First Aid for Mercury Retrograde

©2014 by Joyce Mason

How to minimize curveballs and enjoy the slow pitch.

 

Mercury Retrograde is such an ongoing thorn in the side of humanity, we treat it like a vampire who bites our neck and sucks out any semblance of order for three-and-a-half weeks, several times a year. It concerns us so much; it’s the theme of the current issue of The Mountain Astrologer.

Of course, I’m exaggerating for effect and humor. TMA and I are on the same page in their cover subtitle, How to Make It Work for You. I thought this would be a great time to provide an annotated blogography and link to previous articles about “Murky Retro” on The Radical Virgo, starting with A Blessing for Mercury Retrograde. This “prayer” helps us set our intention to be on beat with the season of Mercury’s apparent backwards motion. In setting a positive intent to respect the wisdom of slowing down, reconsidering things and focusing on review, recreation and other “re” things; we minimize the negative effects and Murkiness. Remember that disaster means against the stars and that most of our Mercury Retrograde experiences are brought on by rushing around without regard to the pulling back this sky condition calls for.

When all else fails, let your sense of humor take you on an adventure with it. In the last post, The Summer Signs, we talked about the value of being kids again during the summer. Children seldom take themselves as seriously as adults, and they’d know how to find the fun and value on any Mercury Retrograde detour.

Mercury is Retrograde this time from 4 Cancer to 24 Gemini and from June 9 – July 1.

If you have planets in that arc of the zodiac, you’re more likely to feel the effects when you court disaster. People with prominent planets in Gemini or Virgo are Mercury-ruled and can also be more sensitive to its retrograde motion. An individual with a lot of focus on Mercury in his or her chart (many aspects to Mercury or Mercury’s at the focal point of an aspect configuration such as a T-square) may also be more sensitive to Mercury Rx. Finally, those people who have Mercury Retrograde in their natal charts often report immunity to its more tricky antics.

A valuable tip. Almost every time I’ve caught a major banking error in my accounts, it has been during Mercury Retrograde. Mercury Rx usually highlights how I wasn’t thinking straight or was careless in my thinking. I found one on the first day this time, a $450 debit I forgot to enter! (I kept wondering why I had so much extra money this month.) You might want to make a bank balance review one of your regular Mercury Retro “re” things. I’m sure glad it was one of mine, so I caught my error before anything bounced. Lesson learned: Debits have to go straight into my check register. I can’t park them temporarily on scraps of paper that I may or may not notice again.

Past Articles

Stillness: Our Retrograde Winter 2014 (2-Jan-14) One of the better ways to understand Mercury Retrograde is to review last winter’s multi-retrogrades during the most inner time of year. “Just” Mercury Retrograde will feel like a cakewalk by comparison! Its 10 suggestions for a retrograde winter can be applied to Mercury Retrograde in summer, too.

Retrograde Wisdom: Waiting Is Fullness (29-Mar-12) The wisdom of waiting, even if you’re a go-getter who finds slowing down difficult.

Mercury Retrograde Stellium in Pisces, Void Moon (26-Feb-13) A poem about what one of the Murkiest Retros feels like and how to plunge its watery depths.

Is Mercury Retrograde a Mean Santa? (26-Nov-11) Tips for making it Merry when Mercury Retro is part of the winter holiday season.

10Ways to Celebrate Mercury Retrograde (1-Aug-11) In this popular post, I share tried-and-true retrograde practices that work for me, including the check book review. Learn about fasting from Mercurial gismos for a few hours a day (cell phones, computers) and other practices for a smoother Mercury Rx.

A Blessing for Mercury Retrograde (20-Aug-10) – A “prayer” to keep you on beat with Mercury’s Retrograde cycle and to set an intention that will keep you in the flow of this cycle.

Gear Down and Jest Humor Mercury Retrograde (07-Sep-09) – Let humor supersede superstition when dealing with Mercury Retro.

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