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| Hermes Trismegistus |
Mercury Retrograde in Libra:
The Story of Relating
(Part Two, The Retrograde
Story)
When Mercury, the Messenger
planet, stations retrograde…the Collective Mind pauses, focuses on a message we
can’t fully comprehend just yet, then slowly shifts into a backwards loop to
retrieve some important pieces we overlooked in the past weeks.
This is how the Retrograde
Story begins. It can be a bit
bewildering at first, since we don’t know yet how this story will play
out. We only know we’re going back
through time to piece it all together, and that a new understanding will unfold
from this journey.
And what does pausing and
shifting the Collective Mind look like in our human lives on Earth? Is it upsets in schedules, mechanical and
electronic issues, and communication breakdowns? Sometimes.
We humans tend to live in a hurried pace. Many of us don’t pause to slow down that pace
until something happens to make us ‘hold our horses’, either begrudgingly or
willingly.
Mercury gives us this
retrograde reason to break from our usual mindset more often than any other
planet. The frequency and saturation of
these Mercury Retrograde lessons on stillness and reflection make Mercury’s
retrogrades the most effective at getting a message across to our
hard-to-change human minds.
But can we survive a Mercury
Retrograde without these complications that are given so much lip-service
during these times? Yes. Do we need to hide away for a few weeks to
avoid all the hullaballoo that could happen?
No. That would be missing the
point of the Retrograde Storyline. Especially
in the Air signs, as is the Mercury Retrograde theme of this year, we really
only get the point of this story through interactions with others. Will everything, and everyone, make logical
sense? No, not in the ways we’re used
to. It’s probably best to not expect things
to adhere to what we tend to think of as logic.
Look at things more symbolically, and you might get a better grasp of
what these interactions mean to show you.
So, plan your things…just
leave some room in your schedule for re-scheduling. Leave plenty of room to accommodate
reflection, recollection, and revision.
It is true what we Astrologers say about doing those “re-“ words during
retrogrades. Check things twice…maybe
even thrice…just to be sure the idea you have is sound. It’s when we rush through things that we get
those more unpleasant setbacks. And
understand that the more people you interact with during this time, the more
you’ll notice things not going as planned.
But then, the more people you interact with during this time, the more
opportunity you have to receive important messages from Mercury that will help
in moving forward after this journey.
The Retrograde Story (9/27 to 10/18)
9/27: Mercury Stations Retrograde (LIB 26)
Sabian Symbol- ‘an
eagle and a large white dove turn one into the other’
Story: How does one balance the yang of the Mind (Mercury)
with the yin of the Heart (Venus) for these Venusian Air lessons of
Libra? Mercury asks us to pause here and consider this
blending. We don’t have to figure it all out just yet…it is
something we’ll return to again at the beginning of November. And in
order to integrate it then, we’ll be shifting with Mercury to review what has
already been covered…this time in a deeper way.
10/1: MercuryRx square PlutoRx (LIB-CAP 25)
Sabian Symbol-
‘information in the symbol of an autumn leaf’
Story:
As Heraclitus once said, ‘the only constant is change’. Within the symbol of the autumn leaf, we find
the necessity of letting go. There has
been something on our minds that needs to transform, but there is also an inner
crisis as we cling to what we’ve known with some last grasps. The message here
is that a change of mind is no easy process…it requires us to give something
up, something that has run its course.
It requires surrender to whatever may follow as we release ourselves
into the winds of change. This Pluto
square is one of the most difficult lessons within this Mercury Retrograde
story…as our minds will want to resist it.
In fact, many of us have been struggling with that resistance already
for several days. But what Mercury and
Pluto are teaching us, through this enduring dynamic, is that the deepest
changes are so often beyond our control…beyond whatever decisions we make. Maybe you’ve been struggling with a difficult
decision? And maybe it doesn’t feel any
more comfortable to hear that no matter what you decide, the course of
transformation has already been set. Try
your best to relax into it…release your desire to control the outcome…remind
yourself of the beauty in the fallen leaf.
10/3: MercuryRx trine JupiterRx (LIB-AQU 23)
Sabian Symbol-
‘Chanticleer’s voice heralds the sunrise’
Story:
As we return to this flowing air trine, we are greeted with some much-needed
good news. Perhaps letting go wasn’t
such a bad idea after all. A new day
dawns on us, and the Dark Night of the Soul experience of the previous square
begins to lift and lighten up a bit. As
we move out of the grips of mental crisis, new opportunities arise before
us. It won’t hurt us to be optimistic. A new outlook is on the horizon.
10/9: Sun-MercuryRx Interior Conjunction, conjunct
Mars (LIB 17)
Sabian Symbol- ‘a
retired sea captain’
Story: ‘New
Mercury’ begins this next synodic cycle in a stellium with Sun and Mars…revealing
a new idea that will grow within each of us in different ways throughout the
next few months. The retired life of the
sea captain in this Retrograde Story is much different than the action he once
knew. He now has more time to reflect
and learn to appreciate a slower pace as he winds down in his elder years. He’s full of adventurous story, weathered
wisdom, and a great deal of bravery. Now
he is learning how to channel all of that experience into a softer, Libran, way
of life. He is, of course, used to hard
edges, acting quickly in crisis situations, and being in command of
others. But he, too, has had to let go
of much of that to interact in cooperation with new surroundings, new people,
new ways of living. He is learning to
relax into this new state of being. Can
we, too, find peace of mind?
10/16: MercuryRx sextile Venus (LIB-SAG 11)
Sabian Symbol- ‘a
professor peering over his glasses’
Story: For
the next few days, Mercury pauses here to reflect on this helpful conversation
with Venus, the ruler of Libra (and so, Mercury’s teacher…as he teaches
us). As he arrives at the final degree
of this Retrograde Story, Mercury looks up from the Book of Libra Mysteries and
sees Venus in Sagittarius. She reminds
him of the lineage of teachers who have lived their lives relaying the wisdom
of relationship. As they establish this
helpful rapport between them, this sextile might bring helpful teachers of relationship
from our past. Quotes or memories,
symbols or sightings may arise that remind each of us how far we’ve come in our
own experiences of relating with others.
What helpful understandings have we learned along our way? As Venus moves along from this beneficial
conversation, Mercury peers over his glasses now at us and takes a pause before
stationing direct to wrap up this story with an epilogue. What have we learned now from this Retrograde
journey through Libra? Did you retrieve
a piece of wisdom from your past during this time? You’ll be bringing it forward to integrate it
through relationship in the coming weeks.
Art by Pierre Nolasque Bergeret
You see, the moral of this story is that each of us is the
student but also the teacher when it comes to relationship. Just as the retired sea captain is learning
new ways of relating to the world but has so much wisdom of experience to teach
to others, so are we. After Mercury
stations direct on the 18th, we begin to reconcile what we have
learned of relating with what we are learning still. With Heart and Mind in cooperation, we can
teach peace by our example.
Love and Gratitude,
Felina Lune Kavi
P.S. Click this link for a recap of ‘Part One, the Prologue’
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