Mercury retrograde
Friday January 14th, Mercury in Aquarius goes retrograde for the first time in 2022, retracing his steps as he moves from the evening sky to the morning sky until he moves forward again on February 3rd.
As we know, when Mercury goes retrograde, it’s time to re-think, re-consider, re-organize, re-do and re-orient ourselves. Since Mercury is between Earth and the Sun, it doesn’t get very far away from the Sun – hence all the retrogrades we experience during the year.
Because Mercury moves back and forth more than any other planet in our solar system, the ancient Greeks named this planet after their god, Hermes, the Messenger of the Gods. (Our planets use the Roman name for these gods, hence Mercury.) Hermes was the only god who had this power to move through the 3 realms of Heaven, Earth and the Underworld. During this Mercury retrograde, he will touch on all three realms.
When Mercury in Aquarius goes retrograde, he squares Uranus in Taurus, which is about to turn direct on January 18th. When planets station (change direction) they are more powerful. Mercury is also just a few degrees from Saturn in Aquarius, so he picks up the whole Saturn/Uranus vibe from 2021. The question still remains: Are we going to revert back to ‘the old’ or move ahead with ‘the new’ vision?
With Mercury’s quick-wittedness and Uranus’ ability to break down the old and help us think outside the box of 3D reality, we can handle the unexpected change of plans or sudden exciting possibility that comes our way. We’ll have a wild, free mind to find new innovations and ideas. We also have to be aware that when Uranus changes direction, especially in the earth sign of Taurus, it can bring earth changes such as volcanic eruptions or earthquakes.
Mercury in Aquarius gives you an independent, progressive mind. It wants to see the truth in things, and can be stubborn about what it believes because Aquarius is a fixed air sign. While brilliant, it can get stuck in its thinking, so we’re lucky that Mercury is retrograding so we can open up those beliefs and take another look.
Personally, think about what you want to say before you say it, because you might be feeling rebellious and your words could cause damage. Don’t forget, words have power. In the Christian Bible, Christ himself is The Word and the Word creates the world.
This is a great aspect for a wake-up call (have you seen Don’t Look Up?) – our minds need to encompass the tremendous change that has to take place in the social order. Capitalism, at least the way we’ve let it develop, is harmful to our health and the well-being of Earth. It’s time to simplify our lives, because we can no longer live in a ‘throw-away’ society. Even without the dangers of climate change, our garbage is burying us in waste on the land and on the sea.
So Mercury starts his retrograde with this dilemma on his mind. Then he backtracks into earthy Capricorn and meets up with Pluto, the Lord of the Underworld, before he turns back to direct motion. Pluto certainly symbolizes power and in Capricorn, he asks us where we locate that power – in outer authority or inside ourselves? It feels like Mercury is checking to see if we own our authority – do we have sovereignty over ourselves? Sovereignty doesn’t mean doing anything we want to the detriment of others. It means can we live by our values and take responsibility for our choices.
And since Pluto and Mercury meet up at the degree of America’s Pluto return (the first Pluto return found in America’s 4th of July, 1776 chart), we Americans need to consider if we are being good citizens and taking responsibility for the kind of country and world we want to live in. Are we going to descend into an aristocracy of the wealthy and technological control or are we going to finally create a ‘more perfect union’ that elevates all of us together? The Pluto return asks us to transform our vision of freedom and incarnate it in our lives. It’s time for America to GROW UP!
It reminds me of President Kennedy’s advice: Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country. [John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address] It is time for all of us to contribute to a new vision for our troubled world.
If we claim our sovereignty, will we reclaim our place in Mother Earth’s biosphere and finally serve our function – to be good stewards of the Earth? Instead of getting caught up in the media and political craziness, perhaps we could spend more time out in nature, praising the Spirit who created us and our beautiful world? If we can let gratitude and joy replace our fear of Covid and the unknown future, anything is possible.
When Mercury is retrograde, he becomes Hermes Psychopompous, the Guide who can illuminate the dark underworld of our unconscious. One of the ways we use this energy is to bring our night dreams into the light of day and engage with them. It’s time to look at our personal shadows as well as our collective ones. But don’t forget, the Shadow is 99% gold! The twisted part of the shadow can be released and its energy made available for life.
So for the next three weeks, Mercury will be our Psychopomp, our Guide to the Underworld. As such, he is also the magical healer who welds the Caduceus, the staff of healing.
With this Mercury retrograde delivering messages between the Lord of the Heavens and the Lord of the Underworld, stay tuned for important messages!
So Who is Hermes/Mercury?
While astrology understands that Mercury symbolizes the Mind, the myths associated with this messenger god also regarded him as a Trickster – he was called Hermes the Thief! The god of travelers and merchants and thieves! These are also attributes of our mind, especially the left-brain logical mind, which can rationalize any behavior. Carl Jung saw the planet Mercury as symbolizing the mind as dual and amoral, leading to either a positive or negative attitude. Our minds can trick us into believing lots of outrageous stuff if we don’t also use Hermes’ other gift – discernment.
Clever Mercury helps us stay young by sparking our curiosity and having a flexible attitude towards life, helping us meet life’s challenges by analyzing where we’re stuck and adapting our behavior to new circumstances. He also bestows on us a good sense of humor, which we all need in these tumultuous times.
Mercury as the Messenger of the Gods could travel through all three realms – the Heavens, Earth and the Underworld. As I’ve said, this is especially true during this Mercury retrograde, where Mercury moves from the heavenly realm of Aquarius back into the earthy sign of Capricorn, until he meets up with Pluto, the Lord of the Underworld.
While there are many stories of Hermes bearing messages to gods and mortals alike, there is one story that exemplifies this crafty character. It is the story of his birth – how he steals his older brother’s cows, tricks him and then creates the most beautiful gift for him. There’s certainly indications of Mercury retrograde in this story as well.
I hope you’ll tune into my YouTube channel, The Cosmic Storyteller for my new series: Grandma Cat’s Bedtime Stories for the Soul. I’ll be posting this story of the mischievous god-ling on Friday. So tune in for some mythic storytelling.
The Cancer/Capricorn Full Moon January 17, 2022
A quick look at the Cancer Full Moon coming up next Monday shows us that the Cancer Moon faces the Capricorn Sun conjunct Pluto! This Full Moon is about power. Once again, consider where you give over your power to the state or to another person. This Full Moon is on that Pluto degree I was talking about earlier. It’s a lead up to when the Pluto return is exact on February 20, 2022.
This Cancer Full Moon shows us that we need to nurture ourselves, our family and friends, our community and our world. Cancer is the sign of the Mother, who will protect and defend her children with her life. Since Cancer is a water sign and deeply emotional and creative, emotions might run high.
Cancer Full Moon 2022
Neptune in Pisces supports this Full Moon, helping us connect to our higher wisdom and to the sure knowledge that Love is the answer to all our questions. This year, with Jupiter joining Neptune in Pisces (they join up in April), if we open our hearts and our imaginations to the spiritual light within us, we’ll always find the answers we need.
With Mars in Sagittarius on the Galactic Center (of our Milky Way), we need to stand for the Truth – not our petty, personal truths but the Cosmic Truth. Which says, Prepare yourself for big change! We incarnated for this, so I know we can do it.
Along with Uranus turning direct on January 18th, the Lunar Nodes move from the signs of Gemini/Sagittarius to Taurus/Scorpio. The next 18 months will see big changes in how we deal with the Earth and climate change as well as finances as the Taurus North Node connects with Uranus. It’s time to release the secrets and pain of the past so we can create a better future.
May the Love of the Goddess and the God be ever in your hearts. Merry Meet, Merry Part and Merry Meet again!
Cathy
