{"id":6647,"date":"2010-09-02T18:59:19","date_gmt":"2010-09-02T23:59:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/?p=6647"},"modified":"2010-09-02T18:59:19","modified_gmt":"2010-09-02T23:59:19","slug":"what-mercury-retrograde-is-good-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/astrologicalmusings\/blog\/what-mercury-retrograde-is-good-for\/","title":{"rendered":"What Mercury retrograde is good for"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Mercury<\/a>Modern life depends more than ever upon a wide variety of modes of communication and travel, areas of life that are ruled astrologically by the planet Mercury. \u00a0The more we depend on these things, the more we are affected by Mercury traveling retrograde. \u00a0All planets except for the Sun and Moon retrograde, but other retrogrades don\u2019t have the same impact or occur as often.<\/p>\n

Planets of course don\u2019t really move backwards, but they appear<\/em> to change direction from our perspective on earth depending on where the earth is in relation to that planet and the Sun.<\/p>\n

Mercury\/Hermes rules both Gemini and Virgo, and in ancient times was associated with the Magician (as in the Tarot Magician) who unites the realm of the mind with the realm of the craftsman. \u00a0He is connected with the principle of alchemy, and in mythology he was the one who crossed borders (or dimensions) in order to carry the messages of the gods from one to another. \u00a0He was the only god that was granted free passage in and out of the Underworld. \u00a0Mercury therefore depicts our journey from the world of spirit to matter and back again.<\/p>\n

A facet of Mercury is self-reflection: our ability to examine situations and the way we are affected by them. \u00a0In alchemy, Mercurius intervened in order to unite two opposites by transforming each end of the opposition into the other. \u00a0In this way we use our mind and consciousness (Mercury) to balance oppositional forces within the chart, or in our lives. \u00a0Mercurius was envisioned as standing between Sol and Luna, or between Spirit and Soul, providing a mediating function between yin and yang.<\/p>\n

In the sign of Gemini, Mercury represents the ability to take in all points of view without judgment and is able to entertain two opposite ideas without a sense of contradiction. \u00a0But in Virgo, where Mercury is currently located, it \u00a0is more discriminating and separates one thing from the other. In both cases, the flexibility and adaptability of Mercury helps us to process our experiences \u2013 to learn from them and to integrate them into our understanding. \u00a0Retrograde Mercury helps to facilitates this process.<\/p>\n

When Mercury is retrograde, it\u2019s a time for reflection and assimilation rather than movement. \u00a0Mercury retrograde is a great time for:<\/p>\n