​WiseWomanSeer

 

 

​You've heard about Mercury Retrograde, but just what it is and what it means to your every day life is probably a little fuzzy.  So here is everything you need to be in the know during the three times a year that Mercury does this little dance.



Oh and by the way, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, Chiron, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto -- and the asteroids in your chart -- also will occasionally  go retrograde, so it's useful to understand what this is all about.



Retrograde just means reversed direction.  When astrological principles were evolving through centuries of observation of the night skies, it appeared at times as if the planets would occasionally reverse course and move backward in their orbits.  Today of course we realize that this doesn't happen.  Nonetheless the idea stuck and a useful and amazingly accurate body of interpretation has been developed around this idea.



Mercury has three periods of retrograde every year.  Since Mercury is said to rule communications, when it goes retrograde, communications can become disrupted.  Scheduling snafus may occur, rescheduling can be required, contracts can fall apart or need to be renegotiated.  Devices we use to communicate with others might malfunction or breakdown entirely.  



Depending on what sign(s) Mercury is in when it is traveling retrograde and what houses(s) in your own chart it goes through, Mercury can stir up frustrations, irritations, arguments,  and other discordant communications.



The good news of this situation is that a Mercury Retrograde period is a positive opportunity to:



• reflect 

• review

• revise

• redesign

When Mercury is Retrograde in Virgo -- like it will be starting the end of Aug and through much of September -- it may heighten frustration and resentments with normal situations getting screwed up, particularly for those working in service-orieted jobs.

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This retrograde has a very pointed purpose -- it is calling on all of us to reflect on our unconscious prejudices, fears, and privilege. We are being asked by the cosmos to reflect on how words can injure, even unintentionally, or feel like small aggressions when we insist on being right in our viewpoint over seeking common ground understanding.

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The 2016 Virgo Mercury Retrograde has the potential to bring about some healing among diverse communities when people are willing to reflect on the possibility that what they have been taught may not be true or might not be a complete story. This Virgo Mercury gives all of us the opportunity to revise our unfounded fears with facts, and recommit ourselves to being part of the solution instead of part of the problem where healing between communities is needed.