Mercury Retrograde used to be a weird inside trick that only pro astrologers knew about, and then at some point in it became mainstream. It’s on Kate Spade stationery now. It’s gone viral. Music writer Kathy McCabe calls it Murky Retrograde.
A good way to remember what murky Mercury Retrograde actually means, is to go all the way back to the Roman definition of the archetype. Mercury was their Messenger of the Gods. You often see him on courier trucks with his winged helmet and sandals. He’s often in 18th century paintings, delivering messages from one god to another.
The Latin root ‘merc’ means reward, wages and hire. The English words derived from the Latin ‘merc’ include commerce, commercial interests, markets, merchandise and merchants.
When Mercury appears to move backwards and stand still, in your horoscope (and everybody else’s horoscope) we see a state of flux that affects business, the economy, retail and trade. What’s behind this? Sometimes it’s extreme weather. Sometimes it’s a world crisis. Mercury Retrograde coincides with this global mayhem.
Mercury rules sales talk, meetings, negotiations, trades, purchases, paperwork and contracts for obvious reasons. When he appears to move backwards, people find the terms change. The talking points alter.
Roman commerce was down to four things – horses, ships, the abacus and the lingua franca, also known as trade language, making communication possible in foreign negotiations. Roman businessmen were known as mercatores.
On the Mercuralia of May 14th, Roman merchants prayed to Mercury for blessing, despite having cheated customers and suppliers. This is where the centuries-old association of Mercury with liars comes from.
It’s still true that on Mercury Retrograde, you can be caught out by a dodgy deal (or dealer). The worst deal in 20th century history, as we will see in a moment, was struck with Adolf Hitler on this exact cycle.
Updating the Roman Mercury
Today we associate equestrians with horse-whisperers, but about 2000 years ago, equestrians were a class of elite Romans who made their money from tax, the land and the mining. The horse was their FedEx courier.
Today, we link Mercury to the global economy and big business. Instead of horses, we rely on planes, cars, trains and buses. Instead of the abacus, we have the calculator. Instead of the lingua franca, we have internet translation and Skype.
What happens during the first shadow of Mercury Retrograde? Wheels start turning, but on a vehicle, which will stall on its journey, then move backwards, grinding its gears.
The e-mails fly, but later on the discussions may prove to be flawed. The numbers add up but will later change. People start talking, quite seriously, but later on it’s all Lost In Translation.
It’s not just your local dry cleaner losing your coat. Mercury Retrograde is national and global. Everyone is affected by six degrees.
The most famous example of Mercury Retrograde is the failed ‘peace’ negotiation with Hitler before the Second World War – The Munich Agreement. On the day that British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain met Adolf Hitler for the first time (and took the first plane trip of his life) Mercury Retrograde Shadow ruled.
That ill-fated date, September 15th, 1938, is in a period when Mercury repeated his position in the world horoscope three times in three months, is on the front cover of the New York Times forever, reminding astrologers that the Mercury Retrograde post-shadow period can coincide with disaster.
The British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, told the New York Times, “I am going to meet the German Chancellor because the situation seems to me to be one in which discussions between me and him would be fruitful. My policy has always been to seek peace. The Fuehrer’s ready acceptance of my invitation leads to me hope my visit will not be without results.”
And what results.
A lot of people seem to think Mercury Retrograde is just ‘bad’ and they blame it for their relationship break-up or the fact that Fred won’t sleep with them. Sorry – that is another cycle entirely. Ask Fred if you snore.
Mercury rules deals, discussions, information, communication and transportation. My old Latin tutor from university is haunting me over my shoulder, telling me to remind you of the root ‘merc’ in Mercury which is hidden in merchandise. Buying and selling can be complicated, now. Read the fine print on refunds and delivery.
As Mercury rules core areas of our existence, when these swing backwards and forwards, or even stand still (in a state of suspension) everything and everybody is affected by a chain reaction. The chaos is always set up on the pre-shadow, in the days just before Mercury actually appears to stick on the same degree and zodiac sign, over a number of days. Some astrologers still don’t use the shadow at both ends of the cycle. Others, like me, would not bother to predict Mercury Retrograde cycles at all, without the crucial shadows.
The Wall Street Crash on Black Tuesday, October 29th, 1929 was the most chaotic event of the 20th century, leading to the Great Depression. It happened on Mercury Retrograde Shadow.
What is the shadow? The period just before Mercury appears to turn backwards, and just after it appears to turn forwards. The pre-shadow is the period before, the post- shadow is the period after.
Why do we see chaos? Maybe it’s because a percentage of the astrology-loving population is still following the wrong Mercury Retrograde rules! (Okay I’m being cheeky). Often, it’s because those in charge don’t use astrology. Seriously! Prime Ministers and Presidents around the world have a habit of calling elections and referendums, or scheduling voting, on this chaotic cycle. We end up with voter fraud, wrong results, hung parliaments, spills, hanging chads and all manner of insanity when those at the top ignore the people’s timekeeping – astrology – and make random decisions.
Google and Mercury Retrograde
Mercury rules the markets. If you’re in the market for business success, don’t make your first trade on Mercury Retrograde. Why? That first moment is the ‘birth’ of your company and if the enterprise comes into the world when Mercury is apparently moving backwards, the cycles of time will not be kind.
Google made its IPO (initial public offering) on 19th August 2004 when Mercury was retrograde. Google’s Larry Page clearly did not have a company astrologer on board, when they decided to organize their company results for October 18th, 2012 when the planet of shocks, Uranus, made an exact aspect or pattern, with Google’s dodgy Mercury.
What do I mean by a dodgy Mercury? For all of us astrologers watching from London, Google was ‘born’ on 19th August 2004 when Mercury Retrograde was at 5 Virgo, Mars was at 5 Virgo and Uranus was at 5 Pisces. That line-up in the horoscope of a major corporation is what we in astrology call ‘bonkers.’
Google then chose a month when transiting Uranus was at 5 Aries, kicking the whole pattern off, to pull together its figures. Gah! You too can send out an unfinished financial press release by mistake, on this cycle, and that accidental e-mail can wipe $22 billion off your value. Classic Mercury Retrograde.
Choosing a Horoscope
Is it true that companies, businesses or even whole countries can relaunch, or pursue a new constitution, and thus obtain a better horoscope? Absolutely. A quick and easy way to find a date is simply to avoid Mercury Retrograde because you really don’t want to be hit by recurring computer issues, for the rest of eternity.
If you are happy to do a little learning, you can teach yourself astrology and then figure out your own best date for any new enterprise.
It’s no secret that I set my alarm for some cruel hour, in the middle of the night, so I could wake up and start a petition for the late, great Divinyls’ star Chrissy Amphlett, to acquire her own laneway in Australia. It took a lot of coffee, but I wanted to give our Chrissy the perfect astrological send- off. I still have the chart and it’s a beautiful thing, created to align with her own horoscope. I scanned for Mercury Retrograde first!
I am happy to say the petition went nuts within an hour of it appearing online and Amphlett Lane, in the heart of Melbourne, is there any time you want to pay a visit. I popped Chrissy into a story I wrote for Vogue when we last spoke a few years ago. She wanted to make it very, very clear to me that she was a Scorpio and not a Libra – but that’s another story!
The Titanic and Heathrow Airport
Oh, Heathrow Airport, how I love to hate you. You are the gateway to the beautiful British Isles, but you are also a nightmare. Why? Because you were ‘born’ or launched on March 25th, 1946 on Mercury Retrograde.
If you have ever queued (and queued, and queued) for check-in, or your bags, or the lavatory at Heathrow – then you are experiencing first-hand what can happen when an airport – of all things – begins its life with Mercury Retrograde embedded in the chart.
Suspensions. Snowfall. Strikes. Protests. Security Scares. Fog. Train delays. Traffic jams on the way to the train. Can we just relaunch Heathrow and elect a new horoscope please?
The RMS Titanic launched on 10th April 1912 on Mercury Retrograde. We all know why it sank, by now, and it wasn’t just the iceberg. The Radio Act of 1912 was passed after the tragedy – probably the only good legacy of Mercury Retrograde.
Along with computers, Mercury rules radio, because Mercury the Messenger of the Gods rules communication. Throughout history, the technology changes, but the symbolism remains the same. Mercury rules the news.
The Radio Corporation of America (R.C.A.) was the hot tech stock of the Twenties but it plunged in value when the market crashed in October 1929.
Mercury also rules cars, because it is also in charge of transportation – the wheels that turn, to carry the news from one place to another. Investors in 1929 went broke with the other hot stock, Ford.
Today, Mercury rules Microsoft Word, Apple, the Internet and your iPhone. Watch what happens to them whenever Mercury is retrograde.
The Ford/RCA story spelled a dreadful double whammy for the mom-and-pop investors of 1929 who lost their life savings. Mercury, the planet which rules commerce, was stalling and then moving backwards, when two stocks ruling Mercury concerns – communication and transport – dominated Wall Street.
Of course, it takes more than Mercury Retrograde Shadow to create a Wall Street Crash. You need other, more serious, background patterns.
Nevertheless, history and astrology tell us it’s true – the old God of commercial interests does coincide with chaos when he’s not moving swiftly and easily across the skies.
Between October 24th and 29th, 1929, when the madness was triggered on Wall Street, Mercury moved through 11 through 18 degrees of Libra. He was repeating himself, crossing over the same zodiac sign and degrees he’d passed on September 8th through 15th.
This strange backtracking often results in people rethinking, reneging, reselling, retracting, reversing and all the other ‘re’ words that can create a chain reaction of muddle – and worse. We associate product recall with this cycle too.
Those old Hollywood films of Wall Street traders in their hats, yelling ‘Buy, buy!’ and then ‘Sell, sell!’ within the space of one screen wipe, are good illustrations of what Mercury Retrograde involves.
We are in Mercury Retrograde now until February 21st, 2021 and look at all the stock market chaos from the last week – read more about that here.
If you really want to tap Mercury Retrograde secrets, go back in time – years if necessary – to see when Mercury was last appearing to move backwards in the exact same zodiac sign. You will soon see the equivalent of a television mini-series on a very long rewind.
You will not be surprised to hear that Mercury was at 11 through 18 degrees of Libra in September-October 1922 when the greatest bull market of the 20th century began. Mercury was Retrograde Shadow for some of this time. This was several years before the crash, but the time warp had devastating consequences. Mercury retraced his steps, retraced his steps, retraced his steps in 1922 and 1929.
The 1987 Wall Street Crash happened on the Mercury Retrograde cycle. On Black Monday, October 19th, 1987, the planetary god of commerce and merchants basically roller-skated backwards and fell over.
On May 6th, 2010, the United States saw a trillion-dollar Flash Crash. Once again, Mercury was retrograde.
Only use this astrological secret knowledge in business or on Wall Street if you know exactly what you are doing or have an expert astrologer steering you. People devote their entire careers to specializing in Mercury cycles and money.
I am not one of them, but I do want you to know what Mercury Retrograde is about.
Your horoscope is just one tool in the toolkit of your life – and you must make your own decisions. No astrology book like 2020 Vision or astrologer (like me) can ever make them for you. This applies to every aspect of your birth chart. You are responsible for your own life.
Talk Another Time!
Any negotiation is a classic candidate for Mercury issues, like bold-faced lies, or even simple communication problems (like spam filters) Mercury rules deals or trade-offs.
We hit Mercury Retrograde right after 9/11 and, because I was in New York, I took notes, working through the night in Greenwich Village (because the military aircraft overhead made it impossible to sleep).
That dreadful cycle, including the shadow periods, began the day after 9/11 and lasted until November 7th, 2001. I am sure you remember the chaos which surrounded the tragedy.
I was standing on Greenwich Street when I saw the second plane hit, and the Mercury Madness began within hours. No money in the banks. The queue for the New York Times went round Astor Square. No flights.
The majority of us only experienced minor frustrations, unlike those who carried the full burden of the tragedy. Yet – it was textbook astrology.
Again, you have to put Mercury Retrograde in context. It occurred on a far more serious, difficult astrological cycle for the United States and her allies.
Mercury is local/global. It’s a chain reaction. It’s way more than ‘Fred just left me and broke my heart’ because if the cycle tallies with something serious in the heavens, the whole planet can grind to a halt.
Is Mercury Retrograde always bad? No. It is what it is. Communication, information and transportation delays, alterations and reversals. You have to put it in context with the rest of the chart.
You can read more about Mercury Retrograde on my website including all the dates until 2020 with both the vital pre- and post-shadows.
You can also read about the potential positives of the cycle. Why it’s great for dress rehearsals. For first drafts. For initial discussions.
Some people deliberately play the cycle. If they don’t want to commit to something/ someone they begin talks or the paper trail from one shadow to the next. Of course, that’s pure evil.
Obviously, you would never do any such thing, but the cycle is wonderful for creative attempts, research, musing, contemplation, loose talk, brainstorming and the conscious use of your journal for ideas, sketches and the kind of scribbling that you can just erase.
Mercury Retrograde and Your Chart
If you have your birth chart available (Premium Members can see below), you can stun and amaze your colleagues or staff, by using astrology voodoo. You’ll just know when to avoid key meetings, contracts, presentations, launches or trips away.
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If you can’t avoid key plans, have Plan B and maybe Plan C – and double-check more than you usually would. I do not let Mercury Retrograde stop me from travelling,
especially because my other job is working as a HarperCollins travel editor on the Holiday Goddess guides to New York, Paris, London and Rome. I just become lightly paranoid and do a lot more pre-planning. I also try to have Cascade Light beer on hand, for emergencies.
Always have travel insurance. Read the fine print. Copy crucial documents to a memory stick. Keep back-ups on paper, not just digitally – in a safe place. I am sure you can think of a few more things you could do. Check for extreme weather. Be wary if someone you are negotiating with, already has a reputation for being dodgy or even downright deceitful.
If you are dealing with the news-gathering profession on Mercury Retrograde, then you may be dealing with a journalist who literally goes ‘back on her word’ which is an exact description of what happens when Mercury appears to go back over his cycle.
Lois Lane may be loose with the truth. Clark Kent may be a con artist. Be aware of who/what suddenly pops up in connection with multimedia, internet or publishing on this cycle. Are you being hacked, for example?
When he is moving normally and not triggering anything difficult in your chart, Mercury is the media we need to tell us the truth about the world. When Mercury is out of sorts, I don’t have to tell you what happens.
Remember, in your personal horoscope, the times Mercury Retrograde really counts, are when he activates a pattern that’s already big in your chart. If he triggers an aspect that is already pinned in your Third House (Gemini) or Ninth House (Sagittarius) then use your common-sense when you plan commuting, travel, negotiation, paperwork or multimedia.
If you have planets or asteroids in Aries in the First House, then Mercury Retrograde in Aries could play havoc with your new Twitter profile, because this house is about your image. You may appear with a random Muppets avatar pinned to your name, and you really don’t want that.
If you have Taurus elements, then Mercury Retrograde in Taurus could result in you going to the bank to change your coins into notes, only to find the machine regurgitates your coins. This house rules your cash. The following list shows how
Mercury Retrograde in each sign/house can affect you. Check my website to see what sign Mercury is in, at any time. We have a daily guide, so you can see.
Mercury and Your Stelliums
It’s a bigger deal if Mercury passes over a stellium in your chart – one of those heavy clusters in a particular sign and house. Why? Because it’s a bigger part of you and your life, that is affected.
You’ll hear news that is not the final story. Have discussions which get stuck. Get involved in ‘final’ promises or outcomes which come to nothing, later. Have issues with the internet, your phone or the mail which screw things up.
Grab your chart. What’s going on with the Messenger of the Gods, the mail, the train, the plane, the car and the internet? Which sign or house is he in? It’s time for rehearsal, now, not delivery or launch. It’s the moment for tentative research, not grand-slam commitment. If you really have to go ahead now? That’s fine, just have a contingency plan.
First House and Aries
Do you have Aries elements in your chart? You’ll have a lot to think about where the world of ‘Me, Me, Me’ is concerned, because your physical appearance, your style, and your reputation (the box people put you into) is such an issue. For a simple life, though, you may want to postpone those big decisions about haircuts, eye laser surgery, personalised number plates, business cards and so on, until Mercury is moving forwards, well out of the shadow period.
You will have an unusually high number of chaotic, shambolic days to deal with at this time. There may be an information overload to deal with (far too many quotes about your new glasses) or you could find that other people are so disorganised, en masse, that the confusion filters down to you. This can make what appeared to be a straightforward dental appointment very complicated.
If you buy anything with your image in mind, you may change your mind later (when you see it priced lower elsewhere) or…you may just change your mind, full stop.
Getting the right, fair, market price on almost any procedure or purchase connected to your face, body or personal style could be a challenge.
You might get it right now, but there are good chances you’ll get it wrong.
If you are organising personalised writing paper, a website, a scrapbook about your life, or anything that involves paper, pens, computers or technology, then be very wary. If you’re giving a talk now, check that the microphone works (talks and speeches are showcases for ‘Me, me, me’ so they do come up during this cycle. As with all Mercury Retrograde periods, don’t risk mistakes!
Remember, this is the part of you that charges forward, pushes hard, knocks heads together, thrusts herself/himself into battle and so on. Honestly, do you want to do all that now?
Taurus and Second House
There are two key financial cycles in astrology. One is Mercury in the Second House, the other is Mercury in the Eighth House. These are crucial times for fact-finding missions and networking, yet you are going to hit delays, reversals or changes. I once tested astrology out by putting in a mortgage application when I was a baby astrologer at Elle magazine.
Reader, I lost that $600 mortgage application, and it was a lot of money at the time!
This is a good time to watch, wait and take notes on your next purchase, sale or transaction. It’s not a good time to plunge in and put your savings on the line – or to mess around with contracts, or other kinds of paperwork, unless you are one of those financial astrologer queens like my friend Olga and you know exactly what you are doing. The market is in flux now. Say that carefully.
Mercury, the planet of information and communication, is now going backwards in your Second House of cashflow, shopping, banking, profits, losses, debts and credits. The chances are high that your best-laid plans may also go backwards. I know very few astrologers who will buy or sell anything in this cycle. Even though this will be a busy time for what you earn, own or owe – take care. Once all the fast-talking and enthusiastic trading is over, you may be left with question marks instead of certainties (or worse, left with a bad result you can’t change.)
People are confused, flaky, unreliable, late, unfathomable and uncertain when Mercury goes retrograde. If you work in retail, or trade on eBay, you will be astonished at how people change their minds – or how easy it is for you to change yours! For this reason, astrologers traditionally advise their clients to avoid signing important paperwork when Mercury is going backwards in the Second House.
Because the general local and global atmosphere now is so chaotic, there can be a trickle-down effect on your financial affairs, which means the ATM seizes your card, or the online banking system crashes, or the rock-solid deal you thought you had on buying your first home, falls through. Always read the fine print now. Remember, Mercury Retro is about rehearsal, rethinking, review…
Gemini and Third House
With my hand on my heart, I can tell you that this entire section just vanished. I have a Gemini stellium (many authors do) and just writing about this cycle made 500 words disappear into thin air. As you might have guessed, Mercury Retrograde in your Third House, touching your Gemini factors, is about computers, books, multimedia, publishing, education, language, commuting and travel.
(For the record, the bus also stopped running for two weeks, so until Sue turns up with her taxi, I’m stuck at the beach for good).
This is a really good time to organise a first draft of something you want to say, write, sing, film or televise. Allow for one or two revisions.
Make sure you allow for changes, delays or reversals which affect your big project or idea. Do not buy a telephone or computer on this cycle or switch to a new ISP unless you have read the fine print on delivery and refunds.
Back your content up on a USB stick and as a general rule, have Plan B for commuting and travelling. Allow extra time to get to the airport and be hip to the possibility of flash flooding, train strikes or simple computer issues at the terminal which send you to the wrong gate.
Gemini is ruled by Mercury himself, so when Mercury is retrograde in the Third House, ruled by Mercury, you can expect the courier to get stuck or go backwards. The post gets stuck or goes backwards.
Mercury moves in a peculiar forwards-backwards motion through your house of speeches, essays, websites, blogs, social media, taxis, trains, buses, cars, planes – as follows.
First, he appears to move normally so the plan or loose talk begins. Then he runs on the spot as if he was caught in quicksand. Then he actually runs backwards, retracing his steps.
At this point you may want to ‘fix’ things or complicate the issue by adding changes, new plans, extra details. This will add to the situation later on.
Mercury then runs on the spot again, before moving forward. At this point a lot of astrologers will tell you he is D for Direct and everything is just fantastic – what a relief! Except your new laptop just spontaneously combust in front of you.
Allow more time. Mercury running on the spot the second time, means he is preparing to lurch forward over the same place in your chart where he got stuck before.
The smart way to use this cycle is to factor in changes or delays as part of the actual progress of the project or trip. Look at your chart! Put it all in context. Are there serious issues about Gemini/Third House and Sagittarius/Ninth House too? Then this is also a great concern. Talk to a pro astrologer and make sure she uses the shadow periods.
Cancer and Fourth House
You’ll now spend a few weeks obtaining quotes on home repairs, renovations, furniture, domestic appliances, gardening equipment – or more ambitiously, you’ll be researching the property market, as a sale, purchase, mortgage or lease will be on your agenda.
The Fourth House also rules your family, and any flatmates or live-in partners who share your home. Expect a lot of phone calls, e-mails and debate, probably about issues which are central to your house, flat or garden – or just as likely, the family itself.
Your hometown, neighborhood, homeland and roots, culture and heritage are also issues on Skype now, or your phone. There will be news. Yet – remember – Mercury is flakey now.
Astrologers say, don’t sell your house, flat or land when Mercury is going backwards in the Fourth House. Don’t interview new flatmates either. The worst-case scenario here is a complete U-turn from one of the people involved (it may be you!) The best-case scenario is a period of chaos: too many people coming and going, too much talking, too many questions and not enough answers. There may be a long and drawn-out process or, perhaps, an undelivered promise.
This general picture of Mercury Retrograde in the Fourth House also applies to almost anything that’s domestic in nature, from the oven that needs repairs, to the new tablecloth you’re dragging home. Prices are reduced, or inflated, with no warning now. People are late for appointments, or don’t turn up at all. Now – do you really want all that stuffing up your precious home life?
This cycle also influences family relationships, and the connections you have with your flatmates, as well as the bond between you and your live-in partner. If you consider your animals to be part of the family, the chaos can extend to them as well.
Because there is a general, global increase in uncertainty and instability at this time, the ripple effect can have an impact on your town, your street, and your home as well. That’s why your father can change his mind about the family’s holiday home investment, or your normally reliable flatmate can lose her keys. At its least harmful, this cycle brings muddles, a slightly rushed or panicky atmosphere, and uncertainty. At its worst, Mercury Retrograde in the Fourth House can screw up a property auction. Some people do make this cycle work very well for them. They are astrological professionals or madly psychic – they buy houses cheap, then sell for a profit – rapidly. You truly have to know what you are doing. Don’t plan a family reunion now unless you have beer on a drip.
Leo and Fifth House
If you find yourself doing extra homework about pregnancy, fertility, impotence, termination, adoption, sons, daughters, young relatives, godchildren, sex, intimacy, contraception – or just the whole Lover/Offspring/Youth basket – that’s understandable now. This also applies to the entertainment, interests or sport that brings children and adults together. Kidult entertainment, like TV talent shows, or football matches, which close the generation gap, are one example. So is riding.
Save yourself the stress, and tackle important issues about babies or children, another time. This applies to your own sons or daughters if you have them – or other people’s. It also applies to the world of children in general (for example, any professional connection you might have, to kids.) For a few weeks now, or even a few months, you are unlikely to get much in the way of certainty, commitment, security or guarantees. Seek schools, midwives, nannies, adoption agencies, IVF specialists and other child-related professionals another time.
Mercury Retrograde brings far too many U-turns and confusion, for you to put your feelings, time or money on the line. I can’t think of too many astrologers who would even pick a babysitter out, during this cycle!
The Fifth House also rules sex because of course it is about planned and unplanned pregnancy and also stepchildren, adoption and co-godparenting. If you are single and speed dating, web dating (or just looking at parties), then it’s a case of buyer beware. You can lose people now – or they can lose you. What appears to be a done deal could be anything but (‘Oh look, there’s my ex!’).
The possible complications and ramifications are like every Hollywood romantic comedy you’ve ever seen, but without the laughs. And shall we talk about condoms, HIV tests, the morning after pill, and all the rest of it? Frankly, when Mercury is misbehaving like this, you don’t need the hassle. This planet says ‘Watch, wait, and take notes.’ This strongly applies to your sex life now. It’s also important in terms of your weekend interests or part-time passions. Can you sign or promise another time? Can you at least allow for delays, changes or even reversals?
Virgo and Sixth House
You’ll probably be involved with some kind of fact-finding mission about your health and wellbeing now. The internet will probably be involved, or you’ll be ploughing through library books, magazines, or the phone directory – as you gather sources and contacts. Sometimes the issue is stuff that isn’t healthy at all. Drugs and alcohol. Addictions to prescribed drugs, even. Over-eating or just cigarette hell. Please allow for plenty of restarts, revisions or ‘definite’ pronouncements which will later be reversed. It does happen.
This cycle is also about your full-time or part-time job. If you run the home instead of working, then it applies to your daily routine in the house, or flat. An issue will arise now, which requires a lot of calling, e-mailing, reading, web surfing, or face-to-face discussion.
As you might expect, this is rehearsal time – with rescheduling or rewriting of the story – with the world of doctors, dentists, hospitals, alternative health, gyms, healers, diets and opticians. It’s extremely common for people to join gyms at this time and resign their membership later. You may want to ‘re’ visit opinions from people in charge of your acupuncture, homeopathy and so on.
Workplace shenanigans and chaos are also in store now. Pick another time to hire someone, fire someone, or find a new career because it could go round and round – or seem to be settled, only to be unsettled later on. At its most diluted level, this cycle brings no-shows, reversed promises, and a confusing information overload. The world in general is more chaotic now – in one or two countries, there may even be outright mess. This all has a domino effect, which can result in strange developments in your own workplace. If you have full-time home chores, this also applies to your kitchen-laundry routine. Astrologers say, ‘Buy a washing machine at this time, and you’ll be doing your undies in a bucket forever.’ Virgo rules the virginal maiden’s home duties, you see.
Scorpio and Eighth House
There will be quite a lot of gossip and loose talk now, most of it about a financial, business, charity, retail, ownership or property question which is on your agenda. It will be deadly serious or sexually intimate in nature – a mortgage or life insurance is typical.
People will change their minds, or you will change yours – don’t write anything in stone, unless you actually like wasting your own time! The Eighth House typically brings up important questions about sales, purchases, settlements, financial claims, contracts, tax returns, bank statements, and other complex matters involving family members, lovers, partners, ex partners and sometimes hookers and the Mafia too.
If you lead a simple life in a share house, and don’t actually own anything at all, it will just ask you to manage complicated questions about the household potato patch. All the more reason to refuse to sign, buy, sell, wheel or deal. At best, you’ll feel slightly lost and confused. At worst, you could lose financially. It really depends on your personal chart. If you have a ton of squares and oppositions to your Scorpio factors and Mercury Retrograde lands, there – be ultra-careful.
Astrologers say, don’t lend or borrow at this time. And on no account bank on anything, even the bank! Always read the fine print on paperwork, and don’t expect computers, the postal service, telephones, or the traffic flow (or airline industry) to automatically smooth the way for you. At this time, Mercury’s chaotic backward motion will affect the entire planet. In the grand scheme of things, your divorce settlement, family inheritance, job redundancy, tax bill or bank loan may well get caught in the mess. If you get off lightly, you can expect at least one person to change their mind about what’s been ‘agreed’ (and it may be you.) How irritating! If you have serious Mercury Retrograde problems, though, you can find a deal costs you.
It’s a fantastic time to rehearse, review, review, rethink, reconsider. Not so great for absolutes and definites.
Sagittarius and Ninth House
This is a confusing (and sometimes frustrating) period for travel, emigration and relocation. Can you choose another time? If you must be on the move, however, do read the small print, and take sensible precautions before you pack your bags. Have insurance and allow for delays, changes or reversals. Check before you go via trains, buses, certain traffic lanes or the airport. Make sure your passport is updated and be hip to the weather.
Mercury rules cars, trucks, bicycles, motorbikes, boats, ships, airplanes and helicopters – so you can see why its backward motion, in your house of travel, can also turn your life upside-down or at least hold you up. This cycle also describes the relationship you have with people from other cultures and countries. The potential for confusion, delays and chaos is very high with these people now! Give yourself a safety net if a decision is pending. Allow for language issues or time differences – even date differences – and basic communication gah factors.
Education (from weekend workshops to University degree courses) is also affected by Mercury madness at this time. You could enroll in a class and change your mind later, losing your application fee. Or – the professor you thought you were getting, turns out to have changed his mind, and run away to Barcelona with a teenage supermodel. You get the picture. Do you really have to make big decisions, as a teacher or student, now? Religion, or other belief systems (like Scientology, or TM) can also be the route to frustration, or even serious problems, during this period. And finally, this cycle is about publishing, in all its forms. I have seen books be pulped in this cycle – and ‘watertight’ contracts be shredded. Astrologers say, choose another time to publish, sign or print. It’s an excellent time for first draft, second draft. It’s a fantastic time to have a visualisation board or scrapbook, with which to roughly envision your vacation. Just act on things when Mercury is out of shadow.
Capricorn and Tenth House
Keep your career options open now. There will be a lot of questions, and apparently ‘conclusions’, but they’re subject to change, and you will either alter your decisions at some point or find other people’s U-turns screw up your own plans!
This also applies to your other ambitions and goals, if you are a student, unemployed, retired, or have full-time home duties. Your most ambitious projects and plans can be thrown into chaos during this cycle, thanks to the global domino-effect which is now taking place (there will be pockets of anarchy all over the world) but also because of x factors you cannot see or control. There are easier times to write your resume, apply for a job, ask for a promotion, train for a new career, or call a domestic summit. Can it wait?
If you have a part-time or full-time job, the atmosphere will be so frenzied at times that it may be hard to remember where you put your coffee – or your brain. Expect a lot of ‘news’ through the media, about those projects, plans and goals which most concern you, as well as your particular field, industry or workplace. There will also be quite a lot of gossip and debate, but it is unwise to take it seriously when Mercury is misbehaving. What appears to be a done deal (your boss is definitely leaving) or a final conclusion (your old company is definitely expanding) may not be so. This cycle is best used by standing well back, taking mental notes, and waiting for the dust to settle! Then, and only then (when Mercury is direct) should you make costly or complex decisions.
Aquarius and Eleventh House
Action stations with friends, or for them – but also backwards stations! If an old friend re-enters your life now, he or she will connect you to a large network of people, but the wheels may go backwards.
If you make a new friend at this time, this man or woman will also open up your world, either online, or through a whole chain of invitations and introductions, yet be aware of stray e-mails or missing messages. The Eleventh House is also about existing friends, of course, which might explain why that person who has been there forever suddenly goes to the top of your list, and you find yourself with a larger phone or internet bill; your friend is likely to make waves in your life now, and a lot of questions, plans and mini adventures will result.
If you have been feeling bored or lonely, this cycle can fix it. A little bit of work on your part can trigger a new social life, if you want it – or a new angle on the old one but do allow for delays.
A group, club, team, organisation, association or social network will also take up your mental energy now. If you are permanently involved with some kind of group, and it’s central to your life, then do use this time to find solutions to all those unanswered questions you may have. This will be a rehearsal, as all retrogrades are. It’s a good time to review, rethink, rehearse the action for later.
You will be amazed at the number of resources, and sources, which suddenly become available to do this. Even if you’re not a joiner (and can’t stand group dynamics) you will still find it hard not to cross paths with some kind of people-pack now. An issue will arise which involves a lot of debate or gossip with them – or about them.
You really meant it when you told your friend she could borrow your lawnmower, but now your other friend won’t give it back. You believed what your union promised, when you sent them a membership cheque – but it’s been four weeks, and your card still hasn’t arrived. You and your bridesmaids truly, deeply made a commitment to ivory silk and pearl buttons for your wedding – but now someone’s up the duff, and she thinks she’ll look fat in the frock…These are just a few examples of the chaos which can unfold, via friends or groups, when Mercury is Retrograde in the Eleventh House.
If it’s going to cost you time, money or tantrums (or create rip-roaring anarchy in your social life) then consider delaying a plan until Mercury is behaving itself.
Astrologers are not alarmists, but there is so much evidence on the chaos that Mercury Retrograde brings, that you really need to approach friends, or group commitments, with your eyes open. If you know that someone is Gemini or Virgo, or you were born under either of those signs, then the potential for trouble is doubled.
If you join any kind of group now, it may not last, or you may not last, or it may not deliver what you expected. If you make a new friend, now, he or she could be a complete Cadbury’s Flake, and remain in your online address book for about as long as this cycle lasts. It’s an excellent time to stand back and watch the entertainment, as people run around like headless chickens. Take notes and learn! But why not make your big decisions later?
Pisces and Twelfth House
This cycle unfolds two ways. Firstly, Mercury will force you to prioritise a secret plan, or extremely sensitive, confidential issue. It could be anything from a cosmetic surgery procedure, to an affair with a married man. The possibilities are endless!
Just because you can’t talk about it, though, doesn’t mean you won’t be doing your homework. For a few weeks, you’ll be gathering as much information as you can, about this rather delicate, hush-hush matter. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. Mercury Retrograde means you’re going to hit delays or changes.
If this particular issue would cause serious problems for you, if it was ever made public, then be discreet about your enquiries and your contacts.
This cycle can also bring a period of hibernation, as you remove yourself from the outside world and turn your attention to your inner world instead. You might take a sabbatical, claim sick leave, check into a spa, or just spend a lot of time sitting in your room with the door locked! You may also be researching a retreat of some kind – a period of time in your life, or a special place, where you hope to find some solitude and privacy.
The Twelfth House rules the time we spend by ourselves, when we discover who we really are, without other people. It describes a private encounter with your own soul. For this reason, you may also be curious about any of the following areas now: dreams, mediumship, tarot, astrology, psychology, hypnosis, psychiatry and so on. Just remember – Mercury Retrograde means it’s all-in flux.
You will go backwards and forwards with a secret, sensitive issue now. This may be a private plan that you cannot tell anyone else about – or it may be a rather delicate ‘thing’ about yourself and your life, that is only suitable for your diary. Expect mild chaos in connection with this, or at worst, a result which is a complete waste of your time, energy and effort. The reasons for this confusion and frustration could be as simple as a change of heart (people are unreliable now, and you are too) or as complex as a power cut, or a transport strike, or a worldwide computer virus. The general madness of Mercury Retrograde ricochets around the planet as a whole now. Along the way, it may touch your private plan, or your big secret. Make your plans accordingly!
The reversals, delays, confusion and chaos will also affect your plans to get away by yourself. If you want to organise a spa holiday, a retreat, a sabbatical or any other kind of solo time, then keep your plans flexible, because what is apparently in place now, could change in the next 24 hours. This also applies to anything already in motion – perhaps your solitary holiday or meditation weekend is already under way. When it is travelling backwards, Mercury has a funny way of up-ending things, though. At best, you can waste your precious time, as you go back to the drawing board, or deal with other people’s flaky behavior. At worst, everything can go wrong. For a simple life, astrologers suggest that you organise your ‘me’ time when Mercury goes direct again.
In 2021, Mercury will be in apparent retrograde motion during the following date ranges:
In 2022, Mercury will be retrograde 4 times:
Edited extract from 2020 Astrology: Your Five-Year Horoscope Guide by Jessica Adams.
All Images Courtesy of Unplash.com and Pinterest.
If you have a stellium in Aquarius (more than three factors in that zodiac sign) then your Eleventh House of friendships and groups is unusually packed. What happens to those friendships when Saturn, Jupiter and then Pluto all pass through Aquarius? Have friends been lost, or has the friendship changed? That’s typical of this long cycle.
The NHS was founded on 5th July 1948 in London with an astrological chart that shows a complete replacement in 2022 and 2023. The horoscope for the National Health Service reveals a perfect storm that will affect nurses, doctors and patients.
Astrology forecasts made before an historic chain of eclipses chimed with predictions of drama for the Royal Family, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump – and a strange twist of fate involving Lolita. Published so long ago that Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein were still unknown to the public, they now suggest July-August 2021 is a time of reckoning. Meghan, Harry, Kate and William have also been drawn into the astrological timeline. How do the Leo eclipses pan out in 2021 and 2022?
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25 Responses
Hi Jessica,
My natal mercury in Aquarius at 20 degrees was retrograde when I was born. What are the implications of this during a mercury in retrograde period? I read somewhere that these periods are are beneficial for me in terms of getting things done but I’d love to hear your thoughts! Thanks for another great article!
Astrid
Thanks Astrid. Essentially you are there to communicate and commute with/through/for friends and also groups of people. Mercury in Aquarius tends to supply clubs, teams, bands, trade unions and even looser arrangements like Twitter, with all sorts of news, views, connections and information flow. This is the person who drives everyone around in the hiking group or who is the hub online. Retrograde, every time you have a trigger at 20 Aquarius from a slow-moving outer planet or node, and you have Jupiter there in March 2021, you go backwards. So you have issues with the car, train, bus, coach, boat – or your computer plays up, or you find issues with the printer. It’s just what you might expect. March 2021 is a great time for a rehearsal or beta test but have Plan B, C and D. What happens will be beneficial, as it’s Jupiter, but you will likely find that you, your transport or your technology is at the heart of some classic backwards/forwards/stuck issues.
Hello Jessica,
I have hit rock bottom financially and have missed out on being successful for university.
I’m in a real rut where I genuinely don’t know what I want to do (vocation wise) and am thinking of studying something for the ‘sake of it’. Can astrology help me make a decision here? I’m in such a rut it’s unbelievable and I’m looking to implement something that will bring a sense of financial relief and genuine enjoyment whilst not compromising on my primary role as a mum.
Many thanks to you!
You can study online and it will not cost you a penny. Look at Open Culture, which has courses for every interest. That will get you out of a rut in 2021, when you have the South Node in Sagittarius in your Ninth House of academia, education and knowledge. Go to it. This only happens once every 19 years.
Hi Jessica!
Mercury is currently retro in Aquarius, and I only have 2 factors in Aquarius- Minerva, 26 and Salacia, 13. As you already know, I am a sun Sag- should i be on the look out for my one Gemini factor (Panacea, 14) as the retro is in my third house, or for my two Aquarius factors?
Thank you 🙂
Melly
You’ll experience that Aquarius and Gemini story in your Eleventh House of friends and groups, at the same time that you see developments in your Third House of communication and commuting, Melly. So, for example, you may have issues with a friend who wants to lend you her car (but you do not want to borrow it) or there may be a brand new chapter involving friends who contribute to your blog.
Thanks for this post Jessica!
My Mercury is in Libra and I was wondering how that will affect me when Mercury will be retrograde in Libra later this year.
Thanks a lot for any insights!
Thank you. Mercury rules the communication, information flow, debate and paperwork (also the computer and mail) between you and your former, current or potential partner – in Libra. The partnerships are best described as duets or duels. They can be as formal as marriage or business partnership, or as low-key as (say) two people sharing a house – landlady and friend/tenant. Mercury goes forwards, gets stuck and goes backwards, and retraces his steps from around September 7th 2021 until November 3rd. As you might expect, it’s best to have Plan B, C and D for/about the other person in your duet or duel then. Mercury will also be square Pluto at 24 Libra, unusually, 22nd-24th September and again on October 1st, 2nd which is a tight squeeze. You do have a New Moon in Libra in your Seventh House on October 6th, but it’s not the whole story of a fresh start, relaunch or page one – you will be rewriting that book with/for this person until November 3rd.
Here’s my most recent (and slightly startling) Murky Retrograde anecdote. I am a Cancer with my Sun in the 4th House. My only sibling and younger brother is a Libran. My mother is an 83 year old Taurus. Pretty much at the exact time the Moon in Libra in my 7th House trined Mercury station retrograde in my 11th House, I got an interstate phone call (!) from my brother (!) that my Taurus mother (who has transit Mars conjunct Uranus in her solar first house, with Uranus ruling Aquarius where Mercury is stationing, and probably just past her Uranus return) had gone missing (!). She had gone for a drive alone (Mars/Mercury) – it was a trip she had taken many times before – to gathering at a senior citizens club at a community centre across town that she was a member of (Uranus/11th House). It is important to her and with Covid there had been a long hiatus so she was understandably keen. She had, however, gotten confused and lost and never arrived, driving around for a number of hours before finally returning home. My brother had gotten a call from a family friend wondering where she was and he had called me. My mother was not contactable by mobile phone or any other means while she was missing and my brother spoke to the motor insurance company in case a breakdown had been reported. He was on the phone to the police when she turned up, and when he called me to let me know all was ok I was casting a horary chart and contemplating that Moon trine Mercury station retro and the fact that the Moon had just gone void of course… my intuition told me all was fine but there is clearly work to do in establishing reliable lines of communication because of course it’s a situation to be avoided. Phew!
Murky Retrograde is absolutely with us. That’s so awful that your elderly mother went missing. Driving around for hours is pretty common. Issues with the mobile phone, likewise. The horary chart was a wise move, though, and would have helped you as Lilly developed that system specifically for what/who was lost – as you know. Mercury was retrograde in your solar Eighth House, which does rule legacies, wills and inheritance – so there is a tiny reminder there to check that which you have made, and think realistically about her own legacy.
Hi Jessica,
I have Mercury at 20 degrees Aquarius in my birth cart, and am experiencing the delays of retrograde, particularly with news I received on new years eve. I have the offer of a contract, but I am reluctant to believe it will come through as promised, until I see it in the flesh. I’m normally cautious, but I have waited for this opportunity for some time. When it does arrive, is there a period following retrograde when it is safe for me to sign the deal and proceed in a business relationship? Or do I need to continue to wait for another plan or opportunity?
Mercury at 20 Aquarius and Panacea at 20 Virgo create a lifetime pattern of you planning, negotiating, dealing – with groups and friends – and also producing remedies, solutions and cures, not only through your work and unpaid work, but occasionally through the field of health, healing, fitness or medicine. Have a look at Panacea in Virgo in the Sixth House quincunx Mercury in Aquarius in the Eleventh House as it’s unusual. On New Year’s Eve the North Node was at 19 Gemini and South Node at 19 Sagittarius, so just one degree away from that pattern. I am sure you know Gemini rules the internet, media, publishing, education and Sagittarius rules foreign people and places, or regional differences. From that point, transiting Mercury Retrograde went to 20 Aquarius on 22nd January, went back to 20 Aquarius on Monday 8th February, and will return there for the last time on Monday 8th March, when the matter will be settled. It’s hard to comment on the contract offer without knowing the chart of the other party, but in general, if you can treat this period as a dress rehearsal or to-and-fro negotiation, you’ll do better. Venus was also right on 20 Sagittarius on 1st January 2021 and again, this is the sign of foreign people and places or regional differences. This would appear to be the story. You have Neptune approaching 20 Pisces on February 23rd, hovering there until Saturday 20th March, so there is a really big pattern unfolding around that connection in your chart. Look it all up using the guidebooks on this website, and validate three times with Your Oracle, The Astrology Oracle and the Tarot, also available here.
Thank you Jessica for your kind response. Given my mother’s age and that my father passed away very suddenly of a stroke nearly 5 years ago at the age of 75, 8th House issues are never far from my mind these days. My lifelong pursuit of astrology and formal study of it in my early 20s has stood me in good stead with regard to such matters. Without it I don’t know how I’d make sense of everything. A working knowledge of horary has helped enormously too and saved me from much needless anxiety. That is what I’d argue the true purpose of astrology is. Thanks as always for all that you do. 🙂
Thanks Jessica, this just ties in with what is going on. Firstly, we decorating and preparing to do summer holiday lets from our home, there is confusion with trades people causing delays and I have put back out opening date from 3rd April Mercury 29 degrees 9′ Pisces to 1st May Mercury 25 degrees 27@ Taurus. Looking at these dates natal charts I think this might be a blessing with 1 May looking a bit stronger chart for holiday lets although lacking ‘fire’.
Secondly, we had started with bed and breakfast on 31 March 2018 – Mercury 12 degrees 59′ Aires retrograde! 2018 we traded ok for a 1st year, 2019 we brought in good money but physically exhausted ourselves, then 2020 well disaster and financially brought in a 1/3 of 2019. To me Mercury retrograde is a good explanation for the bed and breakfast problems and the re-branding into holiday lets is looking bright. 🙂
Much love Lilias
Lilias, I am sorry you’ve had all this malarkey with letting your home, tradesmen, opening dates, bed/breakfast and so on. You now have Mercury Retrograde dates to work with, on this website, taking you into the rest of this year so you can check. You need to be aware of problems with trains, ferries, traffic jams, short-haul flights when Mercury Retrograde is with you from around May 15th to near July 8th. Get it in writing, read the fine print and update yourselves on the new T&C with the pandemic. Also allow for councils or governments to change their minds during that time. Gemini rules local transportation and short journeys as you may know.
Hi Jessica
I hope you’re well. In the last week since mercury retrograde an employee has not been pulling their weight. I’ll have to challenge this person but know she can be manipulative. Will she leave our team without badmouthing me. Your insight is appreciated.
Your staff member sounds like the Bad News Bears, alright. Try to avoid doing anything/saying anything dramatic until March 13th when Mercury Retrograde is over. Life will be far more simple then. There is karma with her, going back to the year 2002 for you. Not so much her in person, but similar issues, probably at work, around 19 years ago. The karma ends in January 2022. You are owed by others, but also owe them on some level. There is unresolved stuff here from 2002 about your job, unpaid work or study that year. Knowing that makes it easier to figure out what the issues are on a deeper level. Use Your Oracle, The Astrology Oracle and the Tarot to give yourself a three-way reading on her – and the situation – and be specific about the time-frame.
Hi Jessica,
My online business went live on July 25th 2011 and I had my first sale on July26th 2011. Mercury was in shadow phase. The business is a ‘side hustle’ and has been very successful – as a side income but I would like to do it as my full time job.
The online site has had several reincarnations over the years… and the last one major one on completely new software went live on October 30th 2017. The first sale on the new site tho was Nov 16th when mercury was retrograde again.
Anything you can suggest to help the business thrive – and do you see it becoming my main job?
On July 25th 2011 Mercury Retrograde Shadow at 27 Leo in your Fifth House was ‘forever stuck’ – you do not say what the business does, but if it involves a younger generation; babies; children; teenagers; Millennials – it will also be forever stuck. Of course this may have been your personal life, involving a niece or godchild, for example…In any case, there is more to life than Mercury Retrograde, so a quick glance at July 25th 2011 shows Jupiter in Taurus. Excellent for making and saving money. He stood at 8 Taurus and the Moon was also in Taurus, both in your Second House of wealth, so you know what you’re doing. Jupiter at 8 degrees Taurus is the clincher. Transits to 8 Taurus, and from 8 Capricorn (trine) and 8 Virgo (trine) usually help cash flow. You are going into Uranus at 8 Taurus, which can only happen once in your life, between March 11th and 31st 2021. Ceres is at 8 Aries on the 14th-16th March which narrows it down. Mars is at 8 Gemini on March 18th-19th, so that’s quite a few days. On March 22nd, Mercury is at 8 Pisces. On March 29th, the Sun is at 8 Pisces. All these patterns trigger your natal Jupiter which is about blessings, protection, luck, windfalls, prizes, big gains. The rest is up to you. Uranus is involved so it will be out of the blue. The testing time will come on the Full Moon at 7 Scorpio opposite the Sun at 7 Taurus, very close to your Jupiter, on Tuesday 27th April. If you want more on all this, use Your Oracle, The Astrology Oracle and the Tarot for a three-way reading for confirmation.
Hi Jessica, I’m in the process of relocating (Moving date March) but looking for a share house now. Is this a bad time to sign up for a share house with Mercury retrograde? I won’t actually be moving until start of March once mercury retrograde is over (but in the process of signing up now). I realise there’s lots of other things happening in my chart right now too. Thank you!
Have Plan B, C and D for this share house, as Mercury (plans) is retrograde (stuck, changing, reversing) in Aquarius (groups). Mercury Retrograde is not over until March 13th, when the shadow ends. So, if you are signing up now, and packing boxes in early March, you’re in the zone. Just have alternatives prepared. Definitely get everything in writing and read the fine print. It’s not so much your own chart, but the charts of the others involved, the real estate agent, landlady/landlord and so on. What you think you are getting and doing, is not where this will end up, so just be aware of that. A really common example is that you assume you are moving into a particular room, with flatmates Y and Z, and end up with a different room, with flatmate Y moving out. Ask the Tarot on this website more questions.
Hi Jessica,
Hope all is well, I have a 5 planet stellium in Aquarius with 2 planets/asteroids at 12 and my MC at 12. This has been an interesting month where I have decided to start a blog, it’s private and not live, it’s just there to help me write and sort through why I’m struggling, It may go live at some point. As a creative person, photographer/artist (this is my business not just for fun) I’m struggling with social media, I keep hearing that to succeed I need social media but right now I want nothing to do with insta or fb. Is this mercury retrograde or is there something more? It amazes me that with so much in Aquarius, that social stuff and friends/groups have been a lifelong struggle (I would almost say love/hate). I have also put the launch of my new website on hold I’m just not motivated to get it launched, any suggestions on a good date /time planetary positions to do it?. Just to add to everything in January I decided to de-clutter and clean out my studio space with the purpose of starting to paint again, which I gave up when I started with photography, I want to incorporate painting to my business in some way but don’t want to pick up a paintbrush until retrograde is gone. I’m just in a whirl of confusion and don’t know what to do. I would love and appreciate some insight please. I apologize if this sounds like a jumbled mess.
This is a good time to beta-test, experiment and try things out with Pinterest and Twitter and also your website. You are an artist and photographer who wants to avoid Instagram and Facebook. Pinterest and Twitter are Zuckerberg-free zones and speaking from personal experience, as a business person, you don’t need them. In fact, my business skyrocketed when I left Facebook many years ago, because I was wasting less time and getting to know some wonderful people who became subscribers. Okay, enough about me. Use Mercury Retrograde to explore Twitter and Pinterest, find your allies there, likely via Etsy, and use hashtags #art #photography to see what and who is out there for you. Launching your website will be far more successful after March 13th when Mercury is back to normal. I like Pluto 26 Capricorn, Jupiter 26 Aquarius, April 17th through 22nd for you. Mars at 26 Gemini on April 17th, 18th narrows it down again. Mercury is at 26 Aries on 18th April. This is a beautiful combination for empowerment, business, friends and groups, the internet and self-promotion.
Just want to say thank you! I appreciate your insights and will take your advice. I have Etsy and have not had great luck with it but I’m going to try a few new things and see if I can relaunch it. Thanks again .
Yes, this Mercury Retrograde is ideal for testing and trying…until March 13th.
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