What the July-August 2005 Mercury Retrograde Means for All Signs Pt.3

by Robert Wilkinson

Part 1 of this article offered some insights into this Mercury Retrograde period, and what we can do to play it to our advantage. As was noted in Part 1, these periods reveal their own unique rhythm by offering a new look at things. Every period in some way echoes the messages of prior retrograde periods, and affects our future. By observing what has been revealed during other periods in recent months and years, we can see how Mercury, or Hermes, the "Guide of Souls," is leading us to our authentic self. Regardless of appearances or how difficult or easy, Mercury retrograde periods show us the path to our Soul. Part 2 offered how this phenomenon is affecting us at this time based in where it falls relative to our Sun sign. The rest of this article explores the thread of previous Mercury retrograde spans to offer a different point of view on some lessons we've learned since early 2003.

In January 2003, Mercury's retrograde station at 29 Capricorn renewed our quest for inner understanding despite social conditioning. We learned to transcend old routines, see hidden meaning in situations, and discovered how appearances relate to archetypal principles or processes. Its stationary direct point on January 22, 2003 at 13 Capricorn gave us a responsibility and platform to transcend our lesser self for the rest of 2003.

This degree had already been given tremendous power due to the New Moon on that point January 2, 2003. This degree heavily influenced all we learned in 2003, and showed us the need to establish ourselves on what we hold valuable and venerable at the core of our being. Forms of clairvoyance and subtle understanding resulted from doing the necessary disciplines. We revisited old routines to claim our power or authorship, and we were offered ways to experience an absolute unity by going deeper into our inner natures and exercising a playful or creative useful self-conquest.

In April 2003, Mercury's retrograde at 21 Taurus offered us chances that spring and summer to find what was personally significant to us, and confirm a new emotional-social response. We learned an evolved discernment regarding what mattered to us and what didn't, and we were challenged to see ourselves within a larger Whole. Going stationary direct at 12 Taurus gave us a resource and platform to windowshop for things we needed to embrace our future, and we were able to find that which could lead us to a more enthusiastic involvement and achievement.

In August 2003, Mercury's retrograde station at 27 Virgo began chances to see how we could refine ourselves and embrace a service of rectifying something to prepare for more effective social-cultural self-expression. We examined why we valued long-held cultural values. Decisions were made re: associates who were smug or hung up on prestige, offering openings to inner guidance leading to the magnetism or "charisma" that could inspire others by staying centered in the NOW and questioning superficiality.

For those who did the inner work, the ultimate result was an energy transmutation of extraordinary precision showing how we lived within another's limitations, or believed a falsehood. As we overcame restlessness and nitpicking, and embraced pioneering actions, thinking and precision in our reflections, we saw positive results.

The Mercury retrograde period in December 2003-January 2004 gave us a look back at 2003 as a whole, since Mercury's stationary retrograde point was the same as its direct point was in January 2003. As mentioned earlier, the whole year challenged us to demonstrate self-transcendence, and the Winter 2003-04 retrograde showed us how we did or did not fulfill our duties and responsibilities and get grounded on timeless spiritual principles. Superficiality, presumptuousness, personal digs or familiarity that wasn't warranted backfired.

We were challenged to be responsible, organized, and efficient, projecting ourselves into a work. We had to reveal our inner life and purpose to our world, master something through mature realizations and intelligence, find a clearer understanding, and genuine form of long term self-expression. By mastering our talents and sharing them with others, we enlarged our horizons and came to forms of exceptional self-expression.

The April 2004 Mercury retrograde station at 2 Taurus promised us all a "cosmic visitation" that would leave us in awe of larger forces, opening us to a transfigurative experience. We started to confirm elements of a new life and existence, with revolutionary beginnings and endings since then. It retrograded back to 22 Aries, challenging us through the Summer of 2004 to be more optimistic, cooperative, and joyous in releasing inhibitions.

The inferior conjunction with the Sun fused our principles of life and retrograde mind at 28 Aries, a degree of shattering cherished illusions. Between April and August 2004, we got new insights, and needed to take responsibility for consequences while shedding a new light on old ideas. We had to demonstrate fearlessness while constructively facing facts and adjust however we needed to.

The Mercury retrograde period of August 2004 kicked off with Mercury going stationary retrograde at 9 Virgo, indicated a time of reviewing methods of expressing our genius or uniqueness. We understood and got in harmony with the trends indicated by the "cosmic visitation" back in April, and the inferior conjunction at 2 Virgo in August put all of us through a "liberating ordeal" during that Summer and Autumn. We released much that kept us tied to an old reality, work, or way of life, and found a greater self-assurance.

The 26 Leo stationary direct degree gave us all a promise that if we linked the eternal with the temporal in our lives we would experience a revelation about our true worth after the death of useless things. We've all been given chances for "spiritual linkage through emotional stress," and received a blessing of some sort, peculiar though it may have appeared.

The Mercury retrograde period of December 2004 began at 27 Sagittarius, the degree of the sculptor. We were offered the ability to master substance through applied intelligence, and find a form of permanent self-expression through clear understanding. We were shown how to shape our world by revealing something of our inner life and purpose to others. We were challenged to detach while forming images of our individuality into substance while having a sense of humor, vision, or ability to take care of our needs. We broke free of old uncertainties or limitations through our sacrifices, and began to commit to that which would link us to others across space-time.

The goal was to find the highest level of appreciation, patience, and ways of offering wisdom through indirect means to those who were immature or inexperienced. The inferior conjunction at 19 Sagittarius ushered in a four month "light of mind" reorienting us into a "move to distant regions," either physically or psychologically, to ensure our survival. We re-emphasized our foundations, retreated for recuperation, and began to search for new ways of living in more wholesome surroundings, whether psychic or physical.

Mercury's direct station at 11 Sagittarius indicated that through the Spring we were shown how the collective consciousness affects us and others, and became aware of the "power of primordial images of Unconscious." A degree of "activity dominated by fate," we went through character adjustments which will show us that as you shape our character we shape our destiny, or fate. We learned how to tap into the wisdom of our body instincts, moderate any overemphasis on mind and intellectual rationality, and decondition our reliance on the lower mind. We learned a more natural response to life challenges and had to detach from leaning too heavily on quantitative reasoning or conforming to cultural patterns.

The most recent Mercury retrograde period began March 19, 2005, at 15 Aries, a degree of the Native American weaving a blanket at sunset. It began a period of seeing forms of "full and conscious realization of selfhood, through the memory of all the powers acquired in the past." We began to weave our "immortal body" and create patterns of future fulfillment and a greater love. The inferior conjunction between Mercury and the Sun occured March 29 at 10 Aries, beginning a detached reinterpretation of old ways of viewing our lives so we could see things we once took for granted as being part of an evolutionary necessity. We have seen old life situations from a deeper understanding, beyond old ordinary ways of viewing life.

Since then we have been integrating the inner with the outer, and found innovative ways of viewing why things are the way they are. Mercury's direct station at 2 Aries on April 12 indicated that since then we have come to a more objective understanding of life through humor, and were offered a time of joyous discovery. We have developed reflective consciousness to see things from contrasting points of view and had opportunities to overcome being too subjective, moody, or self-involved by seeing the lightness or irony in situations.

© Copyright 2006 Robert Wilkinson. Last update: 8/27/2006; 10:54:05 AM.