While I’ve touched on Mercury in a few past articles, there is an interesting difference in Mercury’s movements this year that warrants a bit more attention. This year will see its share of planetary retrogrades, and it appears that Mercury will be adding an additional episode of retrograde activity to the mix, giving us all a bonus period of opportunity for reflection, contemplation and reversal.
Mercury typically goes into retrograde motion three times yearly, making this year of four retrograde events extra special, and very appropriate given the hefty dynamics of 2009 that I’ve already touched on in previous articles. When a planet is described as in retrograde motion, it means that it appears to have reversed its forward movement through the cosmos, and is seen to be moving backward for a period of time, depending on the planet involved. (For Mercury, this period of time is typically three weeks.) Each planet experiences retrograde motion at some point, except for the Sun and Moon. The planet doesn’t actually move backward, but it does slow down in its orbit enough for it to be seen as moving backward from our vantage point here on Earth.
The easiest way to understand this in a physical sense is by using the visual of two athletes; yourself and another. Picture yourself running a marathon and a runner who has consistently been ten paces ahead of you suddenly begins to become fatigued and slows his pace markedly, enough for you to inch your way past him. You move along this way for awhile, the gap slowly widening between you and the runner you just passed until suddenly, he has regained his stamina and begins slowly closing the gap again. In time he passes you and regains the lead. This experience can be likened to the visual retrograde motion of a planet as seen from Earth.
Astrologically, the retrograde motion of each planet takes on a profound energy all its own. For instance, Mercury retrogrades, while reviled by many as a chaotic time of mangled messages, stunted communications, confused decisions and crazy driving, is actually a divine gift…a “do-over” if you will. It is a chance to adjust our thinking, attitudes and decisions, which may have gone a bit off-course in our travels. You see, when we experience the so-called “ill-effects” of retrograde Mercury, including frustration and stress, we are usually experiencing them because we are not allowing ourselves to go with the flow of events. This is likely due to our ego-attachment to the status-quo, which could have the effect of stunting our forward movement along our life paths. When facing any approaching stage of retrograde Mercury, it’s important to remember that he does not set out to turn us on our ears, but merely to wake us up to the fact that we could be doing things just a little bit differently, and therefore more effectively. Moving into this period with the intention of paying attention and remaining flexible will do us all a world of good.
What is extremely important to note here is that retrogrades tend to run in cycles, in which Mercury will cover the exact same signs and degrees on approximately the same calendar days as an earlier era of time. The reason I bring this up is because the exact Mercury retrogrades we experience this year will be in the exact same signs and degrees on approximately the same calendar days as they were in the year 1930.
Do I have your full attention yet?
Some remarkable similarities have come to my attention regarding the exact Mercury retrogrades of 1930 and 2009. For instance, during 1930 our President was Herbert Hoover; a Leo who faced the daunting task of leading our country through a crippling economic crisis…and many feel that he dropped the ball. In 2009, our President is Barack Obama; another Leo who is facing the daunting task of leading us through what is potentially another crippling economic crisis. He has the opportunity to pick up the ball Hoover dropped, and make the necessary adjustments to inspire us through this crisis. I say ‘inspire,’ because it’s important that we all realize that we’re in it, too…we all have to participate in our economic recovery. History is once again repeating itself to give us another opportunity to grow as individuals and as a society, and to make a difference this time. It’s a profound do-over if you ask me!
Do we have what it takes to do it right this time? Of course we do! We always did.
The Mercury retrogrades occurring in 2009 are affording us the opportunity to make mental adjustments about our decisions and our individual and collective focus during the year. Our current focus is on bringing innovative ideas and visionary awareness into the forefront of this journey we’re on, which is in direct keeping with the planetary indicators. The events occurring during 2009’s Mercury retrograde events will help us to let go of our past, release the fear, and move boldly into our newly-adjusted future. Adjustments have already been made, and will continue to be made throughout this year with the help of these retrograde events and our shared cooperation.
We’ve already experienced the first of four retrograde Mercury phases this year, beginning January 11th and ending February 1st, which began in the Air sign of Aquarius and ended in Earth sign Capricorn. The next phase will be coming up on May 7th in Air sign Gemini, and will end May 30th in Earth sign Taurus. The third event will be September 7 in Air sign Libra, and will end September 29th in Earth sign Virgo. The fourth and final Mercury retrograde event in 2009 will begin December 26th in Earth sign Capricorn, and will actually end January 15, 2010 in Earth sign Capricorn.
What is especially important about the opportunities presented by these Mercury events is that the adjustments we make will also be in our attitudes in relationship to each other, and in working together as a society. Partnerships in several areas of our lives become the focus and area of our personal and collective fine-tuning all throughout the year. It is important for us to recognize that we all walk this journey together, that we share a common core desire, and that is to be happy. Whatever this means for the individual, as a society we can work together in the spirit of cooperation, so that all are recognized as worthy of sharing this path. We have the opportunity now to operate from a place of mutual support and dignity, rather than our past experience of operating from a place of fear.
Again, it’s all a matter of free will. What we do with what is offered is entirely up to us.
I’m game…are you?
Namaste.
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