Astrology: Prepping for Mercury Retrograde

February 15, 2019 Janette Dalgliesh

Reading Time: 4 minutes

If you felt the jitters with our recent Mars-Uranus conjunction in Aries, hopefully, that has settled down with Mars moving into Taurus.

This is a great time to tap into connection with the body, connection with nature, and generally, embrace the more settled and easy-going Taurean dynamic. After all, this is a sign ruled by Venus, lover of Mars, and when he’s in her house he’s always a little more relaxed and at his ease.

Meanwhile, in a few days, we’ll be entering a brand new Mercury Retrograde dynamic.

You know I don’t hold with the whole “sky is falling” approach to Mercury Retrograde.

That could be because I was born under that influence, so it has that sense of the familiar, but it’s also because that’s a decision I made some years ago. Since making that decision, Mercury Retrograde has always been good to me. I’d invite you to make that same decision, especially with a beautiful Mercury in Pisces coming up.

To recap: Mercury rules all kinds of communications and systems, including technology, contracts and our own neurology.

During any planetary retrograde – that period where it seems to move backwards from the perspective of Earth – the dynamic of that planet shifts ‘backwards’ as well.

It’s like that moment when you go to close a file and the computer says ‘are you sure?’

A pause, an opportunity to look back and check in.

With Mercury Retrograde, that means rethinking and reassessing our own thoughts and assumptions.

The actual Retrograde doesn’t begin until 6 March (exact times below) but we’ll be entering the shadow zone this week coming, so we’ll begin to feel the energy already.

And the whole phenomenon takes place in the sign of watery, swirling Pisces, ruled by Neptune, lord of all the oceans.

Mercury governs words and communication, including the conversations we hold inside our own heads. He’s also associated with the relationship between the conscious and unconscious minds.

Pisces governs our relationship with the dream worlds, where logic and systems and even language can desert us, and with the all-that-is of the cosmos, the Universe, and Source.

These are vastly different dynamics, and you could find that thoughts and concepts refuse to crystallise fully into language, or the exact word you need eludes you.

That’s okay. Take your cue from the fishy, slippery nature of this sign and imagine you’re sliding through with ease.

And – contrary-wise – be willing to allow your thoughts to wander in new directions, as though boundaries and borders have been opened up to new perspectives.

One of Mercury’s areas of expertise is boundaries. In fact, his predecessor Hermes was named for the boundary stones set up at points where roads crossed borders between Greek city-states.

But Pisces, is the dissolver of boundaries. Such things are unknown under the sea, in Neptune’s realms.

Perhaps the best analogy is to imagine the mighty ocean sweeping away old, encrusted thinking that is keeping you stuck in one spot. The key is to surf that wave with as much awareness and discernment as you can, keeping your balance with awareness and leaning into the direction you’re headed.

As a teacher of mine used to say, have an open mind but not so open that your brain falls out.

And when Mercury turns direct on March 28, you’ll most likely be able to think about your own relationship to all those Piscean things in a whole new way.

Over the next couple of months, you definitely want to do all the usual sensible Mercury Rx things – avoid buying tech and cars, spending the time doing the research; and if you do have to sign contracts be sure to read all the fine print first.

But also, use this time to ponder and review and reflect on your relationship with the unseen in all its forms: spiritual beliefs, faith, magic, worlds of imagination.

Some practical ways to tap into this potentially beautiful time:

create a system to support good habits of meditation or ritual magic, e.g. a meditation app
set aside regular time to lose yourself in good fiction or poetry
keep a dream journal by the bed and use it every morning, even if you only remember tiny scraps
turn your hand to writing fiction or poetry

Exact dates:

February 19, 2019, at 8:19 AM Eastern US time, Mercury enters the Retrograde Zone at 16° Pisces
March 5, 2019, at 12:15 PM Eastern US time, Mercury turns retrograde at 29° Pisces
March 28, 2019, at 8:53 AM Eastern US time, Mercury turns direct at 16° Pisces
April 16, 2019, at 6:04 PM Eastern US time, Mercury leaves the Retrograde Zone at 29° Pisces

And finally, if you’d like support to find out exactly how this Mercury Retrograde will play out for you, based on a detailed examination of your birth chart, please check out my newly minted Mercury Retro Consult.

Janette Dalgliesh has a simple mission in life – to help every person unlock their capacity for resonant joy, and live it. She serves her people through astrology consults, coaching, teaching and writing. Her international clientele raves about her wildly accurate, individualized readings, but she doesn’t do general weekly predictions – for those, Janette recommends Kim Falconer (www.goodvibeastrology.com) and Mystic Medusa (www.mysticmedusa.com). To get Janette’s astro insights into your own birth chart, to hire her as your coach or to join one of her blisteringly powerful group programs, visit her at www.resonantjoy.com