Mercury goes Retrograde
Yes, it's that time again! Mercury goes retrograde for the next 3+ weeks. For up to a week before and after today, Mercury is moving very slowly or stopped (hence "stationary" or "making a station"). During this time, you may experience intensity, frustration, confusion, miscommunications, or feel like you're getting bogging down in your progress.
Mercury retrograde is usually a time when it is a good time to rethink, rehash, reflect, and tie up old loose ends, rather than begin new ventures. It is typical for new insights and information to emerge later in the retrograde cycle that you didn't anticipate, which can change the whole picture. Because of this, it is usually advised to avoid making final or permanent decisions (e. g. , signing contracts or putting new projects into action), during the retrograde and even up to 2 weeks after Mercury goes direct. However, it is an excellent time to do fact-finding, research and investigation to prepare for major decisions, which are usually best put off until well after Mercury goes direct.
In the meantime, while Mercury is retrograde, expect the unexpected, and leave lots of extra time when planning your schedule (to minimize any disruptions from delays and complications). Stay flexible and learn to roll with the weirdness. It's common to have to reschedule appointments or redo things because the instructions or information got messed up the first time. Do some things that use your intuitive, creative, non-rational mind for a while until Mercury goes direct again.
If you absolutely must do something important during this time that can't be postponed, don't be surprised if you wind up having to redo things. It can help to be especially vigilant about triple-checking what you do, but some of these mishaps can't always be predicted or prevented, so don't be hard on yourself (nor on others). Remember: Mercury loves to play practical jokes. This is his playtime. ;-) It helps to learn to laugh with him.
This particular Mercury retrograde cycle is in Scorpio, challenging you to look beyond the obvious. What you see might not be very comforting, and disagreements or upsets may arise. Consider that what you're picking up may be the Jungian shadow peeking out from below the surface of a situation, which can provoke reactions of anger, frustration, outrage, depression or even shame. It might be hard to know how to be reasonable, objective or responsible. This energy is best waded through one careful step at a time.
Mercury makes the following aspects during this retrograde cycle (all dates in North American Eastern Time):
- Mercury sqr Mars ~ Oct 2 (02:29 SC/LE), Oct 30 (17:58 SC/LE), Dec 9 (04:53 SG/VI)
- Mercury qcx Saturn ~ Oct 9 (10:55 SC/AR), Nov 7 (08:55 SC/AR), Nov 20 (08:19 SC/AR)
Here are the key dates of this Mercury cycle (for North American Eastern Time):
- Mercury enters the Shadow ~ Oct 4 (05:02 SC)
- Mercury-Sun greatest elongation PM ~ Oct 12 (14:11 SC)
- Mercury Stationary Retrograde ~ Oct 24 (20:58 SC)
- Mercury Rx conjunct the Sun ~ Nov 4 (12:10 SC)
- Mercury Stationary Direct ~ Nov 13 (05:02 SC)
- Mercury-Sun greatest elongation AM ~ Nov 20 (09:04 SC)
- Mercury leaves the Shadow ~ Nov 30 (20:58 SC)