Moving Backwards
Mercury retrograde is one of the few astrological concepts that are a part of the public consciousness. It's a phrase that I think the majority of people have probably heard, though I'd bet that most of them have no idea what it means.
Mercury is considered retrograde when it appears to move backwards in the heavens from our position on Earth, though its orbit around the Sun hasn't actually changed. Astrologically, this is said to be a time when those things that are associated with Mercury go a bit haywire and when we are forced to revisit recent Mercury-related things.
Mercury is the planet of communication, thought processes, dualities (think twins), our perceptions. Its Greek mythology equivalent is Hermes, making it also the planet of tricksters and thieves, liars and actors. It rules our personal communication, thoughts, and travel. In retrograde, Mercury is blamed for everything from crashed email inboxes to lost luggage. We are cautioned to avoid signing contracts, purchasing electronics and appliances, and to keep our words sweet for the inevitability of having to eat them.
I've done my best to pay attention to Mercury's retrograde cycles so I could decide if they were really worth all the fuss. This year, Mercury was retrograde for New Year's (until January 16th) and then again from mid-April till mid-May. During neither of these retrogrades did I have any issues with electronics or appliances, my car didn't conk out or wind up wrapped around a tree, and I didn't stick my foot in my mouth (or if I did, it wasn't egregious enough to remember just a handful of months later).
I've read - though I have no idea where - that people born under a Mercury retrograde are perhaps less affected when the planet retrogrades in transit; they were born under that influence and are therefore more comfortable with it than the general population. I'm not sure if that theory holds water on a large scale, but it seems to work for me as I was born under one of these cycles.
Mercury will retrograde again on August 21st, and it seems that I've decided to tempt the cosmos this time around. I'll be traveling the four-ish hours to visit Bradshaw and seeing Project for the first time in nearly five years. Who knows what sort of issues I could be walking into?
Have you ever had a Mercury retrograde experience or do you think it's much ado about nothing?
Labels: astrology, everyday musings
posted by nicalyse @ 8:11 AM
2 Comments:
Fuck. Mercury.
Mid-April to mid-May....ex-boy decides to stop talking to me and THEN just breaks everything off, sending me, well, you know how bad it was.
August 21? Exactly one week before I see him again.
Eff.
With the retrogrades, they have always been pretty fair to me, except for foot in mouth disease, and I have a general rule of thumb that they only break what is on its way out. When we had a really old car, it was always around that time that she would break down. Last year's retrogrades - the first one, our old hot water system died and the next, the air conditioner. So last year, totally altered my perception to the blatant, nasty potential of these periods. My husband works with machinery and notices a different bizznitchety time with the machines at the retro, to the point where I am not to mention it lol he just does not want to know. I used to have a Virgo friend who had merc retro natally and she said that there was no change regards his movements, except for the last few years.
This earlier retro for me was mild but I will *touch wood* after last year and the pain it causes to the hip pocket!
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