Mercury: The Sun Thief?

Let’s shed some light on what’s considered to be such an unwelcome event, Mercury Retrograde. I’m convinced this retrograde occurs because Mercury is a sunbathing enthusiast, so much so that he cannot go more than 27° away from sunlight.

When he drifts far beyond 27°, his tan begins to fade and retrograde backward to be within sight of his idol, the Sun. A Mercury Retrograde happens every three months (or round about), and you might think it only lasts for up to 21 days.

WRONG!!!

The ‘Pre’ shadow period

Before ‘appearing’ to go retrograde, Mercury will go into what is known as the ‘Pre’ shadow period.’ A Shadow period occurs three or four weeks before Mercury is considered to be in retrograde, and you should NOW pay attention to events/themes happening in your life at this time.

The pre-shadow period is an interlude to the showdown Mercury Retrograde provides; we are building up to events that will eventually lead towards the full firework display.

Whatever is now cumulating will be reviewed when Mercury is in Retrograde. If you want to know more, please read my post, “How I got a Free Macbook Pro During Mercury Retrograde.”

Mercury in Retrograde Station

After Mercury moves out of pre-shadow, he will go into retrograde station, appearing to have stopped at a certain degree (in the sky & your birth chart); it is this point where he will later return to when he goes into what is known as a “direct station.”

But before he goes into direct station, let’s focus on Retrograde Station. During this phase, Mercury is about to turn backward, and you may want to proceed forward with something, but you also feel motionless when trying to exert yourself.

There’s that nagging feeling not to do anything. You want to start something but also want to stop something; they are hinged in the middle. I’ll advise you again to read my post, “How I Got a Free Macbook Pro During Mercury Retrograde.”

Events begin to intensify by the start of Mercury Retrograde (appearing to move backward). Whatever minor issues were materializing during the pre-shadow period (what was making you hesitant during retro station) now plays out in your every day to day life marking the phase of Mercury being officially retrograde.

AS mentioned before, when Mercury goes to Direct Station, he no longer appears to be moving backward and starts appearing to move forward, revisiting the same path he took when he looked to have stopped.

It’s at this time the results of the action you took during the retrograde period have played out, but you must now deal with a situation in which you have a difficult choice or process the events you’ve

Mercury in post-shadow period

In the last phase of Mercury’s orbit, he’ll enter the post-shadow period, which lasts for two or so weeks. You should now consider implementing what we’ve researched and discovered when Mercury was retrograde.

If you didn’t already know, Mercury is not moving backward in the sky. It is only an illusion. Planets don’t retrograde back, nor do they slow down. However, the planets in the sky “appear” as if they are moving backward.

Similarly, the events which will occur when Mercury is in retrograde may also not be real, i.e., things will be wrongly interpreted, believing your computer will never switch on, thinking it’s all doom and gloom.

Overcast

Mercury Retrograde should be a welcome event, especially for astrologers.

It’s nice that the focus is not on the movement of the Sun for once. We overlooked Mercury because he was a Sun worshiper, and now we are giving him the attention he rightfully deserved.

He is the planet ruling our nervous systems, our language, our thought processes, technology, and all forms of communication and learning processes.

Mercury is going to cause the most havoc when he is retrograding in his own house (the third house), or in the homes connected with work, i.e., the sixth house, or the 10th house.

Why is Mercury going backward most disruptive in these houses because the majority of the technology we use is for work purposes?

As a rule of thumb, it’s not a good time to buy anything new, especially concerning technology.

Although please read my post on How I got a free Macbook pro during Mercury Retrograde.

Nevertheless, if you are buying clothing or is, it’s okay as long as Venus is not retrograde.
Try not to sign any contracts during this retrograde period (including marriage, housing, and work contracts).

It’s a time when Pictures can accidentally get deleted; watches stop working, train delays,

Will Mercury retrograde affect you?

Based on personal experience, I’ve always had issues with my technology when my transiting Sun, the third house; the natural home of Mercury and Gemini.

However, there are lots of things in astrology that may make a person experience Mercurial mishaps even if Mercury is not in that house.

You could say that buying something like technology during the Mercury retrograde period should only affect people who have Mercury transiting in their second house (of disposable items/ income/spending) or maybe even in their eighth house.

The was a time during Mercury retrograde period when I needed a lamp to help me study, so I ordered one online.

The lamp was in the sale, it looks great, it’s been working for years.

However, the only problem that I’ve had with it was a few days after I bought it, it smashed my favorite mug to smithereens, which I’ve only recently been able to replace three years on).

So be warned if you do buy something new either the item you purchased will be faulty, you’ll change your mind, it will be cheaper after the planetary activity has died down, or it damages another one of your possessions which will need to be [re]placed.

Regarding signing contracts, people with transiting Mercury in the third, seventh, or to some degree, the ninth house will need to be extra careful, but other people may not need to worry.

It’s not necessarily that anything terrible will happen if you buy new technology or if you sign a contract.

What may occur is that you may sign a contract, and later on, you may change your mind, i.e., something better may come up.

Aspects, Mercury’s location in a solar return, the location of the Sun, or having a new or full Moon in a particular area of your chart indicate intensive activity in those areas of life.

Try to avoid

Try not to book travel plans as they may prove costly or plans will quickly change
• Try not to start legal action / do not to sign agreements
•Avoid arguments because you won’t have all the information
• Be prepared for technology to stop working
• Wait to buy anything electronic until Mercury is no longer retrograde
• Expect accidental emails and for people to randomly call
• Rethink publishing anything new; instead re-publish

Is there anything good about Mercury [re]trograde?

Use this time to go over posts you need to re-publish.

However, with my laptop inactive, I can do this. Nevertheless, going over something old or unfinished is usually how you best use the energy of Mercury retrograde.

If you have an old laptop that is still in working order, it’s probably best to use it during the retrograde period, rather than using your beloved (newer) Macbook.

Perfect time to…

If you have to redo an essay, this is an excellent time.

Similarly, if you need to talk to your partner about an ongoing issue you have been putting off, this is also an excellent time to do so.

• It’s the perfect time for repairs, be that technology, car repairs, home repairs, and so forth. (Although, in my experience, you may not need to go to an expert to fix your goods because they start to work by themselves after tinkering with them yourself-often the case during or after the Mercury retrograde period).
• Expect to hear from or see people you haven’t seen or heard from in years (you may call them, or they may call you from out of the blue). Talk to someone you have stopped speaking to.
• Time to renegotiate an existing deal/contract.
• Get facts but do not act on the information given
• A good period to return to education/ re-write a paper
• It’s a time to rethink, renew, revise, research, reflect, review, reorganize, renew vows, etc

Now that you are aware of Mercury retrograde, it may reduce the chances of mishaps happening, but that does not mean that other people around you won’t run into havoc (because they don’t believe in such things).

Therefore, you can benefit from their mistakes (read my post on gaining a free Macbook during Mercury in Rx). So, it’s best if you keep silent and observe other people making promises they can’t keep, not following protocol, having to retract their statements, and