Mercury turns retrograde on the 4th of October, having been in the shadow period since the 24th of September. He turns retrograde in the insightful, probing sign of Scorpio and then travels back into Libra, the sign of balance and harmony. As with all Mercury retrogrades it is important to remember that communication breakdowns can and will occur and that maintaining a sense of humour is absolutely essential! This is a time when travel plans could go awry, cars could break down; indeed anything to do with getting from point A to point B could be subject to delays and confusion. Instead of getting frustrated it is better to accept that maybe there is a reason that we are being delayed and that possibly we are being shown that there is another possibility that we have missed. Basically we should try to relax and enjoy the ride rather than banging our head against a brick wall and complaining about what isn’t working. Similarly anything to do with communication, such as phones and computers, could be more problematic than usual so it is important to be patient and also to check and double check that people have received emails, understood what we are saying etc etc.
Misunderstandings are more likely to occur during a retrograde period, where we say one thing but it is taken another way altogether! As such, it is important to be mindful when we communicate with others, whether verbally or in written form. This is a time when it is important to read between the lines and not take what people say too literally. It is just good to be aware that the possibility for mistakes and glitches in communication exists and to make sure all the “T”s are crossed and the “I”s are dotted. Signing important documents is not exactly recommended during a Mercury Retrograde, but sometimes it is hard to avoid it, so just be careful to read the fine print. Mercury is a pesky trickster when he is retrograde so it is easy to get tripped up!
The best thing to do during Mercury Retrograde is to accept that the logical, analytical, rational Left brain function (Mercury) has gone on holiday for three weeks and to embrace a more intuitive, creative, Right brained reality for a while! The Retrograde action of Mercury gives us the opportunity to look back over things and see if there is anything we have missed. We may have been so busy just getting on with things that we may have missed an important piece of the puzzle and now we have the opportunity to go back and look with fresh eyes and a different perspective. We may have convinced ourselves that everything is ok and turned a blind eye to certain details, but Mercury retrograde will force us to take and other look. Indeed, this is an ideal time for re-doing anything; reflecting, reviewing, relaxing, rewinding, renewing, he-hashing, re-enacting, refining, re-visiting and so on and so forth. We have a chance to go back and do things differently if we need to. Retrograde periods can also bring people up from our past because there is something we need to readdress with them. This can be a time of tying up loose ends.
Mercury goes retrograde in Scorpio, which means that certain truths could be revealed and we could also have considerable insight and understanding of what is going on beneath the surface of reality on the days before and after he goes retrograde. Mercury in Scorpio is incredibly perceptive and is not satisfied with superficial understanding of matters. He will uncover the truth at all costs. It can also produce some very revealing slips of the tongue! For most of the retrograde period, Mercury will be found in Libra, so we will be more concerned with understanding others points of view and finding balance and harmony in our communication with others. This is a great time for going back to the drawing board and negotiating a peaceful plan of action. Libra is a very diplomatic, peace loving sign who likes everything to be fair and just. It is also the sign of relationship, so we may find ourselves looking back over our relationships somehow, whether it means revisiting one from the past or talking over current relationships. There could have been something we missed or ignored in recent weeks that we have to look into again.
I will list the actual dates below, but Mercury will be joining up with the North Node of the Moon three times during this retrograde period. This could bring fateful encounters with people or messages that could be very significant for us, helping us to move forward on our soul’s journey. Whatever we say or hear at this time could be extremely significant. Each time it passes over the same point more could be revealed and by the third pass we should have greater understanding of what the message is. Similarly, during the retrograde period Mercury will be passing over the same degree of Scorpio as the Solar Eclipse on October 23rd, so these three dates could also be very significant. Again, something could be revealed or the same theme could be repeated so that by the third pass we should have more insight and understanding. It is possible that some emotional truths could come to the surface or that we could have to face something that we would rather ignore. Again, I have listed the actual dates below.
Another significant date is the 16th of October, when Mercury is conjunct the Sun in Libra. This could be a very big day for communication and our relationships. It could be a good idea to remember to listen and not be too attached to our own point of view! On the 20th of October Mercury forms a positive aspect to Jupiter in Leo, which will allow us to see the bigger picture and truly communicate from our hearts. This aspect will help us get our point across with confidence and ease and will also give us a more optimistic outlook and perspective.
It is very important to be patient during this time and remember that it is just Mercury getting up to his usual tricks. Often when we are delayed or a communication error occurs there is some higher reason for it that will be revealed in the fullness of time. There could be something we have missed or a message we haven’t picked up on. For instance, we may miss our train but run into someone we know on the next train who has an important message for us. It is good to remain alert and open to anything we hadn’t previously noticed because it could be significant! We should use this time to look at our lives from a different perspective. Try a different approach to the same issue and see what might happen! And most importantly, keep a sense of humour!
Four days before and after Mercury turns retrograde and direct is when its effects are at their strongest.
24 Sept – Mercury enters retrograde shadow
28 Sept – Mercury enters Scorpio
4 Oct – Mercury turns Retrograde
10 Oct Mercury re-enters Libra
25 Oct – Mercury turns direct
9 Nov – Mercury re-enters Scorpio
10 Nov – Mercury leaves retrograde shadow
Sept 17 – Mercury conjunct North Node (1st pass)
Oct 21 – Mercury conjunct North Node (2nd pass)
Oct 30 – Mercury conjunct North Node (3rd pass)
28/29 Sept – Mercury at 0 degrees Scorpio (same degree as Solar Eclipse) 1st pass
10 Oct - Mercury at 0 degrees Scorpio (same degree as Solar Eclipse) 2nd pass
9 Nov - Mercury at 0 degrees Scorpio (same degree as Solar Eclipse) 3rd pass
Much love
Amy
xoxo
Photograph: Looking back – Andrea Gracis
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