Wednesday, June 26 at 9:08 AM EDT, Mercury will station retrograde, when it will appear to begin moving backward until July 20. This transit has a very big reputation even among non-astrologers as a time when things can and will go haywire! Mercury is the astrological indicator of communication, speech, travel, writing, memory, commerce and transportation, so in some cases when Mercury’s movement is backward, we can experience delays and snafus in these areas of life.
Mercury will be retrograde in his own (sidereal) constellation of Gemini, which also governs the same matters as Mercury, so this retrograde cycle may be one in which we need to be extra careful with travel, transportation, communications, contracts and other business matters. In terms of health, pay special attention and give extra care during this period.
How the retrograde cycle plays out for each one of us also depends on the condition of Mercury in the natal chart and the sign/house in which Mercury is transiting in a natal or mundane horoscope as well as other such dynamic patterns, and for this, one would require an astrological consultation. Nonetheless, we can also speak in terms of “general probabilities” about planetary transits.
Mercury retrograde is considered a good period for us to retreat, reflect, reconsider, reorganize, renovate, renegotiate, etc. (all the good “re” words). However, our mental energy during Mercury retrograde can become fuzzy or blurry at times, so that this is not always an easy time to think clearly and make decisions. It may be a great time instead to take regular breaks from linear thinking and let yourself be led more creatively and intuitively.
This is even truer because Mercury will station retrograde at the 29 degree mark of (sidereal) Gemini. The 29th degree is known as the anaretic degree (Gr. ‘destroyer’), which is associated with defective vision (literal and figurative) and thus, decision-making complexities. Gemini, Mercury and the anaretic degree indicate that we can be of two minds, i.e., uncertain about which direction to take. The 29th degree reflects a sense of being ripe and ready for a change, but just as this happens on Wednesday, Mercury stops and backs up. I imagine that without a certain level of awareness, this will make for some potential frustration at times during the Mercury retrograde cycle and even until Mercury crosses this anaretic degree moving forward again on August 3. My advice is (always, when possible) to wait for the clouds to clear instead of forcing any issues.
I suggest a measure of extra caution especially because Mercury at its station will conjoin the fixed star Pollux (Beta-Geminorium) in the (sidereal) constellation of Gemini. Pollux reveals a strong martial nature and is sometimes concerned with disgrace, deception, tyranny and loss. We may begin to feel the beginning of the Mercury station as early as Monday, just after Sunday’s Super Moon.
Love and light, Juliana
