24 AM
Hi Vahana - Sure. As for your Plutonic family lines, I suspect there are have been very powerful people in your family history. Reference your parents, aunts, uncles, or anyone else who knows your lineage.
Posted by: Robert | June 07, 2007 at 09:12 AM
"During the times the Mercury semisquare Saturn is strong, there will be cross currents between the Gemini/Virgo and Capricorn/Aquarius areas of our charts, challenging us to become more optimistic and caring in realistic ways while decreasing our sense of rigidity and exclusivity. This configuration usually accompanies a very low degree of mental inspiration, so find practical ways of expressing your sense of purpose at the end of a larger cycle without being too narrow in view."
that's all i had to read. its what's going on in my head (mercury) right now with a certain person i have affections (venus) for. its someone i've seen on and off in the past. i'm steadying my optimistic view points where as in the past i probably would have broken down into negative narrow thinking by now and blown up on the situation.
i'm quite proud of myself THUS far.... THANK YOU !!!
Posted by: Robyn | June 07, 2007 at 12:12 PM
Hi Robyn - You're welcome. It has been said that "nothing is impossible if we find the right point of view." With a few exceptions, I have found that true.
Posted by: Robert | June 07, 2007 at 02:55 PM
Oh. Robert. Ya seventh house. and I also have my leo ac and aquarius desc. And Let my eyes open wide and my heart too.
thanks for the post Robert. Very informative and soul expanding.
Posted by: Micheline Cloutier | June 13, 2007 at 09:38 PM