What this March-April 2005 Mercury Retrograde Means for you, Pt.1

by Robert Wilkinson

This Mercury retrograde period starts March 19th (March 20 for Europe and points east) and ends April 12th, 2005. This retrograde moves from 15 Aries back to 2 Aries, with the inferior conjunction between Mercury and the Sun occurring March 29 at 10 Aries. The inferior conjunction is when Mercury (mind) conjuncts the Sun (life) while retrograde, indicating that signals, messages, and ideas from either outer sources or subconscious sources will fuse with the life principle, setting the tone for the lessons involving how our minds are relating to our lives during the next four months. It may be that we get a new look at old ideas, a new understanding of an old life intention, purpose, or lesson, or a new way to interpret a life experience we had in the past, renewing our understanding or thought process around that experience.

This retrograde beginning at 15 Aries will retrace ground we covered March 5-18, and is a degree of the Native American weaving a blanket at sunset, indicating our ability to glimpse a form of personal fulfillment through a "full and conscious realization of selfhood, through the memory of all the powers acquired in the past." We have the power to project our wholeness into everyday living, thus weaving our "immortal body" and creating a pattern of future fulfillment and a greater love. The entire retrograde Mercury is favorable to Venus, as well as the Mars-Neptune conjunction in Aquarius until mid-April, when it goes stationary direct in semi-square to them both. Whatever internal crises arise then should be dealt with through humor and objectivity as the means to manage active emotions.

During the 10 days before the inferior conjunction (fusion) of mind and life, take a new look at the details surrounding recent beginnings and endings and intense conversations, and make whatever adjustments that are needed to restore your sense of humor, vision, or ability to take care of your responsibilites quickly and efficiently. Mercury going stationary retrograde opposed to Jupiter in a wide square to Saturn shows we all have to get a grip on our imagination or conversely, any tendency to pessimism. Find the correct means to carry out your desires, get the understanding you need from those you're with, and don't get lost in secondary issues. If you must try to convince others of something, see it through their eyes and work backward to your own conception of things. Find ways to open to potentials without excessive rigidity or a sense that life is antagonistic. Find ways to stimulate others, as well as yourself, through revealing something important that you share with them or even between the parts of your own life. A sense of humor and vastness of vision will help to overcome any lurking fears or insecurities Saturn may symbolize.

Productivity and solutions to problems will be found in 15, 16, and 21 Capricorn, degrees of tender care for new dreams and life initiatives, physical activity, and seeing the value of healthy forms of cooperative competition to develop group consciousness. Keep adjusting your output in light of changing circumstances, focus on group cooperation and give and take between people, and see life's goodness in offering opportunities for self-regeneration. Be robust in approaching various kinds of "contests," and surrender yourself to forms of group activity that maximize the cooperative effort. Just remember not to exaggerate or overdo things, given the Cardinal T-square, which favors organized and disciplined output over time, not flash-in-the-pan efforts.

As I said, during March this Mercury retrograde cuts a sextile to Neptune, so all in all there should be excellent opportunities to link your lower, perceptual mind within a broader sense of larger things. Coupled with the early quintile and then sextile with Mars as well, during this period you can receive signals from your subconscious or the collective unconscious allowing you a larger vision and unveil that which has been shrouded in secrecy. Sharpen your vision and communication skills, and unique gifts and qualities will reveal themselves, perhaps in ways you've never dreamed of. The Full Moon of March 25th with the Moon at 6 Libra in wide conjunction with Jupiter and opposition to planets in early Aries sextile Mars accents the opposition-sextile-trine configuration, throwing energy into early Leo, so it's a great time for resolving conflicting energies through love, creativity, play, and noble detached visionary direct action. Don't let things drag out. Do what must be done quickly, creatively, with as much love as you can bring forth.

The inferior conjunction falling at 10 Aries shows that we will begin to reintepret old ways of viewing our lives from a more detached angle, and see many things we once took for granted as being part of our evolutionary necessity. We can now begin to symbolize old life situations from a wider angle of interpretation, and come to a much deeper understanding, beyond our old ordinary way of viewing life. It begins a time when we all will start integrating the inner with the outer, and can come to interesting and innovative ways of viewing why things are the way they are. This begins several months of revising attitude at the beginning of new cycles of activity.

The Full Moon at 6 Libra fulfills an old vision, and most of us will confront the results of previously held desires and visions. We will be seeking a more concrete form of self-expression, and may have to exclude more than we include during this retrograde period if we are to get clear about how we want to go about implementing that larger vision we confront. The New Moon Solar eclipse at 20 Aries occurs at the back end of the retrograde period on April 8th (April 9th in eastern Europe and points east of there), and promises major life renewals. For many, old shackles of fear will be quickly cast off through linking with others in compassion to overcome forms of worldly "coldness" and deprivation. For all of us, depending on where it falls in our charts, it ushers in a time of life that will be much larger than any previous conception of selfhood. Get ready to grow through expanded compassion and social connectedness, and whatever is eclipsed in your life, turn to the new and release the old without clutching, defensiveness, or fear.

Mercury going stationary direct at 2 Aries on April 12 indicates that through late July 2005 we will come to a more objective understanding of life through humor, and be offered a time of joyous discovery. Try to observe others with a measure of humor and objectivity through developing reflective consciousness. See things with various contrasting points of view, and overcome any tendency to be too subjective, moody, or self-involved. And if you're in a situation where you confront these in another, you will find using humorous ways to illustrate contrasting points of view will work wonders.

Mercury retrograde periods reveal their own unique rhythm in offering us a new look at things. Every period in some way echoes the messages of prior retrograde periods, and affects those to come. That's why it's important to observe what has been revealed during other periods in the recent months and years past, so that you can see how Mercury, or Hermes, the "Guide of Souls," is leading you to your authentic self. Regardless of appearances, or how difficult or easy, Mercury retrograde periods show us the path to our Soul. Part 2 of this article will explain how this recurring phenomenon affects each of us individually. Part 3 will explain how this period is part of a larger series of periods that affect our reality and our understanding.

© Copyright 2006 Robert Wilkinson. Last update: 8/27/2006; 10:52:37 AM.