by Robert Wilkinson
In this article we explore more about this phenomenon that usually occurs 3 weeks at a time 3 times a year. At the end there's a table so you can find which house(s) this Jan-Feb 2015 Mercury RX period falls in relative to your Sun sign. Then you can find out how this transit affects you personally by consulting my article How Does Mercury Retrograde Affect Us In The Different Houses? Of course, if you know your Ascendant, you can also use this to see how it affects those houses as well.
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. And of course, the house Mercury RX transits will be where these work out in specific life affairs.
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.
The period before Mercury goes retrograde is important in getting your paperwork and other life areas in shape, so take note of what was presented in the last week of September and first week of October and see what hit a threshold and now requires a delay, research, or renewal.
For now, while Mercury is retrograde, 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. All 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 January-February 2015 Mercury retrograde is giving us new understanding about the events of the past four months and indirect insights into what we'll be dealing with from February 10 through March 4.
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. So during this time we can again reconsider, reinterpret, and rework Scorpio issues and activities, seeing their significance from new angles of understanding.
So in what House(s) does this Retrograde Occur for my Birthday?
By learning about these recurring Mercury retrograde periods, we can understand how to deal with them productively, as well as the months afterward, which they also indirectly influence. Since this Mercury retrograde begins at 18 Aquarius and retrogrades back to 2 Aquarius, you can learn a lot about this coming period by reading all you can about Mercury retrograde in Aquarius, and all the possible ways these signs manifest in the world. I've already offered a lot about the degrees and energies at play in this retrograde period in previous articles in this series.
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 the new improved and expanded 2nd edition of my book “A New Look At Mercury Retrograde,” available on Amazon kindle and Barnes and Noble’s Nook as an ebook. The first edition was a pioneering work, the first (and best!) book ever done on this recurring phenomenon, and the second edition expands on everything related to Mercury retrograde.
In this new edition I have rewritten and expanded the chapter on Mercury retrograde in the houses, as well as the chapter on Mercury retrograde in the signs. There’s also a lot of in-depth information about Mercury retrograde periods and people and what the entire Mercury Retrograde phenomenon is about. This book will help you understand what’s in play during every Mercury retrograde period, regardless of what signs or houses in your chart are affected by Mercury retrograde.
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 in that article really do work, whether you're referencing the natal or Solar charts. That article is a brief take on what I expand on in “A New Look at Mercury Retrograde,” and the two pieces together give a comprehensive overview of the many possibilities that could show up when Mercury is retrograde in any house in your chart.
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:
Jan 6 to 20, read Mercury retrograde in the 1st house.
Jan 21 to Feb 4, 12th and 1st houses.
Feb 5 to 18, 12th house.
Feb 19 to Mar 6, 11th and 12th houses.
Mar 7 to 19, 11th house.
Mar 20 to Apr 5, 10th and 11th houses.
Apr 6 to 19, 10th house.
Apr 20 to May 6, 9th and 10th houses.
May 7 to 20, 9th house.
May 21 to Jun 6, 8th and 9th houses.
Jun 7 to 20, 8th house.
Jun 21 to Jul 7, 7th and 8th houses.
Jul 8 to 22, 7th house.
Jul 23 to Aug 8, 6th and 7th houses.
Aug 9 to 22, 6th house.
Aug 23 to Sep 7, 5th and 6th houses.
Sep 8 to 22, 5th house.
Sep 23 to Oct 8, 4th and 5th houses.
Oct 9 to 22, 4th house.
Oct 23 to Nov 8, 3rd and 4th houses.
Nov 9 to 21, 3rd house.
Nov 22 to Dec 7, 2nd and 3rd houses.
Dec 8 to 21, 2nd house.
Dec 22 to Jan 5, 1st and 2nd houses.
This table is approximate, and if your birthday falls near the edge of two possible positions you may need to read both to know which applies to your Sun sign. Of course, one should always have a correct natal chart calculated professionally in order to know where the planets are situated, as this helps clarify your exact cyclic pattern.
Previous articles in this series:
Mercury Retrograde – Time For A New Look at the Guide of Souls
The Guide of Souls in January 2015 - Mercury Slowing Down, Preparing to go Retrograde at 18 Aquarius
Copyright © 2015 Robert Wilkinson
Solar houses hunh? I needed a shift in perception. I think my current dilemma does have me reviewing past experience. Why am I tempted at all to just run with the herd? I've been here before. How can I be doing the right thing my gut is telling me, when everyone I talk to about it tells me Just Do It. I know indecision is not easy, not easy at all. But maybe if I am not certain about it, I shouldn't move on it.
Posted by: caliban | January 25, 2015 at 08:45 AM