How to succeed during Mercury retrograde, April 9 through May 3 2017

Sometimes it seems like we are in a permanent Mercury retrograde period, doesn’t it?  Under Mercury retrograde communication snafus are common and often equipment that we rely on fails to work properly.

I like to think of Mercury retrograde periods as being the ebb tide.  Life doesn’t always move in forward motion – like the tide, there are periods where events rush us towards the shore and other times when we look to the past and must take a step backwards in order to find completion or master a certain issue.

Consequently, Mercury retrograde times are good for re-flection and for finding new wisdom in situations from the past; for re-decorating, re-designing, re-thinking. They are usually not great times to start something new, but we can’t always design our lives around the three weeks, four times a year in which Mercury is retrograde.

Mercury is in the fixed and somewhat stubborn sign of Taurus right now where it adapts well to the lack of forward motion.  However, when Mercury retrogrades back into fiery Aries where it will remain between April 20th and May 15th we will be at the mercy of two opposing forces: the urge of Aries to take dynamic and impulsive action combined with the retrograde tendency to take two steps backward for every step forward.  This will be exacerbated by the fact that throughout this period Mercury will unite with reckless Uranus.  Under this influence there tends to be a lot of impulsive behavior and action as well as words thrown about without too much thought.  Travel is likely to be disrupted and a fair amount of chaos can ensue if we fail to pay attention. However, this planetary dynamic also bestows new ways of looking at our world as well as fresh insights.  Life will certainly be more exciting during this time!

We will find all of this easier and more enjoyable if we allow ourselves to let go and enjoy the ride.  Between now and May 15th it will be difficult to keep a tight control over events and situations, but the hidden gifts of surprising new adventures are just around the corner.