Tag Archives: Mercury Retrograde

Intense Retrograde Cycle Ahead

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Many of my clients and friends have been writing to me about all the retrograde energy coming on us. Mars, Saturn, Jupiter and Pluto are already retrograde and Mercury will join them in retrograde from April 28 to May 22. It is actually somewhat rare to have five planets retrograde at the same time; according to some astrology researchers, it only happens about 4% of the time. I say “five” as I am a Neo-Vedic astrologer using the outer planets and Pluto is one of the retrogrades in question.

SFPageHere are some quick bullet points from my own astrologer’s notebook to help us sort it all out:

  • According to Martin Schulman in Karmic Astrology: Retrogrades and Reincarnation, “retrograde planets break the time barrier” meaning that they can represent parallel or past-life issues that are unresolved and in need of balancing or healing. This is in relation to retrogrades in a natal chart but can also apply to transiting planets in their retrograde cycle when they are aspecting planets or points in a natal chart, thus triggering a need to examine and even root out unsettled karmic patterns from any time in the past, this lifetime or others.
  • A retrograde planet’s energy is turned inward and is not less potent as some say, but its personal qualities can be experienced as more subjective, whereas its external effects can and will be slower to manifest.
  • To really understand a retrograde planet and determine whether or not it is auspicious or inauspicious, we have to analyze its house and sign placements, lordships and the yogas it forms in a natal or mundane horoscope.
  • Retrograde planets create confusion and a lack of clear understanding even among some astrologers because they are vakri, making a conflicted movement because they are appearing to move backward from the point of view of the Earth (geocentric), but are actually moving forward from the view of the Sun (heliocentric). This very fact is a secret for working with retrograde planets. We can get all hung up and worried about them, but the truth is when we follow the dharma, the path of the Sun which is unfolding the inner light of the Divine Self, the lila (divine play) of retrograde planets is simply another marvelous illusion in Mother Maya’s web.
  • Depending on what a transiting retrograde planet is triggering in a natal chart, we can be prompted or tempted to relive the past and in the process, hopefully, to heal it. Things or people can come back to us to allow us to heal. We may have to repeat our past actions or make them right somehow.
  • For instance, with Pluto retrograde now, depending on how it activates a natal chart, some of us will be intensely purging an unresolved past-life or current-life issue.
  • Mercury retrograde can be a time when we experience maddening events like miscommunications, travel and transportation difficulties, and the breakdown of equipment. Note where Mercury goes retrograde over a natal planet or sensitive chart point as this will reveal where problems can occur. By observing the planet and house in a natal chart that is affected, one can be prepared to hopefully minimize any potential difficulties.
  • Mercury on April 28, 2016 will station retrograde at the 29+ degree of sidereal Aries, so some with chart points or planets at 29 degrees may have a health issue or other difficult challenge ahead. The 29th degree is important in general as it has to do with some event or relationship that we thought was completed that is not, which is coming back to be reviewed or reassessed yet again. In general, with Mercury retrogrades we have an opportunity to revisit and complete unfinished business. Retrogrades can be awesome for reflection and retreat, a good time to regroup, reassess, and reconsider not only the past but also, our plans and dreams for the future.
  • The outer planets Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto move quite slowly so that their retrograde cycles may not be apparent unless they make a close aspect with a natal planet or angle cusp in the natal chart, in which case they can be quite a hornet’s nest.
  • It helps to remember that when we have this many retrograde planets, the world may appear or feel crazier than usual. Key word is “erratic” as retrogrades do not follow the traditional path, but that can be a good thing in terms of developing deeper insight and differing points of view to help us create new and innovative solutions to problems.
  • Keep in mind that we might be prone to changing our minds several times during these intense retrograde cycles, so this requires added caution and flexibility in decision making processes.
  • Mercury (the mind, communication, travel, business) will station and retrograde in the sign of enemy Mars in the potentially restless, violent, impatient, and aggressive sign of Aries, in Krittika nakshatra whose nature is fiery and cutting, then moving back into Bharani nakshatra whose nature is nothing if not “extreme” in every sense of the word. So yes, the world will look crazier than usual as the pancha-maha-bhuta (five elements) go a bit out of whack and we have so much Mars-ruled energy descending.The mental faculties will generally have a tendency to be overheated and agitated. It can be helpful to take cooling herbs and foods, and also to rub pure sandalwood or jatamansi essential oil on the brow a few times a day to calm and cool the mind.
  • Imbalances will come to light within us and within the world in these coming months of Saturn, Pluto, and Mars retrograde, but it may be especially difficult from now through May 9. On May 9, Jupiter will station direct and move out of the retrograde cycle where he has been in since January 2016. This is a positive thing when the planet of luck, grace, purpose, and wisdom starts moving forward, and should help to ease up some of the other retrograde frustrations.
  • I personally feel that chakra clearing work is a great remedy for retrograde intensity. In addition, it helps to go within, listen, purify, and recharge with Source energy. Cultivate patience and mindfulness. It is not a time to take risks in these coming months (especially while Mars is retrograde through June). Sit back and wait for the clouds to clear if you are confused about a choice you think you need to make. Be cautious and above all, apply common sense to all matters.
My friend, astrologer Tres Devas of ganeshastrology.blogspot.com wrote this amazing piece about the grace of Mercury retrograde, a term which he has cleverly coined “Mercury Retrograce”:
When Mercury Retrograces
Retrain all your thoughts,
they are endless reincarnations,
reawaken, realign to divine reverberations,
recommit to recombine all your studies and realizations,
recompute and reconcile remedy your tribulations,
reapprove, reunify and restore all your relations,
refortify and re-engage reinduce your aspirations,
reforest and recharge the deserts of imagination,
re-execute re-explore and re-enlist your revelations,
refocus and reforge retrofit your affirmations,
re-plan and redraw reaffirm your destinations,
reacquire, reconsign recover all your validations,
replenish, and relight reconfirm visualisations,
reword, rewind and resist old temptations,
rejoice, redistill and recite invocations,
redesign to revive and renew your cultivation,
to replant the garden of your dreams
M31 Adromeda Galaxy

September Exposed

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September looks to be a bit of an “exposed” month. No, I am not talking about the Shemitah and the Blood Moon prophecies, which I do not support…read my thoughts about this here: https://astralharmony.com/blog/apocalytic-prophecies/shemitah-and-blood-moon-prophecies/

There are several reasons why I say September is exposed:

1. The autumn season is already a highly vulnerable time of year because we have to say goodbye to the high season of summer and then cross the equinox still point (September 23), when our planetary nervous system goes through a major energetic transition, and our mental, emotional and physical health becomes ultra-sensitive, and we can feel wiped out emotionally, mentally or physically.

2. In addition, we should consider the power in the name of the fall season, as my dear friend Miriam Divinsky recently reminded me. Used interchangeably with “autumn,” fall simply refers to the natural process of slowly turning inward and downward to rest and rejuvenate, right? Yes! But also, there is a negative connotation connected to the word “fall” which subtly influences the mass mind, as “to fall” unconsciously evokes a sense of “decline, collapsing down or losing balance.” The sap of life does begin flowing downward in this season, which requires attention and adjustment. Tuning into these kinds of natural cycles helps to create a more life-affirming experience as we go with the flow of least resistance.

3. The United States birth chart (James Kelleher version) will enter a new major cycle in late September, and this unconsciously contributes to the mass mind’s feelings of instability, trepidation and worry. Please read more about this here: https://astralharmony.com/blog/rahu-mahadasa-and-united-states-kelleher-chart/

4. In addition to all the above, this September has two eclipses: Sept 13—partial solar/ New Moon Rahu eclipse; and Sept. 27-28—total lunar/Super Full Moon Ketu eclipse. Further, during the energetically unstable period between the two eclipses, we will celebrate the fall equinox, N. Hemisphere, and spring equinox, S. Hemisphere on September 23 at 8:22 AM UTC. If that were not enough, Mercury will also go retrograde on September 17 in the eclipse axis, conjunct the North Node, which can indicate some turmoil as communication, judgment, and travel/transport issues can get wonky.

All of this can impact our sensitive planetary and individual nervous systems. Thus, we are cautioned to be extra careful, mindful and gentle with ourselves and each other and not to push anything hard during this two-week cycle from the 13th to the 28th.  It is best not to begin anything new in the world during this period between eclipses and especially not for a few days before and after the equinox and eclipses, unless it is a healing or contemplative practice.

Eclipses churn up karmic changes for the whole planet, but it is said that when the lunar eclipse falls after the solar eclipse as in this case in September, the world will be more peaceful than when the solar comes after the lunar. Solar eclipses always have a longer more potent impact that lunar eclipses. Eclipses are also said to have the greatest impact in the geographical areas where they appear. The solar eclipse of September 13 will appear over S. Africa, South Indian Ocean and Antarctica.

SMImageThe full lunar eclipse of September 27-28 will appear over all of South America and most of North America, the Atlantic Ocean, Greenland, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

lunar_201509Probably the most important thing I can share about eclipses is that the half-hour or hour before, and especially during the eclipse maximum, are optimal times for healing work as well as spiritual practices like chanting, meditation, puja and prayer. The yogis have shared with us that the positive benefits of sadhana (practices) are vastly multiplied and magnified when performed at times of eclipses (particularly solar eclipses). The solar eclipse maximum time will be at 6:55:19 AM UTC on the 13th. The lunar eclipse maximum will occur at 2:48:16 AM UTC on the 28th September. To convert to your time zone, just use this: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html

What I share here about the September eclipses is quite generalized, but to truly get a grasp on how the eclipses will affect you requires a personal horoscope reading with a professional astrologer.

Big changes will often happen in the weeks and months before or after the eclipses. This is especially true when the eclipses occur in a section of the zodiac that is closely influencing important points or planets in a natal or mundane horoscope. Generally, a Rahu solar eclipse indicates new growth. This can bring the feeling of breakthrough (or breakdown if not handled properly). Often we experience issues related to our career, or health and life force, and sometimes we can feel very tired around the solar eclipse. At the same time, where and how we have been leaking vital energy might be revealed to us, and so then improvements can be made.

The solar eclipse of September 13 occurs with expansive Rahu (the Moon’s North Node) as the eclipsing body at ~7 degrees sidereal Virgo, while the Sun and Moon will be at ~26 degrees of sidereal Leo. In a natal or mundane horoscope, planets or points from late sidereal Leo and into the first decan (10 degrees) of sidereal Virgo will be most impacted. For instance, those born ~ September 11-15 have the Sun in late sidereal Leo and will be going through some interesting changes in the coming six months.The area where the luminaries (Sun-Moon/New Moon) fall in the September 13 solar eclipse is called Purva Phalguni nakshatra in the Vedic astrology system; this is a fierce and creative section of the zodiac. The luminaries additionally fall in Scorpio navamsa, fourth pada of Purva Phalguni, which reveals potential for some intensified passion and cathartic emotional energy being stirred up in this eclipse. The North Node Rahu falls in the fourth pada (Pisces navamsa) of Uttara Phalguni which fortunately brings some balance of higher consciousness into the mix.

SFPage Lunar eclipses generally tend to trigger relationship or emotional issues, and a Ketu lunar eclipse such as we will have September 27-28 signifies potential for heavy and emotionally toxic feelings in the weeks and days before the eclipse. Some may feel quite confused about what is happening, especially if the eclipse is significantly triggering something in the natal chart. This lunar eclipse will also be a super Moon (Moon at perigee, close to Earth) so it is quite strong in terms of the lunar effect. That is, in the days before and after, we may see higher than usual tides or intense storms and seismic activity, along with strong emotional energies and powerful shifts in awareness and some possibility of extreme events.

The full Moon lunar eclipse will be at ~11 degrees sidereal Pisces conjoined Ketu/South Node at ~7 degrees Pisces, so if you have important planets and points near these degrees, changes are coming and something may end or be let go, because of Pisces being the sign of endings, and Ketu’s quality of dissipation. Yet, every ending is a new beginning, and this is truer because a full Moon even when eclipsed carries some theme of fruition. So maybe if this eclipse is affecting you, there will be a great release which opens the door to something new.

Ketu in Pisces will be in exact trine to Saturn in Scorpio on September 26 adding to the intensity of the eclipse which will fall in Uttarabhadrapada nakshatra, whose shakti is “the power to bring rain,” so we may see torrential rains and possibly flooding or other kinds of water disasters around this lunation. Figuratively speaking, Uttarabhadrapada’s “rain” refers to healing, cleansing and nourishing energies. Pisces is the energy of Oneness. Stay connected within, and you will be fine.

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