“In that direction,” the Cat said, waving its right paw round, “lives a Hatter: and in that direction,” waving the other paw, “lives a March Hare. Visit either you like: they’re both mad.”
“But I don’t want to go among mad people,” Alice remarked.
“Oh, you ca’n’t help that,” said the Cat: “we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”
“How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice.
“You must be,” said the Cat, “or you wouldn’t have come here.”— Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
Folks, we’re one week out from the next Mercury retrograde period, which means this is your last day to buy electronics/get the car fixed/buy a car/sign paperwork/finish your book, etc., before doing any of these things will become a huge pain in the neck. Or possibly a comedic farce, as many Mercury retrograde dramas end up turning into.
And this upcoming retrograde period promises to be extra fun, if we can use that word extra ironically, since eclipse season is starting up at the same time. There will be not one, but two eclipses happening along the Gemini-Sagittarius axis during the Mercury retrograde period, which will be happening in…Gemini! (Like I said, extra fun!)
We have a total lunar eclipse at 5 degrees Sagittarius on May 26th, just before Mercury stations retrograde, followed by the annular solar eclipse at 19 degrees Gemini on June 10th. Sounds awesome! I’ll be writing more later about the eclipses, but for now, just know that the axis that they fall on, in this case Gemini-Sagittarius, is basically slated for renovations in our lives, spurred by the eclipses, with the Gemini house marked for increases and the Sagittarius one for decreases. Naturally, this will be extra awesome during a Mercury retrograde in Gemini :(
But back to the Mercury retrograde itself, this hyperactive Gemini commedia dell’arte we will all shortly find ourselves cast in, with the planet of communication in its air home sign. With retrograde Mercury in Gemini ruling the sun and, for a short time, Venus, currently hanging out in sociable Gemini, it feels like this upcoming retrograde period is a screwball comedy, or perhaps a tragicomedy, depending on the chart circumstances, in the making. The sun is basically everything, the center of what’s happening, and Venus is our relationships. Having both of these planets ruled by Mercury, planet of communication and information, retrograde in its home sign of Gemini is going to feel like suddenly everything is bonkers.
Speaking of bonkers, this whole thing reminds me of the brilliant medieval spoof, The Court Jester, staring Danny Kaye (a prime example of the underrated humor of Capricorn suns) as Hawkins, a circus performer impersonating a jester as part of a rebel plot to overthrow a despotic king. Unbeknownst to Hawkins, the jester whose identity he has assumed is actually an assassin involved in a separate court plot. Hijinks and hilarity ensue. When the assumed identities begin to fall apart, Hawkins finds himself about to joust with an actual knight for the hand of the princess. He loses his cool in a spectacular verbal meltdown involving a rhyme, designed by the resident sorceress, to help him avoid drinking a poisoned toast:
So now that you have a preview of what the next few weeks are going to be like, let’s break down Mercury retrograde. Technically known as “apparent retrograde motion” retrograde periods are anytime that a planet appears, from Earth, to move backwards. Here’s a cool animation of what that looks like from our perspective:
As the fastest moving planet, Mercury has about three retrograde periods a year, more than the other planets. Venus retrogrades every 18 months or so, Mars about every two years, and the outer planets have various retrograde periods as part of their movement through the ecliptic.
One of the concepts of astrology is “as above, so below,” meaning that the movement of the planetary bodies, known in ancient times as the “wandering stars,” affects our lives below, here on Earth. So, the whole point of the idea of apparent retrograde motion is that this is how a planet appears from Earth, not from the sun or some other planet or position in the solar system.
Mercury retrograde periods last for about three weeks, but their effects are understood to be active for a week or so on either side of the retrograde period, and even longer is you count Mercury’s “shadow” period, when it enters the terrain over which it will eventually traverse backwards. Mercury is said to “station” retrograde at the beginning of its apparent backwards motion, and then to station direct a few weeks later. The degrees at which Mercury stations retrograde and direct are important, since Mercury appears to back up and then, once direct, go back over the same terrain it traversed before going retrograde.
This spring, Mercury will station retrograde on May 29th at 24 degrees Gemini, meaning that Mercury will stop progressing through the thirty degrees of the sign of the twins at 24 degrees and will then appear to go backwards. Mercury continues going backwards through Gemini for most of June, stationing direct at 16 degrees of Gemini on June 22nd. At this point, Mercury goes direct and goes over the same territory it already went over in May before it went retrograde. Similarly, in our lives, we may experience a return to a topic that we have already been over recently. If you have any planets or important chart points (like the Ascendant or Midheaven, for example) within a few degrees of 24 and/or 16 degrees of Gemini, you will feel this more than most.
The whole sign house where Gemini is located in your birth chart will give you more information about what the subject of this Mercury retrograde will be for you. If you have Gemini in the third house, for example (Aires rising), matters involving siblings, childhood friend, neighbors, local transportation, or your neighborhood may be reworked or revised. With Gemini in the seventh house (Sagittarius rising), the focus will be on a review of partnerships, both romantic and business. Sometimes, with certain houses that can represent other people in our lives (like the third of siblings or the seventh of partnerships), a Mercury retrograde there can signify something going backwards for that person in our life (say, a sibling or a partner, in these examples). There is often a general sense of something going haywire in a particular area of life, of not being able to make any forward motion or progress.
People with Gemini and Virgo rising, and anyone with personal planets (sun, moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars) in these Mercury-ruled signs, will feel Mercury retrograde periods especially strongly, whatever sign Mercury retrogrades through. But this upcoming retrograde period will be a particular doozy for those of us with Gemini placements, since Mercury’s retrograde will be affecting the sun for much of June and Venus through June 2nd, as their ruler, making us all into blathering jesters, more or less (plus: those eclipses!).
Another confusing element of this upcoming Mercury retrograde period is that the planet of communication will be more or less square to nebulous Neptune, ensconced in its dreamy cobwebs in Pisces, for the entire time! Mercury stations retrograde at 24 degrees Gemini in a pretty tight square to Neptune at 23 degrees Pisces. Mercury’s backwards journey brings it past Neptune, forming an exact square on June 5th. It goes out of orb (a degree-based range) by June 10th, but Hellenistic astrology considers aspects to be in effect even when the planets are simply present in signs with an aspect relationship, which Mercury in Gemini and Neptune in Pisces are in the entire time of the retrograde. This will likely feel like trying to swim blindfolded while you’re supposed to be in a car race. Where’s my car? Where’s the racetrack? we will all be wondering. Why am I swimming blindfolded? What’s going on? Exactly.
We’ve already had one Mercury retrograde this year so far, in Aquarius, from January 30 to February 20th. However, this retrograde period was fairly constructive, as it was ruled by Saturn, strongly placed in its home sign of Aquarius. This upcoming period is different because it is happening in one of Mercury’s home signs where it has no stabilizing help.
In case you’re wondering, the final Mercury retrograde of this year will take place in Libra, from September 27 through October 18. As you can see, this year Mercury’s retrograde periods are all in air signs, focusing on the social and informational aspects of our lives, as opposed to last year, when the Mercury retrogrades were mostly contained within water signs, highlighting our emotions.
And, finally, here are some highly scientific tips, compiled by a committee of jesters and sorceresses, to get through Mercury retrograde periods without too many breakdowns:
Give yourself a buffer of at least a week on either side of the retrograde period (which will be about five weeks total including the buffers).
Try to avoids signing important paperwork during Mercury retrograde periods. If it’s not possible to delay, be sure to read the fine print. Expect snafus.
Expect delays, particularly if you’re traveling. Build in extra time. Try to enjoy it if your trip makes an unexpected detour.
Check and double check appointments and times for things you need to do. You will be amazed at how appointment times get screwy during retrograde periods.
Expect that something may go wrong with you computer/printer/email/car/other type of tech/electronic equipment. It’s also not a great time to buy anything new in these categories, but if you have to, follow the rest of these suggestions for minimal headaches.
Embrace the retrograde period and undertake a revision or reworking of some kind in your life. It can be a great time to review, revamp, redo (anything “re”), especially in the area of your life represented by the house in which the retrograde takes place.
Don’t worry — Mercury retrograde is only a few weeks long. We’ll be moving along soon!
And, with that, I’m off to put on my jester outfit.