by Cayelin K Castell
Nov 25 2024 Mercury R 7:42:09 PM MST 22°Sg40′ R
Dec 15 2024 Mercury D 1:56:04 PM MST 06°Sg24′
Mercury in Sagittarius
Check out My Star Alchemy’s series on the Zodiacal Constellations that include understanding the energies of what part of the sky Mercury is retrograding through. Details are here with an opportunity to save 50% when you bundle two or three online series. https://mystaralchemy.com/star-magic-classes/
Station Points are Still Points
The retrograde station of any planet represents one of two exact Still Points and since Mercury is usually the fastest moving planet, the Mercury Still Point is often more dramatically felt. The Still Point is a nexus of all possibilities where everything is shifting and changing via our perception.
TS Eliots’ poem on the Still Point is a wonderful description of the power and potency of the Still Point.
At the still point of the turning world.
Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards;
at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement.
And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered.
Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline.
Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance,
and there is only dance.
I can only say, there we have been: but I cannot say where.
And I cannot say, how long, for that is to place it in time. (TS Eliot 1952)
Any Mercury Retrograde is a great time for paying attention to any incoming messages and for engaging right-brained creative activities, doing inner healing processes, completing projects already in motion, and making allowances for challenges in communication requiring more rational and linear skills, checking to make sure what you say and what you hear are what is actually being communicated.
Any Retrograde (Especially Mercury) is Similar to Pulling the Arrow Back on the Bow…
Any retrograde planet is similar to pulling the arrow back on the bow or the experience of walking past something – it catches your eye and you retrace your steps for a closer look. (See personal experience below)
When the arrows is pulled back it is moving away from its intended target for the purpose of gathering power that will swiftly propel it forward with aimed intent and purpose – stepping back to step forward with clarity and confidence.
Hence the Mercury retrograde words that have to do with renewal, reflect, reconsider, retreat, revise, redo, restart, reimagine, remember, rearrange, research, redirect, reactivate, recalibrate, relax, receive etc. are helpful to guide you through this time.
An insightful look at Mercury Communication Challenges including What You Heard Isn’t What I Meant!
Strategy for Mercury Retrograde
During a Mercury Retrograde it is wise to delay decisions that require action until after Mercury goes direct if at all possible. If you can delay important decisions until after Mercury passes the retrograde degree or where it stationed retrograde – that is even better.
However, if you find yourself needing to decide something NOW and its not a clear and easy decision – then contact your inner knowing, the part of you that knows and operates beyond the realm of logic and reason, beyond the realm of Time,
and ask from that inner knowing place what the most supportive and beneficial choice is for you?
If you are having challenges accessing your inner knowing – for any number of reasons – then there is always the crazy Mercury solution that can work wonders – toss a coin. Being faced with an actual choice often helps you access how you really feel about it one way or another.
So for example, if your coin toss says yes and you find going in this direction causes you to seize up on a physical, mental or emotional level that is good information. It lets you know you don’t want to go in that direction.
This is truly another way to ask the part of yourself that knows. If you genuinely are ambivalent then the coin toss will help you to make a choice that is not necessarily guided by logic and reason but rather something random you are consulting to help you choose something now and you can always make another choice later if this one doesn’t work out.
Something to keep in mind is there are NO mistakes. Some choices may be more fun and easier to engage than others but we always have the opportunity to learn from whatever we do.
Mercury Retrograde is also an excellent time to return to something you started but never finished. It is also a great time to go back and revise, rewrite, recalibrate something you had finished but now see how it can be improved.
Many astrologers advise that Mercury Retrograde is not a time to have elective surgery, sign contracts, begin a new project, get married or formalize a relationship in some way, buy a computer, launch a website or any number of other techy kinds of actions one might take.
It is also a time when travel glitches can happen but also know equally magically unexpected wonder when traveling during Mercury Retrograde can also happen when you are going with the flow and not resisting.
A lot depends on where you are at with whatever it is you are doing. If you find you need to sign a contract just make sure you are extra vigilante that it is written up to express what you are agreeing too. Be aware that during Mercury Retrograde communications are often confusing especially when the expectation is that what is being communicated comes from logic and reason.
This is not a logical time – what you are saying may not be what others are hearing or what you are hearing may not be what others intend.
Take time to follow through on any communication you sense is confused or being misinterpreted. More including An insightful look at Mercury Communication Challenges when What You Heard Isn’t What I Meant!
This 10 minute video has more.
An article on Mercury Retrograde written in 2012 with additional insights and details
Looking ahead to 2024 and 2030 Mercury Retrograde over Regulus
Mercury Retrograde in Virgo (last happened in 2018) especially when it passes Regulus 3 times – opens the Hall of Records
This won’t happen again until
August 04 (4 Virgo 06) to Aug 28 (21 Leo 25) 2024
August 15 (14 Virgo 30) to Sep 08 (01 Virgo 06) 2030
Mercury is linked with Thoth/Hermes Trismegistus, the progenitor of the Emerald Tablets and Keeper of the Hall of Records. The Still Point or station point of Mercury provides unusual access to the Hall of Records within our own being, especially when we are cultivating awareness through intention and attention to these mysteries. When the Mercury retrograde takes Mercury past Regulus it is rare time activating the Heart of Lion, or Regulus, a star mythically connected to the Hall or Records.
Upcoming Mercury Retrogrades Through 2030
Thank you for this explanation… it is the most insightful that I have read.
And T.S Elliot’s quote, well I have no words ( except love).
Oh Su thank you for letting me know you find this view of Mercury Retrograde insightful. It is so great to know others get it too! Plus, of course I so love T.S. Elliot’s quote…it seems so perfect in this context – though most likely written for other contexts. I find I love many aspects of Mercury Retrograde and yet have been having a crazy time with this most recent one. Though it is getting me to change things up in a new way that will be so much better going forward and for that I am grateful!