Mercury goes retrograde and the traditional advice is “Don’t travel, Don’t sign contracts. Don’t marry. Don’t touch electrics!” But the whole Mercury retrograde cycle actually lasts eight weeks and happens three times, sometimes even four times in a year! That’s a long time to hide under the duvet and a real waste of a truly magical time.
Retrograde Meaning
Mercury generally zips between two worlds, or rather, the two hemispheres of our brain. So during the retrograde period it is like Mercury has gone down into the Underworld. In the realm closer to spirit we become more right-brain orientated. It is dark, so other senses are heightened. We will feel extra sensitive here, psychic even. Everything will seem hyper-real… you will notice things you had overlooked before. This will prompt you to re-evaluate, renovate, re-invent, re-form, and reinvent. It’s true you might have to redo things, because Mercury will hit the same degree three times, but what this transit won’t let you do is to go into autopilot.
There are danger spots though. When Mercury is stationing retrograde we are at the wobbly stage where we are likely to slip-up, make mistakes, and misread another’s communications. But once we are over the threshold and into the Underworld, we can safely go about out business knowing we are in another realm. The same goes for when it is stationing direct – give our brain a few days to adjust back to solar thinking. Whichever houses Mercury retrogrades in, will be your Underworld zone. Here you will question everything. It will make you jittery about signing contracts, because you will be constantly thinking, “Is this what I really want?”. Before the retrograde, is a good time to finish off those Solar left-brain projects and gather information to bring down into your cave at its retrograde point. Then you can slow things down, let yourself be taken into other dimensions, try on different filters, experiment, shine a light on your demons, then recharge and reboot.
Mercury Retrograde June/July 2013
Mercury stations retrograde from June 26 to July 20. It will travel between 13º – 23º Cancer. Mercury enters the shadow on June 10, which means Mercury starts the period aligned with Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. We are into the dog days when we all go mad and hysterical, according to the ancient Romans that is. The shock of the summer sun can jump-start our libido if it has been flagging though. Sirius also can be success that can burn, so this Mercury retrograde period we will look at “burnout” and what we can do to avoid it. The balancing of moods and the right and left sides of the brain is highlighted in the two zones Mercury will be travelling through. Cancer decan 2 are the devoted wolves, moody and with bolt from the blue emotions and the Cancer decan 3 are about polarity, good V evil and feelings that swing between two extremes. The themes of this retrograde period are about balancing the heat and water in our bodies and examining the ebb and tides of our emotions.
Mercury Retrograde Chart
Mercury Retrograde June/July 2013 will be all about the deep blue sea of our feelings and the equanimity of that water grand trine. That’s a pretty huge statement about balance there. The Sun, Saturn Rx and Neptune Rx form a grand trine. Saturn trine Neptune turns dreams into reality. It gives us determination to see that vision carried out. Goals seem destined, but one may need to sacrifice personal pleasures to achieve them. The Sun makes it a grand trine and this is brings Sun trine Neptune into it, which I found to be about imagination and glamour that comes with a price. The trine goes with the flow, so with Neptune it can make one easily suggestible. The willpower is easily swayed by smoke and mirrors with this aspect.
Ordinarily this trine could find it hard to resist escapism, drugs or alcohol, but I think the Sun trine Saturn at the same time will give it the whole pattern great willpower and stamina. What it might show is our will being tested. There is great structure here underpinning the Neptune shimmer though, so this trine has substance. Mercury on the chart is on Pollux the immortal, dark twin, so we will be utilising our shadow in balancing our psyche. He will also be testing our will and do this by triggering who or what really winds us up. Do we secretly actually want to be the person we really hate. Are covering up our envy? What qualities in them are we just too afraid to express in ourselves?
This Mercury Retrograde period I think will be quite beneficial in the long term, but we will have to confront our “Evil twin” first. This will get us to revise and renovate how we build our dreams. It will enable us to find the balance with what we are willing to sacrifice for them. If we have been so obsessed with career goals in the past, but health or quality time spend with the family has suffered, these few weeks are for you. They can be used to finally find a way to balance mind, body and spirit if we do what the trine says and find time to look inward. Trines are about being more than doing. Mercury retrograde is a perfect excuse for just being then, especially if you are one of those electric types who only have to look at something electronic during Merc Rx for it to explode.
Mercury Retrograde Journey
Mercury starts off in the shadow zone on June 10. The first star it hits is Sirius which is highly fortunate “Great business success, help through influential people, worries unnecessarily, associated with the Church.” We get this influence on June 11, July 15/16 Rx & July 26. Then Mercury on Castor, the “good” twin, gives “Remarkable psychic powers entailing criticism and ridicule but eventual prominence.” We get this influence on June 18/19, July 5/6 Rx & August 2. Lastly Mercury confronts Pollux the “Evil” twin “Unbalanced mind, unpopular and peculiar occupation, trouble with father through relatives or enemies, domestic disharmony, anxiety, loss through land, property and mines” This shadow is highlighted on June 22/24, June 30 – July 3 Rx & August 3/4. Sirius, Castor and Pollux give us our three landmarks under which we can examine what we are revising. The third and final hit on these stars should bring resolution to what was begun at the first date. Look to see what house this falls to see where the renovations and renewals will take place. My weekly horoscope will give you an idea of how this Mercury retrograde period will affect you personally.
Mercury Retrograde Dates June – August 2013
Mercury enters shadow zone on June 10 at 13º 22’ Cancer
Mercury Stations Retrograde on June 26 at 23º 06’ Cancer 1:07 pm GMT 9:07 am EDT 6:07 am PDT.
Mercury Stations Direct on July 21 at 13º22’ Cancer 7:22 pm GMT 1.22 pm EDT 10.22 am PDT.
Mercury leaves shadow zone on August 3 at 23º 06’ Cancer.
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Yay for more 8º stuff! I don’t have anything at 8º Leo, but I think I have something around 8º in every other sign. Thankfully thinking with the right side of my brain is no problem at all, but in my 9th house? Hmmm…
Marina!
Thankyou! I love the way you write. You put all these images that for me are so clear and that I am so able to recall! I love your writing style.
My Persephone lays on 19° Leo, on my 2nd House, in Leo.
You always talk about this tight grades, so I should feel free because there are nothing I may notice in my chart.
Nevertheless, my karmic thing is getting in these little triangles, starting with my father. I have been back and forth seems like forever looking at those and trying to heal them (and NOT acting them, mainly…).
My Inner Child is so full of energy and lust and love for life. Thus, acts pretty much like a Persephone. She is very vivid to me. This is a set alarm for me (because of the scientist I many times cited, who “ows me one”).
I really pray Godess/God to help me, in these times. And -yes- I always blamed my father and other men. But it was always ME! So I can use my otherwise clever and mature Saturn (opposing my Venus and Sun in Aries in the 10th, and quadrating my ascendant cancer), to learn more about my impulsiveness!
Nice to have the info now, so I may reflect and act otherwise than Lillith cutting beautiful flowers with Persephone, eating the cherries and finding my self on a vertiginous trip to the Underworld.
I wish me luck, really!
Rocío.
i read your blog all the time and absolutely love it. this particular article got my attention as my dob is 8/6/59, 1:02 a.m. chester, ca, sabian symbol of leo 12 degrees..old sea captain rocking on the porch of his cabin. is there something important i need to know or is this just a coincidence? do i need to get a consultation? i am feeling scared. thanks for your advice. kerri