Down with Mercury Wrecko! Up with Mercury Respecto!

 

Rodin’s “The Thinker”

 10 More Ways to Celebrate Mercury Retrograde

March 12 – April 4, 2012

(23^o Pisces 51’ – 6 ^o  Aries 49’)

© 2012 by Joyce Mason

All Rights Reserved

Another Mercury Retrograde is right around the corner! It almost always sneaks up on me, and I find it difficult to practice what I preach about setting aside time to reflect on the Mercurial issues in my life because I haven’t planned for it. This time I’m giving you—and me—a heads-up! Here’s another chance to make the most of this recurring period of mental rest, while learning to appreciate its charms.

Mercury rules Gemini. Think of how charming a Gem can be, the social butterfly of the zodiac. (Also consider how challenging it would be for a Gemini to have his or her flit-about wings clipped or talkative nature shooshed.) Yes, Mercury Retrograde’s charms are sometimes difficult to see for its frustrations—but frustration comes from bucking the tide. Aside from the usual first step of checking out where this Mercury Retrograde falls in your chart, here are some suggestions to help you flow into the rethink, reconsider and retrench mode that are on point with Mercury Retrograde. Welcome one more chance to slow down, go inward and experience mental calm.

1. Give Mercury a place of honor on your altar. I found a postcard of a museum sculpture of the Winged Messenger, and he holds a prominent place on mine during every Mercury Retrograde. Since I’m a writer with a Mercury-ruled Sun, he lives there more often than not. If you have a prominent Mercury or an emphasis on the Mercury-ruled planets of Gemini or Virgo, you might want to consider making Mercury a permanent resident in your sacred spot. Whether moved in or “just visiting,” make Mercury visible as a god or archetype deserving your respect. Just as we are quiet in church, the quicksilver god simply asks for his 3.5 weeks of reverence a few times a year.

2. Thank Mercury and your higher power for the wonder of your mind. List all the things your mind does for you. Tell your mind you’re so appreciative; you’re giving it a few weeks off from firing like an automatic weapon. Follow through. Record the results.
   
   
3. Rediscover meditation. Meditation usually aims at getting you out of your mind chatter, at reaching a state of no-mind. If you already meditate regularly, experiment with some new meditation techniques. If sitting in the chair without wiggling or talking to yourself in your mind is a chronic challenge, commit to sitting 10-20 minutes a day in the silence during Mercury Retrograde. About mid-way through this Retro, write down what you’re learning from this practice.

4. Appreciate the Mercurial people in your life. Who in your life has a strong Mercury or planets in Gemini and Virgo? Write down their names and which of their Mercurial qualities you like and which ones you don’t particularly care for. What do you learn about your feelings toward a “good working” Mercury?
   
   
5.  Reintroduce yourself to your own Mercury.  Now, do #4 about your own Mercury. What parts of it do you like? Not like? Example: I find it very annoying, how my Mercury in Libra is so indecisive about little things.  I bought half a pound each of two kinds of ham at the deli recently, rather than choose one over the other. On the upside, I do relish how it enables me to see all sides of an issue and want peaceful, loving, connected communications that are fair to everyone in the conversation.
   
   
6. Find out which of your friends have natal Mercury in retrograde. Discover how they experience it, and what their experience has to offer you for when you are experiencing this condition temporarily. What do you discover to help you during the current or future Mercury Rx cycles?
   
   
7. Follow your dreams for hints on how to focus your Mercury Retrograde. When you know the symbol system of astrology, you may find it creeping into your dreams, even if you don’t see glyphs or people wearing a t-shirt or jewelry with their zodiac sign. For instance, during Mercury Retro, you might find yourself running and running but getting nowhere. Or you might find yourself talking a lot but no one’s paying any attention to you. Those are pretty in-your-face signals to run around or talk less, two of the hallmarks of a well spent Mercury Retro.
   
   
8. Reconsider your next short trip you have planned. What are your goals for it? Does what you have planned actually meet those goals? Is the timing right? When Mercury goes direct, make any adjustments that are necessary based on this reflection.
   
   
9. Reflect on thinking as art. Spend some time contemplating Rodin’s The Thinker or any other artwork, movie or song where thinking or reflection is the theme. What do you think The Thinker is thinking? What do you learn about thinking and yourself?
   
   

10. Review your relationship with busyness. I shared previously how helpful I have found the work of Maria Nemeth, a psychologist and professional coach who focuses on all aspects of  personal success. Maria made her mark doing seminars to help people learn more about the topic in the title of one of her books, The Energy of Money: A Spiritual Guide to Financial and Personal Fulfillment In one of her recent presentations I attended, Maria talked about how our addiction to busyness keeps us from asking ourselves meaningful questions about our lives. (When I shared this with a dear friend, her one-word response was identical to my own: “Busted.”) Our busy minds send us to the Busy Place. If we do nothing more during any Mercury Retrograde than to pause and ask those questions we’re too busy to ask at other times, we will enhance our lives and discover the greatest gift of this recurring, retrograde cycle.

Retrograde Rest Stop

Mars and Saturn [1] also will remain retrograde through this entire Mercury Retrograde period. With three planets appearing to move backwards in the sky, we have a considerable cosmic signal for a slowdown. It makes sense on a certain level that we would have this rest period to gather our resources before the changes brewing in 2012 break through to become more obvious and demand more of our time and energy. Right around the corner is the first exact square between Pluto and Uranus on June 26 at 8 degrees of Capricorn/Aries. The next exact square occurs September 19 at 6 degrees. The Cardinal signs are turning points, and even with intelligent guesses of how this energetic will affect us personally; with Uranus involved, there will probably be elements of surprise and things we didn’t see coming. Rest up to embrace change and have your personal resources at the ready for fast evolution, both inside of you and outside in the world.

In keeping with Mercury Retrograde’s prescription for reprising things, here’s the original 10 Ways to Celebrate Mercury Retrograde post, if you want to reread it. Now you’ve got 20 ways to celebrate! I hope I haven’t sent my readers who share Mercury in Libra with me into choice overload! (Pretend you’ve got Mercury in Aries. Pick one, any one. Roll with it!) There are no wrong choices, only different paths to Mercury Respecto.

~~~

Photo Credits: Le penseur de Rodin © patleem - Fotolia.com; Rest Stop Sign © Michel Bazin - Fotolia.com

Note: [1] I recommend this excellent article by Jeff Jawer on the current Saturn Retrograde cycle, Saturn Retrograde in Libra: Relationship Review.

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