a head’s up is in order, because this upcoming mercury retrograde is going to be one for the books! honestly the astrology this year is over the top to begin with- so why shouldn’t the first mercury retrograde of the infamous year 2012 follow suit? ;)
the reason this mercury retrograde is so potent is threefold: first of all mercury will go retrograde in the sign of aries while the ruler of aries, mars, is currently retrograde in virgo- one of mercury’s two home signs (the other is gemini). so we have a mutual reception going on between two retrograde planets. retrogrades take the energy inward and down. they are less tuned into outward, rational expression and are more tuned into inner experience and that which is illogical and irrational. mercury naturally likes things to be rational and logical (he rules the mind) and in aries he wants things straightforward and action-oriented, but with both mercury and mars both retrograde things will be anything but. i get an image of a racecar taking off with the breaks still on.
the second reason this retrograde is so intense is that it will trigger the uranus/pluto square. mercury will cojoin uranus 3 times and he will square pluto once. mercury cojoins uranus on 3/5, again on 3/18 when he is retrograde and finally on 4/22. mercury won’t square pluto until 4/25. this is really significant because anytime a personal planet activates the uranus/pluto square we get a whiff of what’s to come (first exact uranus/pluto square is 6/24). whatever your uranus/pluto issues are- they are likely to be heightened and even explosive when personal planets activate these two heavy hitters. mercury will essentially station retrograde on uranus- so the mercury/uranus conjunction will energetically be in effect from 3/5-3/18. this 2 1/2 weeks should be marked with RED LETTERS, especially if you have planets or placements around 5-8 of cardinal signs (aries, cancer, libra, capricorn). that image of the racecar with the breaks on? well the triple uranus aspect is like putting explosives in the engine- movement is going to happen, whether or not the breaks are on. and it could be destructive!
and finally, the third reason this is such an intense mercury retrograde is because just before mercury enters his shadow (on either end of the mercury retrograde there are a couple weeks that are in the mercury retrograde zone, despite that mercury is not retrograde at that time) he will oppose retrograde mars (2/23)- amping up the mars/aries energy that is not able to fully express itself in healthy ways due to mars being retrograde and mercury entering his shadow a few days later (2/26). the potential for arguments, conflict and even violence is high during this transit. talk about intense!!!
so what does all this mean??? well communications are hot right now- and i don’t mean in the good kind of way. mercury in aries has a need to speak up, say no and state his boundaries. there is a need for each of us to speak our Truth and express our anger. especially with the triple uranus conjunction- there can be this impulsive, even compulsive, desire within each of us to speak without thinking. this can get us into big trouble- as you cannot undo what is said or done right now. yet because both mercury and mars are retrograde it is very likely that what we are dealing with is related to the past. anything unresolved, not fully dealt with, not complete from the past (this life or past lives) is up right now. so on the positive side we can find the courage and strength to speak the words we need to say and take a stand when in the past we could not out of fear or complacency.
mercury will begin his retrograde on 3/12 stationing at 6’49 aries and he will go backwards over the aries point (0 aries) on 3/23, making his way to 23’50 pisces on 4/4 when he goes direct again. his shadow, as mentioned above, starts on 2/26 and ends on 4/23. so essentially starting this sunday 2/26 we have a month long, very intense mercury retrograde dynamic bringing all kinds of things to Light and to the surface to be dealt with. positively this is a time to pay attention to intuition, dreams, and to be open to seeing the Truth in situations and people (including ourselves!). attendance to what IS is key, before we try to make it into what can be or what is possible. uranus/pluto demands no less! it’s time to get on top of/deal with what is plaguing you, dragging you down and holding you back from your personal and our collective evolution. now is the time to access your inner warrior, find your courage and prepare to take conscious, evolutionary action!
some hot dates to be aware of:
mercury will oppose retrograde mars on 2/23
mercury enters his shadow 2/26
mercury moves into aries 3/2
mercury cojoins uranus for the first time 3/5
mercury stations retrograde 3/12
mercury RX cojoins uranus for the second time 3/18
mercury moves back into pisces 3/23
mercury goes direct 4/4
mars goes direct 4/13
mercury moves back into aries 4/16
mercury cojoins uranus for the third time 4/22
mercury exits his shadow 4/23
mercury squares pluto 4/25
if you are signed up for my monthly dark moon newsletter then you have list of other hot dates for the next month- so this just adds to the already intense and potent dynamic that is the close of the astrological year (new moon in pisces is the dark moon for the astrological new year, while new moon in aries exact on 3/22 commences a new yearly cycle). it’s definitely a time to purge and release so that we can renew come spring! whatever you don’t clean up/clear out right now comes with you into the new cycle. get clear on what is coming and what is not- and then let go!
yours in the intensity…
~divine harmony
p.s. if you are not signed up for my dark moon newsletters then go to the contact DH page on my site and submit your email in the mailing list box on the righthand side.