Eternal thanks to Nancy, our resident Astrologer for the following insights on Retrograde Mercury, beginning May 7, 2009.  Don’t forget to share it with your friends at the bottom of this post.  This info can save a great deal of frustration during the next three weeks.

In the past few years, many have heard the term Retrograde Mercury (Rx Mercury) and along with this phrase, many erroneous statements or “facts” attributed to this aspect.  Since Mercury is going into Retrograde motion on the 7th of this month at 12:00 AM–EST, I thought it apropos to fill in some of the blanks about this common occurrence that seems to be the fall guy for anything and everything that goes wrong in our lives.  Try to get any important work done prior to Mercury going retrograde — or at least be on the lookout for potential problems that might arise.

Every planet, except the Sun and the Moon go into what we call retrograde motion… now a Planet cannot really move backwards — however, from our perspective here on Earth, it appears to be moving exactly that way.  What happens when a Planet moves this way?  Well, it does change the normal and usual performance of the affected orb.  Sometimes in a negative way, but often in a positive manner.  It’s up to us to filter through the fog and find a way to use the energy that is coming to us, ready or not!

Today — we will only take note of the planet Mercury, which retrogrades 3 to 4 times a year for a period of about 3 weeks.  Since Mercury rules many things that affect us every day, we sometimes find these episodes onerous — even those not aware of the planets movement, can often be heard asking “What is going on?  Nothing seems to be going smoothly,” or, “Everything is late, why can’t I get anything done?” Or the ever horrifying, “My computer’s crashed.”

This particular aspect of the planet Mercury seems to be the cause of much of our misery when it is Retrograde.  Yes — it does mess with lots of everyday things, since it rules communications, prepare to have phone calls interrupted or dropped, misunderstandings to erupt for lack of clearness and simplicity, mail WILL go astray, you will think you know where to meet your friend for lunch, but alas… you will be mistaken or you will have the time or date wrong.  These things can and will happen if you are not aware of the fact that a Rx Mercury is in effect.  However, when you know this is in fact happening — you can be prepared.  Make yourself clear and concise when making plans, don’t panic if your call is dropped (just call again later), mail your invoices early, so they won’t be late — and if you are to receive an important missive and it does not arrive, check with the sender and then approach the Postal authorities to track down the missing letter.  Everything will eventually be settled and back to “normal”.

Another Mercury ruled area is transportation, and yes this period can find us needing to have car repairs done, or waiting in line for a bus or train that has been “unexpectedly” delayed — in order to alleviate some of these stressors, we can make sure our car is up to date on all maintenance and if there has been that funny noise or growly sound from our transmission, have it looked at and/or repaired if necessary.  I know we are all too busy, to always do what we should do — but, during a Rx Mercury span, these forgotten or ignored warnings will be brought to our attention in no uncertain terms.  Forewarned is forearmed — take care of those necessary chores and maintenance schedules and you won’t be surprised by unexpected emergencies.

With all of our technology streaming forward at the speed of light, is it any wonder that these new and improved ways of communicating are going to be affected by this Rx?   Yes folks, computers, faxes, phones, BlackBerries, emails, etc. are all going to be prone to some disturbance or complete failure — so — let’s back up our files, double check those forwards, make sure you haven’t dropped your phone and not checked it before that important call.  Check, and double-check, it will all be worthwhile to take that little extra time, to be sure that all of your ducks are in a row, and there will be fewer unhappy surprises in store for you while Mercury is in this stance.

It is also noted that this period is not good for signing contracts, or making plans for travel, or purchasing new items.  But, there are times when we must just go ahead and deal with life as it comes along.  Just make sure that you are clear about your goals, and have no questions about what you are signing.  To elaborate, RE-read contracts, make sure your dates on any future plans are set, and if you must purchase a new item — research it to the fullest to make absolutely sure you are getting just what you want.  Don’t be surprised if it’s not in stock, or is delivered with some kind of surface damage.  With contracts, remember to dot all the “i’s” and cross all the “t’s” — get legal help if you are the least bit confused or overwhelmed by the language.  If you do your best to make things right, you should be able to glide through with few, if any delays or problems.

Mercury is the ruler of both Gemini and Virgo, now Gemini is a mutable Air sign and can usually go with the flow, but Virgo a mutable Earth sign might find it difficult to handle the unexpected occurrences.  Much depends on what sign Mercury is in during it’s retrogradation.  This month, Mercury will begin Rx while in the sign Gemini, at 1 degree and will slowly enter into Taurus on the 13th of the month, for the remainder of this Rx period which ends on the 30th.  So Gemini’s and Taureans may be more affected, however; we all have these signs in our charts and the houses in which they reside will show the effects of Mercury’s Rx motion.

So far, this has sounded much more like “foe” than “friend” — so here is the more positive news — during a Rx Mercury transit, we have the opportunity to make things right that may have gone wrong in the recent past.  Yes — we get a do-over!  Lots of times, we may feel we will never get a chance to “fix” some aspect of our life that has become untenable, and a Rx period begins and we are presented with an opportunity to make something right.  It might be as simple as correcting someone’s erroneous idea about us, making amends for an argument or misunderstanding, or reworking that contract that wasn’t what we really wanted.  It’s a good time to reach out to those we have lost contact with over the years, to communicate with brothers or sisters who might have moved away or just haven’t been in touch lately, to reconnect with our community or neighbors after a contentious legal matter that’s been going on for years.  We get a second chance to make things right, or to realign those incidents that went a different way than we wanted them to go.  Opportunity may only knock once, but Rx Mercury will keep on knocking — offering to help us make things right.

By being aware of the rhythm of the Universe, we can in some small ways make our lives better, more fulfilled, happier and on a more even keel — we can find our ideal pathway through this lifetime … and Rx Mercury can help!

Tags: BlackBerry, friend or foe, Gemini, ignoring warning signs, my computer crashed, planets that appear moving backward, retrograde Mercury May 2009, Taureans, Virgo