Mercury is going backward again again again
time to think about death and high school and old movies.
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Preparing for a drunk and angry sky: The big story of the week is Mercury’s retrograde (discussed below), but we can also begin unpacking the Mars square Neptune that will come around December 25 - January 4.
This combination is anger plus delusion. Not ideal circumstances for Christmas and New Year—a great opportunity to maybe start your dry January early? Stick to THC and soda?? Ultimately, follow your heart and do what you want, but on the personal level it does create slipperiness between your frustration and your internal boundaries. It might look like a good chance to land the punch you’ve had stored up, but there’s a good chance you’ll miss and hit someone else.
In the time leading up to this tricky aspect it’s a good idea to take stock of the tension you’re holding. Who are you mad at and why? Is it something you want to address? No? Then drop it. Is it something you can’t drop? No? Then you probably need to address it.
We are here, once again, with Mercury retrograde.
It’s that time again, the one little bit of astrology that everyone and their mother knows about: Mercury is retrograde.
Starting today (12/13/23) at about 2:45 AM ET, Mercury stationed retrograde. He starts his journey in Capricorn and ends it on January 1 at about 10:45 PM ET in Sagittarius. The rest of the year is going to be colored by this journey.
One day maybe I’ll do some research to better understand how it is that the retrograde of one single planet became so well known by people who couldn’t tell you what a natal chart is, but it’s clear that it has spread amongst the people . Knowing about Mercury retrograde now has the vibe of “but first coffee”. Maybe “don’t talk to me while Mercury is retrograde”? We can workshop it.
So, lots of people know about Mercury retrograde. (I have to be soooo annoying and clarify that Mercury isn’t ever in retrograde, Mercury retrogrades.) This proliferation isn’t super surprising considering it’s used as a catchall phenomenon to blame anything that goes wrong on. Mercury speaks to technology, business, communication, travel, and siblings, all areas of life that are filled with quirks, confusion, and issues on a frequent basis. Car won’t start? Mercury retrograde. Sent the wrong text to the wrong person? Mercury retrograde. Presentation screen share having trouble? Mercury retrograde. Sorry to say, that last one does in fact kill in meetings of all kinds.
Mercury represents nearly everything in our day to day life in some way or another, so it makes sense we’d feel more connected to this planet’s transits than others. After the Moon, it’s our most personal planet, second closest in the Chaldean Order.
Another obvious reason that we’ve seen Mercury retrograde spread so rapidly through the culture is that it happens the most often. Mercury is like a little hummingbird, zipping around the sun a few times a year, taking a sip of nectar during the Cazimi (the exact conjunction between Mercury and the Sun, as Mercury moves both directions). Appropriately for Mercury, this transit is common and thus familiar.
A general rule of thumb with retrogrades is that during that time you can work with the astrology by applying that “re” prefix to your life. Repeat, redo, revise, revisit, reflect, respond, relax, remember, reread. With Mercury retrograding, you can think of it as a reminder (lol) to be extra careful with your writing, communicating, and technology, instituting double and triple checks to ensure accuracy. Some people just don’t sign contracts or make business deals during Mercury retrograde. Some don’t travel. I say, be careful (like always??) and live your life.
However, this retrograde, I’m working with it by doing two things. First, I’m reflecting on the journey to the underworld. All retrograde journeys carry this at some level. I’ve linked this reflection on Venus retrograde by Chani Nicholas before, but she does a good job of telling the story of Inanna’s descent. We also have the stories of Persephone, Orpheus, Jesus, and Taylor Swift (this is what I consider reputation).
While Mercury is marching backward this holiday season, I’m going to do some reflecting. I plan to open up my high school journals and think about what I’d like to say to that little gay kid. Maybe write some letters to him. Reflect on death and dying, holding the gratitude that I’m still here while also not turning away from the multilayered genocides that America is perpetrating. Making calls and trying to figure out more ways to tip the scales in whatever small ways I can.
The other less heavy but I think still worthwhile way to work with Mercury’s retrograde this season is to revisit some old favorite movies and books. I’ve always been a consistent re-reader, but there are a few core texts in my life that I return to more often. Like marks on a door frame showing that I’ve grown, they let me understand how I’ve changed. A few of these core texts for me are HBO’s Girls, some episodes of a couple podcasts I found shortly after graduating, The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson, a Joan Didion essay or two, and probably a Motion City Soundtrack album. While the days are getting less busy and the nights are still long, it’s a good opportunity to steep in these familiar media to see what they mean to me now. It’s what Mercury would want <3
Always a lot of credit goes to the people who have been my teachers, both directly and through their freely shared knowledge, and so many books.
