we are heading into the next round of mercury retrograde this merry month of may! mercury enters his pre-shadow phase (the first pass over all the degrees he will go over a total of 3 times) in the early morning hours of may 4th. this occurs just on the heels of mercury opposing retrograde saturn on may 3rd. mercury opposite saturn is important because it’s the last aspect made before mercury heads into his shadow and also because we are in a long term transit of saturn square neptune. so throughout this mercury retrograde journey mercury will be triggering the saturn/neptune square- bringing us all face to face with any split we have going on between reality and illusion, practicality and dreams, the manifest and the unmanifest, the immanent and the transcendent. the saturn/neptune square is an invitation to bridge the material and spiritual worlds with more mastery and finesse- and mercury’s retrograde journey will help us to anchor that on the level of our minds, intellects and perceptions of ourselves and the world around us in the coming two months!
mercury’s front end shadow starts on may 4th, he stations retrograde at 13’08 gemini on may 18th, he stations direct again at 4’33 gemini on june 11th and he leaves his back end shadow on the evening of june 27th. so the whole entire mercury retrograde journey spans the months of may and june. throughout that time there are a few aspect configurations that get repeated three times because of mercury’s backward and forward motion. the first and arguably the most important being the trigger of the saturn/neptune square. mercury only opposes saturn once, but he squares neptune three times (for exact dates look at the table at the bottom of this article). he also trines the north node three times- bringing an evolutionary, growth oriented quality to the connections, communications and ideas birthed or generated during this potent mercury retrograde phase. throughout the month of may several planets in gemini trine the north node- so there is in fact a HUGE opening for shift, connections and inspiration to come in! all we have to do is have the ears to hear it and the eyes to see it :)
right smack in the middle of mercury’s retrograde journey he cojoins mars while both are in square aspect to neptune (may 27th-29th). this is a very important alignment to be aware of- as the mind and the will/ego drive are aligned but the squares to neptune can bring in a nebulous, confusing quality. i wrote in my may forecast that a theme this entire month (and next) will be discerning Truth from lies, fact from fiction or fantasy. both mercury and mars in gemini think they have a handle on the logical, rational truth- but neptune’s tense aspects can throw a veil of illusion, delusion, confusion or denial over things. not everything is what it seems- and it is really important that in the coming months we are willing to question our thoughts, ideas and takes on reality as well as that which is given to us through the media, our culture, our family and our friends. it’s definitely a month to scratch below the surface so you can get to the depths and Source of things- rather than just live superficially based on what everyone believes or what you parents/teachers/doctor/government is telling you.
the two mercury aspects that occur before and after the shadow phases are also quite telling. before mercury moves into his shadow he opposes saturn, as i mentioned above. and after he moves out of his post shadow phase he quincunxes pluto. mercury/saturn is about mastery of our minds, thoughts and perceptions of reality. yet it can also bring a sense of depression, alienation and only being able to see what is not right or not working (cynicism at it’s worst). mercury/pluto is about digging deeper than the surface- it’s about getting to the Truth. with pluto in capricorn we have to be willing to shatter foundations we have built our reality on- mentally and otherwise. if we keep clinging to the past or to what we were told- we won’t be able to have the powerful opening and realizations that are waiting on just the other side for us. this month we are being confronted with our own shallowness of thinking, our own denial of reality and our desire to check out (via drugs, alcohol, too much TV/computer/technology) so that we don’t have to face the emptiness, pain, suffering or anger inside. yet it’s only when we can confront these parts of ourselves that we can really know our own depths. and it’s only when we go deeper than our surface thoughts and emotions that we can really see what drives us and from that place we are able to work WITH this Source rather than be disconnected from it and experience it come at us as fate (which is merely the projection of Unconscious contents).
for detailed info on the mercury retrograde dates and aspects see the table below. during the weekly forecasts for each week i will go more in-depth into these aspects as well. and also be sure to check the weekly horoscopes for each week to see what part of your chart mercury’s journey is activating for you!
to make the most of this mercury retrograde- be willing to rethink your thoughts, question your mind, and face Truth and reality without losing sight of your dreams!
~divine harmony
MERCURY RETRO IN GEMINI
LAST ASPECT BEFORE ENTER SHADOW:
mercury opp saturn 5/3 (3’03 gemini)
ENTERS PRE-SHADOW early 5/4
ASPECTS DURING PRE-SHADOW:
mercury trine NN 5/7
mercury square neptune 5/9
STATIONS RETROGRADE 5/18 13’08 gemini
ASPECTS DURING RETROGRADE:
mercury conjunct mars 5/27 (both in square to neptune)
mercury square neptune 5/29
sun conjunct mercury- 5/30 (misdoing of mercury RX cycle)
mercury trine NN- 6/3
mercury sextile venus in leo 6/10
STATIONS DIRECT 6/11 4’33 gemini
(other important aspects around the time of station:)
(mars square chiron 6/11)
(NEPTUNE STATIONS RX 6/12)
POST SHADOW ASPECTS:
mercury trine NN 6/17
mercury square neptune- 6/23
(chiron stations RX 6/24)
OUT OF SHADOW 6/27