By Len Wallick
Mercury has been in direct motion for ten days. This coming Thursday and Friday will see its retrograde cycle conclude with a flourish. In a span of less than 36 hours, the innermost planet will oppose Neptune, leave one sign, enter another and move past the point where it went into reverse back on August 3. This will be the third time in five weeks that Mercury has traversed some of the most sensitive real estate on the zodiac, the latter part of Leo and the first of Virgo. In your life, this period would be an auspicious time to renew your faith in yourself, specifically in your own mind.
In astrology, planets represent patterns or models of our experience as human beings. Among other things, Mercury is the archetype associated with how we think. Science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke was of the opinion that mind is the rarest, most precious quality in the universe. That means you are very special and very important. Yet so much of what reaches your mind functions to discourage you from believing such a simple truth.
This particular sector in Mercury’s retrograde cycle offers an opportunity to examine what’s up with that. First of all, it is not so much a matter of other minds intending to discourage yours. Most folks have neither the time nor the inclination to mess with you. More often than not, sheer volume is the challenge. It’s how you perceive and respond that counts. Fortunately, you have a choice. That means you also have control.
Mercury in Virgo’s vicinity probably coincides with a need for or sensitivity to detail. Neptune in the raiment of Aquarius can correspond with disorganized information coming at you from a multitude of sources. The two planets in opposition is an indicator of overload. If you perceive that you need to handle everything coming at you and respond with anxiety, discouragement is likely. That’s where faith in yourself comes in.
It’s probably a good thing that the human mind overlooks or takes for granted its many wonders so as not to be unduly distracted. It is not such a good thing to forget how special you are and judge yourself too harshly. Give yourself the same credit Arthur Clarke gave you. Unlike a computer, your brain does not require a dedicated software module for each of the trillions of unique and unprecedented sensations it filters every day, unerringly selecting and integrating appropriately. Have patience with yourself and you will be able to witness and appreciate that.
The world does, of course have its external challenges. There is competition for resources and there are those who do not relate in good faith. It is probable that Neptune’s opposition in the remaining days of Mercury’s echo phase would entail some deception. As long as you are doing your part to communicate clearly and honestly, it is not to blame. Just like Mercury, you have seen this territory recently, at least twice before. Allow yourself to believe that you can perceive things for what they are and give yourself an opportunity to respond accordingly. There is no question that you have the capacity. The only question is whether you choose to have faith in yourself and choose to be your own best friend.
Offered In Service
Ahh, Len. Thanks for this. I really needed to hear your words about overload.
Blessings,
Angie
bkoehler,
“Your offering today made me remember Stephanie Austin who, in her article in Mt. Astrologer magazine’s Pisces Full Moon on Sept. 12, quoted Mike Dooley: “Life is not what you see, but what you’ve projected. It’s not what you’ve felt, but what you’ve decided. It’s not what you’ve experienced, but how you’ve remembered it. . . And it’s not where you’ve been, but where you’re going.”
wow, thanks for that!
Thank you so much for this Len,
This is right on for me and so in tune with where I am. I spend enormous amounts of time alone and have come to view friendship with the self as a most precious gift. For me it was a hard fought battle and a friendship I will never give up on. The thought that I am special causes me to giggle with delight and blush with slight embarrassment at the same time. The inner child seems to delight in being special but the inner parent admonishes not to get too cocky. What can I say , it’s good to feel at home in your own body.
This retrograde was a big challenge for me but because I paid attention, thanks in great part to planet waves, things were allowed to come to the surface and be seen for what they are. In the last four or five days I have been able to move forward in ways that are decisive and yet fluid enough for some wiggle room with my life situation. I was really feeling the pressure of feeling stuck and had some bouts of depression to wrangle through but right on the other side of the retrograde, All those big stories began to dissipate and real working solutions began to show themselves.
Because of that I have been opening up in a bigger way than I could have imagined, and I have a very big imagination.
Being able to acknowledge my specialness as well as other daily self acknowledgments has opened my heart and mind to the many possibilities I believe we all have.
I have never followed a retrograde before and I decided from the onset to view it as an experiment and what I discovered for myself was that it was a great time to work with shadow, to come clean about some stuff and to integrate what I found to the best of my abilities. I purposely ate the cleanest foods I could come by and kept to a strict physical discipline. I found this aspect rather easy to do and it helped balance the inner roller coaster of riding out what for me was the storm of retrograde.
I had a dream a couple of mornings ago where I was at the coast and the ocean became strangely still. No waves. I could see all kinds of strange colorful creatures playing in the waters and I moved in, completely fascinated by them until I realized there was a huge wave coming in from the distance. I began to run to higher ground yelling at others around me who seemed to be oblivious to the wave. When I reached the top of a hill a long chain link fence appeared and I attached myself to it just as the wave crashed over me. I survived and before I could turn around to see what was behind me, I awoke. I have had a deluge of dreams for the last four or five days, whereas I couldn’t remember a single dream most of the retrograde.
I think I will live to see another mercury retrograde and I even have a few tools now. Thanks Planet Waves People, you are all so special! Yeah, I get by with a little help from my friends.
Caroline
Boy, you hit the nail on the head Len. Even my dreams (that I usually don’t remember much of) are giving me the same message. It is a relief to know that we will be moving forward from where we left off in the Mercury/mind trail. I even went so far as to see when the outer planets would return to their station degrees too (I know. . so Virgo!) Pluto will return on January 7, 2012, Neptune on Feb 28, Uranus on March 25, Jupiter on March 18 and Chiron at the end of February (and it’s a leap-year February too.) Of course Mercury, Mars and Saturn will be retrograde by then, but I’ll think about that tomorrow.
Your offering today made me remember Stephanie Austin who, in her article in Mt. Astrologer magazine’s Pisces Full Moon on Sept. 12, quoted Mike Dooley: “Life is not what you see, but what you’ve projected. It’s not what you’ve felt, but what you’ve decided. It’s not what you’ve experienced, but how you’ve remembered it. . . And it’s not where you’ve been, but where you’re going.”
So thanks for your words and I think that, for today, you are my second best friend; right after me!
be
Phew! TFFT!!! 🙂 It’s been intense, to say the least! Thanks Len.