by Robert Wilkinson
Yes, it's THAT time again! Mercury is radically slowing down, preparing to go stationary retrograde at 12 Virgo on at 6:01 pm PDT, 9:01 pm EDT on August 12, 2:01 am BST August 13. This has important implications for all signs.
I'll be composing several articles about this Mercury retrograde in Virgo and Leo 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 early September.
The coming RX period will pick up where the last one in Taurus and Aries left off, since both the RX and direct stations are trine where they were in April and May. That retrograde accompanied a time of burying the past, or seeing a previous past that was buried so we could stabilize how we had in April. Some had to go back to the past and “exhume the bodies” to make sure they had actually buried the right things!
In any case, elements of the past were buried and left behind during the last Mercury retrograde so “a new quality of being” could be revealed “rendering the old patterns obsolete.” This is both the next step, and the review of, the “liberation from a narrow destiny” that’s happened since August-September 2016.
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 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 Virgo and Leo, as well as all the other signs and houses, if you haven't already gotten your copy, you may want to get the 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 Virgo and Leo, or the previous 2017 retrogrades in Taurus/Aries and Capricorn/Sagittarius, or any other past or future retrogrades and their influence in the signs and 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 2015’s Mercury retrograde periods in Aquarius, Gemini, and Libra, or the 2016 Mercury retrograde periods in Aquarius/Capricorn, Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn/Sagittarius, 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 see how this year’s retrogrades affect(ed) sectors in your chart by taking a look at Mercury retrograde in Sag, Capricorn, Aries, Taurus, and this one in Virgo and Leo. It’s all in the book!
Here's the Amazon link to the page where you can purchase a paperback edition of A New Look at Mercury Retrograde. You can also get a Kindle ebook at that site, or go to Barnes and Noble for a copy on Nook. (Please note that if you go to amazon, make sure you're ordering the 2015 edition, and not the earlier one. There are plenty of used ones for sale, but they are far inferior to the newest edition.)
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 we’ll have opportunities to take a new look at what has been unveiled, or is being unveiled, in the Fiery new life we’re experiencing during this Summer of Grand Fire Trines! This one will give us multiple angles of understanding about how our past created our present, or how our present will create our future.
We will see how there are promises to be redeemed based in the awakenings of the Summer of 2016, and how we’ve been doing exactly that since May 2017, even if we didn’t know it. Mercury will show us what we have to prepare for, and why some things must be unveiled so we may move forward unencumbered by old inhibitions.
As with all Mercury retrograde periods, this will give us a new look at recent signals and information that we sent or received, and 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 by Virgo and Leo.
We may find different ways or organizing or doing something, which will remind us that our expectations and yearnings will take solid form, if they are clear enough and we do what it takes to bring them to reality. The next 3 weeks will give us a new take on how we’ve shaped our minds to be receptive to potential fulfillment since the last Mercury retrograde, specifically all things related to the house(s) where we have 25 Aries through 5 Taurus.
In the chart, we have a very strong Grand Fire Trine, a Moon conjunct Uranus, Mars tredecile Uranus, and a Cardinal T-square involving Venus, Jupiter, and Pluto integrating power so we may glimpse our fulfillment, avoid extremes to preserve our energy, and find “strife transcending and unattached outlooks” as we soar above the ugliness of “industrial thinking.” Many will understand what cannot be propped up by the lower ego, and others will use their imagination to reclaim some opportunity they thought was lost.
This is another awakening retrograde period that will give us inspired understanding, and allow us to see how our past, present, and future are a continuum of growth into our uniqueness. As noted, this continues the fulfillment of the promise we were offered in the Summer of 2016, and by January 2018 many things will be fulfilled in a great way, perfect for who we are. Though there may be passages in our relationships, it’s merely Spirit manifesting in a material way, and continues the letting go of the past that the last RX period was about.
Mercury Retrograde Is Shifting Element Emphasis
As Mercury goes retrograde in the Earth sign of Virgo, it continues the 2016 and early 2017 run of Mercury retrogrades in Earth signs. Last year’s Capricorn, Taurus, and Virgo retrogrades were entirely in Earth signs, and we entered the shift into mixed elements in January 2017. This one continues the dual sign emphasis.
In the Dec/Jan RX period, as well as the last one in April/May and this one, Mercury goes RX in Earth signs and goes direct in Fire signs. January’s went from Capricorn back to the Fire sign of Sagittarius, the last one began in Taurus and went direct in Aries, and this one goes RX in Virgo and goes direct in Leo.
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.
As noted, the April-May 2016 retrograde was entirely in the Earth sign of Taurus, and the Aug-Sept retrograde was entirely in the Earth sign of Virgo. In December it shifted to multiple elements again since it began in Capricorn and retrograded back into the Fire of Sagittarius. So we’re in a year of a blend of Earth and Fire energies during Mercury retrograde. 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 April and May. 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 value in learning what we had to learn between August 2007 and September 2008. We will gain an understanding we haven’t had before now related to actions we took then, and will be able to bring our ideas in line with our ability to act on those ideas in practical yet inspired ways. Coincidentally, Mars occupies the same degree as the Sun in the recent Lunar Eclipse, showing this RX period will activate the theme of “the joy and power of new beginnings” in a big way!
Consider the next 3 weeks as a review of how we’ve had to make things work more efficiently than we did in the past, which necessitated letting go of things blocking our progress. We all began a process of being “liberated from a narrow destiny” that has unfolded since last September’s Mercury retrograde in Virgo. We’ve gotten insights into those who share our cultural values, as well as new information about a form of group activity, or how we had to let go of old obligations and responsibilities to create a void so new ones could present themselves.
We now have new ways to accomplish the mundane duties of life, and have had a multi-level education in being more practical or dedicated in some way. This one helps us figure out the place and function of why things have happened the way they have. Open to new perspectives on all things related to Virgo and Leo people and experiences. We’re now “goal fit” to accomplish what we will, and there are “promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep.”
This Mercury retrograde will give us many signs and signals for what will dominate Mercury-ruled areas from early September through mid-December. Here we take a new look at what’s behind us before moving forward anew at the end of the RX period in early September. We can get all kinds of new insights into future potentials, while seeing things in the recent past differently.
The Inferior Conjunction happens on Aug 26 at 4 Virgo, about 30 hours after Saturn goes stationary direct at 22 Sagittarius and about 16 hours after Venus enters Leo and conjuncts the Sun of the July New Moon. This will give us a time of getting over our preconceptions, or taking a look back to see how we have gotten over some old biases. After that Mercury begins to speed up, taking us to the threshold of a new life in early September as it goes stationary direct conjunct Mars.
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 Virgo energy in our lives, see how our lives are effectively functioning (or not!), and review how we’ve been educated on a practical level since last August, trained for some group work since January, and left a lot behind since May. Despite the retrograde, it’s a great time for practical inspiration and inspired practicality, as well as seeing how to combine heart strength, creativity, and functionality while getting organized or reorganized related to a future that’s already clear. Take a new look at the ideas you’ve had or information you’ve received since late July, since we will capture the essential elements of understanding what we need to mobilize into action by early September 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 September, and capture a valuable or pleasing form of it during that time.
This will be another important retrograde, where the past will be reviewed to see what has been or needs to be unveiled in order to come to a new expectancy of a greater, more loving and beautiful life. It will help us rehearse or do the research we need to get ready to spring forward in September, clear about what we know, what we need to know, and what must happen if we are to move forward into living a more natural and enjoyable life.
Renewals, returns, reconnections, reunions, and new beginnings are promised by this retrograde. And of course, more on this Mercury retrograde period will come soon!
Copyright © 2017 Robert Wilkinson
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