Your guide to Mercury rx

Mercury Rx through Virgo, a meet cute with Venus, then on to Leo

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We are now in the second Mercury retrograde (of three) this year! For anyone new here, I’m going to start with the basics, and give you a little information on a retrograde, then Mercury, and finally how this retrograde specifically impacts your chart.

Let’s start with the retrograde. All planets, except the luminaries (sun and moon) station retrograde. The larger planets are in retrograde motion for a long time - Pluto and Neptune are retrograde for six months out of twelve - and others station more frequently, Mercury being the most frequent.

In Western astrology, everything is determined by our viewpoint, meaning we look at the planets in how they relate to Earth. So technically, these planets are not moving backwards, they just appear to be due to the variations in their orbital speeds during certain times of year. And like all things in astrology, there exists a psychological correspondence to this phenomenon.

In the first astrology book I ever read, the author described retrograde planets as follows: When you are sitting on a train that is not moving, but another trains speeds by, you may momentarily feel as if you are moving backwards, even though your train is stationed. This is the phenomenon of retrograde planets, they create a different experience of the transit than when it’s in regular motion. You can also look to your birth chart to see if any planets were retrograde at the time of your birth (there will be a tiny “r” next to the planet symbol) and you can think about that planet and if your experience of it feels different than traditional definitions, or you may feel that you can really master the energy of that planet better.

As for the themes of a retrograde, we astrologers highlight words that begin with “re” - rest, restore, reclaim, review, rewind, etc. I always think of the phrase “hindsight is 20/20” - because often when we take time to look back a situation after it’s over, we gain clarity that wasn’t available during the event itself. This is the energy of the retrograde, looking back into a certain area of our life to see what information, wisdom or clarity we can gain now that we have real, lived experience, which to me, is the greatest teacher of all.

For the last few years, 2022/2023, we have had a Mercury rx in Virgo, which is where this year’s Mercury rx begins, but it will also back up into Leo, which we have not seen since July 2019, so these are the times we can look back to and reflect upon - if you have old journals or photo albums, think back to what you were doing during late summer/early fall in these years.

Now let’s move on to the Mercury themes and themes of Virgo and Leo and how they relate to each other. Mercury is the planet of communication and is the ruling planet of Virgo, which means its energy is harmonious with this sign. Mercury rules our capacity to think, speak, learn and reason through logic, intellect, speech, symbols, writing and association. We often correlate technology and travel with Mercury as well, which is why we see a lot of astrologers talking about canceling travel plans and delays or issues with technology. For awhile, I noticed that every time Mercury stationed rx, Apple would release an iPhone update - time to unplug and reboot! And we can do this as well, schedule a vacation, delete your social media, or just add a little more down time into your days.

Virgo is an earth sign associated with our need to analyze, discriminate and function efficiently. Virgo is known as “The Virgin” and is associated with purification - I often feel the need to clean my home and detox my body during Virgo season, or I find I’m booking all my dentist and doctor checkups and getting my daughter prepped for back to school when the schedule gets more rigid and structured. With Mercury retrograde in Virgo, we can look at our day to day habits and routines, our relationship with structure and organization and also our inner critic. One of the pitfalls of Virgo, is that it can over analyze, leading us to skepticism, doubt and separateness - so let’s really lean into the spirit of Leo Season and try to bring our awareness back into the body and the heart, especially when the mind tries to take over.

One thing I notice about myself, is that I love to retreat to the mind when I feel uncomfortable or afraid. I think if I can just understand the situation better, then I can solve it. But unfortunately, life and feelings aren’t always a problem to be solved, they just want to be felt and witnessed. I will analyze a situation to death, pull tarot cards, journal, do research online - I will work very fucking hard to solve the problem! Alas, at some point I will finally surrender, do my restorative yoga and buddhist meditations and then the AHA moment comes. Every.single.time I think, “OMG I should have started with those practices!” Hindsight is 20/20.

On August 15th, Mercury returns to Leo, where it will spend the remainder of the retrograde until it stations direct on August 28th. During the second half of retrograde, we will be reviewing themes around Leo (and the house that Leo is correlated with in your chart). I have spoken a lot about Leo themes in the last two newsletters, including horoscopes for paid subscribers, so check those out if you want to get a little deeper into all that! Overall, Mercury in Leo will highlight themes around our creative energy, inner child or children in our lives, being seen and our willingness to be vulnerable and tap into our own unique courage.

Courage and vulnerability are often seen as external qualities, but in my experience, it happens within first. Some ways I practice this in my own life include:

• Trying to be with myself in a kind and loving way when my mind is beating me to a pulp, or my body is having a sensation / reaction that feels uncomfortable.

• Listening to my partner or my kid in an honest way when there is a conflict instead of trying to control the situation or their perception of me.

• Trying to see my relationships as mirrors and sitting with that honest reflection, especially when my ego is trying to “be right”.

• Working on my capacity to hear people out, to see another point of view, to love, understand and relate even if we don’t agree in some area like politics, parenting, life style choices, etc.

We can also take time to reflect on our sense of confidence and will power during Mercury rx in Leo. If there are certain areas you have a lot of self doubt or insecurity, this is a great time to identify these thought patterns and try to shift them.

In my workout program, I’ve been working on new techniques since March and it’s taken me four months before I really started to unlearn old holding patterns and release tension. So often throughout the program, I would start having pain again and have to dial back and review the basics, how I distribute weight on my feet and how to open up my hips and load them better. I kept thinking I was “moving backwards” and got frustrated with myself when adding just a little weight would send me back into an old tension pattern. I really had to learn how to be my own cheerleader and encourage myself because I wanted to say fuck it and quit. All the times that I thought I was moving backward, I was actually integrating the information the program was teaching me - this is how retrogrades can help us.

There are two key dates to look out for this Mercury retrograde:

August 8th, Mercury and Venus conjoin at 3 degrees Virgo. Venus and Mercury together can be a harmonious aspect that helps us to communicate well within our relationships. Venus rules love, money and how we attract our desires so pay attention to any themes in this area. Maybe you can have a really clarifying conversation with a partner or collaborator, negotiate a great deal on a big purchase or you have great ideas on how you want to manifest something in your life! You can use this energy for fun and manifesting or internal reflection. This is happening in the sign of Virgo so there also maybe themes related to health, wellness or how your organize your time and energy. This day is also known as the Lion’s Gate Portal - a day ripe for manifestation and magic!

August 18th, Mercury joins the Sun in Leo. The Sun brings illumination, clarity and highlights whatever it touches. So this can be an AHA moment or when something you’ve been working on just clicks. For instance, as a yoga instructor, we are taught to give cues in several different ways because sometimes you need to hear the same information in a different way to make sense of it. In the workout program I spoke about above, I’ve been trying to release long held tension in my psoas and pelvic floor (which is an unconscious and automatic response from birth trauma). I couldn’t actively feel myself tensing, only the immobility it was causing in my body. I finally started feeling it and noticing it after about 3 months in. There was one day specifically where I felt myself tense at the same moment I heard a voice in my head say, “I’m scared” - this was huge for me because I was able to bring the unconscious habit into the forefront of my mind, which gave me the power to work with it. In the days surrounding this Mercury Cazimi (conjunct the sun) - pay attention to what insights come through for you, they may be very poignant or quite subtle.

Below, I’m going to share where Mercury will be transiting in your birth chart for paying subscribers. Thank you so much for your support of this newsletter, it means so much! And if you don’t want to pay for a full subscription - please consider sharing, commenting or posting on your socials, every little bit helps a ton!