It is that time of year again... the dreaded Mercury Retrograde! Even those of us who know absolutely nothing about astrology have heard the term "Mercury Retrograde" and for some reason, I speculate that because it happens much more frequently than other retrogrades,
society has taken note of these time periods and thrives on using it to blame all current problems in our lives. It has become a fun, trendy thing to blame for any current hiccups, regardless of whether they are truly related to the retrograde or not. That said, as much as I love joking about it, I wanted to take some time to explain these time periods and how we can use them to our advantage.
At their core, retrogrades can be very useful. Life is full of cycles, ups and downs that are inevitable, and a
retrograde marks a slower cycle for us. This is a time when we tend to look backward at past commitments, decisions, or relationships. All retrogrades are associated with "re" words: revisit, reassess, review, refocus, you get the idea... This is a natural time for us to stop, pause, take stock, and really take the time to process something before moving forward again. All of that said, of course, each retrograde is flavored by the planet that is turning retrograde, the sign it’s in, and for you personally: what house that falls in your chart and any planets that come into contact with the retrograde planet. All of these pieces tend to give context to what the retrograde might be about for us.
Each retrograde is broken up into three notable sections. There is the pre-retrograde shadow, the retrograde itself, and the post retrograde shadow. We are all very familiar with the actual retrograde itself—the set of degrees that the planet is actually moving backwards in, which in this instant are the degrees from 21 Virgo back to 8 Virgo. But it’s also important to note the time frames before the retrograde, where the planet moves through those sets of degrees for the first time, and the period after the
retrograde ends, where the planet is moving back through those degrees for a third time. We will get into these dates later on in the post, but for now I wanted to mention the relevance to all three sections. We tend to notice these retrograde themes come up even before the retrograde, during the pre-retrograde shadow, but things are confusing or unclear. Depending on the nature of the retrograde (planet, sign, house, etc.), this unclear area may differ, but it may not make itself obvious until later on in the retrograde cycle.
Mercury tends to be cerebral and rules our communication, learning, teaching, and technology. You may have heard that exes may text you during Mercury retrogrades or that it’s not recommended to buy new
technology or sign any legal documents. All of these things can be true! Because Mercury rules these areas of communication, it’s totally possible that during a retrograde you misunderstand someone or that the details of a commitment sound a lot better than they truly are. In my practice, I tend to over-communicate what I’m trying to say, especially if it’s important or detail heavy. This retrograde falls in the typically detail-oriented sign of Virgo, so the information on the surface may feel straightforward, but with time, you realize the hiccups.
Another fun thing to note, Mercury Retrogrades tend to stay in the same element each year. This year, the retrogrades fall in the earth signs! Mercury retrogrades three (sometimes four) times a year, which is why it’s commonly talked about and seems like one of the more obvious retrogrades. It can be helpful to look back at recent retrogrades in Virgo to get an idea of what might come up for you. Those dates are September/October 2022, August/September 2017, and August/September 2016.
Back to the details of this retrograde, we entered the pre-retrograde shadow on August 4, 2023, when Mercury crossed over 8 degrees of Virgo. You may have already noticed some areas of life that might feel confusing or not entirely straightforward. Again, at this point in the cycle, things might not feel super obvious to you, and that’s ok, things will become more transparent over the coming weeks. On August 23rd, Mercury will station retrograde at 21 degrees 51 minutes of Virgo and will turn around to head back to 8 degrees Virgo. This is the period that sometimes feels the most obvious, though you may not be aware yet of the consequences of this time. Again, this is the time to
over-communicate to ensure others understand you and be thorough in your understanding of commitments. Finally, on September 15th, Mercury will station direct at 8 degrees Virgo 0 minutes and begin the last phase of the retrograde, the post-retrograde shadow. During this time, things may be way more obvious than they were before; puzzle pieces will begin to fall into place, and you will gain the clarity you’ve been looking for. By the end of September, on September 30th, Mercury will pass 21 degrees Virgo, and our retrograde story will be wrapping up.
I have a tendency to process information slowly, so my retrograde lessons don’t tend to be super obvious right away, but in the months after a retrograde, the pieces really begin to fall into place. Again, these periods are meant for slowing down and being more intentional. We are meant to dig up things from our past, things we may have thought we worked through, in order to reassure ourselves that we’re in the right place now. Though retrogrades can be annoying, especially when we want to run full steam ahead, they’re necessary times for us, so try and lean in as much as you can!
Xoxo,
Lauren
Komentáře