Practical Astrology in June-July 2007 - What is Mercury Retrograde in Cancer Good For?

by Robert Wilkinson

There are many things that are favored while Mercury is retrograde, despite the general opinion that it leads to massive confusion, miscommunication, and things going everywhere and nowhere all at once. Usually the week just before and after the beginning of the period is most difficult for people, and yet if you know how to adjust your sense of timing, you'll see things fall into place in ways you never suspected.

As I've written in other articles, during a Mercury retrograde period 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 are many things that a Mercury retrograde period is good for, such as traveling. I have found that as long as one is flexible, retrograde travel is actually a good thing.

Also favored are 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 retrograde in Cancer, 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. This article outlines what to expect concerning which house it transits in your chart. That said, here's a bit about Mercury retrograde in Cancer from the book.

In Cancer, Mercury's energies slow down to rethink in a sensitive, receptive, adaptive mode. The inward turned feeling-dominated mind tests all ideas and evaluates them to see if they bring greater or lesser feelings of security. There is a solving of puzzles and all that can be picked apart. This position uses feelings to communicate as well as using ideas about unsuspected needs. There is a caring communication style able to touch others deeply, and a sensitivity to what others are feeling, even if it cannot be expressed.

This position understands other's survival issues. Here there is an ability to express a sympathetic view because of seeing situations as another would, or seeing into another's subconscious. This position indicates an instinctive mental sympathy with others, with the ability to absorb unusual ideas in order to anticipate needs for future times and situations.

Mercury in Cancer is in its own 2nd sign. Here feeling values itself as a way of confirming what it can draw on, especially to fulfill an immediate need. This position seeks mental substance to further a sense of definiteness, and examines matter's source. It knows the immediate need and communicates that knowledge indirectly, or in terms of another's feeling-based point of view.

It is also in its own 11th sign, indicating that the goal of all ideas is to fulfill some need. Mercury retrograde in Cancer gives the desire to provide nourishment within a group situation. Knowledge comes from need fulfillment; knowledge also comes from offering what you preserve from the past in a caring and sympathetic way.

The coming three weeks will be a good time to harvest the best of what has emerged in your life in the past few months, and search for the mystery of what decisions you've made and why. Let go of insecurity, neediness, clutching, and defensiveness. Do not allow your mind to wander off into a self-absorbed echo chamber or house of mirrors. Your instincts will be very up, but beware of misunderstandings, misinterpretations, and egocentricity.

Which brings us full circle to something I said in the second 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 review recent decisions, and rework your habits and need-fulfillment systems.

Don't clutch, open to the new that's already in motion, take time to be comfortable inside your own skin, get in touch with your needs, change your habits accordingly, and don't allow discontent or nervous reactivity mess up what should be an inspired time. And of course, be willing to sacrifice old ways of life that no longer serve the need of your life or the times.

More on the influence of the June-July 2007 Mercury retrograde in Cancer can be found in this article covering its overall meaning. Part 2 offers more insights about Mercury Retrograde Astrology in June-July 2007 Pt. 2 - What It Means For Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces, while to repeat an earlier link, How Mercury Retrograde Affects Us In The Different Houses will help you understand its influences based in what house in your chart it is retrograde.

© Copyright 2007 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[Jay]

Hi Robert,
RE: Merc. R.- If I had several things I wanted to do- One is finishing a book on nutrition for kids - this would be a good time to re-evaluate-opening to new possibilities of how to do them? And from the perspective of whatever sign Mercury is in?

Also,I'm practicing living in the Now. With so many planetary cycles,how important is the overlay of daily cycles to setting intentions and living in the moment, esp. changes in asc. every couple of hrs. and the moon every couple of days- since we are so influenced by our emotions driving our attitudes and motivations. So for example,writing a book - would it be helpful to use certain days for different things, depending on moon sign, or time of day depending on asc. -to use the energies as a tailwind, a guide, to focus, but not being controlled by them.

[magenta]

Robert,

Thanks for addressing the question that I didn't quite know how
to ask but was just going to write you about ! Also, in your experience , are retrograde periods generally more favorable - or easier to handle - for natives with Mercury ( and other planets) retrograde ? According to my swampy recollections as
such a native, seems like a combo of silly annoyances along with some deeply satisfying / illuminating realizations that rise to awareness. Ah, maybe retrograde periods facilitate the release of repression ( sorry.. getting silly here ) !

Looking forward to my travel to do the very things you reference: rehearse, research, review, reflect and reconnect. And after I return, will report ! - as per prior plans.

Gratefully, magenta

[Robert]

Hi Jay - Mercury RX is great for "finishing" a book, though of course there will be edits! Keep open to new insights, new ways of communicating or illustrating what you're trying to get across, and connecting ideas between themes you may have overlooked before now. Transiting Mon is far more important than what's on the cusps at any given moment, though of course they do have their sphere of influence. Moon sign will show how you will approach any given theme on any given day, sort of like a lens so that people of each sign will feel what you've written on those days when the Moon was in their sign. Every day is a good day to write, from one angle or another.

Hi magenta - Absolutely, because Mercury RX people are more familiar with the pace and process! Actually RX periods do facilitate targeting subconscious factors, as well as remembering things we've been told in other eras of our life that may or may not still be true. Sometimes it's great to remember that we accepted something a long time ago that we no longer need to live by, since whether it was or was not true at the time, it certainly isn't true now! Or if it is, then it may need a new interpretation/expression.

[Jilly]

I've found that Merc RX is very good for revising/editing.

[Robert]

Hi Jilly - Mercury RX is very good for any sort of "taking a new look" at anything. I have done much of my best writing during Mercury RX periods, since what came was out of the blue and perfect for what needed to be said.

[Micheline Cloutier]

Hi Rober insightful and timely. I am in the middle of trying to leave my current place of residence. Living in Japan can be very costly. since I decided that I am not satisfied now with the way of life here. It has lots of great things but now I really want to leave. but need time to save for that....so my plan is to leave Japan in about a year and a half with savings....
Cancer rules my twelfth house natally. So, I gather I should expect the hidden things in me that I am clutching at or not seeing come to the surface more. Also, I have been having so many problems with the room mate situation that I stupidly got myself into because I was trying to find ways to save money. Duh? I do find I am having a hard time trying to find the balance between my lifes goals, my necessity to save money and my creativity. Progressed house in cancer is interesting too I think. Like you said though in another blog here that in the next weeks I should see opportunities to come to me and change things. I do feel that coming. I am so looking forward to it.

[Robert]

Hi Micheline - Cancer on the 12th merely shows you feel at home being in seclusion, or that family and living situations may cause sorrow at some points in life, depending on your Moon. Conflict between goals, money, and creativity are tensions between 11th, 2nd, and 5th houses or their rulers. Begin to affirm that a way beyond the problems will present itself, and search with expectancy for what will inevitably show. Just be precise in what you expect to show, so the law of unintended consequences doesn't throw you a curve.

[hitchhiker72]

Hi Robert, I've a quick question. I've just been hit by some kind of bug — sort of like flu without the sneezing and sore throat. Basically I'm only capable of lying in bed and occasionally surfing the internet. This sudden turnaround after several weeks of a steady work momentum.

I had a look at my chart. Mercury is going to station retrograde on my natal Mars, and is also going to station retrograde on my progressed Sun in the 6th house. Do you think this explains the sudden loss of energy? I feel like a flat battery that won't charge - there are no other symptoms otherwise.

Not asking for a medical assessment, only an astrological one! Thanks.

hh72

[Robert]

Hi hh72 - Health issues are a complicated thing, and of course your descriptors could be major factors. It could also be prior lunations, eclipses triggered by transits, or all kinds of other things. Look at the natal, progressed, and transiting ruler of your Asc as well as Mars and Saturn, since Saturn is what gives us a sense of being drained and fatigued. Of course, it also could be your body telling you to take care of yourself and regenerate, since we are magnetic units that need an extra recharge from time to time. Definitely mind your diet, as you may need to do some elimination or flushing (it's watermelon season!) as well as add some things to jazz your system, like garlic.

[robyn]

hi robert

i was wondering what with mercury being in cancer and all and cancer being the sign of the mother would that affect childbirth, pregnancy or mother natyre and .. well, other similar endeavors?

what's your thought process on that...?

[Robert]

Hi robyn - Well, it could show a thousand different possibilities, depending on the individual. So yes, it probably will affect many, but there are virtually infinite ways it could manifest, so I can't really draw any generalizations that would make sense. That's why I always encourage my readers to offer their Mercury retrograde stories so we can all learn! One way it manifested in Leo was that just before the child came, that person's mom changed the name of the baby-to-be to that of a character in a movie she watched.

[Patricia]

Hi Robert & Other Readers,

I noticed that I experienced a Mercury Return yesterday, at 11 degrees Cancer. Was Mercury stationary yesterday?

I have alternated between feeling wired and fatigued. I have also finished 6 months of schooling that completely altered my life.

I guess the best metaphor to describe my life at the moment is when I was a child and my feet grew in between shoe sizes with one size being too big and the other being too snug. Nothing would fit so why not just go barefoot?

I find that I can no longer return to my old haunts and even my old hobbies and in some cases, the old colleagues. But I am not sure what direction I am going in so I am in a void.

Is anyone else feeling this way? And also the information overload is present, but I am able to drink it all in without going insane.

peace,

Patricia

[Robert]

Hi Patricia - Mercury is stationary tomorrow, but we've all been experiencing its effects for some days now, since it is slowing down very rapidly. Remember that Mercury is also triseptile Jupiter, and the Saturn opposition Neptune is getting stronger by the day. I know the fatigue of finishing a long march in pursuit of a credential, as well as the peculiar wired feeling of suddenly having a lot more time on my hands and a different self-image, even if slight. Too big vs too snug could be Mercury in Cancer triseptile to Jupiter in Sag, or the Saturn opposition Neptune. Both seem to fit. I also cannot hold on to anything from the past that isn't part of the process of living in the NOW, and am certainly at a threshold of something that is both known and unknown. Definitely glad you're not "going insane," since that wouldn't be helpful in the service you're prepared to do! ;-)

[Larissa]

Hi Robert - can I still continue meetings and projects and advertising, because Mars is in Aries till 24? So Mercury retro is not exactly on the way for us or does it affect us anyway somehow?

[Patricia]

Thanks Robert.

I have two job interviews next week when Mercury is still picking up speed.

And I will need to accept a job at this time so I felt stressed about that at first.

Then when I was meditating, I started seeing a bigger picture and that now is the time to plant seeds, network and do my research. I am seeing that I will play a bigger role with music even if my career path is not going to start out as such.

The little consciousness that goes into music and the the little respect music receives these days disturbs me. Music has always been a powerful force but now it is sold as units, products, something to take up space in the I-Pod or to send people into a nostalgic sombalic place so that retailers can sell more goods or to be blasted out of cars so that people will notice the driver of the car. People blast music on their headphones on buses too. I think people have forgotten that silence is a part of music too.

So I think I will take this time to research music more (I have been already doing so for 5 years), and figure out where to go with this music education for the masses.

So I am dealing with Neptune and Mercury because Mercury rules the text portion of music which also has little thought if any put into it these days. Where has the love in love ballads gone?

My hope is that those medieval troubadours will return and sing their sweet songs. At least the birds are still singing.

blessings,

Patricia

[Robert]

Hi Larissa - Your question inspired this coming Monday's post (catch it Sunday night!) In short, yes it's affecting many, and at the same time Mars is energizing our Spring initiatives.

Hi Patricia - Actually, next week Mercury is still slowing down until the Inferior conjunction on June 28, but job interviews are always a two-step or more process, so no worries. Plus it may be that the job will lead to other functions and positions. It won't turn out as expected or advertised, but it can lead to better things anyway, whether they are related to the job or not.

As for your larger concerns about music, the industry is in upheaval, the web and digital technology has changed everything, and to address something you said, I believe what began with "The Mozart Effect" could lead to a revolution in consciousness if a broad enough point of view is found. There's no question that Tibetan overtoning induces some very HIGH altered states of consciousness. With familiarity comes neural wiring, and that leads to all kinds of things...

As for love songs, we still have Sir Paul doing his thang in the new media marketing, as well as some others, and I'm sure there will be a resurgence over time, since people love and need melody and harmony more than is suspected. When I wrote or co-wrote over 300 songs many years ago, my focus was always on melody and harmony, and I wrote quite a few love songs that IMHO still sound good today. I just need time and resources to get them out there, and with the new technology, it may be sooner than I ever imagined way back when.

Eventually we'll see a balance, and music will be restored to its sacred throne after its years on the streets. There will always be "street music," but we will live to see "sacred music" take pre-eminence as an uplifter of consciousness. For now, "If there's anything that you want, if there's anything I can do, just call on me and I'll send it along with Love, from me to you..."

[Larissa]

Thank you Robert, I will wait for your Monday article.

[Patricia]

Hi All,

Another issue that I have seen come up when Mercury is retrograde is damaged food products.

I think with Mercury in Cancer, you might see food safety issues coming up. Since Mercury is traveling in my 7th and 6th houses, I am going to be extra cautious.

Today I was at Whole Foods looking for Tahini because for whatever reason, I have been craving sesame seeds.

When I asked why there was only one brand of tahini on the shelf, I was told that the other two brands had been called back due to Samonella poisoning.

Not that I would ever equate sesame butter with Samonella, but there you go.

Last year it was E-coli and spinach.

At least in both cases, the problem was dealt with promptly. And this tahini problem was dealt with before Mercury went RX (2 weeks ago).

Follow your intuition or gut feeling (pun intended), around food during this time. With Mercury in Cancer, I think food and caution are important. I know that I am a cautious Cancerian...

peace,

Patricia

[hitchhiker72]

Hi Patricia,

Thanks for your comment on food and Mercury retrograde because I think I might have traced my sudden illness mentioned above to (i) either an avocado allergy, (ii) or some dodgy strawberries I ate around the same time. Am a Gemini, so must always have two options to choose from!

Great forum.

[Patricia]

Hi,

I remember when fruits and vegetables were considered the safe food to eat and only meat and dairy were suspect to bacteria poisoning.

A relative of mine once became very ill from eating strawberries out in the field where he worked. Years later, it was discovered that he must have acquired E-coli from the manure that was used in the fields.

It's always a good thing to wash produce unless you have a strong immune system. For instance, farmers never worry about getting sick and eat food straight out of the field. They are a hardy bunch.

peace,

Patricia

[Svetlana]

Dear Patricia,Robert and all music-lovers!
I hope the New Voice our Mr.Wilkinson has got/acquaired/found is the best possible policy/politics:)
In the times of cold war here,on the Soviet territory we were often told about the ruining purpose of the famous "Voice of America" radio. Now itis time for mutual Peacemaking:Let there be Peace on Earth and let it begin with me! I like this motto of the Children Council for Peace immensely.
I fully agree that Music is one of the best possible languages of universal mutual understanding.As very powerful means it can kill and heal-do practically everything with a human being and humanity .
If Patricia agrees to take me in her company-we shall try to think together(under Robert's supervision:) how
to help Music fulfill Its Heavenly mission on the Earth.
No doubt,we shall do our small piece of work what is within our powers.This year i asked my head of the chair at the University to give me the groups at Musical dpt to teach them English(via music)-and she agreed, even proposed me to be in charge for the
programmes there etc
So if the idea of Ray groups is still alive and they are stil being created on this site-I apply for the
Heavenly music as the language of communication between skies and Earth.
P.S. I hope,stars and planets not only dance-they sing as well:):):)

[Robert]

Hi Svetlana - Well, I believe all who desire to see music restored to a place where it uplifts, enlivens, unifies, excites, and brings forth our highest hopes and heart songs are all on the same page here, regardless of what language we use. Remember - We are ONE in the music. We stop talking and listen; we stop filling our space with chatter and go deeper into the sensations and experiences that music which stirs us deeply brings forth. There has always been the "sacred" and the "profane" in every area, including "sacred science" and "profane science," "sacred knowledge" and "profane knowledge." The return of the sacred in our everyday lives on the way!