When Mercury Goes Retrograde
July 23, 2012 * * * * * Posted by: Ginnie 
Mercury stands atop the Royal Palace in Amsterdam, NL
…ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE!
Three to 4 times every year and for approximately 3 weeks at a time, planet Mercury goes retrograde. That is, it slows down in its orbit around the Sun. The dates for this year, 2012, are:
March 12 – April 4
July 14 – August 8
November 6 – November 26
Yup, we’re smack-dab in the middle of a Mercury Retrograde (MR) and have almost 2 more weeks to go. So what?!
Mercury, that mythological Messenger of the Gods, happens to “rule” everything related to communication and transportation, that’s what! Perception, language, writing, editing, research, speaking, learning, the assessment of data, telecommunications, computing, software, electronic gadgets, cameras(!), the postal service, shipping, couriers, wires, cables, machines with moving parts.
When Mercury retrogrades, it scrambles information and causes static and confusion…which is why it’s not a good time to sign contracts, complete important transactions, make big decisions or purchases, especially electronics (if you don’t want a lemon!).
Everyone in the whole wide world can be affected when Mercury retrogrades but especially Gemini (moi) and Virgos (my wife) who are astrologically “ruled” by the rascal. Astrid and I always laugh a bit nervously when these times come around because we know we need to PAS OP! (= Pay Attention!). When we’re driving anywhere, we expect delays/detours and are pleasantly surprised when they don’t happen. We write everything down to make sure we don’t forget anything.
Once I sheepishly told my preacher dad about MR, not knowing if he’d pooh-pooh me into the ground. He started laughing and said, “Oh, you mean that’s what happened when Mom and I drove home from Virginia the other day and I had forgotten where I put my glasses! The next day I found them in the corner of the luggage rack on top of the car!” Bingo. Lucky for him, they never fell off during the entire drive to Michigan!
Stupid, crazy, silly, frustrating, befuddling, infuriating, aggravating things happen during MR. You forget where you put things. You buy something you regret. You can’t find the right words to say or write. Before auto-save happened on the computer, you’d lose whole documents. [Remember the Jesus Saves computer joke!] Sometimes you lose your whole computer! Or your camera falls into the lake. Or you copy people in e-mails you didn’t mean to. You press Send before you intend, you lose your comment on FB….
Yada Yada Yada. Been there, done that.
But here’s the GOOD NEWS: MR is the best time in the world to finish things you’ve already started, so all is not lost! The closet you started cleaning out, the book you were reading/writing, the trip you were planning, the knitting project, the garden…. When Mercury slows down (like now!), it’s the perfect time to tie up those loose ends. In fact, Mercury will help you finish them. He needs calming down himself and would like nothing better than for all of us to just slow down a bit.
Why would the Universe give us Mercury retrograde? Because to move forward it is sometimes necessary to backtrack and reconfigure our paths in life. It is important to reconsider, repair, reflect, and reconnect. Mercury forces us to slow down and fix what's broken, and in so doing, rethink things. It also gives us time to get to projects we have put on the back-burner.—Susan Miller
Give yourself permission. You know you want to. Breathe in, breathe out.
For those of you still rolling your eyes, I bet you believe in the effects of the full moon, right? I rest my case.
Reader Comments (31)
Phew! Thank gawd for that explanation, Ginnie...I was thinking it was the effects of big, bad Alzheimers kicking in, but its just old Mercury having a nap!
Now...if I can remember what those projects were that I have started then I'll try to get old Merc to help me finish them.
This is a new one on me Ginnie. As a fellow Gemini I now have something to blame for my own daft doings! Ange is a Libran so she's OK!
haha that was very interesting!! as a matter of fact i have almost entirely lost interest in twitter of late, and i have lived on twitter for years lol and i did make a purchase i regret, and my camera seems to only focus when it feels like it right now, but i'm going to get busy cleaning out those closets tho haha, thanks for the interesting read, sister!!!
That's a relief. I keep losing the right words to describe things. They are on the tip of my tongue but I just can't say them. Now I know why, thanks for giving me the excuse for an ex- wordsmith losing words. Roll on August 8!
Loved this article! As an Aquarian translator, I find these these patches particularly gruelling. The speed at which I normally work slows down, and I have to draw on all my reserves of stubbornness and determination to find the right words and phrases. Sadly, following these natural cycles does not pay the rent. Thanks to Sheila Eames for pointing me in the direction of your very interesting blog.
WOW...well then - this explains and excuses just about everything in my life right now. There's something so reassuring about knowing that it's beyond me...that it's the powers of the unknown universe that rule. Fascinating - really!!!
And I suppose we should enjoy the energy while it lasts...as chaotic as it often seems???
Thanks Ginnie - this is great!
It is a totally new one for me and it is interesting to read your writing. But to be honest, I am glad to be liberated from those thoughts and feelings of angst... But I like the 'Good News, and I know I have to finish many thing now...
Mercury or Hermes -as I prefer to say- is a wonderful god in the Greek mythology; he is encouraging full life and action, "der Gott der Kaufleute und Diebe", always in movement and on way (look at his wing shoes and his wing caps when sculptured), flying through the air and over land and sea, young and fit, but he is also accompanying the souls of the dead people to the Hades/underground - psychopompos -accompanying the souls - is one of his names - and it is a comforting idea to have a companon on the way to the other world after having died... The most beautiful sculpture of Mercury is by Giambologna or Donatello - I have to google... But this the Greek god, you meant the planet - there is some difference I think.
http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/religion/blgrk_hermes01.htm
Pooh, pooh. You should know the signs of old age by now, Ginnie. Can't escape it and no use to blame them on poor old Mercury, who is only a mythological character. Twenty years ago when my wife had a run of jelly fingers, she gave me an article to read about PMS. So I asked her, how do you explain when I have such a run of minor misfortunes? And here is the answer, messenger in retro! Although I still believe it is a sign of old age.
A wonderful Greek relief shows Hermes/Mercury psychopompos, Eurydike and Orpheus: http://journeytothesea.com/orpheus-naples/
Scientists tell us that we are 60-70% water, so if the moon can shift large amounts of water around this planet twice daily - then I guess it's possible that it may influence us humans. As does the lack of sunshine -= and it's raining again today :>(
But I'm always misplacing my wallet/car keys/specs irrespective of Mercury's condition, so I'm going to need more convincing that a lump of rock some 48 million miles (77 million km) from where I'm sitting has any bearing on these lapses; more likely caused by lunar activity!
Always love to read your V&V essays Ginnie...even if I am a born- again-sceptic!
This explains so much. My daughter brought it up here in Italy when all of their trains were delayed, the flights cancelled, etc. Thankfully, they are home safe and sound...if a day late and a dollar or two short.
You always have the most fascinating topics, Ginnie! I'm off to follow some links and do some reading... I need any and all the 'excuses' and/or explanations I can get for a few things going on right now! Good read this morning!
Superb!
While I am completely devoid of any knowledge or belief of stars and star signs, and the fact that as a medic and scientist, I always find a 'rationale' explanation for things, this does make for a fascinating read. Of course I have a Christian faith as well so there are some non-mundane things that I acknowledge.
Therefore I have sent this excellent piece to the chaps at work :).
It certainly will get them thinking that's for sure.......oh damn, I just copied all my patients into it as well....;) Damn You MR!
Personally, my life is ruled by a ten pound calico who decides when I get up every day, even if it's 4 a.m. Whether she's ruled by Mercury I can't say. I have a feeling the food bowl has more to do with it.
On the other hand, there is the title of my new blog post: "Another Summer at Camp Retro". Coincidence or cosmic alignment? You decide! LOL
Brilliant, Ginnie ~ Thank you ever so much!
Oh this is all new to me, very interesting, I need to ponder on it for a while.
Good thing there is an explanation - only here the MR takes way longer than just a couple weeks every now and then... LOVE the Jesus saves joke!
I'm a Pieces and I read this with a smile Ginnie. As you said been there done that but I take with me the finish things up bit today as I have things to decide :-)
Hugs Frida
Thank goodness I didn't purchase the new TV I was considering. This may explain why I'm having so many problems with the old one. Perhaps it will self heal in a couple weeks. But now I'm wondering if I have projects I'm trying to complete, if Aug 8th is the deadline or if a certain amount of progress now will carry me through.
Great joke about Jesus saves :)
I did not know anything about the MR before you came into my life. But it makes sense and I do pay attention. I work with machinery all day and now I laugh when it gets the hiccup during the day in MR. My colleague already knows 'that it has to do with some planets'.
Knowing about MR made my life a little less stressful. I know it is there and I cannot change it. So better start to learn, how to live with it.
A wonderful post and like others already mentioned, I love the topics you choose. Something to think about. IHVJ.
love the photo and the topic. you had shared this with me on FB as explanation why my 2-month-old epson driver died, and i thought of this when i tried to use my mouse yesterday. nothing. new batteries...nothing. plugged in an external mouse, and it worked. but...the keyboard stopped working. new batteries. checked settings. nothing.
did something else. came back...it worked.
lesson? i am off to my closet, ginnie. thanks!
That explains a lot. Now I just wonder what I'm that way the rest of the year...:)
This is not something that I ever knew very much about but it would seem to me to explain a lot of weird circumstances now and again during the year. Great image and a fascinating read.
Wow!! So so interesting!!! This explains everything!