by Robert Wilkinson
Because Mercury is already slowing to retrograde, we’re already experiencing the retrograde effect. Because this happens 3 or 4 times each year, let’s take a new look at "Mercury Retrograde."
One of the first things I heard about when first learning astrology was the dreaded “Mercury retrograde,” supposedly the cause of ten thousand miscommunications and things breaking down or not happening as expected. That’s why after many years of study and practice, I wrote the first major book on Mercury retrograde.
As usual, as the retrograde station draws near I'll be doing my usual series of 3 articles on the themes of the retrograde, what it means both in general and specifically, how it affects each sign. In the previous Mercury retrograde article posted a few days ago, you were given a journey through past Mercury retrograde themes, as well as the patterns across recent years.
I reprint this article because it contains core material for those who want to understand more about this event which happens several times a year. The subject of Mercury retrograde is so full of superstitions that I originally wrote this article as a reference point for a sane examination of this recurring phenomenon so people know what good they can do rather than just feel dread. The material in this article is not from my book, so it stands on its own, augmenting the book.
Before we get into what Mercury Retrograde is and isn’t, if you haven’t already gotten your copy, you can find out a lot more about these very important 3 week periods by getting your copy of the 2nd edition of my award-winning pioneering 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.
Here's the link to the page where you can purchase a paperback edition of A New Look at Mercury Retrograde. or the ebook from Kindle. If you’re ordering a paperback on Amazon, make sure you're ordering the 2015 edition with the award on the cover, and not the earlier one. There are plenty of used copies of the first edition for sale, but they are far inferior to the newest edition. And if you leave a review, please make sure it’s for the 2015 edition.
What Is Mercury Retrograde?
There are a lot of myths, suppositions, and confusion about Mercury retrograde. I have found there are many things we can achieve during these periods occurring three or four times a year. Since Mercury is the Cosmic Magician, the Trickster, and was regarded for eons as “The Guide of Souls,” Mercury retrograde periods are great times to examine the Cosmic Magician and figure out some things that are not evident or may be obscured when Mercury is direct in motion.
Many want to act productively during these times but don’t know how, often due to indecision, ambivalence, or second-guessing. Also, many times things come up which interrupt what we’ve been doing, or things from the past that are undone come back into play. Actually, despite the superstition and fluff of most commercial astrological explanations about how to approach a Mercury retrograde, these periods aren’t really that bad
Briefly, it's a time to take a new look at information, insights, and perceptions, and rework interpretations to prepare for the four month period following a Mercury retrograde. While retrograde, Mercury goes back over ground it's just traversed, but during the retrograde there is an entirely new angle of view that presents itself so things previously unknown or unnoticed can be factored in for the future. There are curious returns allowing us to re-think some things, and find a new rhythm of coordinating our life affairs.
All planets and asteroids go retrograde due to the way perception works from our angle of vision here on Earth. Planets obviously do not go backwards, but they do slow down and speed up in their orbits relative to the Sun, and this creates interesting perspectives here on Earth. A retrograde only appears to be going backwards, much like a slow train appears to be going backwards relative to an express train.
We won’t explore the physics of the process, since the fact that motion changes within a planet’s orbit around the Sun relative to other planets is not really important unless you’re an astrophysicist or a visual artist interested in the living dance of the cosmos. So here we’ll move in a different direction, and begin our exploration about how we can best use these periods for maximum effectiveness without being deflected or hindered by the superstition and mythology surrounding "Mercury retrograde."
We’ll begin with something from A New Look At Mercury Retrograde pp. 29-31,
... retrograde periods offer us a chance to slow down certain parts of our life for closer examination, preparing for a change that inevitably occurs.This is part of a larger cyclic process of unfoldment when the planet speeds up again in forward motion. Life always speeds up again after a time of reflection, contemplation, and transitional change. One of the benefits of Mercury retrograde is that it provides the time for reflection, which can lead to revitalization after a symbolic fallow period.
Periods of reflection, meditation, and contemplation allow us to take a needed break from routines and inertia. Retrogrades are the natural time to do this. When we turn inward, the Soul’s connection with our Higher Self assists our growth by allowing us to focus on that which we would not address if we were preoccupied with mundane affairs...
When a planet goes retrograde, the areas of life that it symbolizes need to be re-examined from a new point of view. It is metaphorically an in-breathing or dreaming, a retracing and re-examining of steps already traversed, digesting and assimilating previous experience…. This is a time when we can examine the effect that our subconscious mind and/or the Collective Unconscious has upon us...
While it seems as though Mercury retrograde is associated with miscommunications, delays, and things which malfunction, we must remember no planet or its influence is good or bad unto itself. We are the ones who determine our "destiny," based on our choices, which shape our character. In that sense, "character is destiny," and our only need in each moment is to determine whether we will be active or passive in responding in a consciously positive way to life’s challenges.
We have free will and no planet or star "makes" anything happen. They merely indicate the larger patterns we live within, and by understanding those patterns and what they symbolize, we are in a position to be in harmony or disharmony with inner and outer "reality." This is the power of our individuality to rise above inertia, superstition, and obsolete, inadequate, or fear-based belief systems.
Mercury retrograde has been with us, and will be with us for a long, long, time, as long as the planets have their present orbits around the Sun. These periods of learning to take a retrograde view, or learn from a retrograde view, are a natural part of the fabric of Time. We were born within the larger Timestream, and throughout our lives are learning how to deal with the fluxes of Time and perception.
Learning how to adapt to Mercury retrograde’s requirements allows us not to get disoriented, bogged down, or deflected during these periods. We may experience delays, deflections, or unexpected things which divert our energies (which also happen when Mercury is not retrograde), but all of these show us that we do not have to have a bad or confused attitude while dealing with these the best we are able. A retrograde simply means we need to take a different view than our normal one. When “the Guide of Souls” slows down, we may just get glimpses of our higher Path to personal perfection.
Throughout our lives we are offered chances to learn to use Mercury retrograde wisely and consciously. Even if our affairs are momentarily diverted in strange directions, coordinated in some unusual ways, or take some peculiar twists and turns, if they’re part of our need to learn or accomplish something, they often turn out for the best over the long run, whether we knew that or not during the retrograde period. Often we get useful information and insights which we overlooked before the retrograde, and these times help us factor in different pieces of our life's puzzles so we can operate more effectively after the retrograde period ends.
Sometimes it may seem like it's two steps forward, one to the side, one back, two to the side, and three forward. It's all okay, since it's showing you a different way to be guided to your truth and more effective way of being in the world. Often things don't turn out the way we suspect, but that can be as good as it can be difficult. Consider it like you’re learning a new dance with a new rhythm and a new way of going through the steps.
Because Mercury retrograde does offer us a different rhythm of events and perspectives accompanying some of our life affairs going in strange or unexpected tangents, reviews, and returns, it is always useful to get our affairs in order before the retrograde. Then while in the three week period and things are slowed down or seemingly moving in a different direction or even backwards, turn to whatever has been neglected and needs attention, finishing them up so you can get on with new business when the retrograde ends.
I have found over the years many good things can be accomplished during these periods. Sometimes there are extremely fortuitous connections made, whether renewing something from this life or another one. Sometimes we get insights about past things and people that allow us a more well-rounded perspective about how they “guided us to our Soul.” And of course, reviewing the past and reflecting on recent developments is often necessary if we are to move into the future without getting hung up on the past.
We’ll discuss more about the coming Mercury retrograde, as well as how it affects each sign, in future articles.
© Copyright 2023 Robert Wilkinson
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