Slippery wet and then vaporous till dry is how all of the Mercury retrogrades roll this year. All starting in water signs and backing up into the air sign they previously occupied. 

This next Mercury retrograde (officially starting on June 7th and lasting until July 1st) is mysteriously absent from any exact contact with another planet besides the moon, which contacts every planet in some way given the speed of the sacred rock. It does however make a loose connection by degree and a definite one by sign to the dissipating energies of April’s cardinal grand cross.  

Mercury will trine the north node a couple of times on its way in and out but that’s not a planet, just a point in space that signifies when eclipses will happen. The nodes are significant in that they signify openings, closings and times when things get intense, but a trine is fairly mild in nature. What this could mean is that it acts completely on its own; Mercury Gone Wild.

Mercury begins it’s retrograde cycle while still in the sign of Cancer, the sign the moon rules. In a modern astrological sense Mercury in Cancer is a moody, intuitive, emotional thinker. It likes things that engender familial ties, sentimentality and emotional bonds. Mercury in Cancer soaks up its surroundings making it hard to distinguish one’s reality from the soup it lives in. Mercury in Cancer might think in ways that are driven by the desire to feel connected, not in the actual pursuit of truth. Untouched and  uninfluenced by any other planet, this Mercury doesn’t have a lot of perspective. 

Mercury will spend the majority of it’s retrograde cycle in Gemini, the sign it rules, the sign it’s the strongest in. Mercury in Gemini functions quickly absorbing many pieces of information and easily integrating them. A planet in its home sign has full access to all of its resources. It asks permission from no one and acts according to its true nature. It’s a thing to behold if you have one in your chart. Mercury in Gemini is speedy, unless it’s retrograde. Retrograde planets go a different way, a slow way, a unique (possibly inefficient in solar time standards) way and a non-linear way. They don’t necessarily help us move forward. Mercury retrograde is famous for communication snafu’s and tedious tricks of time. Mercury retrogrades are potent portals for self-revelation, inner work and for doing any job that is a redo.

This is a potent time to understand the sliding door between our mind and our emotions. One feeds the other and back again. The worst decisions we make are ones that are based on a passing mood; not a gut feeling but a reaction to a trigger. Always regrettable. When we try to live above feeling however, and shut down our hearts, only listening with our rational minds we are fooled into the most foolish of things. We are in grave danger right now as a planet because our politicians, bankers, CEO’s, lawmakers and law upholders refuse to listen to anything but the voice of greed which far too often is explained away by cold and unfeeling “logic”. For some strange reason mostly we have let them run the show and do what ever they want. We cannot listen to greed and love at the same time, it’s quite impossible. The language of greed falls on loves deaf ears. If we want to live in a loving and sustainable way on this planet we have to become impervious to its voice. 

But to get to love we must deal with our collective pain, loss, trauma and broken promises. Our world is deeply scarred by the effects of colonialism, slavery, misogyny, transphobia and environmental degradation. If we don’t open our minds and our conversations to include these current lived realities there can never be reparations, healing or forward movement. Quite simply we are so far down this road we need a revolution (both internal and external) of radical honesty and acceptance of responsibility in order to change course. 

Maybe we are starting to find our way to that revolution. Maybe. But we need to do so now. Not by rushing, not by bloodshed and not by being callouss. But by refusing to be lulled to sleep by fancy graphics, diet tips and talent contests. We must wake up and be willing to to take right action, right now.  

The key dates to look for are the ones listed below from www.serennu.com. These detail the most sensitive of dates that generally lead to revelations, complications, meditations and divinations. Mercury retrograde is famous for the miscommunications it causes. It’s also become known as a time to reflect, slow down, consider and go within. 

We cannot only pray and meditate our way out of atrocities. It is not enough. Every civil right that was ever won was won because everyday folks stuck their necks out, risked their lives, their reputations and their privilege. 

May we all live large in many small ways.

Happy retrograding,

Chani

Friday 23 May 2014 03:46:43 UT – Mercury enters shadow phase (24 ge 22’53”) 

Saturday 07 June 2014 11:56:26 UT – Mercury stations retrograde (3 cn 10’3″) 

Tuesday 17 June 2014 10:04:28 UT – Mercury enters Gemini (retrograde) 

Thursday 19 June 2014 22:50:11 UT – Sun (28 ge 34’4″) conjunct Mercury (28 ge 34’4″ Rx) 

Tuesday 01 July 2014  12:49:55 UT – Mercury stations direct (24 ge 22’53”) 

Sunday 13 July 2014 04:44:33 UT – Mercury enters Cancer (direct) 

Wednesday 16 July 2014 03:25:34 UT – Mercury shadow phase ends (3 cn 10’4″)