Mercury Retrograde in Libra: The Story of Relating
Prologue- 9/6 to 9/27 (LIB
11-26)
Retrograde Story: 9/27 to 10/18 (LIB 26-11)
Epilogue: 10/18 to 11/2 (LIB 11-26)
Part One: Mercury’s Prologue (9/6 to 9/27)
Mercury, the planet of communication
and the Messenger God, connects with us through storytelling. Communicating the
immediate story, of the many tricks in Mercury’s medicine bag, is one of the
most effective ways of reaching us Earth Children…as most of us were raised to
be present for Storytime.
But as we age out of our
earliest wisdom, we don’t always pay attention to the magic in the story
anymore, do we? Well, some of us do. And it’s one of many reasons people love Astrology
(a system of symbols, archetypes, and vibrations that tells the Cosmic Story). Still, even as we’re looking up, it has to
apply to the experience of our physical matter…on the ground, in daily
practice. And that’s where the Cosmic
Story gets very personal and specific to each individual. Yet there are themes that apply to all of us,
which we meet in varying degrees of expression.
This way of conveying requires Mercury to meet us closer to Earth (and
frequently enough that we learn to pay attention). And a retrograde is when planets in our
Cosmic Neighborhood are closer in proximity to us. So each Mercury Retrograde, which occurs at
least thrice a year, has a very noticeable effect…inviting us to sit for a
spell on the ‘magic carpet’ and listen to Storytime with Mercury.
The larger Mercurial theme of
this year is focused on the Air element.
First, we learned this element through the Fixed Air (Aquarius) story…where
we learned more about communicating community in our societies. Then we got the Mutable Air (Gemini) story…where
we learned more about communicating ideas in our local space. And now, we’re settling in for the Cardinal
Air (Libra) story…where we will learn more about communicating reciprocity through
partnership. In the Air element, the
theme of Mercury’s Storytime focuses on the mental and social expression of
living on Earth. Mercury invites us to
really think about our thoughts, ideas, and how to gather and convey that
information.
In each Mercury Retrograde season,
Mercury is ending one cycle to begin a new one at Interior Conjunction with Sun. As we near the end of one cycle, hints of a
new story emerge. This time can be
considered the Prologue that leads us into the Retrograde Story. Mercury is still in direct motion during this
time…at first, still zipping through the degrees it will return to, but then
slowing down in them and stationing at a point we’ll only be ready to grasp once
the story concludes.
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| Art by Vladimir Kush |
Mercury’s already been
introducing us to this story through Prologue since the day of the New Moon
(9/6). The aspects Mercury makes with
other planets are introduced as relevant to the story…but most of these characters
and their lessons return with greater detail during the Retrograde Story (and
then their full story arc is integrated during the Epilogue that follows
Mercury’s direct station). So, what does
Mercury’s Prologue have to say about the coming retrograde? We’ll look at the dates, aspects, degrees,
symbols, and other useful hints of these weeks we’re currently moving through.
9/6: Mercury begins the Prologue (LIB 11)
Sabian Symbol: ‘a professor peering over his glasses’
Story: Are you paying attention, students? Mercury has something important to convey
about relating. It’s time to close the
textbook (and put your phones away). Be
present for this story, as it ties together the lessons we’ve been learning and
the upcoming lesson.
9/7: Mercury opposite ChironRx (LIB-ARI 12)
Sabian Symbol: ‘miners emerging from a mine’
Story: The story begins by pointing out how the
wounds of selfhood create tension within relationships. Though this aspect with ChironRx will not be
covered again in the story, it holds a clue for what we’ll be returning
to. Perhaps we thought we excavated the
gift within this wound…we emerged from this alignment thinking we found
something valuable from the depths. But
Mercury’s Retrograde will have us returning to this mine again because there is
something important there that we missed.
9/12: Mercury in LIB 17
Sabian Symbol: ‘a
retired sea captain’
Story: Mercury’s first introduction to the degree of
the coming Sun-Mercury conjunction reveals the main character of this story. Here we get a hint of the idea we’ll be
growing throughout the next few months. The
retired sea captain has seen a lot of action through his years, but there is
now a mental shift into relaxation and appreciating the more subtle experiences
of life. He is weathered, but strong in
the wisdom of his experiences. But now
he must learn to relate with others in a much slower pace.
9/13: Mercury’s Maximum Elongation (Evening)
Story: Mercury begins to slow down significantly
throughout the rest of the prologue.
This brings increasing focus to our minds, so that we may more easily
shift with Mercury into the coming retrograde journey. If we’re feeling like this story needs to
move along and pick up the pace, that’s a clue that we’re not paying
attention. In this case, Mercury in the
guise of the Professor will make note of that…and provide us with a stronger
lesson later (maybe even a pop quiz).
Essentially, some can pick up on subtle social cues…but many need things
to be more obvious.
9/20: Mercury trine JupiterRx (LIB-AQU 24)
Sabian Symbol: ‘a third wing on the left side of a
butterfly’
Story: We may have witnessed something extraordinary
during this Full Moon in Pisces. Maybe
it appeared as good news, a creative message, or any kind of amplification of a
unique idea. Whatever it was, consider
it a gift to uplift you through some of the harder lessons to come. There will be more of this friendly,
harmonious vibration to come.
9/22: Mercury square PlutoRx (LIB-CAP 25)
Sabian Symbol: ‘information in the symbol of an autumn leaf’
Story: Just as leaves wither and fall from the tree
to the Earth, we all head toward our own death transformations. The difference between what story the autumn
leaf tells, and the story we humans are conditioned to believe about death, is
that there is no fear and no finality in the seasonal wisdom of the leaf. We may face a crisis point during each
iteration of this square, maybe even a ‘communication breakdown’, where it
feels that ‘something’s gotta give’ so we can transform from one way of
thinking to a new one. But there is deep
work involved in this process, and there is no better alternative than to
surrender to a necessary change of mind.
9/27: Mercury’s Prologue concludes at retrograde
station (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.
Art by Pierre Nolasque Bergeret
Here is a glimpse into the
rest of the story to come…
Retrograde Story (9/27 to
10/18)
9/27: Mercury Stations Retrograde (LIB 26)
10/1: MercuryRx square PlutoRx (LIB-CAP 25)
10/3: MercuryRx trine JupiterRx (LIB-AQU 23)
10/9: Sun-MercuryRx Interior Conjunction (LIB 17)
10/9: MercuryRx conjunct Mars (LIB 17)
10/16: MercuryRx sextile Venus (LIB-SAG 11)
Epilogue (10/18 to 11/2)
10/18: Mercury Stations Direct (LIB 11)
10/25: Mercury’s Maximum Elongation (Morning)
10/27: Mercury in LIB 17
10/31: Mercury trine Jupiter (LIB 23)
11/2: Mercury square Pluto (LIB 25)
11/2: Mercury finishes Epilogue (LIB 26)
Love and Gratitude,
Felina Lune Kavi
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