Mercury Retrograde Harmony?

10.15.07


Don't fear the reaper… and don't buy the hype.

Mercury retrograde doesn't have to be such a horrible thing—as long as you make the requisite mental preparations.

Keep telling yourself: 'There will be delays, but I don't have to freak out about 'em. There will be misunderstandings, but I have the patience to see 'em through to resolution.' Then it's no big woop if you waste a few extra minutes on the 1-800 hotline or at the tollbooth. It's expected, and thus incorporated into your anticipated flow.

Why stress? That's the number-one cause of the actual problems, anyhow.

The 'harmony' part of this article's title refers to the pleasant unobtrusive manner in which the planets are interacting this week, despite the fact that, yes, Mercury is retrograde (thru Nov 1). Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn all blend together in gentle trines and sextiles. Exclude the Moon and its quickly-passing aspects, and our astro-week shows no tense squares or polarizing oppositions… not a one.

That's pretty remarkable, actually, in terms of no big boulder or glaring barrier intruding upon the relaxed flow of events and exchanges—as long as, of course, we accept that the natural pace may be slower, the course less direct and/or the tone a bit unfamiliar. Push the ball, and it'll continue to roll. Start the sentence, and the rest of the words will magically appear. (Be aware, though… you might say more than you'd intended.)

As I told you, this Mercury retrograde begins in Scorpio… and, when combined with Mars in Cancer, strongly emphasizes the element of water. Those of us who have the hardest time with that element's trademarks—emotional wisdom, non-verbal connection, logic-free intuitiveness, stirrings of passion and compassion—are at the distinct disadvantage. But for those comfortable traversing this watery landscape, the week should be more of a breeze than the Mercury-retrograde Chicken Littles ('the computers are breaking! the papers are missing!') would have you believe.

Both Venus and Saturn in Virgo are actually great friends to us this week, for where we might ordinarily drop the ball on the finest particularities, we have these two watching the margins like hawks. A little extra focus on the most minor details, in this case, may save us some missed marks or wasted opportunities (instead of just bugging the crap out of us, like it otherwise might).

No planet—not even a retrograde Mercury—operates in a bubble, unaffected by what its other solar-system pals are up to. And though neither Mars nor Venus are in their favorite signs either, when we put the whole puzzle together, we see that it ain't all that bad. That's why I'm daring to throw out the word 'harmony' (with a question mark, to cover all bases), in an attempt to get us seeing this glass half-full. The three personal planets may each have slight handicaps of their own… but as a package, they're getting along great.