Retrograde motion of Mars. Image credit: NASA
Mercury normally turns retrograde three times a year, but this year he this planet shows up four times, which is unusual. The effects of each period differ slightly, according to the moon sign in which it happens.
In general, when a planet is retrograde, you may find a certain consistency as to particular kinds of events that are related to their specific sphere of influence. Things like unresolved issues from the past can begin to appear. See: http://www.universetoday.com/guide-to-space/mercury/mercury-retrograde/
Ancient people have known about the planets since we were able to look up. Some stars were brighter than the rest, and seemed to move across the sky from night to night. These moving stars were known as planets, and there were 5: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. But the movements of the planets were puzzling to ancient astronomers. Some times the planets would slow down, go backwards, and then go forwards again. When a planet goes backwards, it’s called retrograde, and one of the best planets for this is Mercury.
Mercury has a very elliptical orbit as it moves around the sun much faster than the earth does. When it is at the slowest point in its orbit, it is the furthest from the Sun. See http://www.astrologycom.com/mercret.html
In general, Mercury rules thinking and perception, processing and disseminating information and all means of communication, commerce, education and transportation.
Mercury retrograde gives rise to personal misunderstandings; flawed, disrupted, or delayed communications, negotiations and trade; glitches and breakdowns with phones, computers, cars, buses, and trains. And all of these problems usually arise because some crucial piece of information, or component, has gone astray or awry.
It is not exactly wise to make important decisions while Mercury is retrograde, since it is likely that such decisions will be clouded by misinformation, poor communication and careless thinking. Mercury is all about mental clarity and the power of the mind, so when Mercury is retrograde these intellectual characteristics tend to be less acute than usual, as the critical faculties are dimmed. Make sure you pay attention to the small print!
The way to move with the flow of when we are in Mecury retrograde is to expect things to change on a dime, to experience blocks or impediments as a message to slow things down and wait a bit rather than get into your usual frustration that things are not moving as quickly and easily as you want it to.
Anticipate unresolved issues from the past to come up and allow yourself to finally deal with them to clear them out. This is always a really good time to do your back log of filing and paperwork, to clean out your closets, to re-organize your internal & external planning structures. Go with this flow and it will move faster in these kinds of things to clear & clean out any kinds of clutter you may have accumulated lately.
The God Mercury
Mercury Retrograde Dates 2010
- April 17-May 11
- August 20 – September 12
- December 10-December 29
Mercury Retrograde Dates 2011
- March 30-April 23
- August 2 – August 26
- November 23 – December 13
Mercury Retrograde Dates 2012
- March 11-April 4
- July 14 – August 7
- November 6 – November 26
Ancient symbol of mercury