What Happens When Mercury is Retrograde
In Astrology, Mercury is our guide; it allows us to interpret the world around us by taking large-scale ideas and synthesizing them so we can classify what we are trying to decipher. However, this celestial body is a trickster, so just when we think we have it figured out, he turns the tables, which is why people are thrown for a loop when this planet backtracks.
Mercury Retrogrades' meaning in Transit is very different than the one we experience on Natally level. When we are dealing with this as a Transit, we feel its effects temporarily rather than on an expressed energy we would have in our Birth Chart.
Every area of a Mercury Retrograde is about going inward to do the 3 R’s of the Inverse cycle; reboot, recreate, and re-calibrate. You need to go back and become organized. Sometimes, ideas need an overhaul, and Mercury does just that. We have to keep on our toes during an RX cycle; otherwise, there are mishaps, and we can fool ourselves into thinking we have our shit together when really it needs to be tidied up.
Mercury Retrograde 2022
We are done with the Water cycles of 2019 and 2020, 2021 was all about the Air Signs, and now 2022 will be a mix.
Mercury will Retrograde 4 times this year in Earth and Air Signs. Generally, we have about 3 Regressive Periods with this planet but this year we will get four due to this Celestial body going inverse at the start of 2022.
We will have a continuum of Mercury in Air Signs as we had for a few years, but this time they will dip back to the last Degrees of an Earth Sign. In other words, Three of the Retrogrades will occur in two different Signs.
So, 3 of the Mercury Retrogrades will start its Pre-Shadow at the end of Earth Signs and then reach the early parts of Air. Therefore, we have 3 of the mixed Retrogrades and the last one Fully in Capricorn at the end of the year.
Here are the important dates to prepare for the Retrograde:
Aquarius and Capricorn RX ♒ ♑
25° of Capricorn and 11°
Pre-Retrograde Shadow 12/29/21
Goes Retrograde 1/14/22
Back In Capricorn 1/25/22
Out of Retrograde 2/3/22
Leaves Post Retrograde Shadow 2/23/22
Gemini and Taurus RX ♊♉
RX during the Taurus-Gemini Season Inverse Cycle
Degrees 26° Taurus 4° of Gemini
Shadow 4/26/22
Retrograde 5/10/22
Direct 6/2/22
Leaves Post-Shadow 6/18/22
Libra and Virgo RX ♎♍
Some of Virgo and Libra Season
Mer Rx 28° Virgo and 8° of Libra
Enters Pre-Retrograde Shadow 8/24/2022
Goes Retrograde 9/9/22
Direct 10/2/22
Leaves Post Shadow 10/16/22
Capricorn RX ♑
Goes Retro at 24 Capricorn at Shadow 8°
Pre-Retrograde Shadow
Retrograde 12/29/2022
Direct 1/18/23
Leaves Post Shadow 2/7/23
Indeed it will be an interesting year, look through the rest of this blog post to see what you can expect during an Air Cycle retrograde.
Shadow Period- The Precursor for What's to Come.
During the Pre-Shadow Phases, it's critical to jot down as many important details as possible.
Two weeks before this Celestial Body goes Retro it goes into it’s Shadow phase, this is when we can notice things becoming glitchy with our phones, computers, and other electronics. The Shadow period is a good time to prepare for what themes might appear for the upcoming inverse cycle.
My advice is to look up what particular Sign or other Zodiac it might go into because sometimes the RX hits two at a time.
Observing recurring incidences that continue to occur over the next few weeks is an excellent approach to seeing your particular Retrograde pattern.
Some examples of things that could occur and how to spot a pattern:
During the Shadow Phase, there could be an issue when it comes to document signing or an agreement that needs to be reached.
If you've had disagreements in the Pre-shadow period, this could be your scenario to resolve during the Retrograde.
Alternatively, you could find yourself working on how to become mindful of how you speak with others and yourself
Retrogrades make us retrace our steps, so paying attention during the Pre-Shadow Phase is so important. We have our Regressive Period topic in front of us, so why not give yourself more leverage by writing these things down so you can be better prepared?!
When the planet finally goes Direct, we enter the Post Shadow Phase, which helps clean up any residue leftover from the Retrograde. The great thing about this portion is we can resolve the issue with greater clarity and a sense of being in control.
Other ways to prepare:
Backing up important data
Looking at the areas of your life that could use some polishing
Going to stone and crystal shops to buy some supplies that can help you ground your energy
Hanging out in nature or where ever you can find some green space to chill at
Journaling all of your stuck emotions or thoughts that way when they come out it isn’t too harsh
Taking a nice meditative shower or bath with your favorite music and scents
Researching topics you put on the back burner
Video games, no seriously, a little gaming will help you decompress
Binge-watching movies and shows you’ve meant to catch up to are also great when you need to destress and baby yourself. If you can’t concentrate on a mental task, give yourself a break with a good show.
The Typical Situations You Can Expect During Mercury Retro
These are some of the common issues experienced during the Retrograde:
This is a time to reflect
Thoughts from our unconsciousness come to the surface
The swindler side of a person can come out
Balancing the duality of your psyche
Going inward with your communication
Social exchanges with others can come out in a surprising way
Sudden flashes of insight show up and give us eureka moments
Teaches us where we need to look at the details and not skip a beat
A need to be introspective
Our awareness is raised
Things slow down so we can understand them and see a situation without the distractions we do when life is fast-paced
Learning how to pay attention or suffer the consequences
Issues that have been in the subconscious, or underneath, repressed from the last few months or a few Retrograde cycles ago need to be figured out.
People from our past come back that we have unfinished business with
Some people feel these more than others. Either you get to be a lucky spectator and watch everyone else glitch out, or you are the individual who receives a case of the Retrogrades.
People born with Mercury Retro Natally generally are immune to the inverse cycles but might feel off when this planet is direct.
The best way to know if you will be affected is to check what planets are being aspected in your chart because it takes an activation from Mercury to feel the energy intensely.
Transiting Mercury Retrogrades Affects When it is in a Specific Element
Yearly, Mercury goes through a particular element to review things in that Triplicity for society as a whole.
So one year we might have lessons in Fire, another, could be in Earth signs and so on. There are some years it will have an emphasis on a certain Triplicity but has one last review in another element. Therefore some inverse cycles will have a mixed bag of a few weeks in Water, then Mercury will spend the previous few in Air until it goes forward.
It varies from year-to-year, but when this celestial body goes back into another element, then we have some unfinished business in that triplicity we must finish as a collective.
Either way, these are the areas of life that need to be reviewed or finalized, especially if it goes into one element for a brief moment to retrace its steps. When Mercury dips back into an element, this planet was in while direct then it is time to go back to resolve or dissolve something in your life.
In a personal chart, the same theme can occur within elements so a person might have a year of transiting Mercury RX in Water, and so on. This cycle is repeated over 6 to 7 years, and can aspect a planet, house, plus other placements such as the Part of Fortune or an asteroid-like Juno.
Mercury Direct
After 3 long and frustrating weeks, Mercury goes direct, so this is where you can put all of the feelings, thoughts, goals, and projects back into action. As this planet rolls forward over the degrees, it went through during the inverse cycle, you will finally gain the clarity and ability to act without the consequences of the previous weeks. Use this time to fix what was misunderstood and move forward once again.
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