So what happens when you mix quicksilver and gold — Mercury and Leo — together, and direct it inward? How about an opportunity for some retrograde alchemy of the values-and-self-esteem kind? Mercury stations retrograde in Leo on Saturday July 14, at 10:16 pm EDT.
Since it spends its entire retrograde (including both the pre- and post-retrograde echo phases) in this sign, we’re in for an opportunity to get very well acquainted with how Leo’s themes have (or have not) been manifesting in our lives. If your sense of presence and value in the world could use some consideration, adjustment or a spotlight, you’re in luck.
This weekend’s station is occurring in the context of the Sun’s conjunction to Varuna and squares to Saturn and Eris — plus the Mars-Pluto square (see yesterday’s Daily Astrology). That astrology may feel like some kind of emotional squeeze. Mercury’s reversal adds both reason and opportunity to slow down your mental processes and emotional states, observe them carefully, and make sure any action taken is responsive, not reactive. Alchemy makes for a great metaphor, but shaking things up, hammering them together and adding fire can be even messier in our daily lives than in the alchemist’s lab.
One theme of a Mercury retrograde, no matter the sign, is to be extra patient. As always, be ready to check your logic, to pick up the phone if you think an email has been ‘ignored’, and to leave yourself extra time to travel. Multi-tasking and knee-jerk reactions could prove to make extra work and require extra energy and time in the long run.
Mercury’s apparent reversal happens in a moment amidst strong inner forces, but the entire retrograde lasts until Aug. 8. That’s over three weeks in which to consider what is really important to you, and whether you actually act as though it is. What is your gold standard for how you feel about yourself physically and spiritually? If your decisions and actions fall short, why is that? What steps can you take to ferret out the reasons and cast some sunlight on them? Do you need to adjust your actions to fit your values, or rather reconsider your values to reflect where you actually put your energy?
Consider that if you consistently see a discrepancy between the two, you might actually be operating under the influence of someone else’s ‘most important thing’, not your own. The roots of that kind of conflation will likely be old, so you’ll want to look deep into the past. It may be marked by the mind’s quicksilver slipping through your fingers before you even realize it was yours to hold in the first place. Or maybe it feels more like a bead of mercury landing on a tabletop and skittering into countless droplets in every direction, leaving you without one of your own. This retrograde in Leo offers a chance to rewind the slipping and skittering, review it, and then see what you can make of it when Mercury stations direct.
While you’re evaluating what you really value, also consider whether you give those people and things their due. Are you taking anything or anyone for granted? There are many ways to express gratitude sincerely, from the verbal to the sharing of resources to reciprocal actions — even small ones. Keep people who have been truly supportive of you at the top of that list. Consider the value of your words, and that they amount to promises and contracts that may be renegotiated if necessary. Notice when you are making a decision based on your emotions rather than your mind, especially if it’s done out of insecurity. Remember to stay flexible during this retrograde — that is, not scattered in the face of others’ values, but rather malleable while staying true to your own, like gold.
Amanda thank you, 🙂 excellent choice video to celebrate mercury in Leo, I am noticed that this retro mercury will be three times a sextile has my wow venus
Cheers dear! xx
🙂
Hey, Amanda – of course I’m responsible for what I post – was just playing around a bit.
no huffy, sorry, but your choice of comment topic is not my fault or responsibility!
len — very cool tidbit. i hope you’re right!
Thank you, Amanda. While i’m no chemist (or alchemist for that matter), it is my indirect understanding that gold does, in fact, “stick” to Mercury. Perhaps, during this Mercury retrograde, something the Sun’s golden consciousness will stick to Mercury’s archetype of how we think and be carried among all people in shared discourse, leading to a silver reflection of one with.
Huffy, great fun! Thanks!
To add to topic, “That’s over three weeks in which to consider what is really important to you, and whether you actually act as though it is. What is your gold standard for how you feel about yourself physically and spiritually?”
I’ve always had this gold, or maybe platinum, not a standard, as that word denotes a sort of aiming for, a goal, but rather, a sense of my higher self, a sense of higher life, higher vibration – which is often and too easily murked up by Life on Earth. It isn’t something up there to strive for, like a standard. It is there all the time. It just needs to be remembered.
That me isn’t marred by chemo and radiation. That me is healthy and glowing as perfect energy, the Wood Faerie, content surrounded by plants and animals, in her Garden. This me, however, fights Life’s Earthly battles, and waits patiently, and sometimes not so patiently!, to be reunited with that me.
dawn – great voice, and great sense of humour too – a clip from one of my fav comedy shows back when I was a child (and English..).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-nCIgmcIU4
Huffy, ditto on Sean! And loved the Bonds which had Shirley Bassey singing the theme songs, what a voice!
“That’s over three weeks in which to consider what is really important to you, and whether you actually act as though it is”. This is something that has been at my core since last November and went into full force in early March. It relates to all aspects of my life – my job, my true calling, my relationships with others, my partner. I still haven’t quite figured it out. My hope is that over the next three weeks, it will all become crystal clear.
Thanks Amanda.
If I ever have a cat as a pet, I will name her Pussy Galore. Viva 007!
God he was gorgeous when he was young ol Sean (completely off topic, your fault, Amanda).
Thanks for this, dear Amanda! Fantastic advice, brilliant title track, great way to start the day!