Mercury Retro - What to Expect and How to Use This Great Opportunity for Review! - May 2022

by Silver RavenWolf

Astro Info:

(Gathering) Storm – Tuesday 3 May

Station and Retro in Gemini – Tuesday 10 May 7:47 AM EDT/4:47 AM PDT Mercury moves back into Taurus on Sunday, 22 May 9:15 PM EDT/8:15 PM PDT

Station and Direct – Friday 3 June 4:00 AM EDT/1:00 AM PDT

(Abating) Storm until 11 June

Begins in Gemini, moves back into Taurus

Begins in Air, moves back into Earth

We’ve just experienced a marvelous Solar Eclipse, and we are moving toward a dramatic Lunar Eclipse on May 15/16 (depending on your time zone) in Scorpio – which revs up the intensity and gives an extra lift to your personal power during this coming Mercury Retrograde! Even though it is generally agreed that Mercury retrogrades are a “re-do” period and that it is considered best to wait until the cycle is over to sign contracts or start new ventures, there’s plenty of good fortune energy tucked away in every backward Mercury dance! This cycle is no exception!

Think of the Mercury Retro like a sleek, silver train. At the beginning of the cycle, the engineer sees the lights on the track that indicate there is a change ahead and to slow down (this is the first storm). At the first station, the train pauses, then reverses, traveling back to where you’ve just been (because a passenger left something behind, and now we’ve gotta go back). Rather than being irritated at this inconvenience, we get creative and use this time to make changes within ourselves, finish long-overdue projects, and review what has worked for us and what hasn’t. At the second station, the train pauses again (the passenger found whatever the heck was missing) and then moves forward slowly until it rolls out of the second storm, and the engineer can go full speed ahead. We often have marvelous ideas during this time as we’ve released the clutter (dumped it at the last station) and are ready to begin new projects. Because we took the time to “re-do,” “re-think”, and “review”, we are prepared for the goodies ahead.

Currently, we are in the “storm.” You may have noticed things around you slowing down, or there are minor issues that suddenly scream for adjustments. The “I thought I took care of that!” growl is typical during this week. This is an excellent time to tidy up and take care of those loose ends. Pick up prescriptions, pay that stupid trash bill, correct your calendar so you don’t make a future goof, and pay attention to projects that are dancing with the procrastination monster. In addition, this is an excellent window to review the past month’s activities. Is there something you left unfinished? Have you been having difficulty coming to a decision on a specific issue? What was troublesome? Did you ignore it or handle it? To me, the week of “the initial storm” is a preview of what is to come. It is also a good time to consider what you may like to do during the retrograde period. For example, I always work with experimentation projects because I figure that if it doesn’t screw up during a Mercury retro, I am good to go! I developed my Lucky Black Cat candles during a Mercury retro because I was having so much trouble getting the right level of black in the wax medium I was using. After several tries, I came up with the perfect formula and have offered them ever since.

This week might be irritating because you are trying to get a ton of things done, and you just seem to be dragging. You may experience mini delays, minor plan changes, etc. -- perhaps just enough to set you on edge. That’s okay, and it is normal during this time. Don’t let yourself feel like you are drowning. Stop! Take deep breaths. Prioritize. Consider breaking tasks up into chunks. Burn a little incense, work with bells or singing bowls, take a nature walk – do for you!

Make one or two Bitty Days! Take a day or two focused on cleaning up those small tasks you’ve been putting off. You will feel a marvelous sense of accomplishment when you get them done. You’ve cleared space in your life for new and exciting activities rather than the struggle of the old stuff.

Where Do I Put My Efforts? In this cycle, Mercury Retrograde deals with Gemini (Air and Mutable) and Taurus (Earth and Fixed). What’s done in Gemini might last, and then again, it might not. Gemini is exceptionally fluid and loves to tinker with stuff. Taurus is quite different – what happens in Taurus? Can last a long, long time and is often associated with enduring value. All matters of harmony (art, music, behavior, and emotional comfort) fall under the protective gaze of Taurus. Both signs celebrate learning and embrace nature. Working on projects associated with these signs and their correspondences as Mercury passes through them (first Gemini and then Taurus) should bring significant reward, particularly if these projects have been shelf-sitters. In addition, this is an excellent time to re-work documents, books, poetry, music, etc., that you began some time ago and just never got around to finishing. You may see the most activity in your life in the houses ruled by these signs in your natal chart. First House? The place of self. Second? What you value. Seventh? Partners. Tenth? Career, and so forth. Our last Mercury retrograde completed its cycle in February of 2022. Anything from that point on is worth looking at in relation to the upcoming cycle, although really old things can pop up if you’ve consistently ignored them. If you’ve kept up with most things, a good clue on the energy flow in your life might focus on what has occurred during the last 3 months, particularly if you made a lot of changes because there are sure to be needed adjustments. Which is way cool because you want your future to roll out as smooth as possible.

The best way to handle Mercury Retrogrades is to relax and use your powers of observation. Be sure to make notes – keep a stick figure journal to make it more fun! Masterfully surf those crazy celestial vibes with a wink and a smile. While everyone else is going bonkers over delays, mix-ups, and irritations, you know that this is the natural flow of energy, showing where you need to make adjustments. Just because it wears the face of a grinning gremlin?

…means…

nothing.

Really.

Peace with the Gods Peace with Nature Peace Within!

Silver

I hope you enjoyed this short article. Feel free to comment. We love to hear your thoughts! And P.S. Just kidding about the Gremlin.