The Positive Side of a Retrograde Period
So, is there nothing good about retrograde Mercury?
In fact, retrograde Mercury is good for the same things that direct Mercury is good for. However, when Mercury enters a retrograde orbit, some inner forces may emerge... such as a sense of humor, patience, and flexibility.
Some astrologers claim that people with a retrograde Mercury in their natal chart produce their best ideas during the periods when Mercury goes retrograde. Some even say that plans started when Mercury is retrograde immediately face their tests, so that delays or maturation occur much later. Others, however, believe that plans put into effect during periods of retrograde Mercury simply don't work the way people expect them to. Not that the result will be negative, but rather it will lead to reflection, re-evaluation, and carefully calculated action. It would be foolish to say: "Don't make any decisions!" As American astrologer Colin McCormick pointed out, if someone decides not to make a decision because Mercury is retrograde, they have essentially made a decision with retrograde Mercury, and where does that lead us? To making the wrong decision. So, what someone needs to do is be adaptable.
Some astrologers write that the people most affected are those with planets in Gemini or Virgo, and that ultimately, we are all affected proportionally to the House where transiting Mercury is located as it moves in retrograde, as well as by the House where Mercury is the ruler in our natal chart.
One theory holds that when Mercury goes retrograde, the collective mind turns inward, making this a fruitful time for reflection.
☿ Practical Advice
If the voice in the back of your head doesn't stop filling you with almost unspoken suspicions (and fears, and suspicions), then retrograde Mercury is perhaps a time to avoid being forced into action or making definitive decisions. However, if your plan has been carefully considered and reviewed, and you know in your heart and mind that this is the right time, then the only astrological advice to offer is to maintain your sense of humor and be flexible.
If you keep a journal, you may have noticed that most periods of retrograde Mercury come and go without anything remarkable or unusual happening. Occasionally, things might go wrong: you might change your entire schedule to meet a friend for lunch, go to the wrong place on the wrong day, forget to pick up your dry cleaning on the day they close for vacation, misplace a bank statement, or buy an electric pencil sharpener that doesn't work when you take it home... and that's just the beginning. It's those days when everything seems to go wrong.
If you recognize these symptoms, don't panic. There's nothing better than a warm bath and a good detective novel to get you through a day that feels like it's straight out of a medieval treatise "on the effects of retrospection."
This technique aligns with the observations of astrologers and other observers who note that the effects of retrograde Mercury are often most pronounced or detrimental during the first week of the retrograde period. This might be because, during the second week, most people have adapted to the changes in thinking that retrograde Mercury represents.
☿ The Prometheus and Epimetheus Cycles
While not as symmetrical as the waxing and waning phases of the Moon, Mercury's movements follow a natural rhythmic cycle, and each period favors a particular way of thinking or acting.
Prometheus Cycle
When Mercury precedes the Sun (crossing the Ascendant before the Sun, in a position ahead in the zodiac), it encourages intense thinking, planning, and a readiness to anticipate future actions and events, driven by strong personal goals and beliefs.
- Close to the Sun (0–14°): Willing but somewhat dogmatic and one-dimensional.
- Far from the Sun (14–28°): Less susceptible to external influences and functions unaffected by emotions and feelings.
Epimetheus Cycle
When Mercury follows the Sun (crossing the Ascendant after the Sun in a position that falls later in the zodiacal circle), it is objective, and its thoughts and actions are focused on the present.
- Close to the Sun (14°): Imparts a careful and controlled way of thinking that significantly influences all other aspects of the personality.
- Far from the Sun (14–28°): Exhibits a more detached approach; the mind is cautious and relies on past experiences to analyze the present.
☿ Speed and Hemisphere
The speed of Mercury (the distance covered in 24 hours, expressed in degrees and minutes of the zodiacal longitude) can vary from 0° 0' (when Mercury is stationary) to over two degrees per day.
Retrograde Mercury can be stationary or develop a speed of up to 1° 2' in 24 hours. The maximum speed of each retrograde Mercury appears at the midpoint of its retrograde phase.
A slow or stationary retrograde Mercury (from stationary up to approximately 45' in 24 hours) can aid in self-concentration, providing persistence, depth in thought, and reflection. A faster retrograde Mercury (especially one that moves more than one degree in 24 hours) sharpens intuition and offers a quicker assimilation of information.
When retrograde Mercury is in a different sign than the Sun, it creates variability and a variety of interests. Retrograde Mercury in the Sun's sign, especially when close to the Sun, whether in the Epimetheus cycle or in slow motion, can symbolize a specialist who focuses on a single object or problem.
☿ Mercury Retrograde and Career
Does retrograde Mercury in the birth chart have anything to say about success in our career?
Like the field of retrograde planets itself, this topic presents contradictions. There are many employees, teachers, writers, media professionals, and those working in the travel industry who have succeeded in professions ruled by Mercury, even when Mercury is retrograde in their natal chart. However, some astrologers consider this position a disadvantage. In his book, "Book of Retrogrades," John McCormick writes:
McCormick examined the natal charts of US presidents, bullfighters, athletes, writers, civil servants, various celebrities, and commanders of the Second World War. He continues:
However, extensive statistical analyses examining the correlation between retrograde planets and professions have not yet been conducted, and there are always exceptions that prove the rule. If it's true that someone with retrograde Mercury is less likely to express ambition in the clear and direct way that someone with direct Mercury would, then the very parameters of success might differ from one group to another.
☿ Famous People with Retrograde Mercury
The following cases are a random sample of people born between 1900 and 1925, and they represent individuals who achieved success and distinction despite the "drawback" of their retrograde Mercury:
psychoanalyst
actor
composer
cartoonist
astrologer
author
author
bandleader
engineer
songwriter
politician
actor
artist
jazz pianist
actress
lyricist
actor
playwright
producer
actress
actress
actor
politician
actor
dancer
actress
scientist
actress
actor
actor
actor
actor
TV personality
composer
cartoonist
actor
pianist
singer
white witch
actress
actor
author
actress
actor
comedian
boxer
actress
actress
writer
actor
blues guitarist
astronaut
☿ Progressed Mercury
The influence of Mercury is not limited to the natal chart and its transits. This planet's influence is the same on both natal and progressed charts, and the changes in its direction are worth observing. While the transitions from retrograde to direct, or vice versa, for most progressed planets take years, even decades, making this change gradual and almost imperceptible, the change from direct to retrograde for progressed Mercury occurs within months. If we define the transition period as starting when Mercury's speed slows to 15 arc minutes per 24 hours (one year in the progressed chart) and ending when it exceeds that speed again, then the complete change in direction of Mercury is completed in less than three years, and in some cases, only two.
The Wallenberg Case
Raoul Wallenberg was born in the morning of August 4, 1912, in Sweden. Mercury's movement was very slow, and the planet turned retrograde five days later. Thus, Mercury was retrograde in Wallenberg's progressed chart from ages 5 to 29. The retrograde transit of Mercury lasted 24 days, from August 9 to September 2, 1912.
A recent biography of Wallenberg, who became famous in 1944 for saving 30,000 Hungarian Jews from the Nazis at the order of his government, includes interviews with his former teachers and colleagues. A classmate from the University of Michigan, where Wallenberg studied in the early 1930s, described him as "a very talented but modest person with an amazing instinct for finding simple solutions to complex problems."
The ability to find simplicity in complexity is characteristic of retrograde Mercury.The Astrology Student
Let's consider a different case, that of a 34-year-old woman whose natal Mercury in Cancer is both fast and direct. Thirty-two days after her birth, Mercury turned retrograde, meaning that 32 years after her birth, progressed Mercury did the same. As a student of Astrology, she spent several months trying to figure out why she suddenly became absent-minded and why concepts and methods that she was familiar with and that seemed clear in the past were now losing their meaning. Most importantly, she wanted to know when things would become "normal" again. Aspects like squares to Neptune or conjunctions to Pluto were not part of the problem and did not affect the picture at all. Here, we were dealing with a mind that seemed to have been suddenly unplugged, and for no apparent reason. The answer was in retrograde Mercury. After about three years, she began to feel comfortable with her "new thoughts" and started exploring concepts that had previously been of little interest to her. Symbols, and the vast possibilities they offer, in Astrology, Psychology, Mythology, Art, Religion, and Poetry, captured her attention and imagination so intensely that studying them became a full-time occupation.
From the moment someone experiences Mercury in retrograde, either from their birth chart or their progressed chart, this condition directs the mind towards a verbose, complex, or contradictory path (or all three), and the results of this experience are lasting.
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