Tag: Mercury Retrograde

Mercury Retrograde Square Neptune: A State Of Pure Inebriation

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ Leave a comment

Welp, this is one super impaired Mercury Retrograde we have on our hands ATM – not only is Mercury’s coordination and cognition all screwed up from recently throwing it into reverse gear, but it’s also backtracking in a sign where it is astrologically debilitated (Sagittarius) while sitting in a prolonged square to confusing, clarity-lacking Neptune.  This is, quite simply, a recipe for a communication & travel “hot mess” – sorry; there’s just no dressing this up. It would be dishonest to try and spin it any other way by attempting to put a more positive slant on Mercury’s present condition.  So rather than veil this discombobulated energy with a bunch of well-intended but utterly unhelpful euphemisms, instead let’s have some straight talk about what to be aware of with the holiday season upon us and a major one kicking off in just a few days here in the USA (Thanksgiving) while this vibe is in play:

1) Don’t drink and drive. It’s a bad idea to do this anyway, but it’s an especially terrible idea to do it under these particular astrological conditions.  Do not operate motor vehicles – or even your phone – while under the influence of any kind of “substance” from now thru Christmas.  Especially when it’s winter here in the Northern Hemisphere where bad weather can unexpectedly roll in while we’re at holiday festivities, it just doesn’t make sense to risk having “one too many” and then attempt to drive home in sub-optimal road conditions.

2) Keep your “hoof” out of your mouth.  Mercury in this condition is prone to verbal gaffes, so make it a blanket policy to avoid pointless discussion/debate about things like religion or politics this holiday season; evade any kind of topic where people are prone to having philosophical differences.

3) Alcohol-fueled conversations are a NO.   Seriously, don’t do it – that uncle/cousin you always clash with or the in-law who just won’t shaddap? Alcohol is not going to make coping with their BS any easier and may in fact only make it twice as bad.  What’s worse: Someone saying something inappropriate, or the two of you saying something equally uncalled for?  Two wrongs do not make a right, and when you have Mercury in Sagittarius lubed up by a liquor-induced Neptune, all kinds of candid things can slip out of our mouths that – no matter how true they may be – are not exactly what we’d call judicious or kind.  It’s not right to use a few beers/glasses of wine as an excuse for brutal honesty; further, it’s not fair to make everyone else uncomfortable because of our case of verbal diarrhea.

4) Budget extra travel time.  Worst case? You’ll get there early; big deal!  But *not* allowing for extra travel time under these skies could leave you with more stress and aggravation than you need.  People might run late, traffic may be a mess, cars could have trouble, or flights get delayed/cancelled; things happen.  And forgetfulness under pressure may also be another factor to watch out for, like leaving for the airport and realizing halfway there you left your phone at home on the charger. Leaving yourself way more time than you think you want/need to get from Point A to Point B is solid policy during this particular holiday season. And please do check your luggage tags if you fly to make sure your bags are being routed to the correct destination.

5) Track your packages.  Many of us will be buying or shipping gifts during this Mercury Retrograde, and while it’s best to hold off if/when we can (December’s 2nd & 3rd weeks are about as good as it will get in this respect), sometimes we’re not able to so it’s best to get delivery confirmation.  Aside from actual package theft, there’s the chance that a parcel could just be lost/delivered to the wrong address.  And check return/exchange policies carefully in case there’s an issue BEFOREHAND; don’t just assume it’s all good and it won’t be a hassle to remedy an issue in the event that one arises.

5) Breathe, meditate, and/or have a “Zen” playlist on standby. Mercury Retrograde is 90% mind over matter and if you can get yourself into a headspace where you don’t mind, it won’t matter. Being mindful of our breathing, stress levels, and actively seeking that “restorative” space via going Within or immersing ourselves in a particular soundscape can help us cultivate a state of surrender and flexibility.

6) Forget Black Friday/Cyber Monday this year and just sleep in.  The likelihood of aggressive sales pitches coupled with “bait and switch” advertising tactics is abnormally high this year; do you REALLY want to get up at the buttcrack of dawn or leave Thanksgiving dinner early for this??? I understand that some people get addicted to the rush of a good deal, but astrologically speaking the skies seem to indicate this being in short supply and the potential for aggravation being extra elevated. To contemplate: Would you be happier if you were well-rested and relaxed instead of shopping till you drop this coming weekend?

7) This Mercury Retrograde triggers the residue of the old 2015-2016 Saturn/Neptune Square; especially the June 2016 hit.  Is it any wonder the Brexit situation is once again making headlines? The Brexit vote took place right as this alignment perfected in June 2016!  Setting this aside, in our personal lives this Mercury Retrograde can be a lot like receiving some sort of phantom redial from the 2015-2016 era. You may recall from my writings about the Saturn/Neptune Square that it represented a conflict between Realism and Idealism; how it pit What Is against What We’d Wish It To Be.  Think about this for a potential “Ah-ha!” moment; a temporal vortex is being reopened and a cognitive reset may be in order.

11/19/2018

Message From Saturn

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ Leave a comment

As I ran down the hill to reach the end of my first mile, I noted an elderly gentleman standing roadside by his mailbox.  I thought nothing of it at first but then I saw that after retrieving his mail he just stood there, watching me pass by with a cheerful expression on his face as he clapped both hands together. “Keep going – you can do it!” He urged as if I were some kind of marathon runner he was rooting for.  Maintaining my pace I smiled and replied, “Thanks – I try!  Some days are harder than others but today’s not too bad.  Have a good one!” as I ran past.

Right after I finished speaking I was struck by how this exchange was actually a great metaphor for life while simultaneously taking comfort that Saturn – in the form of this senior citizen – was offering me encouragement to persevere.  “If only you knew, Old Man….” I thought to myself with a wry smile.  😉

With Mercury currently conjunct Saturn for a second time (exact on December 6th), we’re all getting similar “Saturn Mail” at the moment; that is to say we should be paying special attention to the messages delivered to us from elders, parents, teachers, and other Saturnian “authority figures” now.  This conjunction perfected for the first time on 11/28; a date when I not coincidentally had a lovely dinner & conversation with a retiree friend. Because of Mercury’s retrograde, the third and final conjunction of these two planets won’t be until 1/13/2018 but do look for similar refrains between these 3 dates to see what messages Saturn may have for you – hopefully, you’ll be on good (or at least speaking) terms!

Statue of Mercury atop Grand Central Terminal, NYC. Photo credit: Purple74

12/04/2017

December’s Mercury Retrograde: Phantom Redial

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ 1 Comment

The upcoming Mercury Retrograde in December promises to be more interesting than most for a few reasons – there are many nuanced and in-your-face energetic layers in the mix at the time this retrograde kicks off (December 3, 2017), but for the purposes of this post right now I’ll stick to discussing the components that give a broader and unique context on what’s really going on.  There’s something more significant playing out underneath all of this besides the normal Mercury Rx communication glitches and don’t-sign-anything caveats…

One factor that makes *this particular* Mercury Retrograde period unusual is due to its kickoff overlapping with the Gemini (i.e. a Mercury-ruled) Full Moon; a mere 8 hours separates these twin events! Uncanny as it is to see double the Mercurial energy in the astrological air at the same time, there’s an important subtext inherent in this by virtue of the fact the Full Moon also falls along a degree of the zodiac sensitized by last year’s Saturn/Neptune Square. The Sun is lighting up 12 degrees Sagittarius; almost exactly the same spot Saturn occupied on June 17, 2016 when the Saturn/Neptune Square perfected for the second time.  This being a Full Moon, the Moon of course sits opposite the Sun at 12 degrees Gemini while Neptune – having recently turned Direct – squares both luminaries from essentially the same place it did in the middle of last year when Saturn was on the scene instead.

What’s really going to bake your noodle, though, is the fact Mercury (which we remember is the ruler of the aforementioned Full Moon that is reigniting the energetic residue of the Saturn/Neptune Square) weaves back and forth between a conjunction to Saturn and a square to Neptune during its upcoming retrograde!  Again we’re seeing an astrological imprint of the Saturn/Neptune Square’s reverberations – during this entire retrograde period, it’s as if Mercury is acting as an intermediary to bring us some sort of message from mid 2016. Basically, in December we’re all collectively getting a phantom redial from the Saturn/Neptune Square where weird messages from the past may send their ghost-like echoes into our Now.

What does all of this translate to?  December is going to be a real temporal vortex of a month for one – we may well receive some kind of (literal or figurative) call or message from the mid-June 2016 era.  What’s the memo, exactly?  It will vary for each person but this entire Mercury retrograde phase (all of December & into the beginning of January) should be thought of as a sort of wrinkle in time connecting that period to our present somehow. Think about what was going on in your life in the middle of last year to get an idea of the theme this retrograde may have in store for you.  Geopolitically, this should ring some major bells – Brexit happened during this time and I will not be surprised to see more news on this topic hitting in a big way very shortly.

We should also be aware this may be a collect call (LOL, I just realized youngsters won’t have any concept of what this is!) – metaphorically speaking, it will be good to think twice if something comes up for our review during this period to make sure there isn’t any toll (read: lesson) we’ll have to accept if we answer.  For example, if the Saturn/Neptune Square in June of 2016 manifested as major disillusionment regarding a parent, mentor, authority figure, or spiritual leader and suddenly December comes around and we hear through the grapevine this very same individual has been asking about us, is it really worth picking up the receiver for them? Think carefully about any kind of “sequel” situations arising this month – often the second movie isn’t as good as the first. And if the first sucked, well….it’s not likely to get much better with time, let’s put it that way.

Now the “memo” Mercury brings us in December may not necessarily be a “repeat” kind of situation as mentioned above; it could also simply represent a cosmic communiqué regarding where we may have erred during the Saturn/Neptune Square of 2016. For example, perhaps we were excessively Saturn; too closed/self-limiting/defensive/pessimistic/ambitious/overworked/cautious (pick any or all that apply). Or maybe we were OD-ing on Neptune’s denial/escapism/fantasizing/delusions/self-martyrdom. From a cognitive POV, Mercury will be letting us know which mentalities are holding us back so we can make revisions accordingly during this time. Mercury represents a “both/and” rather than an “either/or” influence so we’re intellectually integrating the Saturnian principles of wisdom, practicality, maturity, responsibility, and structure with the Neptunian concepts of intuition, imagination, compassion, spirituality, and free-flowingness so we’re neither excessively earthbound nor living in La La Land building castles in the air.

11/29/2017

(Retrograde) Mercury In Aries, Mars In Gemini: Backdraft

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ Leave a comment

No, you’re not seeing double – a retrograde Mercury just retread its tracks for a second passage back through fiery Aries while Mars entered dualistic Gemini less than 24 hours later.  With Mercury occupying the sign Mars rules (Aries) and Mars making a run through Mercury’s turf (Gemini), we have what is known as a “mutual reception” between Mercury and Mars in effect – for a primer on mutual reception, see my previous post here.

The effects of this Air (Mercury/Gemini) and Fire (Mars/Aries) combination can be particularly volatile, as we all know that Air feeds Fire.  With Mercury retrograde, this is making me think of the word “backdraft”; something I’m using as a metaphor for a dangerous and highly combustible situation where the rapid re-introduction of oxygen (i.e. the wind of our words) into a heated situation may explode and make arguments come rip-roaring back to life in an instant.  While this Mercury/Mars mutual reception remains in effect for the next 3 weeks it would be a particularly ill-advised time for any of the following:

1) To pick this period to initiate the re-hashing of a repeated point of contention – doubly so if it happens to be with a sibling, cousin, or neighbor. You’re not going to get anywhere new with Mercury Rx, and it’s highly likely to just wind up being a shootout at the O.K. Corral.

2) To insult someone’s intelligence.  This is never a nice thing to do, but even if snappish understand that under this energy words can quickly turn into fistfights and this is particularly likely to be a near instantaneous trigger for such to happen.

3) To *not* think twice before saying something in anger, period.  Because you can’t take it back and it’s likely to be especially cutting/brutal now.

4) To say something rude.  There’s straightforwardness and then, well, there’s just being an asshole.  What; I thought you wanted plainspoken?  So how does that grab ya – on the receiving end, it’s grating to the listener/reader, isn’t it?  😛  The point is, don’t be “that guy” regardless of gender – directness is no excuse for barbarism, nor is brevity justification for tactlessness.

5) To hurriedly, hastily, or agitatedly fire off a missive that is just plain ill thought out.  The aggravation and strife (Mercury plunks down next to discordant Eris and upset-oriented Uranus, remaining near one or both until it exits Aries in mid-May) likely to result may be similar to kicking a hornet’s nest.

6) To drive angry. When there’s such a strong Mercury/Mars vibe in the air, it’s the little things that will tend to piss us off.  Mercury is transportation-related, and when we put this into a vehicular context we may be inclined to find ourselves swearing at someone who cut us off or who blew through a stop sign, for example.  This can lead to things like road rage, impatience behind the wheel, and really aggressive driving in general. While anger is understandable when somebody is driving like an inconsiderate jerk (because nobody wants to wind up in a collision due to this!), instead of becoming belligerent and feeding the fire by giving it more air, take a deep breath, count to 10, and focus on staying in control.   Remember, your own actions behind the wheel may very well dictate whether or not the incident ends in a phone call to emergency services.

7) To use inattention when handling sharp or hot objects.  On a physical level, Mercury/Mars can make for cuts or burns to our arms or digits – especially if we are agitated and thus inclined to use excessive speed or force.

Please, if you could take away only one thing from the above list: Don’t be a conversational arsonist during this mutual reception!  Mercury/Mars combinations tend to heat up the mouth & sharpen the tongue, perhaps inclining us to say rude things, yell, interrupt, or fire out the first thing that comes to mind without really thinking about it. Remember that Mars is traditionally a malefic in astrology, so when it is double-teamed by Mercury/Gemini energy the problems will multiply when we give a fire air; particularly if/when it has been choked of oxygen.  The speed, heat, and force with which we verbalize irritation can rapidly ignite with hair-singeing capability, resulting in everything from tempests in teacups to dangerous backdrafts.  Before unthinkingly creating a scene that might best be described as belonging in Dante’s Inferno (i.e. “What fresh [circle of] hell is this?!”), mull all this over. Again, if need be – repeat as necessary until this mutual reception ends on May 16th.

04/23/2017

Mercury Rx In Capricorn: Beware Of “Minions”

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ 2 Comments

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE_jGNB0WFw?start=19&end=25

A quick PSA regarding the current Mercury Retrograde in Capricorn:

The kickoff of this particular retro requires an extra note of caution due its proximity to Fixed Star Vega! There is the potential for all sorts of workplace intrigue to go down under this astro, especially if dealing with “horrible bosses”. To me this energy has the feel of lackies doing their master’s bidding – it could be anything from a nosey co-worker blowing our cover in some way, them backstabbing us by telling our boss that we said something nasty about them behind their back or tipping them off to the fact that we are looking for another job, to corporate espionage, to a bad reference from a vindictive employer, or even there being some kind of bugged/taped/recorded conversation involved that is designed to smear our reputation. Treat everything you say as if it were “on the record” now. If this isn’t applicable to your working life, do also look to your personal life and specifically to communications regarding parents. This is the kind of influence where a busybody cousin or jealous sibling might tattletale or spill secrets to Father or Mother – Capricorn rules “authority figures” in general; the primary ones we experience as children being our parents.

It is worth noting that Mercury is also close to Fixed Star Manubrium; a Sun/Mars star that would tend to heat up our mouth – we can see how this might be problematic given the aforementioned Vega influence! So a word to the wise is due that no matter how tempted we may be to vent something to a co-worker, boss, or someone in any kind of influential (professional) position, it may be better to think twice. Before firing off a curt email or saying/writing/texting something potentially incriminating, hold thy tongue – at least, for now…

12/19/2016

A Mercury Retrograde Re-Take, Part 3

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***Get caught up on parts 1 & 2 here: A Mercury Retrograde Re-Take, Part 1     A Mercury Retrograde Re-Take, Part 2

A little something on Mercury Retrograde and numerology….

02/05/2016

A Mercury Retrograde Re-Take, Part 2

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**Parts 1 & 3 of this series are here:  A Mercury Retrograde Re-Take, Part 1               A Mercury Retrograde Re-Take, Part 3

01/24/2016

A Mercury Retrograde Re-Take, Part 1

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**Parts 2 & 3 of this series are here: A Mercury Retrograde Re-Take, Part 2
A Mercury Retrograde Re-Take, Part 3

1/19/2016

Mercury Retrograde January 2016

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ Leave a comment

Hi all – I’m back after a temporary (necessary) blogging hiatus! It’s been a busy holiday season, but now that my duties have eased a bit I have put together a video discussing the nuts & bolts of the upcoming Mercury retrograde (Rx) in January, which runs from the 5th through the 25th. Humorously enough, it’s worth mentioning that I did have some odd tech glitches while making the vid, so it seems as if our Trickster friend is already making himself known! 😉 😀

12/28/2015

Cars & Mercury Retrograde

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We always seem to hear about the scheduling SNAFUS, communication challenges, and tech fails associated with Mercury retrograde periods as a whole – many astrologers will advise their clients not to sign anything, to take extra care spelling things out when dialoging with others, and to backup all data, for example. But while we may hear the occasional word of caution about possible travel delays/problems, I find I often don’t hear much about Mercury retrograde’s effects upon our wheels, which strikes me as odd – cars are Mercury’s domain too, remember?

I’ve always found that Mercury retrogrades tend to be tough on anything automotive-related as a whole…anything from breakdowns, to accidents, to our cars suddenly developing weird quirks or making strange sounds, to (mis)diagnosed mechanical issues, to going in for something as basic as an oil change and then finding out you need major repairs of one stripe or another – you name it. For example, if I had a client come to me who wanted to make a cross-country road trip during Mercury Rx, I’d advise them to 1) think about rescheduling/postponing if possible 2) have their vehicle looked over very thoroughly by a good mechanic well ahead of the Rx period if moving the date of the trip weren’t an option. (Sidenote: These times are also somewhat notorious for having our GPS lie to us like a rug, LOL – a map and/or printed directions may well save our bacon when this planet backtracks, but that’s a transportation-related tangent for another time.)

Still not entirely convinced that automobiles can be affected by Mercury Rx? Have I got a good little story for you, LOL! I was chatting with an acquaintance (who doesn’t know I’m an astrologer, BTW) yesterday and he’s a bit of a hobbyist gearhead. Like all good motorphiles, he has himself a suped-up set of wheels and was relating to me the trials and tribulations he’s been dealing with regarding a supercharger he recently purchased for his car (unbeknownst to him, during this recent Mercury Rx). Superchargers are computer-controlled organisms, and he was experiencing some software compatibility issues that were preventing him from being able to properly tune his car. You can’t just bolt one of these things on and then you’re good to go, no – you actually have to “marry” (not kidding – that’s the actual terminology used in the automotive world!) the supercharger to the car and once that’s done that supercharger will only work on that car unless you go through the steps to “unmarry” it (LOL, I personally think that “divorce” is a more appropriate word!) if you want to use that supercharger on another vehicle or sell it to someone else. Now I ask you, with this current Mercury retrograde taking place in marriage-minded LIBRA, do you think it’s just a coincidence that my friend was experiencing problems getting his supercharger MARRIED to his CAR??

NOW do you believe me, LOL? I think this anecdote provides a perfect case-in-point of how our wheels are indeed affected by Mercury’s movements! This is why I love astrology – everyone can benefit from knowing what’s going on in the skies, whether you’re a regular blue-collar guy or the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Thinking about tweaking your car during Mercury Rx? Might wanna think again! And as we are a mere 24 hours away from Mercury resuming direct motion at this point, may I delicately suggest that today might be a less-than-ideal time to consider tearing your engine apart for a complete overhaul?  😉

Don't believe Mercury retrograde affects cars? Look very closely at the badge above the grille - it says it all! Image credit: Kaz Andrew
Don’t believe Mercury retrograde affects cars? Look very closely at the badge above the grille – it says it all! Image credit: Kaz Andrew


10/08/2015