as i write this we are in the first days of mercury’s last official retrograde of 2013. mercury is the planet of mind, communication and thinking and he goes retrograde three times a year for approximately three weeks long each time. typically the linear, logical mind wants to be direct, dealing with things and moving about unhindered, but when mercury is retrograde his mental gears are slowed down and all kinds of mercury-related snafus happen. mercury governs technology, commerce, transportation, and communication- and when he is retrograde we often find that issues around these areas of life can arise. the best use of mercury retrograde is to turn our awareness within and focus less on the external world and trying to control it or organize it- and focus more on our inner world and getting to know our own depths and our own Souls.
this mercury retrograde packs a punch for several reasons. for one mercury is in the deep, occult and smoldering sign of scorpio- so our inward/downward journey can take us to the depths of the deepest layers of the Unconscious. scorpio rules all the taboo topics of society: sex, money, power, control, death and taxes. so with mercury retrograde we may find that these areas of life and our obsessions with them OR our fears around them are up big time. to add to this we have several heavy hitter bodies in scorpio as well. the sun is in scorpio as of the evening of 10/22, karmic saturn has been in scorpio since october of 2012 and the evolutionary north node has also been in scorpio since september of 2012. the sun transits these degrees once a year, but saturn only does so once every 29/30 years and the nodes only do so once every 18/19 years. so the astrology we have playing out right now is definitely rare and as such it has deeper implications and meaning. both saturn and the north node tend to push us to our edge and force us to grow in ways we may have been avoiding previously, so this mercury retrograde can be focused on confronting where we hold ourselves back and also confronting what we need to release and let go of in order to move forward on our evolutionary journey.
mercury moved into scorpio on 9/29 and entered his shadow on 10/1. the shadow of mercury begins when mercury moves over the degrees of the zodiac that he will end up going over two more times due to his retrograde and direct stations. for the detailed breakdown of all aspects made by mercury during his shadow and retrograde journey see the table below. for a brief synopsis read on…
the aspects mercury makes three times during this cycle are very powerful. first of all he makes sweet aspects to neptune, pluto and chiron- bringing focus to spiritual healing, transformation and evolution. with neptune, chiron and mercury all in water signs we would do well to attend to our emotions, feelings and depths in the coming weeks- as there is gold to be found there but it will only be found if we pay attention to what is bubbling to the surface of our awareness. pay attention to how you feel in your body when you are around people, when you are doing things, when you are thinking certain thoughts. your body will let you know what is true for you- not what is true for others, what is reasonable, what looks good- but what is your own authentic embodied Truth.
mercury also squares juno and cojoins the north node and saturn. this is triggering a longer term transit of saturn and the nodes square juno, the asteroid Goddess of partnership and marriage. another focus of this mercury retrograde is likely to be around agreements, contracts, commitments and relationships in our lives. addressing the reality of them, where they are lacking, where they are no longer working and then seeing if they can be fixed or if they need to be release altogether is up for us right now and will be so for the remainder of the year.
mercury also triggers the uranus/pluto square three different times- bringing HUGE focus to the breakdowns and breakthroughs playing out in our lives. mercury is demanding that we get to the root of issues, rather than just stay on the surface. he is also asking that we look at the shadow, address what is toxic and no longer working, and see where we need to clear things out or where a death process needs to happen so that new life can take hold.
now to add to all of this- right smack in the middle of the mercury retrograde cycle we have a potent solar eclipse in scorpio. this eclipse is conjunct karmic saturn and conjunct the evolutionary north node- showing that major new cycles are being birthed at the same time that major old cycles are dying. it’s a huge pivotal point of shift- and it’s also a huge pivotal point of CHOICE. what we choose, what we intend, what we act upon in the coming weeks and months are going to be the defining factors in the unfolding of our karma and evolution. remember karma is simply rewards or consequences for past actions taken. some of these actions relate to present day situations- some are deeply rooted in the past (past lives even). karma may be seen as fate- and i guess it can be seen that way when looking at it from the ego. but when looking at it from the Soul’s perspective- karma is simply the unfolding of the choices we have made in the past. from this perspective we are always responsible for our own destiny and we are choosing that destiny with each action taken in every moment.
mercury will station direct on 11/10 and will move out of his backend shadow by 11/25- just in time for thanksgiving in the US! so after weeks of deep introspection, reflection, shadow dancing and dealing with our own demons- we end up at a holiday where we can give thanks, have gratitude and share the abundance in our lives. remember that from 11/1 on we are in the darkest part of the yearly/solar cycle (in the northern hemisphere) which is best honored the way nature honors this time. turning within, hibernating, dreaming, and letting go of the past so that what was in the past can become mulch for the new births we are dreaming of.
happy mercury inward/downward journeying!
~divine harmony
p.s. all this scorpio action will play out in different areas of each of our charts. for more info check your WEEKLY HOROSCOPES and be sure to read for your sun sign and your rising sign :)
TABLE OF DATES
MERCURY RX
9/29 mercury into scorpio
9/30- mercury parallel NN
10/1- mercury trine neptune RX 3’03
10/2- mercury square juno
10/5- mercury conjunct NN 7’48 scorpio
10/6- mercury sextile pluto
10/7- mercury trine chiron RX
10/8- mercury quincunx uranus RX
10/8- mercury conjunct saturn 10’52
10/21- mercury RX 18’23 scorpio
10/24- mercury RX semisex venus
10/29- mercury RX conjunct saturn 13’19
mercury RX semisquare ceres
10/31- mercury RX semisquare venus
11/1- mercury RX sextile mars
mercury sextile pluto
quincunx uranus RX
trine chiron RX
11/2- mercury RX square juno
mercury conjunct NN 7’46
11/3- parallel NN, saturn, juno
SOLAR ECLIPSE conjunct mercury
11/8- mercury RX sextile venus in cap
11/9- mercury semisex ceres in libra
mercury trine neptune RX 2’34
11/10- mercury DIRECT 2’29 scorpio
11/1-mercury trine neptune RX 2’34
11/16- mercury semisex ceres in libra
11/18- mercury conjunct NN 7’42 scorpio
11/19- mercury quincunx uranus RX
11/20- mercury trine chiron STATIONARY DIRECT (as of 11/19)
mercury sextile pluto
11/23- mercury parallel juno
mercury parallel NN
11/25- mercury square juno
mercury parallel saturn
mercury conjunct saturn 16’33 scorpio