| Mercury Retrograde Inside Astrology | by Bill Herbst Mercury goes retrograde again from August 9 to September 2. The effects of this summer dance began back on July 21, nearly three weeks ago when Mercury was still direct but passed over the point in the zodiac to which it will later retrograde back. I call that initial period the "set-up phase" of the retrograde loop. During the three weeks when Mercury is retrograde -- appearing because of parallax to move backwards -- many of us experience life as a bit weird and slightly out of alignment. It's almost a palpable sensation, especially for those who have sensitized themselves to this event, which occurs on average three times each year, about every four months. During the more subtle set-up phase that precedes the actual retrograde, however, our sensors may not trigger. As a result, during that three-week period we are likely to bite off more than we can chew and set ourselves up for problems that manifest later, during the retrograde itself. So, until August 9, slow down the pace of your activity. If you find yourself wound up and pushing at life, ease off and pull back on the reins. Gradually come to a full stop around August 9, and then move into assessment mode for the rest of August. This is about traffic flow, about red lights and green lights. Mercury retrograde defines a period of inversion, where normal movement and regular communication are turned back from their typical outward productivity and redirected inward for the purpose of emotional cleansing. Less driving and more maintenance. Consider a 19th-century military metaphor: For the past three months, the "army" of your life has been marching along. The cavalry is now far ahead of the infantry, which is itself well in advance of the slower artillery and supply trains. Your army is stretched out. Mercury retrograde is the natural time to temporarily stop the forward march and go into bivouac, allowing your troops to regroup and consolidate, in effect giving the stragglers a chance to catch up and rejoin their units. In other words, it's time to clean up old, unfinished business. Take care of tasks and duties you've been putting off. Within the limits of pragmatism and necessity, try not to rush into new commercial or career endeavors. This is not a good time for initiating projects. Like a farmer in winter, let the fields of intention lie fallow while you fix broken machinery and peruse seed catalogs. Spring will come soon enough. Other usual suspects for Mercury retro manifestations are well-known to anyone who pays attention to astrology. If you can avoid making major purchases, such as a new house, car, or computer, do so. Put those off until September. If the chances of aggravating, unforeseen complications around such consumer purchases are ordinarily 10-20 percent, then during Mercury retro periods those odds rise to at least 30-40 percent. If you can't postpone a major purchase, as happens in life when the luxury of choice is sometimes unavailable, then go ahead and roll the dice. But pay special attention and read the fine print on the contract before signing on the dotted line. Then let the chips fall where they may, accepting that you may inadvertently bog down in quicksand. Expect delays and foul-ups in scheduling. When arranging business and social contacts, try to stay loose and leave some slack in the rope. Go with the flow, and expect Murphy's Law to apply. Remember the old saying, "The way to make God laugh is to tell Him your plans." So guard against overattachment to structure or results. Remain fluid, not fixed or frozen. Allow for misunderstandings in communication. You and I may use the word "purple" together and believe that we are in agreement, but during Mercury retrograde especially, I'm likely to assume a more reddish-purple while you might envision a more blueish-purple. Those unconscious misunderstandings can provoke trouble. So remember that in Mercury retrograde, prose and poetry intertwine, as do the drama masks of comedy and tragedy. Ironies abound. Language -- both overtly spoken and internally interpreted -- acquires a much more subjective shadow. Emotions of the past leech up and infect the mental here-and-now. Meditate on your own personal meanings and watch what bubbles up from the unconscious. This upcoming Mercury retro is a great time to go over your private plumbing. Apply some Drano to the emotional pipes in your basement, especially around clogs of vanity or excessive pride. Roto-root any arrogance and restore a healthy state of clean humility. All this applies throughout the month of August, until Mercury goes direct on September 2. Check your birth chart and the charts of those you love. Anyone born with significant planets or angles near the end of fixed signs or the beginning of mutable signs will be more strongly affected by this particular Mercury retrograde. Mercury retrogrades are not inherently frustrating times. They are simply periods of redirection. The aggravation that so many people experience during these six-week phases comes from the fact that even temporary changes in self-expression run into fierce resistance from habits and compulsions. Our ego-donkey is always hungry, programmed to sniff out more carrots even when no carrots are within reach, and sometimes the donkey can be extremely stubborn. Getting the "Ah-Ha" of Mercury retrograde (and enjoying it) requires inner detachment from the allure of outward fulfillment. Remembering who we are is the spiritual challenge to which we return, time and time again. In that effort, astrology can help us find our way home. Mercury retrograde is a sign posted at regular intervals on that path, telling us when to make a pit stop for routine maintenance of our life-vehicles. So, until early September, leave the rat race behind. Change your emotional oil, rotate your mental tires, and check your psychological steering, suspension, and brakes for wear and tear. Finish up with a nice wash and wax. Make yourself shine. Bill Herbst is a Minneapolis astrologer who has done more than 10,000 sessions with clients over three decades in private practice. He is associate editor for the well-known journal The Mountain Astrologer, as well as a frequent contributor to that magazine. Go to Bill's website at www.billherbst.com for further information about his work. Copyright © 2004 by Bill Herbst. All rights reserved. |
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Aug 2004 |
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