Astrology Notes

Yep, the 'inevitable' is upon us, once again: Another round of Mercury retro, this time in Gemini / Taurus. Mercury just went retro, yesterday (May 06) evening at 10 pm PDT, and will go direct again on Sat May 30 at 6:22 pm PDT. 

Help! - how can we survive, without turning into a nervous wreck?

Well, as an 'initiate' (being born with Mercury retro), I feel called to give you some hints from a few decades of experience:

 

1) Be easy on yourself (esp. on your mind and nervous system) until getting into the groove of things. It usually takes a week or so to adjust to the different mode.

 

2) Be particularly mindful now - there is a tendency for the mind to be all over the place, and distracted.

Avoid getting scattered (esp. given the Mercury in Gemini quality of being 'all over the place'), collect the mind 'pieces', and be present with any situation and function 'at hand', esp. those beloved multi-tasking scenarios.

 

3) Retro is an inwards / backwards-oriented energy, so practice even more now meditation and mindfulness. Also an excellent chance (if not necessity) to deal with 'old unfinished business', 'loose ends', to clear communication themes from the past, often carried over from a previous Mercury retro time (last one was in Jan / Feb) which, if not obvious anyways, can be made conscious via mindfulness.

 

4) M-r in Gemini (until next Wed May 13) is actually almost 'natural', because Mercury rules the dual sign Gemini which loves learning and diversity. So get a new perspective, and amp up your grey brain matter. Great for re-addressing writing and communicative projects. 

 

5) M-r will be from May 13 on in slow and sensuous, values, and money oriented Taurus in which sign it will also turn direct again on May 30. In combination with professionally oriented and presently also stationary (from Earth perspective) Saturn in work and business focused Virgo, May is not quite the time yet to jump start a new career, business, or major professional project (even though, many people might be tempted to do it just now), simply because old issues and whatever has proven not to work in those regards need to be cleared first. Oftentimes, when decisions and transactions are being made during Mercury retro, important information comes up after the fact which may significantly change the implications, so that re-grets happen ("if I had only known that before!").

 

6) M-r is however an excellent time to repair and fix what has been neglected, esp. what has been an on-going nuisance, while one could get away with not attending to it, so far.

 

7) Also, M-r is a good time to re-connect with people you have lost sight of. With the Gemini / Taurus flavour, these contacts might primarily relate to casual acquaintances who might prove to be actually great bridges to other people or interests. The themes that this retro phase brings us also depends on the particular house that M-r activates in your birth chart. In any case, trust your intuition and sudden calling to contact who comes to mind (even though it might not make sense initially), and let yourself be surprised by where it leads to, when you speak to them.

 

8) Under Mercury retro, the odds for fabulous unexpected synchronicities are 99 %: as we do something intuitive and out of the ordinary, we allow spontaneous intervention of the universe that shows us our interconnectedness! Way cool and fun!

 

9) Choose the most direct mode of communication (phone rather than email, meeting in person rather than phone). For one thing, because miscommunication and assumptions ("I thought you got my email!!!") are less likely that way. But also, the more direct modes open up the opportunity to touch other subjects than the originally presumed purpose of the communication, which can lead to something even more important and that you would have never anticipated.

 

10) Be clear with agreements, double check whether you have been understood correctly, and repeat / rephrase back to them too.

 

11) When 'glitches' occur, be fluid and flexible like quicksilver (Mercury's metal), think "shift happens", and turn the paradigm around: What could be the opportunity in this mishap? Re-frame your way of thinking about things. And entertain the possibility that subconsciously you might have arranged a wild alternative to the original 'plan A' which - who knows? - might lead to something new and better than the 'regular' and 'efficient mind in rut mode' could have come up with?

 

12) Enjoy those unintentional puns, slips, and new connections in the mind, be creative and brainstorm - esp. together with your Mercury retro friends ;-)

 

Happy retro times to you,

Mercur-elanie