we are fully in the mercury retrograde frequency, as the shadow of mercury retrograde began yesterday as mercury entered into the 18th degree of scorpio (where mercury will station direct again in late november). the actual mercury retrograde does not commence until election day (11/6) which should make for some interesting shenanigans regarding the whole voting-for-president thing, but since mundane astrology is not my forte i will stick to the psychological and spiritual realms and help you understand what this means for your Spirit and Soul ;)
this mercury retrograde looks to be very intense. first of all the retrograde spans the first 5 degrees of sagittarius and the last 12 degrees of scorpio- which symbolize the realms of the heights (sadge) and the depths (scorpio). with both the lord of karma (saturn) and the evolutionary north node also in the latter sign of scorpio our Soul’s growth and destiny is intimately tied up with with lies beneath the surface and in the shadows. with mercury stationing retrograde we have the mind turning inward and downward- diving deep into the psyche to glean insights and face fears. when retrograde mercury is the shaman and psychopomp- guide to the souls- he takes us down and in and asks us to let go of the need for Light, air, conscious control so that we can be led to what we may not rationally choose, but what is good and beneficial for our Souls.
to add to the picture the first aspect mercury makes before and after he stations retrograde is a square to neptune. the first one happens on 10/29 as slow-moving mercury who is preparing for a stop squares retrograde neptune who is preparing to go direct on 11/11. then on 11/13 retrograde mercury squares recently turned direct neptune- bringing these two together a second time. mercury/neptune can be very idealistic, romantic, creative and spiritual- but this is a square so the potential for deception, denial, illusions, confusion and delusion is heightened at this time. having this happen around the time of the election does not bode well for transparency and honesty in the neither the campaigns, nor the outcome of the election. something is not as it seems. the same can be said for our personal experience. our desire to see what we want to see and/or pretend to be something we are not to others can lead us down the slippery path of deception and delusion. whatever is up for us during this mercury retrograde- it is likely not to become fully clear until after the last mercury/neptune square on 12/11.
the upcoming eclipses make this dynamic retrograde journey pack even more of a punch! on 11/13 we have the solar eclipse in scorpio and on 11/28 we have the lunar eclipse in gemini. the solar eclipse is conjunct the evolutionary north node in scorpio and it activates the uranus/pluto square- making for some smash bang new beginnings that are a direct result of some very intense endings that cleared the way for the new to birth itself. the lunar eclipse in gemini looks to be the most intense of the bunch. it is conjunct black moon lilith and forms a YOD/finger of god aspect with venus conjunct saturn and mars conjunct pluto. with both the Divine Lovers tied up with the lord of karma and the lord of the underworld- the potential for deep, intense realizations about the shadow, the underworld and the karma we have to pay for previous actions is very high now! for more info on these eclipses stay tuned for the lunar insights posted a week or so previous to the lunation. but suffice it to say- this is quite the eclipse portal we are moving through and it takes us into the last part of the famed 2012 year. are we having fun yet? ;)
the Light at the end of the tunnel shines as uranus stations direct on 12/13 and mercury leaves his shadow on 12/14. that same day mercury trines uranus bringing to Light that which was hidden in the shadows, or perhaps purposely held back to mislead us. if we were doing the deep inner Soul work asked of us during mercury retrograde, this aspect can be liberating and freeing. a whole new world can come into the realm of possibility! if we avoided dealing with reality and looking at the shadow- and just stayed stuck in the neptune fog of delusion and denial- mercury/uranus can be a sudden and extreme wake-up call. either way life will get exciting mid-december, not that it wasn’t exciting beforehand.
as we traverse the first few days of mercury’s shadow- before he stations retrograde on 11/6 and head’s into the realm of the shadow (scorpio) on 11/13 (the same day as the solar eclipse!)- we have an opportunity to align with our Soul’s journey. with so much scorpio going on for the next couple of years there really is no escaping the pull within. may as well initiate that journey and become the shaman/midwife, rather than the victim of your experience =)
yours in the downward spiral…
~divine harmony
p.s. for precise dates see the table below…
10/18 mercury enters his shadow
10/25 mercury sextiles venus
10/28 mercury moves into sagittarius
10/29 mercury squares retrograde neptune
11/1-11/3 venus in libra activates the uranus/pluto square
11/6 mercury stations retrograde at 4’17 sagittarius
11/11 neptune stations direct at 0’22 pisces
11/13 solar eclipse in scorpio
mercury squares DIRECT neptune
mercury moves back into scorpio
11/14 moon occults mercury
11/17 sun cojoins mercury- marking the midway point of the current retrograde cycle
11/26 mercury stations direct at 18’12 scorpio
venus cojoins saturn
11/23-11/27 mars activates the uranus/pluto square
11/28 lunar eclipse in gemini which forms a YOD/finger of God aspect that is HUGE.
12/11 mercury squares neptune- both direct
12/13 uranus stations direct at 4’37 aries
12/14 mercury leaves his shadow
mercury trine uranus direct**