So… how’s this Mercury Retrograde been treating ya? Wacky, right? One thing Mercury the teacher likes to do during a retrograde cycle in water is re-introduce you to your former self by bringing back people who shine a light on that old way of being.
Mercury was so kind as to resurrect not one but FIVE such people for me all at once via a FaceBook message. These names suddenly appeared and “wham” that old incarnation of myself showed up in an instant! Ouch! Let me tell ya, that shy and awkward tween was blinking and cringing in the light, but it was an educational moment; I was able to recognize how far I have come since those days (despite the momentary emotional flashback…) and feel good about the distance travelled.
“After all, the rocks are part of the path.” 1—Erin Sullivan
In addition to being a “teacher,” Mercury has also been called the “trickster” (though it’s always for the sake of our learning…) But we are so through with this retrograde madness, right?! Enough with the rocks and the obstacles… finito! Well… not quite yet…
Mercury is going direct (meaning leaving the retrograde cycle) on 7/20/13 around 2pm-ish EDT, yipee!
(I say “ish” because I’m finding conflicting information around this timing (of course) so figure late afternoon/evening… may as well call it 7/21 to be “safe”.)
I can feel the impatience growing around me. Like a classroom of kids watching the clock tick past 2:58 pm, we are ready to burst out of our seats and run for the door! But it’s not 3pm yet kids, and we’re still in learning mode and the usual Mercury Retrograde cautions still apply…
[pullquote]Researching for our final exams, we are gathering resources and reflecting upon our learning of the past few weeks. [/pullquote]
What have we learned? Well class, if we’ve been paying attention, we’ve been learning about our own responsibilities to ourselves and others in the form of “old habit patterns and emotional responses to life challenges.”2
- How have we been nurturing ourselves? Our health? Our feelings?
- Have we been attentive to what feeds us?
- How has our lack of self-care affected our loved ones?
- Have we been nurturing them at our own expense?
- Have we been too self-aware and left others to fend for themselves?
Much of the above has been processing unconsciously as we acquire the information with which to move forward when Mercury goes direct…
What if we haven’t become aware of the need to self-nurture?
Well then, the “issue” (whatever it is to you) will raise its head again come October 21st when Mercury goes retrograde in Scorpio, the sign of the truth-teller.
Here’s the deal: these opportunities to delve into the depths of our emotional responses to the world come around every couple of years, so this is a great time to push through and be honest with yourself.
Remember, this Mercury Retrograde has been in the sign of Cancer or the astrological “mother”, and we’ve been exploring “self-care”.
[pullquote]Develop practices of self-care now and you may not feel Scorpio’s “sting” so much come October.[/pullquote]Do what you can to recognize and begin to design practices & solutions to this retrograde message for you by sign before Friday. Why? Well, in three months time when Mercury goes retrograde in Scorpio (10/21/13), the message may not be quite so motherly. Scorpio rules depth psychology, amongst other things, so if you can begin to develop practices of self-care now, you may not feel Scorpio’s “sting” so much come October. (No gloom & doom, with Scorpio… rather it is “pointed” when communicating its message.)
1. Erin Sullivan, Retrograde Planets (York Beach, ME, 1992) p. 64.)
2. Ibid, p. 71.
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