Most people I encounter these days have heard of Mercury Retrograde (MR) and know it has something to do with “communication and challenges.” I think of it as a time where everyone has to walk backwards, in order to become aware of things we have been missing. Whatever we are taking for granted (even though we don’t think we are), or have not seen, will be brought to our attention. When this happens, we can either get upset at the inconvenience, or we can take a deep breath, and look within to see what the situation has presented itself with, and where we need to be more aware and find new appreciation.
Things happen
Being that I am an astrologer, people like to tell me their crazy stories and what they’ve experienced and learned. Things that can be experienced are weird electrical glitches, technology craziness, misunderstandings, car break downs, traffic jams and more. There are many advantages to MR besides inconvenience, and I’d like to help you take advantage of them. Before I get into it though, I wanted to answer the most frequently asked question I get.
“Why does it really wreak havoc in my life sometimes, and I barely notice it other times?”
Well, one answer is that it depends on the positions of the planets in the sky when you are born, in comparison to where in the sky Mercury is retrograding. Sometimes it’s in an area that is really “sensitive” to you personally, and because of that, you experience more challenge. Other times, you barely get affected because Mercury is moving through less active areas.
The other answer is that the more challenging of an MR it is for you, the more you need to “wake up,” slow down and open your eyes to something other than what you have been focusing on.
Our Agenda
You see, we all tend to set our goals and intentions for what we want, and bring our own agenda to the table of our life. We think that things should go “our way” (the best way), and at our pace (the best pace), and we expect the world around us to agree without resistance, and go along with us. When we forget to be flexible, open and adaptable, and become too rigid physically, mentally emotionally or spiritually is when MR tends to hit the hardest.
By letting go of expectations and going with the flow now, (instead of when you are forced to) you can make the most of this time, and get some important work done, coming out of MR ready to move forward.
Retrogrades bring focus inward and to the past
When a planet retrogrades, it retraces its steps in the sky, revisiting territory it’s been to before. It does this in our lives as well. It causes us to rethink things, reconnect and regain new ground in the form of new possibilities.
Use MR to:
- Pick up where you left off on a previous project or endeavor
- Review notes from old meetings, previous journaling or classes you took.
- Develop and grow ideas you had
- Be more observant
- Rethink your life and your path ask yourself if you are headed in the direction you want to, and if not, what you need to do?
- Pay attention to your intuition and how you truly “feel” about things in your life.
- Look for new perspectives to existing situations
- Slow down and be open to the “unexpected”
In the same way that walking backwards is harder than walking forwards, when we do so, we use a different set of muscles and our brain has to think differently. So, during MR, take your time, don’t rush, be open, and most importantly remember that it is not a “bad” time, but rather a time of new possibilities.
2014 Retrogrades: February 6th to 28th | June 7th to July 2nd | October 4th to 25th.
