 
Mercury is Retrograde Again!
Aquarian Solutions Primer on Mercury Retrograde written by Arthur R Gianfermo |
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How many times have you heard the phrase Mercury is Retrograde and either felt dread that your plans would go awry or thought to yourself what is the big deal? Well on March 2, 2006 Mercury begins its first retrograde phase of 2006 this time in the sign of highly emotional Pisces. On March 25th the messenger stations direct. During this time We just might see explosive reactions with Uranus the planet of unexpected changes also in Pisces.
First of all let's provide a little background: Mercury was named after the Roman god of commerce, travel and thievery.
To the Greeks this changeable planet was given two names , Apollo for when it appeared as a morning star and Hermes when it came as an evening star. Myths of Hermes are innumberable, as a child he was prococious and considered one of Jupiter(Zeus's) smartest children - as an infant, legend tells of him leaving his cradle to steal Apollo's cradle then coming back to bed to pretend he was asleep. Hermes is known as a magician, patron of merchants, patrons of theives, finer of lost objects but more than anything else a true communicator. In astrology Mercury is said to rule both Gemini and Virgo two mutable and changle signs. Yes Mercury is a planet of extremes! with temperature variations swinging from 90 K to 700 K. Mercury also has an extremely eccentric orbit and the strange relationship between the orbit and the spin means that on Mercury, a single day lasts twice as long as a year!
Second of all even though the word retrograde means backwards, this is an illusion. Mercury only appears to be moving backwards through the zodiac. This illusory planetary motion is created by the orbital rotation of the earth, with relation to other planets in our solar system. Each planet retrogrades, except the Sun and Moon (not really planets). What's really happening is that the earth is moving faster than the planet, hence giving the appearance, when viewed from the earth, that it is moving backward.
Mercury is the fastest moving planet, with the exception of the Moon (which really isn't a planet but for sake of convenience, is often referred to as one.) Mercury orbits the Sun in about eighty-eight days, but because of its retrograde motion it takes about a year to traverse the entire zodiac. Remember Mercury normally speeds through a sign in than three weeks when its motion is direct. It will take eight to ten weeks in a sign when it is retrograde. Mercury retrograde spends in one of your natal houses means that Mercury's energy is directed at the affairs associated with the arena of life as represented by its house and sign location in your natal birthchart. In this particular passage of Mercury in Taurus expect the fixed signs Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius to be particularly effected.
So what happens during this retrograde cycle that causes so much trepidation? Simply explained: communications of all kinds break down and fail.
Remember Mercury rules thinking and perception, processing and disseminating information and all means of communication, commerce and transportation. Actually to be astrologically accurate we mean that :
Remember this is a time to focus on activities that start with "re" This is a time to revise (that document), research (all possibilities), repair, recalculate, reread, rewrite and more then anything reevaluate. Time to clean the house, office or car.Don't plan ahead, since appointments will probably be cancelled.
According to Kaye Shinker a faculty member and teacher of
Financial Astrology at the Online College of Astrology
These are the Do Nots of a Mercury Retrograde
Regarding Mercury Retrograde and financial markets: Here is some sage financial advice from Ray Merriman - well known Financial Astrologer:
So what are the specific effects of Mercury in the sign of Leo for the summer of 2005? What else will occur in the news besides stories about children,celebreties, rulers, royals and all kinds of theatrical events breaking down? With Mercury in Leo moving backwards to form conjunction with the Sun itself and the Unaccountable Corporate Media Giants that are pushing for more consolidation of news, commentary, political view points, music and more. Expect the FCC Chairman Michael Powell and the Bush-controlled Federal Communications Commission plans to end or weaken federal policies be heavily opposed by the people (represented by mars in Aquarius). Efforts to preserve Democracy Journalistic Standards will become more of the mainstream considering the biased reporting that occured during the Iraq War while Mercury was in war like Aries.
For the individual on a day to day level we may all have difficulties with jumping to conclusions and accepting new ideas. Our thinking may tend to be even more structured and conservative. Normally Mercury in Taurus enhances our powers of concentration, but this can turn under retro Mercury to an obstinate refusal to concentrate or be taught. The direct route tends to be blocked through inattention to detail, misunderstood directions, missed appointments.
So relax, have a sense of humor. Don't take things so seriously these three weeks. Take a sip of some herbal tea or do something to calm your nerves. Not every business will have a slow down during Mercury Retrograde periods, in fact notice how your local printers will be busily correcting mistakes and doing reprints. Yes this is a time when we should get used to doing things twice, sending that email or letter again, making a second phone call to clarify some issue and be sure and look both ways before making that lane change. And when May 20th rolls around, you can really go shopping or take that trip.
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