Mercury Retrograde Coming Up!

It seems to come so quickly!  We need to begin gearing up for this next Mercury Retrograde period on November 24 through December 14 when Mercury goes backward (or appears to do so) in the sign of Sagittarius. Look at where you have the sign of Sagittarius in your chart, and this is the area where you are likely to have some frustration, miscommunication or confusion. For example, if it is in the Fifth House of Creativity as mine is, I am gearing up to the fact that creative projects I have been working on will need be revised, re-edited or revamped.

How to Handle Mercury Retrograde

Here is a cookbook interpretation of how the different Sun signs may handle Mercury Retrograde periods. Overall though, Mercury Retrograde periods are ideal reflection times. Times for us to work with our spirituality, our higher selves, our non-verbal communication, our intuition; times for us to look deeper within ourselves.

Aries:            As an Aries, you tend to be impatient and may be distracted by new ideas and lack patience. During Mercury retrograde, events may seem to be out of sync because of your frustration and short fuse. Then there is a tendency for others to misunderstand you so take special care of how you come across to other people.  It’s good to take a deep breath and listen.  The best approach is to turn inward and be more controlled and in this way you can be a tremendous power for good and a powerful inspirational speaker.  These are great periods in which you gain the power to regenerate yourself if you choose to.

Taurus:  You may have an innate tendency to question your values and resources and compare these to others.  During Mercury retrograde, plan periods for inner reflection when you can reassess your true values and gain a deeper understanding of your self-worth.  You have a tendency to hold on to things you have outgrown and fixate on a thought.  During Mercury retrograde, you can let things go.  You may experience blocks - like a writer’s block - at this time. Concentrate on being more open and understanding of others.  Don’t allow fears of money and security to creep in.  If you dispel fears, you can find great success and stablity.

Gemini: During Mercury retrograde, your fast energies slow down, and your natural inquisitiveness can turn into indecisiveness.  This shift in energy can help you be more thorough by delving into subconscious factors and motivations.  Your mind is full of puzzles, and during Mercury retrograde you might focus and solve them.  These periods affect you strongly as, like Virgo, your sign is ruled by the planet Mercury so you really feel its influence. Use your mind as a tool rather than let your mind use you.  Aim for inner peace through periods of reflection and meditation.

Cancer: You tend to be inward looking and dominated by your feelings.  You evaluate ideas to see if they make you feel secure.  It is often difficult to let go of the past.  You are highly sensitive: during these Mercury retrograde periods you should make more of an effort to retreat, reassess and clear baggage.  Clear periods of time for self-reflection and to nurture your inner, spiritual self. You also can have unusual charm at this time and the ability to reach out to others as you touch them at the level of their feelings.

Leo:  During Mercury Retrograde, you can reflect on your own insights and enjoy your own creativity.  You can be your own audience and supply your own applause! Some Leos have a tendency to be mentally lazy and resistant to change.  You may tend to talk about what you want to achieve rather than do it.  During these periods especially, keep exaggeration in check and you can be exceptionally creative and achieve a lot. You can motivate, inspire and uplift hearts of others.

Virgo:  Your tendency is to analyze everything you see, feel and perceive.  You can be rather strict with yourself and others and have little tolerance for disorder.  You can be overly opinionated with lots of internal checklists. You categorize everything  but sometimes only you can understand your systems! Mercury retrograde periods are especially potent for you as your sign is ruled by Mercury and during these times you can drive yourself to distraction with constant analysis.  The trick during these times is to work on keeping yourself in check; analyze yourself and become more self-aware and realize there’s more to life than efficiency!

Libra:  You weigh everything you see and hear but have a tendency to believe that everyone is the same underneath.  This can cause a lack of discernment and this in turn can cause you to be indecisive. You can go along with what other people say and want for the sake of harmony but this can bring its own problems. For example, others may mistrust your judgment or feel it is too superficial. During Mercury retrograde periods you have a good opportunity to think more deeply, study human nature and truly understand.  When you do this you can be a brilliant mediator, fair, just and decisive.

Scorpio:  You have a strong psychic ability and can see deep within others.  You are also very idealistic and so can be critical of others, and negative thoughts can keep repeating themselves.  You are not a person who is satisfied with superficial explanations and may prefer to live in world of fantasy. Mercury Retrograde periods are especially great times to focus yourself Spiritually and gain greater self-honesty. You then have the power to face your own demons and transmute them, bringing you great inner strength.  The path of the Scorpio is never easy but Mercury retrograde puts everyday life on hold a little so you can go deeper.

Sagittarius: Your mind is sincere and honest but also tends to be impatient and restless.  Mercury retrograde periods allow us to go deeper, so spend time learning to focus on the here and now instead of going off at tangents or looking into future.  You wish to understand everything at once so can get lost in vastness of it.  You have so much to say that you can suffer from writer’s block. There is a visionary quality about you that can be extra strong during Mercury retrograde; you can see and perceive things that other people miss.  

Capricorn: You are a deep and serious thinker.  As a child you have a tendency to do things the hard way and make mistakes.  Especially during Mercury retrograde periods, you can learn from your mistakes by reconstructing what went wrong, and you have the discipline to ensure that you don’t do the same thing again. In other words, these can be great times to break bad habits.  You can discover methodical ways to build firm foundation for your choices.

Aquarian:  You may enjoy Mercury retrograde periods because you always like to think outside the box anyway; with your original mind you’re an inventor at heart. These retrograde periods can make you even more unique, though sometimes a little too cranky and eccentric. It’s time to bring out your genius and take notice of your ideas, even ones that seem ahead of their time. You have the ability to look into future and have an innate feeling for revolutionary ideas that can benefit humanity; you can often see the value in things that others may miss, especially now. It’s a good time to re-assess old ideas and update them.

Pisces:  You are very intuitive but sometimes have a problem trying to separate your conscious mind from your intuition, and this can lead to confusion; you may feel as if you are in a fog.  This can be especially true during Mercury retrograde so instead of working on everyday things, step up your spiritual practices. Also, take up hobbies and activities that do not involve conscious mind – gardening, painting or music.  This can bring you more clarity which is greatly needed to give you confidence. Others may not always understand you, but your understanding can be so deep that it is hard for you to explain merely using words. During Mercury retrograde, take up healing or a way to channel your compassion for others.

General Reminder

Here’s a general reminder list for all of us during the upcoming Mercury Retrograde period:

• Put a stopper on new ideas.  Use time to review what already under way.
• Count to three before making split second decisions.
• Take some of unused vacation and relax.
• Don’t play markets – keep investments safe and secure.
• Plan and order in advance.
• Visit an art gallery – spend time with favorite paintings.
• Double-check findings.
• Think twice before making decisions.
• Clean out your computer.
• Read the novel you have been meaning to read for a year.
• Take time to listen to your needs.
• Recall all good things and people in life – daily reflection.
• Check the tickets you just bought fort the play
• Don’t skip the gym warm up
• Don’t quite your job yet.
• Catch up on filing and streamline.
• Don’t sign new contracts, or double check them.
• Visit old friends.
• Meditate.
• Don’t bottle up or boil over – channel energy through swimming, yoga, tai chi.
• Learn new things about self.
• Spend time talking to lonely neighbour.
• Investigate new courses of study – don’t enrol yet.
• Call an elderly relative.
• Revise your plans thoroughly.
• Plan the rally you planned to help the homeless but don’t schedule it yet.
• Don’t break a friend’s confidence.
• Channel desire for emotional excess through prayer and healing.
• Recharge batteries by spending time in nature.

For more information, read Chrissie Blaze's book, "Mercury Retrograde" available at http://www.amazon.com and other stores - it gives all the Mercury Retrograde dates for the next fifty years and how to make the best of them. Makes an ideal gift!