I hear many people complain about Mercury retrograde (on August 23rd- Mercury goes retrograde until September 15th). Traditionally people will blame everything from technological issues, miscommunications with loved ones, and problems at work- anything where communication (astrologically ruled by Mercury) comes into play- on the influence of this astrological phenomena. While this is fairly common if you are into astrology, magick, or the occult- it almost always puts someone into a victim mentality. We are all powerful manifesters of our dreams and goals. Furthermore, we are powerful spiritual alchemists by our very nature of being a balancing point between the spiritual and physical realms. To sit in our power, we must not see ourselves as casualties of heavenly forces, but something more empowering and life affirming.
We are part of the Universe and are co-creators with it. When something is created in Nature it is not out of nothing, it is working with what is already there. In a similar vein, we can work with the energies that are around us and use them as building blocks for manifestation. Instead of thinking of astrological forces and energies as being something we are being passively affected by, we can think of them as things that aid us and that we can draw upon. I like to use the metaphor of sailing. We are the captains of our own lives (the ship) and all the various spiritual forces around us could be thought of as the winds and tides that move the ship. We could always let these forces act on us passively, but isn’t it better to hoist the sails of our will and intention and harness these forces to the most fruitful result?
To the observer, the planet Mercury appears as if it moves backwards during Mercury retrograde seasons. Spiritually, I have also found it useful to look at the Mercurial energy as a “second chance”. During this time, I try to communicate things to loved ones that I did not before. At work, I try to close deals with clients that I wished would have happened earlier. For my finances, I like to do a review and recalibration. In romance, I look at opportunities for better communication that I did not take advantage of and try to make things better. Since life is full of lessons, I also take the time to review what my life has been since the last Mercury retrograde, and analyze my life for recent lessons that the Universe has been trying to teach me. We can look at Mercury retrograde as a second chance in anything doing with words, communication, movement, and wisdom.
Let us work with Mercury retrograde and any other spiritual forces that touch us. We don’t need to dread something that could end up benefiting us greatly, and we can find hope in things that used to concern us.
May the gods bless you and keep you.