we are in the mercury retrograde shadow right now- as mercury has been passing all the degrees and making all the aspects he will make a total of 3 times by the time the mercury underworld journey is over. mercury has been in his shadow since may 22nd and he will leave his shadow on july 16th- so for about a 2 month window of time we are in the inward, downward, shamanistic journey of the conscious mind and intellect.
typically mercury likes to be linear, logical, clear and focused. when mercury is moving forward he is making things happen and moving about in the world! when mercury is slowing down to stop and/or he is retrograde things are quite different. mercury retrograde is a time to rethink, review and revise aspects of the past. it’s not a time to sign on the dotted line or try to figure everything out- instead it’s a time to go over things from the past and see how they can be realigned or if they need to be released entirely.
mercury retrograde gets a bad wrap- probably because we are an ego-driven society that likes to have things figured out and feel that we have to constantly be moving forward in life to be successful. yet any good shaman or psychotherapist knows that the past, the shadows and that which lies beneath the surface is not only interesting and insightful- it also holds the keys to our consciousness and evolution. so during mercury retrograde we supported in moving backwards a bit and going over things we thought we had completed but in fact still have some things to tie up and complete before we can really move on.
yes mercury rules travel, technology, communication and commerce- so things in those arenas of life tend to go a bit haywire under mercury retrograde (particularly the days surrounding the stations). i’ve heard many stories (and lived some as well) where website glitches happen, iPhones are lost, phone contacts disappear, car issues come up. yes these are not fun things to deal with- but underlying them all is a cosmic reason and trusting the flow of events during mercury retrograde is a must if you want to get through it without losing your mind or feeling frustrated and irritated all the time!
this mercury retrograde is definitely an interesting one. first of all is commences on june 7th with mercury stationing in cancer, the sign of emotions, home, family, mothering and nurturing. mercury will stay in cancer till june 17th and then he will backtrack into gemini where he will spend the remainder of the retrograde journey (until july 1st when he stations direct). gemini is the sign of the intellect, ideas, thoughts, communication and mental processes. cancer and gemini are very different- and i see this mercury retrograde as an opportunity to connect, re-connect or deepen the connection between our minds (gemini) and our hearts (cancer)- or our thoughts (gemini) and our feelings (cancer).
the first part of mercury’s retrograde in cancer is a time to rethink, review and revise the past, our attachments to it and anything we need to deal with in the home/family department. it’s a great time to get into the emotional garbage bin and reprocess feelings we just tossed there without much though- thinking they would just disappear or go away on their own. it’s also a great time to deal with childhood issues- which therapy, dreamwork and shamanistic journeys can help you access.
when mercury moves into gemini it’s a time to rethink, review and revise how we think, communicate and share our ideas with others. when mercury is retrograde he is in his psychopomp role where is is able to move between the upper and lower worlds. not many beings have this gift of moving between the worlds- for the most part you either stayed in the upper world or in the lower one, you did not travel between the two. it is interesting to note that the other two beings who could do this are hecate and persephone- two Dark Goddess archetypes. so mercury, when retrograde, is akin to the Dark Goddess. he has the ability to go beyond the surface of things (which is not his forte when he is direct at all) and he can get to the Truth. with mercury retrograde in cancer and then gemini we need to get to the Truth of our feelings and thoughts, hearts and minds.
this mercury retrograde commences during the lunar cycle that opened up with the new moon in gemini- typically a new moon full of information, travel, communication and new ideas coming in. yet that new moon was square to nebulous neptune- so there’s a lot going on this month that lies beneath the surface and we have to be willing to go down and in to get to the root of things. if we just stay on the surface we will miss out- not only that we will be incomplete. there is a big piece for us all during this mercury retrograde- but it requires work on our part to earn the ability to get that piece and put it in our personal puzzle so we can see the Greater Picture being formed.
the aspects of importance during this retrograde include mercury’s connection with jupiter, the north node, venus and juno. mercury/jupiter occurs on may 17th, june 25th and july 11th- bringing in a Higher Mind energy that is trying to help us see the Bigger Picture. mercury/north node occurs on may 26th, june 23rd and july 4th- bringing major insights about our growth, destiny and personal path of evolution. mercury/venus is exact on may 28th and june 21st- first with venus in aries and then with venus in taurus. there is definitely a them during this mercury retrograde around relationships and getting clarity on them. mercury/juno is exact june 17th- with both bodies at the karmic 29th degree- speaking to the huge opportunities for karmic completion in relationships of all kinds right now (for more info on that read the lunar insight on this new moon).
pay attention to the midpoint of the mercury retrograde cycle on june 19th- this often coincides with important information coming in, ideas coming to Light or revelations about something we are journeying with and trying to get clarity on. mercury stations direct on july 1st but he does not leave his shadow until july 16th- so we have until mid july to go over this territory, not once but three times! for more info on where this plays out for you read your weekly horoscopes (be sure to read for sun sign and rising sign).
with the new moon square neptune being followed up by mercury retrograde- this is definitely a month to schedule as much downtime in your life as you can. whether you can take a retreat, go away somewhere, or if it’s just an hour or two alone each week- make sure you give yourself the time, space and silence to listen to your Inner Voice. there certainly will be some insightful messages coming in- but it’s up to you create space in your life to not only hear them, but also to act upon them.
yours in the stars…
~divine harmony