By Len Wallick
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Mercury will station retrograde on August 20 or 21, depending on your ephemeris or where you live (the difference is a midnight vs noon ephemeris). This past weekend, Mercury entered its echo phase at 5+ degrees Virgo. Also called the “shadow” phase, it indicates a boundary: the point at which Mercury will station direct when its impending retrograde is completed. This is the furthest back it will go. In its retrograde pattern, Mercury crosses the same degrees three times — first direct (like it’s doing now), then retrograde, then and then of course it crosses back over the same degrees again in direct motion.
The retrogrades come in patterns. This will be the third consecutive Mercury retrograde in an Earth sign. The previous one was in Taurus from April into May of this year; before that one in Capricorn, starting in late December 2009 and extending into January 2010.
The echo phase means more to some people than others, though clearly there are retrograde effects that begin around this time. Some of that depends on your personal natal chart — but in truth that does not matter. Like the seasons, this is a cycle that can affect anyone.
Mercury is the ruling planet for the signs Gemini and Virgo. If, for example, you have your Gemini Sun on your natal ascendant squaring a stellium of Moon, Mercury and Venus in Virgo, you probably have already drained your bank account, lost your credit card, had your smart phone hacked, shredded your hard drive and burned up your car battery. For most of us, however, the shadow period is but an intimation — a gradual ramping up of retrograde synchronicity that culminates in the last few days before retrograde station. And there are folks whose lives are like this every day.