Like all Mercury retrograde periods, these three weeks offer a chance
to reorganize in the areas of our life ruled by Mercury. These are the
houses of your chart ruled by Gemini or Virgo, any planets in these
signs in your chart, and the house occupied by your natal, progressed,
or solar return Mercury.
All retrogrades show us that sometimes it is more important to be
inwardly oriented than outer-directed. These are times when our previous
activities "echo back" information about what we've already experienced
during a planetary direct motion phase.
When the inner planets are retrograde, our personal life is most
subject to review, reflection, re-doing or getting a new angle on those
affairs. When the outer planets are retrograde, we get the same process
of review but it impacts our place in the larger scheme of things,
whether social, cultural, or transpersonal-global.
When retrograde, Mercury, the "Guide of Souls," challenges us to
cultivate our personal understanding of our "fellowship with the
Eternal," explore our deeper issues and useful but overlooked details in
what's being discussed or asserted, take an unusual view, and allow
ourselves to be led by the future implications of what's happening. It’s
a time when we truly get a new look at many things and come to a
different understanding of how the various affairs of our inner and
outer life are coordinated, or need to be.
We can get different perspectives and insights into prior events,
messages, and signals, and can fill in important gaps in our
understanding. Sometimes it may seem like it's one step forward, two to
the side, one step back, one to the other side, then two steps forward,
but often we find that we are offered entirely new and crucial
perspectives and knowledge that can help us when it's time to move
forward again after the retrograde is past.
In yesterday's article we explored specific qualities of the present
Mercury retrograde period. The period before Mercury goes retrograde is
important in getting your paperwork and other life areas in shape, so
take note of late November and see what hit a threshold and now requires
a delay, research, or renewal.
For now, while Mercury is retrograde, please take this period to
re-trace ground covered in recent weeks, get new information and
interpretations of old ideas and perceptions, and find new points of
view. All these are great things to do while Mercury is retrograde.
We are now in a three week retrograde period to deal with things
we've put off, or take care of things from the past. This April 2011
Mercury retrograde is giving us new understanding about the events of
the past four months.
Once Mercury is retrograde, we often experience that communications
and other Mercury ruled areas are slower than usual. It's time to re-do,
review, rehearse, research, and take a new look at many things that
evolved to a threshold during the period before Mercury goes stationary
retrograde. So during this time we can again reconsider, reinterpret,
and rework Aries issues and activities, seeing their significance from
new angles of understanding.
Looking back (a perfect thing to do during Mercury retrograde!), we
got Cancer insights during the Summer 2007 Mercury RX, and Scorpio
insights during the Autumn 2007 Mercury RX.
We got Aquarius insights during the early 2008 Mercury RX, and
insights about our Gemini areas during the Summer 2008 Mercury RX in
Gemini. We completed a natural Air trine of Mercury RX energies when it
went through Libra in Sept-Oct 2008, offering new insights about
relationships, judgments, balance, fairness, and ways we are or are not
being an equal with others in our world.
It again moved through Aquarius in early 2009, offering insights
about our friendships, goals, ambitions, ideals, group work, larger
vision of how we can contribute to our world, how our love and
enthusiasms are exteriorizing, and the greatest good for the greatest
number.
When it retrograded back into Capricorn January 2009, we got insights
about our public self image, how we self-organized to make our lives
more effective, and how willing we were to embrace different ways to use
discipline and our power to take responsibility effectively.
In May 2009, we got new ways of communicating, researching,
understanding, and getting insights into how we can or should discover
blessings that can reward our faith and purity of heart. When it
retrograded through Taurus, we got to review values and how we use what
we have, or need, so that our new emerging self-images can be sustained.
In September 2009, we got new perspectives in relationships and how
equal we are or are not, finding new ideals that prepared us for
important Saturn in Libra experiences that began late October 2009. When
it slipped back into Virgo, we got a review on how we needed to adjust
to make our lives more effective, or got a new look at work and/or
health issues.
In December 2009 and January 2010, we got new perspectives on why we
had to surrender in certain ways in 2009, and found unique interactive
circumstances that fit our gifts, or gifts to fit our circumstances.
Adjustments helped us achieve closure while giving our curiosity
something to chew on in the way of ideas we've been externalizing since
February 2010.
In April-May 2010 we again got a look back at Taurus themes and
issues, and mobilized in some way that has been cooking steadily since
then. In the August-September 2010 Virgo retrograde period, we got
insights into the Taurus energies that affected us between Spring and
late Summer, and also got more insights into Saturn lessons as they
presented themselves when Saturn occupied this Virgo retrograde span.
That was October 2007 through February 2008, July 2008 through November
2008, and February 2009 through August 2009.
These times of Mercury retrograde in Earth signs illustrated how we
could be more practical in organizing our lives. In 2010 we began to
finish up some things, preparing to move into a more "limitless" set of
possibilities.
In April 2010 we mobilized the Taurus areas of our chart, and by
mid-May began a slow, steady growth mode through the August 2010 Mercury
retrograde in Virgo which began the current adventure. The last Mercury
retrograde period in December finished the "total Earth" influence of
the Dec 2009-Aug 2010 period, as Mercury went retrograde in Capricorn
but then slipped back into Sagittarius, a Fire sign.
This indicated the retrograde Earth influence dominating 2010 gave
way in December to a blend of Earth and Fire, moving the retrograde
focus from practical matters toward inspirational and spiritual matters.
We began a final "finishing up" period in December 2010, and now have
entered a new Fire era where the past is giving way to the NOW.
Since January we've been able to see how we can work with foresight
to prepare for "future supply." We're now entering a period of
re-shaping our perceptions and expectations on the basis of the new
"cosmic order" that began in mid-March 2011. This is the time to review
recent beginnings and initiatives and rework or research what we need
to, getting ready for the rolling series of starts indicated by the
coming planetary conjunctions with Jupiter (many of which will activate The Grand Irrationality.
We now begin a series of Mercury retrograde periods where the
emphasis varies, with the Fire element predominating over the next year.
The next Mercury retrograde in August again begins in early Earth
(linking it to the 2010 periods) and retrogrades back to mid-Leo, while
the coming Nov-Dec 2011 Mercury retrograde period will be entirely in
Sagittarius, a Fire sign.
2012 extends the blending of elements, with the March-April Mercury
retrograde beginning in Aries and retrograding back to late Pisces
(Water), going direct on the exact degree Jupiter went stationary direct
in November 2010. The July 2012 retrograde is entirely in Leo (Fire),
while the November 2012 period begins in early Sagittarius and
retrogrades back to mid-Scorpio (Water).
By learning about these recurring Mercury retrograde periods, we can
understand how to deal with them productively, as well as the months
afterward, which they also indirectly influence. Since now in
March-April 2011 Mercury goes stationary at 25 Aries and retrogrades
back to 13 Aries, you can learn a lot about this coming period by
reading all you can about Mercury retrograde in Aries.
You can get more information how this important time of Mercury
retrograde (which happens three times a year every year!) affects you
personally by getting a copy of my book "A New Look At Mercury
Retrograde" and reading the section on Mercury retrograde in the houses.
However, you can also get some very useful ideas of how it works by
consulting the article that I linked to in the first paragraph of this
article titled "How Does Mercury Retrograde Work in the Houses." The
ideas I offer there work, whether you're referencing the natal or Solar
charts.
To that end, the houses in astrology show us the specific areas of
our worldly affairs where we experience a given planetary influence. If
you know your natal chart, then read the corresponding house in the
article. However, whether you do or don't know your chart, you can find
out Mercury's approximate position in your solar houses (created by your
Sun sign position) by consulting this table:
For birthdays between:
Mar 14 to 31, read Mercury retrograde in the 1st house.
Apr 1 to 13, 12th and 1st houses.
Apr 14 to 30, 12th house.
May 1 to 13, 11th and 12th houses.
May 14 to 31, 11th house.
Jun 1 to 14, 10th and 11th houses.
Jun 15 to Jul 2, 10th house.
Jul 3 to 15, 9th and 10th houses.
Jul 16 to Aug 2, 9th house.
Aug 3 to 15, 8th and 9th houses.
Aug 16 to Sep 2, 8th house.
Sep 3 to 15, 7th and 8th houses.
Sep 16 to Oct 3, 7th house.
Oct 4 to 16, 6th and 7th houses.
Oct 17 to Nov 2, 6th house.
Nov 3 to 15, 5th and 6th houses.
Nov 16 to Dec 1, 5th house.
Dec 2 to 14, 4th and 5th houses.
Dec 15 to 31, 4th house.
Jan 1 to 13, 3rd and 4th houses.
Jan 14 to 30, 3rd house.
Jan 31 to Feb 11, 2nd and 3rd houses.
Feb 12 to 28, 2nd house.
Mar 1 to 13, 1st and 2nd houses.
This table is approximate, and if your birthday falls near the edge
of two possible positions you may need to read both to know which
applies to your Sun sign. Of course, one should always have a correct
natal chart calculated professionally in order to know where the planets
are situated, as this helps clarify your exact cyclic pattern.
The Guide of Souls in March-April 2011 - Mercury Slowing Down, Preparing to go Retrograde at 25 Aries Gathering the Cluster
Astrology and Mercury Retrograde April 2011 in Aries - What Is Mercury Retrograde?
Mercury Retrograde in Aries in March-April 2011 - A New Look At A New World Already Happening
Copyright © 2011 Robert Wilkinson