by Robert Wilkinson
In part 3 we explore more about this phenomenon that occurs 3 weeks at a time 3 times a year. At the end of this article I have included a table so you can find which house(s) this May 2009 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 affects 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 parts 1 and 2 (links at the bottom of this article) we explored specific qualities of the present Mercury retrograde period, including aspects, stationary retrograde and direct degree symbols, and other important factors. The period before Mercury goes retrograde is important in getting your paperwork and other life areas in shape.
Please take this period to re-trace ground covered in recent weeks, get new information and interpretations of old ideas and perceptions, and find new points of view, since these are great things to do while Mercury is retrograde. We are now in a three week retrograde period to deal with things we've put off, or take care of things from the past. This May 2009 Mercury retrograde will give us new understanding about the events of the past four months.
Once Mercury is retrograde, we often experience that communications and other Mercury ruled areas are slower than usual. It's time to re-do, review, rehearse, research, and take a new look at many things that evolved to a threshold during the period before Mercury goes stationary retrograde.
We can again reconsider, reinterpret, and rework Gemini and Taurus issues and activities, seeing their significance from new angles of understanding. Looking back, we got Cancer insights during the Summer 2007 Mercury RX, and Scorpio insights during the Autumn 2007 Mercury RX.
We got Aquarius insights during the early 2008 Mercury RX, and insights about our Gemini areas during the Summer 2008 Mercury RX in Gemini. We completed a natural Air trine of Mercury RX energies when it went through Libra in Sept-Oct 2008, offering new insights about relationships, judgments, balance, fairness, and ways we are or are not being an equal with others in our world.
It moved through Aquarius in early 2009, offering insights about our friendships, goals, ambitions, ideals, group work, larger vision of how we can contribute to our world, how our love and enthusiasms are exteriorizing, and the greatest good for the greatest number.
When it went back into Capricorn, we got insights about our public self image, how we self-organized to make our lives more effective, and how willing we were to embrace different ways to use discipline and our power to take responsibility effectively.
We now are getting new ways of communicating, researching, understanding, and getting insights into how we can or should discover blessings that can reward our faith and purity of heart. As it retrogrades back through Taurus, we'll get to review values and how we use what we have, or need, so that our new self-images that are emerging will be sustained.
Examining what signs previous Mercury RX fell in, Summer 2007 we began to explore home and family issues, the supply of our everyday needs, and ways of experiencing our past, present, and future. Autumn 2007 we extended this feeling-understanding and whatever emotional intelligence we developed when the Mercury RX period made a trine from Scorpio to Cancer.
In early 2008 when it last went through Aquarius, we began to synthesize many things into a new larger view or a greater sense of community or larger service. June initiated a period of exploring how the concrete form of the images glimpsed the past year have come forth as forms of understanding, modes of communications, and new "brothers and sisters" in our community. October began a time of looking at our sense of balance, justice, and fairness, our relationships, and through responding to a life renewal, we'll eventually find a new form of hope.
Last year, due to Mercury RX in Air signs, we were guided to our Soul through reviewing and revising obsolete attitudes, ideas, and ways of relating to others. In each instance this led us to greater emotional, social, or cultural power.
Autumn extended this set of patterns, and we found ourselves at a philosophical and karmic fulfillment. We continued the emotional, social, and cultural focus during the early 2009 retrograde period as a result of both stationary degree points.
Now we move into an actional-physical focus, and by the end of this retrograde period, we will stand on the threshold of four months when we can practice a greater emotional, social, or cultural power that will offers rewards that certify our worth. By learning how to value and enjoy that which sustains us, we can know the resources for future success. This continues a renewed Earth influence that will pervade Mercury retrograde periods through December 2010.
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 May 2009 Mercury goes stationary at 2 Gemini and retrogrades back to 23 Taurus, you can learn a lot about this coming period by reading all you can about Mercury retrograde in Gemini and Taurus.
You can get more information how this important time of Mercury retrograde (which happens three times a year every year!) affects you personally by getting a copy of my book "A New Look At Mercury Retrograde" and reading the section on Mercury retrograde in the houses. However, you can also get some very useful ideas of how it works by consulting the article that I linked to in the first paragraph of this article titled "How Does Mercury Retrograde Work in the Houses." The ideas I offer there work, whether you're referencing the natal or Solar charts.
To that end, the houses in astrology show us the specific areas of our worldly affairs where we experience 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:
Apr 20 to May 11, read Mercury retrograde in the 1st house.
May 12 to 21, 12th and 1st houses.
May 21 to Jun 12, 12th house.
Jun 13 to 22, 11th and 12th houses.
Jun 23 to Jul 13, 11th house.
Jul 14 to 23, 10th and 11th houses.
Jul 24 to Aug 13, 10th house.
Aug 14 to 23, 9th and 10th houses.
Aug 24 to Sep 13, 9th house.
Sep 14 to 23, 8th and 9th houses.
Sep 24 to Oct 14, 8th house.
Oct 15 to 23, 7th and 8th houses.
Oct 24 to Nov 13, 7th house.
Nov 14 to 22, 6th and 7th houses.
Nov 23 to Dec 12, 6th house.
Dec 13 to 21, 5th and 6th houses.
Dec 22 to Jan 11, 5th house.
Jan 12 to 20, 4th and 5th houses.
Jan 21 to Feb 9, 4th house.
Feb 10 to 18, 3rd and 4th houses.
Feb 19 to Mar 11, 3rd house.
Mar 12 to 20, 2nd and 3rd houses.
Mar 21 to Apr 10, 2nd house.
Apr 11 to 19, 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 © 2009 Robert Wilkinson
Hi Robert,
In my case there is a "sting" in this review, around what I want to do in this world and old stuff that still hinders my being able to follow my vocation - and with a Taurus Moon, I need to feel safe before I allow myself to be open to change - although when I get convinced about the need for change I embrace it full heartedly and then would not go back for anything!
How to deal with this dicotomy? And how to help Life wink back?
Isabel
Posted by: Isabel | May 12, 2009 at 05:08 AM
Hi Robert - I am torn here, need your advice. My rent expires and I am about to sign a new lease agreement. and it has to be processed this week. Well, I do know that Mercury is retrog now, but the new deal seems so sweet. Help!
Posted by: Larisa | May 12, 2009 at 05:35 AM
Hi, Robert, how are you? Umm... for me you say it falls in my 6th house but in actuality mercury is transiting my 10th house. My mc is at 16 d taurus ya. So, I should go with my chart. Areas where mercury rule are, the 2nd house and 11th house, and co rule my 1st house and my 10th house ya. I have mercury in 5th house.
Posted by: Micheline | May 13, 2009 at 12:40 AM
Hi Isabel - Perhaps you're getting a new look at the potentials of your Taurus Moon, and already have what you need to know, but just need to review it using different "eyes." Your worth has already been "certified," and now you've just experienced how to turn that to a rebeginning. You should seen concrete manifestations as Venus and Mars cross your Moon.
Hi Larissa - I was on the road and could not reply, since my work entailed dealing with the dead and dying. Mercury RX is of little consequence regarding leases, as long as you're clear what you're signing. I leased my LA birds nest with Mercury RX on a month to month basis, and still have the place after 19 years!
Hi Micheline - The positions are given for the solar chart derived from your birthday using equal houses, since I cannot possibly address all the natal factors. That's why I recommend reading both positions if you know where it falls in the natal chart.
Posted by: Robert | May 20, 2009 at 07:44 AM
Hi Robert,
im going to court this friday to finalise my awfully sad and desperate seperation from the love of my life and to find out by the judge if myself and my daughter get to stay for longer in his house.
Im extreamly worried esp now with mecurey retrograde. i Know a little about astrology but not loads . any advice or guidence would be soo helpful as im a walking wreck!!
im saggie sun scorpio moon and gemini rising and my mercury is in saggie
many many thanks for your time
laura from london
Posted by: laura marcel | May 26, 2009 at 05:11 AM
Thank you for your imprtant hints...
Up till now, the "hints" in my life have been more like "showing which areas are exhausted" - but no new opportunities yet to leap into the NEW.
Thanks, I will keep my eyes open for when Venus and Mars will transit my Moon.
Namasté,
Isabel
Posted by: Isabel | May 27, 2009 at 05:03 AM
Hi Laura - Sorry it took me so long to respond, but my life is fairly swamped these days. Mercury is actually fairly close to direct on that day. I don't have enough info to make any sort of detailed assessment, though I'll say that this year should be very productive in larger ways, with important new public and personal developments coming by this time next year. Try to integrate the various interests that are overwhelming you, work and plan with an eye to the future, sacrifice whatever to ensure good position, and back off from time to time from the dramas sure to present themselves as Mars opposes your Sag in July and August. Many things will be set by late September, and you'll get good momentum from October through the end of 2009.
Hi Isabel - Sometimes we have to hang with the void until something appropriate shows itself. If we have evolved our energies so we're no longer attracting distractions, then a certain emptiness will prevail until we attract what is perfect for our evolved consciousness. If we've done works" of preparation, then surely faith is a good thing to demonstrate.
Posted by: Robert | May 30, 2009 at 04:27 PM
Dear Robert ,
thank you for your time to answer me..
You hit the nail on the head with the term Drama
Court was hit and miss and all the same till september unless he sells the house in which case i have to move by a court order.
I shall take your words carefully
again thank you
and dont spread youre self to too thin with work!!!!!
laura x
Posted by: laura marcel | June 03, 2009 at 02:17 PM
Hi Laura - Will definitely try to enjoy what's up the next week while preparing to hit the bricks, so to speak. Glad there is some slack in the line. If there's a sale, I assume it's good. If not, I assume that also could be good, depending. Just remember that judges always put the best interests of the child ahead of the adults, if they know what that best interest is.
Posted by: Robert | June 04, 2009 at 03:59 PM