We are quickly approaching our third (complete) Mercury retrograde cycle of the year. If you’ve been following my astrology writing for a while, you should recognize by now that I’m not into “blaming” your life on the stars or anything – more I think that being aware of the energies going on in the sky makes it easier to accept and make decisions about your life.
The important dates and degrees:
- Mercury enters its shadow at 24° Virgo on 8/20
- Mercury retrogrades at 08° Libra on 9/9
- Mercury stations direct at 24° Virgo on 10/2
- Mercury exits its post-retrograde shadow at 08° Libra on 10/16
Mercury has been retrograding from air signs back into earth signs all year now. We may see some repeated themes arise around grounding our thoughts that may reflect back to our first retrograde back in January or our second retrograde from May.
The Usual: Mercury retrograde ALWAYS strongly affects anybody who has a Light (Sun, Moon, or Ascendant) in Gemini or Virgo. This is because the ruling planet of Gemini and Virgo is Mercury. Additionally, people who were born with Mercury retrograded in their natal charts are often affected strongly by these retrogrades (though often in a better more whole fashion than others).
The Specifics: This retrograde is going to most strongly impact anybody with a personal planet (Ascendant, Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, or Mars) from 24°-29° Virgo and 00°-08° Libra. It will additionally affect anybody with a personal planet at 24°-29° Taurus and Capricorn or 00°-08° Gemini and Aquarius by trine, and anybody with 24°-29° Gemini, Sagittarius, and Pisces of 00°-08° Aries, Cancer, and Capricorn by square or opposition.
As a reminder: Mercury retrogrades always follow the same cycle. First, Mercury enters its Pre-Shadow – this is the farthest point that it will retrograde backward. Then, it will retrograde going backward through the chart to that point. Finally, it begins to move forward but the retrograde is not considered “complete” until it exits its Post-Shadow and has past the degree at which it went retrograde. We will experience every point between 24° Virgo and 08° Libra three times.
The standard warnings apply: Mercury retrogrades are notorious for having an effect on communication, technology, and travel. Note that effect, in and of itself, does not have a positive or negative connotation associated with it. Some things will happen slowly but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Life is always what you make of it.
That said: Save often and triple-check your work. Proofread any important communications before you hit “Send”. Expect a communication snafu or two and roll with it when it happens. Expect delays. This is a great time of the year to travel or get work done but you need to be willing to think both inside and outside the box. This is a great time for pathfinding or road opening. This is a great time to edit or revise your work. This is a great time to move inward and touch base with yourself.
I will be writing a more focused energy update on the specifics of this Mercury retrograde cycle coming soon (likely tomorrow) and will be reblogging some of my past work on how to magically work with the retrograde cycle to protect yourself or guide your path over the next couple of days. If you need more, you can look at the house placement that this retrograde cycle falls in for specifics on how it might impact your life.