~sophie heartwood
we have our second mercury retrograde of the year upon us! mercury stations retrograde on may 10th but enters front end shadow on the evening of april 25th. this looks to be one interesting mercury retrograde!
mercury retrograde is the Underworld journey of the winged messenger. in mythology he was one of the few deities who could move between the worlds- going into the Underworld and coming back up and out again. usually if you went down there you were stuck there and if you were not down there you had no interest in going. as such mercury can be a guide to souls and a psychopomp- helping us navigate our own unconscious and shadow and then bring back up and out what we have realized so that it can be integrated with conscious awareness.
mercury retrograde is a time to rethink, review and revise. it is a time to go over the past. we don’t have all the information in just yet- so we need to revisit the past to get clear on things. it’s not a time to moving forward but of shifting into reverse. this is not the preference of the ego that wants to be in control and have it all figured out- so being receptive, open, reflective and curious can be great energy to tune into during mercury retrograde.
this retrograde is in the sign of mercury (gemini) and in the sign of venus (taurus). with mercury sextile venus 5 days before the station (see detailed list of dates below)- there can be a focus in the coming descent around mind and heart, thinking and feeling, how we communicate and how we listen.
just shy of entering front end shadow we have mercury triggering the saturn/nodal T square- and when mercury stations direct on june 3rd he does so square a standstill saturn who goes retrograde the next day on june 4th. saturn square the nodes is a doozy of a transit- and with mercury triggering it all month and the Total Lunar Eclipse triggering it on my 15th- it’s safe to say this transit, although separating (mean node T square was april 21s,t true will be may 6th) it is energized ALL MONTH LONG.
saturn square the nodes pits the Lord of Karma and Father of Time against the karmic past (south node) and the evolutionary future (north node). a planet square the nodes brings us to a crossroads and choice point. we can keep doing the same old karmic patterns OR we can move into a new direction and grow. first though saturn will face us with our karma and shadow – showing us super clearly what is holding us back and keeping us bound in the wheel of karma.
paying attention to april 21st through 24th as we head into this mercury descent (and as a preview of the Total Lunar Eclipse to come) is super important. the good news is mercury is on the north node and square to saturn- so mercury is showing us very clearly what the path forward requires. messages, connections, contacts incoming are like our own personal north star- orienting us to the future. the key is in realizing that the north node, although growth producing- is usually not easy. it’s not the path of ease, familiarity or default- that would be the south node. it’s unknown, unfamiliar and at times scary. it’s the point at which the Universe has to push us out of the nest so that we can discover how to fly. if we don’t get the push we might just stay in that nest forever!
what i find the most fascinating with this mercury retrograde is the triple conjunct to Algol- the so-called “Demon Star”. this is the eye of medusa and her story is quite heart breaking. as a woman she was very beautiful and in the temple of athena poseidon raped her. athena got mad that her sacred temple was disgraced in such a way but instead of holding the rapist accountable she victim blamed medusa and cursed her- turning her into an ugly gorgon with snakes for hair. there is much about athena’s modern myth that posits her as the patriarchal Goddess- the one who defaults to men and shames or judges women as less then. her original story was not like this but the one we hear today very much is.
with algol conjunct mercury – i feel like medusa is going to claim her voice and speak up for herself. women (and men/non-binary beings who live this mythos) can find their power, channel their passion and tap into their strength. in solar fire the key words for this fixed star are ‘female passion and intensity’. i put the quote by sophia heartwood above as it feels apt. often women who speak up and take a stand are called all manner of negative things- witch, bitch, hag, whore. calling them crazy when in fact they have become rightfully enraged about the violence, inequality or gaslighting!
mercury trines pluto 3 times during his Underworld journey- once on the front end just before pluto stations retrograde (april 28th-29th), again on may 25th and again on june 10th. each of these trines is but days next to mercury/algol conjunctions – so algol the fierce Dark Feminine and pluto the Lord o the Underworld team up with mercury- helping us see shadow, dive deep, get in touch with rage and anger, and speak the Truth.
there are not any ‘tense’ aspects during this mercury retrograde- other than the triggers of saturn square the nodes on the front end and back end. the aspects mercury makes are harmonious to jupiter, pluto, venus and mars. but there is a lot of intense astrology flying around otherwise- in the midst of a powerful eclipse portal, mars and jupiter crossing the aries point, venus with chiron and eris, mars with neptune and much more! i feel that this mercury retrograde will be about finding the Truth amidst the intensity- doing the deep work to delve into the layers of confusion or even purposefully delusion and deception to get to the Truth.
one other thing of note is that mercury will align with the pleiades 3 times – the transit of the pleiades last for days as there are 7 sisters to align with. the sigil for algol looks like a key with 8 lines at the end- for me it represents the 7 sisters plus algol. medusa feels deeply connected to the Divine Sisterhood to me- and in her own myth of being turned into a gorgon she is said to be one of 3 gorgons, so part of her own trinity.
with mercury transiting the pleiades and algol- powerful feminine energy is present. we want to wield it wisely. much shadow can be coming to light with the south node in scorpio, saturn square the nodes and the total Lunar Eclipse in coming. but shadow work is the means for transformation and evolution. when we face the dragon we fear we come into direct relationship with aspects of ourselves we were unconscious of – and it’s the relating that actually makes it possible for healing and integration. shadow work does not make our shadow go away- it just helps us learn how to be aware and not react in it in unconscious ways.
there is something to be said though for Sacred Rage. when we have done enough work around our personal anger and rage- so that we can express it and work with it in clean and skillful ways- Sacred Rage can be a powerful force for cleansing in the world. just imagine what the world would be like if all the powerful women (and men/non binary beings who honor the feminine) claimed their voice, got fucking furious and took a fierce stand against those who oppress, kill, rape, pillage and destroy? i visualize a tidal wave of fierce feminine energy that can stop the patriarchal destruction of the planet in its tracks.
algol can help us with this- and so can eris. the fierce feminine is rising- but to be clear the fierce feminine is Sourced in her Heart and comes from Love. to get to this place we must work through our anger and rage all the way through to our grief, pain, vulnerability and tenderness. anger and rage that is used to overpower others or take others down is not the effective Sacred anger and rage that dissolves ego, blasts open the heart and transforms through fire. there is a distinction and shadow work is key to discerning where one’s anger and rage is sourcing from.
blessed mercury descent!
~harmony
p.s. if you want to see how this astrology connects to the amber heard/johnny depp libel case read my blog about it here (i speak to Algol not mercury retrograde) – https://divineharmony.com/astrology-blog/johnny-depp-amber-heard-a-trauma-bond-on-display/