Never Fear, Mercury Retrograde is Here!!!

“I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestioning ability of man to evaluate his life by a conscious endeavor. - Henry David Thoreau



Once again, Mercury retrograde is upon us.

For many of us, this time of year brings a wave of concerns about issues related communication and the transmission of information.

One of the features that makes astrology incredibly rich is the diversity of perspectives that we have to draw from. It's an extremely eclectic art. There are a myriad of viewpoints that you can expose yourself to regarding any given astrological phenomenon. All which may be quite valid and applicable.

For those who may not know, retrograde motion is the apparent backward motion of a planet. During this time, the drives or principles related to the said planet may not be able to express themselves in as forthright and powerful manner as when the planet is moving forward, or in direct motion.

So.... what does the planet Mercury symbolize?

The principle or drive to communicate, the exchange of ideas, what we think about, intellect, speech, the distribution and medium for all types of information, the written, printed and spoken word. Mercury is similar to a messenger. It's highly impersonal. So, "good", "bad", "moral" and "amoral" do not hold nearly the weight with solo Mercury as they would with the blended energies of another planet.

It is accurate to say that the energy is ripe for communication breakdowns, travel delays, mis-speaking, mis-quoting, not receiving phone calls, e-mails, faxes and texts. By all means, we will want to "double up" and use our avenues of communication to the fullest extent.

However, a perspective worth considering is that Mercury retrograde can also serve us as a period of personal review and assessment. A time of reflection.

We can capitalize on the energies of this phase by engaging in deep introspection regarding the validity and workability of the strategies, ideas, and methods we've been employing in our daily lives.

If we view our lives as a book, Mercury Rx is the editing stage before we put our words "out there" for people to read. We cross our t's and dot our i's.

As Astrologer Erin Sullivan so eloquently states in her book, "The Planets":

"When Mercury goes retrograde, it seems to be an appropriate time for redoing, rethinking, reassessing, reevaluating- anything with the prefix re- in front of it. A Mercury retrograde period is a time to catch up on things, to complete unfinished projects, to write that letter you've been meaning to write or pay that long outstanding bill, and generally to reassess the affairs of the house or area of life through which it is moving backward, and to plan your next move in this domain. It may not be the right time to take action on your plan, but it is a time to plot out future moves for when it turns direct again."

If we examine critically enough, this perspective can be applied to virtually every area of our lives. Let's re- review, re-examine and re-edit, so we can emerge from this period with a renewed and clearer sense of direction.

*Erin Sullivan excerpt taken from "The Inner Planets: Building Blocks of Personal Reality" by Liz Greene and Howard Sasportas