by Robert Wilkinson
Yes, it's THAT time again! Mercury is radically slowing down, preparing to go stationary retrograde at 24 Taurus on Apr 28 at 10:20 am PDT, 1:20 pm EDT, 6:20 pm BST. This has important implications for all signs.
I'll be composing several articles about this Mercury retrograde in Taurus over the next several weeks. Until then, adapt to the slowing pace of things, be willing to put some things on hold for a little while, and take a look at what's been set into motion up to now with an eye to seeing what has to be done before things can again move forward in late May. This year we also have Mars crashing into retrograde during this period, so expect a lot of things to get very turned around!
I know there are many unfortunate things attributed to Mercury retrograde, but there are also many productive things that get done, connections that are made, and different angles of view glimpsed that make our understanding more complete and well rounded.
The two weeks before the retrograde is a good time for setting things in motion that will need a delay before being picked up anew. Or for doing things that will need research, rehearsing, or reworking to whatever degree before completion. The time before Mercury goes retrograde is good for doing what must be done so that other related things can be done later, as well as reconnecting with people and activities from the past that are somehow related to the future.
A New Look at Mercury Retrograde
Since Mercury has already been slowing way down for a couple of weeks, we’ve already begun to experience a quality of “Mercury crashing into retrograde.” If you want to know what we can expect from Mercury retrograde in Taurus, as well as all the other signs and houses, if you haven't already gotten your copy, you may want to get the new expanded 2nd edition of my award-winning book A New Look At Mercury Retrograde.
The first major work on Mercury retrograde ever written, it offers in-depth information about Mercury retrograde people, Mercury retrograde in the various signs and houses, and what the entire Mercury Retrograde phenomenon is about. If you want to know what we can expect from Mercury retrograde in Taurus, or the last one in Aquarius and Capricorn, or the others in any other sign and the influence in the houses, it’s all in there.
As I’ve mentioned before, it is written for both astrologers and laypeople. I have just about everything you could want to know about Mercury retrograde, including how it works, what it means, celebrities who have it in their charts, historic events that happened during Mercury retrograde, and what signs are involved in future Mercury retrograde periods.
By knowing more about 2014's Mercury retrograde periods in Pisces/Aquarius, Cancer/Gemini, and Scorpio/Libra, or 2015’s Mercury retrograde periods in Aquarius, Gemini, and Libra, you may see patterns in what was going on in your life, what you were taking a new look at and why, and how this "looking back" influenced your choices as you moved through past events. And you can get a heads up by taking a look at the 2016 Mercury retrograde periods in Aquarius/Capricorn, Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn/Sagittarius. It’s all in the book!
Here's the Amazon link to the page where you can order your paperback or ebook copy of A New Look at Mercury Retrograde. It is an invaluable resource for understanding past, present, and future Mercury retrogrades, so get your copy today. Just make sure you get the 2015 edition, and not the 1997 first edition, since the second is a far superior product!
An Overview of the Retrograde
The coming retrograde will show us a new look at recent signals and information that we sent or received, and get clear about different ways to secure something, nail something down, make something more solid or real, and give us alternative views of how to do things or make them work. This one will show us a broader context of our purpose, or we may have to defend that purpose by taking charge of doing what it takes to further that purpose.
This one teaches us command and applied expertise, either renewing old skills, or showing us alternative approaches and applications to skills we already have. Many will glimpse a greater effectiveness or find a way to reorganize to help things move forward in late May.
As with all Mercury retrograde periods, things from the past will be reevaluated, re-examined, or understood differently. We can get a new look at ideas, ways we’re communicating and understanding what others are communicating to us, and get new insights into all things ruled Taurus, such as values, money, resources, assets, and how we use all of these to secure our existence, and specifically all things related to the house(s) where we have 24 to 15 Taurus.
For example, we may get new insights or understanding about something we have, in terms of its true values or lack thereof, or we may find someone or something of value returning to help us make something real. This should secure many things set into motion since the Summer 2015, and help us get to the core of some things. The Grand Earth Trine between Mercury, the Sun, Jupiter, and Pluto will certainly show us opportunities to perfect structures and plans that will move forward this Summer.
And of course, when we’re examining a Grand Earth Trine expressed through a Mutable T-square, it should be a good time to see how our life structures hold up or not when confronted with a challenge, and reorganize as needed. By seeing how to reorganize during this retrograde period, much that follows will be built on solid foundations and should demonstrate as slow, steady, solid growth in the future. I’ll discuss more of the aspects at work in the next article.
Mercury Retrograde Is Shifting Element Emphasis
As Mercury goes retrograde in the Earth sign of Taurus, it begins this year’s run of Mercury retrogrades entirely in Earth signs. To give you a sense of the larger pattern, all the 2014 Mercury RX periods began in early Water signs, with Mercury retrograding back into Air signs. So in 2014 we danced between Feelings and Ideas, experiencing and relating. All the 2015 Mercury retrograde periods began in an Air sign and stayed in that sign the entire retrograde period, making 2015 entirely an Air affair!
In 2016, this shifted again, as the January Mercury retrograde began in the Air sign of Aquarius, but retrograded back through the last half of the Earth sign Capricorn. So we danced between ideas and practical necessities, relating and taking a new look at what is in our “enlightened self-interest.” That completed a run of Air sign retrograde emphasis.
Now we’re solidly in Earth, since the April-May retrograde is entirely in the Earth sign of Taurus, and the Aug-Sept retrograde is entirely in the Earth sign of Virgo. It will shift to multiple elements again in the Dec 2016-Jan 2017 retrograde, since that one will begin in Capricorn and retrograde back into the Fire of Sagittarius. Of course I’ll explain more as each of these periods approaches. Until then, A New Look at Mercury Retrograde” will help you get a fix on all of the above and more!
A Bit More
In the next 3 weeks, we can see what life has prepared for us since the last Mercury retrograde in January. This can give us a new perspective on what’s shifted in our view or understanding since then, and this will give us a look back so we can find a more well-rounded perspective as we come to a new understanding of those past events.
This Mercury retrograde will offer us opportunities to look back and find a new way to be assertive in defending our own interests, or capturing something of value that we need to move forward this Summer. Some will have to confront assertive or aggressive situations and people, and learn good defensive warrioring skills. Others will find new ways to defend values and resources, or new information that will help them adjust their practical affairs.
Some will experience returns of people from the past who were once greatly valued, while others will pick up on projects that have been on the shelf, and nail down solid useful forms that can move forward when Mercury goes direct. All of us will get glimpses of how our past experiences and choices resulting from the last Mercury retrograde have led us to a new view of possibilities.
Consider the next 3 weeks as a review of how to make things more stable and enjoyable than they used to be, with new ways of confirming who we are and what we value in social-emotional setups. Some will recall pleasant memories from the past, and get new perspectives on all things related to Taurus people and experiences. This will help stabilize long term seeds of transformation, insight, assets, resources, and approaches.
This Mercury retrograde will give us many signs and signals for what will dominate Mercury-ruled areas from late May through late August 2016. Here we take a new look at what’s behind us before moving forward anew at the end of the RX period in late May. We can get all kinds of new insights into future potentials, while seeing things in the recent past differently.
The Inferior Conjunction happens May 9 at 20 Taurus. That indicates the coming “fusion of life and mind” will help us to a new look, new interpretation, or new understanding of the issues associated with the culmination of the second decan of Taurus, and give us a new take on “which way the winds of destiny are blowing” that should leave us at a pretty high state of awareness.
So welcome to many things being reviewed or coming back up to surface these next three weeks thanks to the retrograde quality of the time. Some will review past efforts to see what still needs to be integrated into the life, and/or there could be returns, rehearsals, or echoes of the past and its views, misunderstandings, dilemmas, paradoxes, and dualities.
This one allows us to take a look back at how we’re using Taurus energy in our lives, see what we value and why, and review how we use what we have to make everything more stable and harmonious. Despite the retrograde, it’s a great time to build, as long as we’re flexible to adjustments down the road! Take a new look at the ideas you’ve had or information you’ve received since mid-April, since we will capture the essential elements of understanding what we need to mobilize into action by late May based in our insights these next 3+ weeks.
For all of us, during the next several weeks the future that's already rolling forward will slow a little so we can get a new look at crucial elements of the process we cannot afford to ignore. All of us will have a new understanding of multiple elements of our lives by late May, and will see the truth of things to their core, enabling us to move forward toward precision in “doing our excellence.”
This will be another important retrograde, where the past will be reviewed to see what we can and cannot bring with us into the future in late May. It will help us rehearse or do the research we need to get ready to spring forward in late June, clear about what we know, what we need to know, and what must happen if we are to move forward in our lives.
Renewals, returns, reconnections, reunions, and rebeginnings are promised by this retrograde. And of course, more on this Mercury retrograde period will come soon!
Copyright © 2016 Robert Wilkinson
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