Making Merc rx work for you

Most of us know that Mercury retrograde can signal frustrating delays, mistakes and u-turns, but if we adjust our expectations, it is possible to be productive during this period. I have a 6th house natal Mercury placement; being ‘productive’ keeps me sane.

Mercury retrograde may not be good for starting new projects, but as I’ve mentioned before, it can be a pretty effective time to revise, resume or reinvigorate old ones. In the past week, I have been averaging 300-500 words a day on a writing project I began quite a while ago but could never find the time to finish. The general slowdown of other activity is giving me the space to do so.

Here’s a tip: if you don’t have old projects to clear up, but still want to use the energy of Mercury retrograde, it is possible to plan ahead. What I sometimes do is I look in my calendar to see when the next retrograde period is coming up, and I start a project several weeks ahead of time, well before the storm, and then leave it aside until which time I can then complete or revise it during the retrograde period. If you can catch the energy of a new moon when you make this start, all the better. I don’t always get to time things so well, but when I do, it’s worth the effort.

 

Mercury in Leo

Another Mercury retrograde is upon us, and this post is late as usual. My excuse is – I’ve been writing, but more on that in another post.

With all that has been going on in the world in the past weeks (what with the ongoing phone hacking scandal, European economic crises, US political standoff and Middle East unrest among other things), the usual delays experienced during Mercury retrograde can seem pretty inconsequential. But the slowdown may offer a good opportunity to regroup and catch our breath, and take a second look at the situation instead of reacting.

One of the stone lions from Battleship Potemkin

Mercury this period retrogrades from 2 to 26 August 2011, from 1+° Virgo to 18+° Leo. How is Mercury expressed in Leo?

 

Mercury in Aries

At the moment, there are a lot of planets in Aries, including Mercury. Aries is the sign of pioneering ambition and passionate adventure; Mercury in Aries may be expressed as:

• Communicates assertively, forcefully, directly, confidently
• Restless urge for action underlies energetic way of speaking and creative use of skills
• Confrontation and forceful release of energy are necessary in order to learn; capacity to intuitively grasp essentials
• Reasoning ability is colored by a self-willed release of energy toward new experience; daring new thoughts are therefore often preferred
• Establishing true give-and-take with others can be hindered by insensitive and inconsiderate self-assertion (Arroyo 62)

 

Granny severs nation’s internet connection

During a retrograde in 2008, there were reports about the disruption to the internet when several undersea cables were severed.

Yesterday, it seems a 75-year-old woman in Georgia single-handedly cut off the internet to 90% of neighbouring Armenia’s network when she sliced into a cable while digging for copper to sell for scrap…

As the Moon sails through Taurus (ruler of cash and associated with copper), this incident seems like a timely reminder of how materially dependent this magical virtual world still is.

 

2011 — Mercury retrograde in the Fire signs

Mercury retrograde tends to cycle through the signs of one element (though sometimes straddling signs) in a given year. This suggests that there are some common themes that may run through each retrograde period for the year. This year, Mercury retrogrades through the Fire signs. These are the dates:

30 March to 23 April 2011, 24+ to 12+° Aries
2 to 26 August 2011, 1+° Virgo to 18+° Leo
24 November to 13 December 2011, 20+ to 3+° Sagittarius

Mercury is most at home in the Air sign of Gemini. In the Fire signs, its airy quality can stir up the flames (like fanning a barbecue!) or, if the force of air is too strong, put it out. People with Mercury in Fire signs think and talk energetically and passionately. Ideas can come fast and furious to them, but can run the risk of burning out if not sustained, or in a different scenario, be no more than a lot of ‘hot air’.