by Robert Wilkinson
Mercury goes retrograde at 7 Aries on March 12, 0:49 am PST, 3:49 am EST, 8:49 am Greenwich. Over the next few days we'll examine the meaning of this phenomenon and how we can make best use of these recurring periods.
In 2012, Mercury will go retrograde 3 times, unlike 2011 when we had a 4th Mercury retrograde period, making it an unusual year. When Mercury is retrograde, it seems to throw people and situations into a whirlwind of over, under, sideways and down. But does it really? Just what is Mercury retrograde? In the next few weeks we'll discover many things about how Mercury Retrograde in Aries affects us.
Mercury retrograde is one of the most misunderstood parts of astrology. Many have heard about it, but don't know what it really is. I've given an introduction about the general meaning of the phenomenon known as Mercury Retrograde in the article, Mercury Retrograde - A New Look at the Guide of Souls. It was written to assist readers to pierce through many of the superstitions and suppositions concerning this repeating phenomenon, and how it works in our lives.
There's too much to recap here, so if you're not familiar with the technical elements and basic meanings of this Mercurial phenomenon happening 3 times a year, please read that article so you can understand better what this coming period is about, and how best to approach its challenges and potentialities.
I'll be composing more about what the coming retrograde period is about in future articles. For now, I'll just mention that we'll get new insights about who we are, who we’ve become since the Spring of 2011, and new ways of coordinating our lives using our power of synthesis to redirect our efforts in the moment after certain things are taken care of.
We'll get a new look at all of these so that we can become clearer about who we’re interdependent with in our new world, and see how to be compassionate and intuitive as we say goodbye to old ways, places, and people. This will be in play by early April.
Since Mercury is between the Sun and Venus, but will wind up behind both at the end of this retrograde period, when this is over we will have insights, reflections, and new understanding about things we've already experienced through Venus before now. This period we'll review Aries and Pisces things in our lives, so keep an eye to the house where this retrograde falls since that's where returns, reviews, new insights, and new understanding of past things will be found. More on that to come in another article.
In Aries and Pisces, we find ourselves between past and the NOW, and see what must be left behind in order to move into new views, new understanding, and new ways to coordinate our life affairs. This can bring the return of old memories, old motives, old self-images, and old ways of acting directly and quickly. It could bring memories of past ways we coordinated our lives, as well as old Mercurial people and methods of jumping into new ideas and new ways of working efficiently.
Sometimes a retrograde indicates a period of returns and/or rediscoveries; other times it's a period of looking back to change some things so that we can "get it right" when Mercury again goes direct. In any case, we can understand the challenges and opportunities by looking at the sign(s) and house(s) where the retrograde is happening.
As noted in the article before this one, this Mercury retrograde will feature some very harmonious aspects, as well as a major septile driven configuration around the time of the Inferior Conjunction of the Sun with Mercury. I’ll develop those themes in depth in future articles. No doubt the middle of this RX period will feature important choices, changes, and developments in our destinies, affecting what will quicken in mid-April!
Throughout the retrograde period, we'll get many insights, returns, and renewals. Some hints of these have already begun to manifest in my life. Mercury retrograde is always good for looking back to see what we didn't in earlier times. However, also remember that there also may be delays, misunderstandings can occur and/or be resolved, and that much may come in roundabout or even apparently contradictory ways.
So the coming weeks will give us a new look at recent Piscean and Arian developments, as well as herald important developments that will show up beginning early April. Since this retrograde is in early Aries and late Pisces, take a look back at events and truths offered when Jupiter was in that degree span.
You should be able to get interesting insights about how this time is related to the period of late April 2010 through February 2011, when Jupiter moved between 24 Pisces and 7 Aries. You can also get insights into a larger law, life, freedom, and/or originality awakened by Uranus as it has been in that span from March 2009 through now.
We can also get flashes of insight into future conditions, since Uranus will be in the Mercury RX Aries span through early May, as well as late September 2012 through late February 2013. By the time Mercury and the Sun make their Superior Conjunction in late May 2012, we’ll be seeing things to come between July 2012 and April 2013.
So finish getting your affairs in order as soon as possible and continue adjusting to the different pace symbolized by Mercury slowing down very quickly during the past and current weeks. Get ready to take an unusual view, do your research, rehearsals, and examine peripherals since they may be more important than we initially thought. More on all of this, plus how it affects individual signs, in future articles.
Already posted: The Guide of Souls in March-April 2012 - Mercury Slowing Down, Preparing to go Retrograde at 7 Aries
Copyright © 2012 Robert Wilkinson
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