Mercury Retrograde in Sidereal Leo: Aug 23-Sept 15: Pause, Ponder, Play, Pivot

Retrogrades get a lot of negative attention, especially Mercury retro, who appears to be moving backwards in the sky 3-4 times a year. We tend to experience the typical Mercury-ruled challenges and frustrations in more pronounced ways when the zippy little planet slows its roll: we have trip-ups with travel, communication breakdown, car and technology troubles, missed connections, delays and difficulty getting going. But retrogrades also give us a chance to pull back, rest, review and revisit old plans, ideas, beliefs, projects and people. We find opportunities for reconnection, and often find it’s a great time to look at unfinished work and situations, begin again, wrap them up or let them go. We get to edit, adjust and realign. 

This Mercury retrograde is in sidereal Leo, bridging the 2 phalguni signs who encourage play, rest and rejuvenation. They remind us to take it slow and make sure we are enjoying our lives. They highlight the importance of happiness and joy, and promote what may seem silly but warms our hearts and brings a smile to our faces. The planetary play has been tricky lately for many so this idea of celebrating may feel foreign. Some ways that might help:

💚Practice pranayama (intentional breathwork) with a focus on the 3/4 chakras, the solar plexus, the lungs and heart center. 

💚Practice spinal twists with hands starting on your shoulders then reaching out towards your back as you twist in that direction. 

💚Sing, hum, dance and get into nature; this helps strengthen the vagus nerve (connected to Purva Phalguni)

💚Take purposeful breaks. Don’t wait for exhaustion to slow you down. 

💚Revisit your favorite songs. 

💚Start a gratitude journal.

Considering all of the retrogrades occurring at the same time the next few months, it’s clear we have some unfinished work to do around old ideas - imbalanced and good ones alike - as they come to the light to be addressed. Thankfully Mars is in Virgo giving us the necessary structure and energy. 

Here’s a recap of the past and pending retrogrades, and some areas to consider:

Saturn retro in Aquarius: June 17-Nov 4, 2023

Venus retro in Cancer: July 22-Sept 3

Jupiter retro in Aries: Sept 4-Dec 30, 2023

Merc retro in Sag/Scorpio: Dec 13-Jan 1, 2024

Saturn retro:

🪐Are you reassessing your focus?

🪐How’s your grounding? Your platform? Has it been shaken up? Are you tearing it down or rebuilding it?

🪐How have you been of service? Or are you receiving it?

🪐What do you stand for? Believe in?

🪐How’s your discipline? 

🪐What are you working on manifesting?

🪐Are you taking a break so you can come back stronger?

Venus retro:

🌸What shifts (grand or subtle) have occurred in your relationships?

🌸How have you been expressing your creativity?

🌸Have you uncovered disconnected parts within yourself? Have you been reintegrating them? 

🌸What shadow work or blind spots have come up to be examined? 

🌸Have they been accepted? Pushed aside? Integrated?

🌸Are you feeling more whole? More able to express your true self?

Jupiter retro:

Full forecast to come, but for now…

✨Jupiter retrograde affects our mentors, those we look up to, as well as our views of them. We get to revisit our belief systems and associations with teachers, and see if they still align with who we are becoming. 

✨We can feel let down or disheartened when Jupiter is retrograde, and lose our trust for a moment. Remember: retrogrades offer us a chance to dig in deeper and see if the planet’s expressions in our lives still make sense, or if we need to make adjustments in these areas.  

✨Jupiter is in Aries with Rahu, which is in challenging gandanta degrees as it moves over the next 3 months from Aries into Pisces, creating a stir when it comes to our ideology and those we trust, and now we as individuals are expressing our beliefs. This combo - the specific planets being together in the first fire sign, and now one being retrograde and the other being in the “tied spiritual knot” degrees - makes for a potentially difficult time ahead for those who are holding a white knuckle grip to their (tired) old ways. Working through our disconnects will be key. On the flip-side, this is can be a time of exponential growth for those who have done their work and are ready to release and propel forward (with potential frustrations at first). Retrogrades are like a sling shot: they need to be pulled back in order to gain perspective and adjust the destination before propelling ahead. 

PS: I have opened up my calendar for readings beginning in September.

Looking forward to connecting if you’ve been wanting to schedule a session!

:::PEACE:::