the first mercury retrograde of 2018 is incoming! we have been in the front end shadow since march 8th- with the official stationary shift into the Underworld on march 22nd. with mercury in the sign of mars (aries) and a mars retrograde coming in the summer- we are all being asked to reign in our will, drive and ego energies in heathy ways! the coming months of mercury retrograde (and the following mars retrograde in june/july/august) is a time to master our masculine side rather than indulge in reactivity, impulsivity and rashness. thing is- neither aries or mars like to be told what to do! you tell them what to do and they want to do the opposite. we all have to cultivate our capacity for self-discipline and self-awareness right now and in the coming months (personally, politically, globally and collectively). having the wisdom to see the long-term repercussions of actions taken and words said right now is key. this is not a time to burn bridges but instead to go back over the past and see where the previously built bridges were shoddy or where they have fallen out of repair- and then get to fixing them! (literally and metaphorically).
mercury entered his front end shadow on march 8th- making his first past over the degrees spanning 4’46 aries and 16’54 aries. the front end shadow is like a preview of what is to come. it’s the Universe showing signs of what your personal (and our collective) rethinking/reviewing/revising process is going to be about. of course what house this plays out in your chart is important (so read the weekly horoscopes for sun sign and rising sign) but you can also glean info about the transit in general by seeing the sign it is in and the aspects it is making.
one of the defining signatures of this mercury retrograde is his station retrograde closely square to pluto (with exact mercury/pluto square on may 7th after exiting back end shadow) and his triple square to saturn- particularly the one around 4/2-4/5 when mars is also involved. mercury square saturn is twofold. on the one hand it is a call to get real, be masterful and deal with things with maturity and restraint. yet shadow mercury/mars- particularly when mercury is in aries- is repression, depression, restriction and power/control dynamics in communication, information and thinking. there’s a lot of capricorn focus this year (i call it the ‘capricorn confluence’) and a lot of the heavy weights are in this sign. really looking at issues with power, control, rigidity, authoritarianism, resisting change and being stuck in the past is so key!
the first of the 3 mercury/saturn squares was on march 10th- the other two are on april 5th and april 25th. the period around april 2nd through 5th is extra potent as mars cojoins saturn in capricorn and then they both square mercury. mars rules mercury in aries- and in capricorn he is in a powerful place of will and tenacity. yet he is being constricted and controlled by karmic and patriarchal saturn. mars/saturn is great for disciplining the will and harnessing our anger/drive but it can also manifest as smoldering but repressed anger and rage that is barely being kept in check. with the square to mercury in mars ruled aries- a pressure cooker kind of energy can be present in communications and interactions with others right now. be aware and navigate with care! this is not a time to blurt things out or take impulsive action. it can cost us! instead it’s a time to have a healthy sense of self-restraint, count to 10, breathe, and check our reactivity. if you cannot do this find some place to be alone and take a pillow and scream in it (i am not kidding). you need to let the energy out in conscious ways without repressing or stuffing it (it will just come out uncontrollably in ways you cannot fathom).
once mercury goes direct on april 15th we have a series of powerful astrological alignments! the same day of the station chiron the Wounded Healer moves into aries- the same sign mercury is retrograde in! in the days that follow we have saturn stationing retrograde on the 17th, sun conjunct uranus on the 18th, mars conjunct black moon lilith on the 19th and pluto stationing retrograde the 22nd. this is a powerful portal of time where self mastery and healthy self restraint will be great allies! being willing to see where our wounding and unhealthy relationship to the masculine runs us personally and collectively is key to healing! then we head to april 25th with the 3rd and final mercury/saturn square followed by mars conjunct pluto on the 26th! mars is the lower will and pluto is the Higher Will. if you use your lower will in service of the Higher Will then this can be a powerful time of realization, manifestation and moving mountains! but if your ego is running the show and/or if you are using the force of your personality to hold it all together and keep everything under control- watch out!
this is definitely an intense mercury retrograde- there is no way around that. what we CAN do with this energy is work on our relationship to our anger, rage, aggression, will and drive. learning to relate consciously to this part of ourselves- seeing where our anger is Sourcing from. doing shadow work and self-inquiry around the triggers arising can be very fruitful at this time. it’s great to have an ally during this process as a lot can arise and having a great therapist, healer, friend to process with can be worth more than gold.
the best use of this mercury retrograde is to do inner work- particularly around reactivity (calling ourselves on it, waking up in the midst of it so we can stop it from running us, etc…) and also keep this mantra in mind: be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a battle. the clash between personal (aries) and political (capricorn)- between willfulness and discipline is in focus. ultimately we are seeking to fully activate all the archetypes of the zodiac- by being clear where we tend towards the shadow side of things and where we can bring in more Light. aries is the warrior and capricorn is the patriarch. the best of these two combines when we are willing to fight for Truth, justice and righteousness. choose your words wisely in the coming months and fight for that which is worth fighting for. and fight fair! no fighting from a closed heart. staying connected as you passionately express yourself is the path to healing <3 ~divine harmony DATES FOR MERCURY RETROGRADE 3/22-4/15 (from 3/8-5/3 including front and back end shadow) stations retrograde 16’54 aries- 3/22 stations direct 4’46 aries 4/15 enter front end shadow 3/8 3/10- mercury square saturn 3/15- mercury trine NN leo 3/16- mercury square mean BML cap (day of jupiter/eris quincunx with stationary jupiter) 3/19- mercury conjunct venus 16’21 aries- STATIONRY (sun into aries 3/20- SPRING OSTARA) 3/22- mercury RETRO 16’54 aries (close to conjunct venus, square pluto- NOT EXACT TILL OUT OF SHADOW) 3/27- mercury square mean BML cap 3/28- mercury semisex neptune 4/1- mercury RX trine NN sun conjunct mercury 11’56 aries (4/2 mars/saturn conjunct 8’57 cap) 4/4- mercury square mars 4/5- mercury square saturn 4/6- mercury semisex venus in taurus 4/15- DIRECT 4’46 aries (chiron into aries***) (4/17 saturn RETRO) 4/18- sun/uranus 4/19 mars/BML 4/22 pluto RETRO 4/25- mercury square saturn (4/26- mars conjunct pluto) 4/27- mercury trine NN leo exit backend shadow 16’54- may 3rd first aspects out of shadow: mercury square BML - 5/5 mercury square pluto- 5/7 pluto cojoins BML- 5/17